Tasty Tuesday-Our Favorite Kibble

Over the years our mom has fed us a lot of different kibbles, from the not so good: Iams to the good: Nature's Variety to the great: Orijen and she has read about a zillion pages on the subject of dog nutrition.  In her heart of hearts mom wants to feed us raw and for a brief time she tried it.  However, it just wasn't practical our small, easily flooded basement did not really accommodate a freezer.  Mom felt more comfortable feeding us high quality pre-made raw and that was super expensive for all five us, plus Dad was never keen on the whole project.  Mom still feels that a raw diet is the healthiest option for most dogs, so as a compromise mom started feeding us Orijen.

Basically Orijen takes this concept:


and turns out a domestic version.

 
We get our Orijen delivered month from Mr. Chewy:

"Ohhh there is something tasty in here!"

Mom likes Orijen because its one kibble that really tries to approximate a species appropriate diet.  This basically means that Orijen tries to duplicate the diet of wild candid, like a wolf.  That means lots of meat, some fruits and vegetables, and no grains.   The meat is also included in the kibble in what Orijen calls whole prey format, meaning that the liver, tripe, cartilage, and marrow of the animal sources is also included in the kibble.  The fruits and vegetables provide an antioxidant boost and the kibble also includes botanical ingredients (flowers and weeds like those that a wolf might graze on in the wild), vitamins and minerals, and amino acids.  Here is the ingredients list from Regional Red the food we just got from Mr. Chewy:
  

Fresh deboned wild boar, fresh deboned lamb, lamb meal, russet potato, fresh deboned pork, peas, salmon meal, whitefish meal*, herring meal, fresh deboned bison, fresh whole eggs, potato starch, fresh deboned salmon (a natural source of DHA and EPA), alfalfa, sweet potato, fresh deboned walleye, salmon oil (naturally preserved with vitamin E and citric acid), pea fiber, psyllium, pumpkin, tomatoes, carrots, apples, cranberries, Saskatoon berries, black currants, chicory root, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile flowers, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary, organic kelp, vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, niacin, zinc proteinate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, vitamin B5, iron proteinate, vitamin B6, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12, selenium, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product. 

"The ingredients look good, Bob."

 The regional in the name comes from the fact that all of Orijen's meats and vegetable ingredients come from local Canadian Farmers.  You can read about all the farms on Orijen's website (link.)   The meats in Orijen are cage free or free range and the fish is wild caught, which mom really likes.  She tries to eat those kinds of meats herself and wants to do the same for us.  

 Orijen food is packaged in Canada in a safe facility to make sure no contaminates can get in the food.  All of their foods get a five star rating on dog food advisor.   They have also been named pet food of the year by the Glycemic Research Institute for three years running.  High glycemic foods like corn and potatoes have been linked to health problems such as diabetes, obesity and cancer.  Orijen is one of the few pet food companies that avoids high glycemic foods in their kibble.

At our house mom rotates are kibble between the 6 fish, Adult Dog ,  and Regional Red  varieties.  That way we get an even more varied diet and a range of protein sources.  Mom also adds frequently adds fresh foods to our kibble and lots of supplements.  

"I wonder what flavor we will get next month...."

 Orijen is not cheap, its one of the more expensive kibbles out there at about 90 dollars for a 28.6 pound bag, but with its quality ingredients its worth it.  Plus mom thinks we eat a little bit less of this food then we have of others.   A 29 lb bag lasts the five of us about 3 weeks.  Of course how much your dog will eat depends on how their unique metabolism and exercise level.

"I am totally worth it!"

We give Orijen our highest rating 4 paws, plus a bonus paw because its so fabulous!