# GSD's and thier "G D" Gut



## Kat LaPlante (May 17, 2009)

So, I too jumped on the Origen bandwagon. My skinny high strung GSD lost about 8 lbs.!! now, how much of the loss was attributed to the neverending piles of runny dog crap in my house I will never know:-( but the food was no good for my dog. Smelled great, looked great, great reviews, I was excited about it.

Introduced slowly, even dewormed just in case, but no, nothing worked. He is skinny to begin with! I often get asked if he is a "black Mal-i-noise", :roll::roll: (God I love Westminster)

Anyway, he is now back on lower protien, higher calorie RC. and here comes the weight!!! All the ribs are gone.

Has anyone else experienced this with Origen as I feel as though I am the only person in the world that does not swear by it!!


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## Maren Bell Jones (Jun 7, 2006)

Some dogs do seem to need or do better with some grain in their diet. My male Malinois is like that. He currently gets a half and half mix of California Natural Herring & Sweet Potato and grain free EVO Herring and Salmon. If he was just on the straight high protein, low carb grain free kibble or just raw, it'd be off and on again (mostly on) squirts and hard to keep the weight on. Now I can just see the last 3 ribs instead of just about all of them. :roll: All dogs are individuals and some actually can gain a TON of weight on grain free diets very quickly while others lose it.


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## Debbie Skinner (Sep 11, 2008)

My friend's one malinois is the same with grain-free EVO, but this dog's mother does great on straight EVO. 

I've had great luck with EVO and other grain-free kibbles with my dogs. However, my dogs get mostly raw and supplemented with the kibble except when I'm in a rush. I will give the dogs bones to eat/chew and this firms up their stool.


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## Carlos Machado (Dec 28, 2008)

I fed Origen for a year & half I had to limit how much she ate she would gain weight easy but the runs were come and go so I switched to Horizon legacy very similar in protein & calories made with local human grade food In one plant in Saskatchewan but I find it better absorbed and I have to feed her even less with Horizon to keep her weight down.


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## Kat LaPlante (May 17, 2009)

Thanks so much for sharing your info. The RC/Origen mix is workingout well so far. I can feel what I think is about 2 lbs, and although the runs have stopped for now it does have an interesting bright green shade!! Eeekk!


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## Kristen Cabe (Mar 27, 2006)

I recently bought a dog that has been on Orijen his entire life; the breeder weans to it and his first owner kept him on it, but I've had him for about a month now and he has had gloppy cow pies (like, at least 2-3 per day) the entire time. 

I thought maybe I was feeding him too much, even though I was giving him the same amount that his first owner said she was feeding him. So I cut back by 1/3. Over the course of two weeks, he lost weight, and still had liquid stools, so about probably two weeks ago, I started mixing the Orijen half and half with Canidae, but there has still been no improvement whatsoever, so I don't know what the problem is.

I dewormed with fenbendazole this past weekend, and plan to do it again starting on Monday, the 15th, in case it's giardia. I'm almost out of Orijen, but I don't think Canidae is going to agree with him either, it doesn't look like, so I guess I'll have to try something else. I have had good results on Before Grain, so I may try that. It's not quite as 'rich' as Orijen.

I've never given Orijen to my own dogs; I was contemplating it, but now I'm not so sure.


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## Kat LaPlante (May 17, 2009)

I am not opposed to the food in anyway, I guess it simply is not right for my dog. I realize that dogs generations ago did not eat grains, however dogs today do and I guess mine simply does better with a bit of grain and carbs that without. Their systems are so delicate and yet some dogs can eat anything and you would never know it.

He is doing better on the RC adolescent however I am trying to manage the caloric intake for growth, so it seems to be a fine line....and I can some wieght gain already.

Poor guy, the runs suck!!


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## Jason Hammel (Aug 13, 2009)

I have been cycling my kibble. I have been lucky that I can just giet a new bag each month without slow weening or mixing.

I'll go Evo,solid gold,Innova,etc. haven't ever used canidae since they were sold to the larger conglomerate company.


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## Matt Grosch (Jul 4, 2009)

dont you want to see some ribs?


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## Ron Worthley (Jan 28, 2010)

I tied Orijen as well with my Dobie.It was squirt city. I feel it is a quality kibble, but the high amounts of protein don't always agree with some dogs. I have switched him to Taste of the Wild, Fish formula, and have been a lot happier. It is still grain free but 25% protein instead of 38% or 40% like the Orijen. He is doing well on it and the stools are normal. I recommend it for anyone wanting to use a grain free while having a little less protein content.


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## Faisal Khan (Apr 16, 2009)

Each dog is different and one has to experiment to find the best suited diet. Once you find that, stick to it! My pup is doing great on Orijen though, firm stools twice/day like clockwork. I do feed raw also, mixed with Orijen.


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