# Orijen kibble + Wysong Au Jus + Primal Frozen Mixes



## SandyChips (Jul 25, 2012)

I'm new here and my dog Sandy is 10 years now. All her life she has only eaten vet recommended dog food brands. These brands were Eukanuba, Science Diet, Royal Canin, and (currently) Hills. After all this research, I now know that this kind of food is terrible for her! She now has cataracts, hip dysplasia, hypothyroid problems, and has had numerous ear infections, but still has the attitude of a 3 year old!
I plan on changing her food in a couple of days, but I need reassurance that what I will be feeding will not be deficient in any way. I plan to transition her to a mixture of Orijen 6 Fish and Orijen Regional Red. But I want to make sure that I supply a variety of meat, organs and bones. That's why, after she is used to the new kibble, I will transition into adding Primal frozen meat chubs and Wysong "Au Jus" canned meat. Of course I will introduce new meats one at a time, until I am able to rotate a certain meat into the kibble mix daily. 
So basically, the finished product would look something like this:

Sunday: Orijen 6 Fish & Regional Red + Wysong Au Jus Beef
Monday: Orijen 6 Fish & Regional Red + Primal Chicken Formula Chubs
Tuesday: Orijen 6 Fish & Regional Red + Wysong Au Jus Rabbit
Wednesday: Orijen 6 Fish & Regional Red + Primal Buffalo Mix Chub
Thursday: Orijen 6 Fish & Regional Red + Primal Turkey Mix Chub
Friday: Orijen 6 Fish & Regional Red + ZiwiPeak Moist Cuisine | Tripe, Lamb & Venison
Saturday: Orijen 6 Fish & Regional Red + Primal Duck Formula Chub

I will also give the occasional chicken or turkey neck. Do you think that I will need any supplements like Wysong Call of the Wild or Dr. Jones Ultimate Canine Supplement? Do you have any suggestions when it comes to supplements?
Thanks!


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

:welcome: it sounds like you've got great plans for Sandy's diet! Supplements really aren't my forté, but in all honesty, the orijen RR, and 6fish are going to carry most of the nutritional needs for her. Wysong, from my limited knowledge is simply just canned meats, and not much more which is a great protein supplement. Personally, if i were going to feed a diet like that, i would start off with how you have planned, and go from there, if you feel she is lacking something, or if her conditions are deteriorating, then you'd need to reevaluate what is going on, if she seems to do well, and thrive on your meal plans then stick with what works.

Good for you for taking your pets nutrition into your own hands :thumb:

Stick around and let us know how she progresses as well!


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## kaliberknl (May 9, 2012)

Very happy birthday to Sandy! It's a celebration when sporting dogs reach that hallmark. My setters are being fed Champion - sometimes Orijen, others Acana Pacifica or Wild Prairie. Just a note of warning that overfeeding will cause loose stools especially the Champion products. Their foods also seem to have a very high digestibility so my dogs literally eat half of the volume of other premium brands. Personally, I haven't used a canned product since the Menu recall. If I want to top their kibble, I'll use people food...canned tuna, sardines or salmon, eggs, yogurt, ect. Good luck!


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## Kibblelady (Jul 13, 2012)

SandyChips said:


> I'm new here and my dog Sandy is 10 years now. All her life she has only eaten vet recommended dog food brands. These brands were Eukanuba, Science Diet, Royal Canin, and (currently) Hills. After all this research, I now know that this kind of food is terrible for her! She now has cataracts, hip dysplasia, hypothyroid problems, and has had numerous ear infections, but still has the attitude of a 3 year old!
> I plan on changing her food in a couple of days, but I need reassurance that what I will be feeding will not be deficient in any way. I plan to transition her to a mixture of Orijen 6 Fish and Orijen Regional Red. But I want to make sure that I supply a variety of meat, organs and bones. That's why, after she is used to the new kibble, I will transition into adding Primal frozen meat chubs and Wysong "Au Jus" canned meat. Of course I will introduce new meats one at a time, until I am able to rotate a certain meat into the kibble mix daily.
> So basically, the finished product would look something like this:
> 
> ...


Couple things.... what is she currently eating. We need to compare what she is eating to what you are switching her to. How are you planning to actualy switch her over? Slowly by mixing? I usually actually do not always recommend that but in this case if she is on a lower kcal diet and you suddenly jack it up with a grain free food you may be facing quite a bit of GI upset. No, you will not need any kind of supplement IMO on those foods. Is she a Labrador? How much does she weigh? The health problems you listed save the ear problems are pretty common in an elderly Lab, diet may not have been an influence here. Just wanted to clarify that so you do not beat yourself up.
Welcome to the board  I am liking this board and am pretty new myself, it's a helpful bunch.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

You mentioned frequent ear infections. I had a dog who had the same and we have a list of ingredients that we keep away from. I chose not to do allergy testing but keeping him from chicken, corn wheat, soy, rice and brewers yeast had stopped the infections. It's not just food you have to worry about but also treats and supplements. I once got a salmon oil that had soy as a secondary ingredient. Also, a joint supplument he had had brewers yeast. Good luck!


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## SandyChips (Jul 25, 2012)

Kibblelady said:


> We need to compare what she is eating to what you are switching her to. How are you planning to actualy switch her over? Slowly by mixing? I usually actually do not always recommend that but in this case if she is on a lower kcal diet and you suddenly jack it up with a grain free food you may be facing quite a bit of GI upset. No, you will not need any kind of supplement IMO on those foods. Is she a Labrador? How much does she weigh?


She is currently on Hills, and yes I plan to slowly switch her over by mixing so that she can have time to adjust to the new proteins in the Regional Red and 6 Fish. She's small for a lab, 55 pounds. Do you think its really necessary to top her kibble with meat? Is it worth the cost?


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## SaharaNight Boxers (Jun 28, 2011)

I think it's always worth it to top kibble. I would use fresh meat instead of canned dog food since it is fresher. Just gently cook (maybe to rare or medium) and top your kibble with it. If you want to do canned Wysong is great, Wellness makes an all meat topper too. Ziwipeak is great too.

If she gets loose stools use the canned chicken for a while. It's the least rich. Richness I think is what makes stools bad versus how much protein.

Oh, and feed the raw separately. And I would personally feed the all meat grind instead of the mix with veggies.


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## piarevigliono (Aug 1, 2012)

My suggestion is a product called Chondropaw for joints, arthritis and hip dysplasia. I give it to my senior dog who has a very serious condition of HD and arthritis and the results have been amazing!. It seems like his condition was reverted somehow, I don't even give him pain medication anymore. Is all natural, so you won't hurt his liver by trying it and you can try it with your senior dog as well. I don't know, I recommend it because it worked so well with my dog that I'm very thankful. Is like I have a 5 year old dog instead a 10 year old dog. Dog Hip Dysplasia, Dog Arthritis and Joint Pain Treatment and Natural Solution: Chondropaw.com


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## speeddts (Sep 3, 2010)

*Please be careful with Wysong canned dog food*. They have some questionable ingredients which defeats the purpose of going grain free with Orijen or Acana. Questionable ingredient examples include Animal Plasma (WYSONG Au Jus formulas -- ewww they can't even tell you what meat its derived from), ground corn (WYSONG Growth formula), soybeans (WYSONG Growth Formula). Avoid Avoid Avoid.

Maybe try some of these, In my humble view they are some of the best canned dog foods available. These options/varieties have excellent recognizable protein content and ingredient lists.
a) GO! Canned Grain Free Chicken, Turkey + Duck Recipe for Dogs | Petcurean
b) Wellness CORE Beef, Venison & Lamb Formula
c) Wellness® CORE® Grain-Free Turkey, Chicken Liver & Turkey Liver Formula
d) Nature's Variety Instinct: Grain-Free Canned Diet for Dogs: Chicken Formula | Nature's Variety

Our Welsh Terrier Cosmo never preferred canned dog food over kibble. The times I did purchase, I used the below analysis to guide which varieties to select. I used a 9% recognizable protein content as a benchmark and began from there. 

The math: (% recognizable protein content) / (100% - % moisture content)

When purchasing canned dog food, starting with 100% content, then subtracting the 70% to 80% moisture, a 9% recognizable protein content renders a better bang for your buck (9% / (100%-moisture content), the higher the recognizable protein content the better, upon review of the varieties noted they have a min 11 to 12% (even better). 

I also feed my dog Orijen Six Fish and switch with Orijen Regional Red mixed with Salmon Oil (from Costco). Orijen is a excellent choice, although pricey our Cosmo prefers the Orijen Six Fish. I like that Orijen varieties have calcium and phosphorous levels well below AAFCO maximums (between 1.4 and 1.8 respectively). UNLIKE many other grain free high protein dog foods, Orijen limits its inclusion of bones.

Thanks for reading


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## Kibblelady (Jul 13, 2012)

SandyChips said:


> She is currently on Hills, and yes I plan to slowly switch her over by mixing so that she can have time to adjust to the new proteins in the Regional Red and 6 Fish. She's small for a lab, 55 pounds. Do you think its really necessary to top her kibble with meat? Is it worth the cost?



IMO it is worth it as additional moisture assists in digestion. You do not have to go top quality with the topper however....


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## starturtle (Jul 12, 2012)

I fed Orijen Adult for years with great results. I recently switched one of my dogs to Wellness Core Reduced Fat because of a weight issue. She also has mild HD for over a year now and she had been getting joint supplements and she would have her good days and bad. When I switched her to the Core I started adding fish oil caplets as well. I can't believe how much easier she moves and we haven't had a bad day yet. I haven't had to give her any extra pain meds. 

I am not sure with the 6 fish if you would need it or not, but with the red I would add the fish oil caplets they really do help.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

Kibblelady said:


> IMO it is worth it as additional moisture assists in digestion. You do not have to go top quality with the topper however....


While i agree with the first part of your post, why is it that the latter would contradict what your saying... All protein has a biologic value, which is its usable amino acid content. Some proteins are 100% bioavailable, the others are not, processing also leeches nutrients out of things as you probably well know, less processing is more nutrients. At any rate, the op is going to feed top quality kibble, why foil the plan with low quality topper?


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