# Orijen or Innova?



## rsteps (Aug 30, 2009)

Hello, great site. I am a new member and need a little advice on food. We are getting a mini Schnoodle in a week or so and I have narrowed my choices to Orijen and Innova, I think?? I like that Orijen is grain free and they have a few different varieties that could be rotated for flavor variety. The pet store recommended Innova as well. He will only get to be about 15lbs when fully grown so dont know if the high protein in Orijen is good for a small breed but have read nothing but great things about it. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!


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## PUNKem733 (Jun 12, 2009)

Try them out both, see which one your dog seems to enjoy more. You can also try Innova Evo it is also grain free. From what I have learned too much protein for a dog is nonsense! The more protein the better, I have an 18 pound poodle/terrier mix who is almost 13-14 and he was on Evo red with no problems, and I have just today today started him on Orijen 6 fish and some tripett, and he loves it! 

So far so good with him though it is only a day his first couple of poops after have been solid.


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

We switched Zio from "another brand" to Innova Evo Large Bites Chicken & Turkey back in May & he has taken to it well. He's an active GSP that needs a lot of protein, so the high content in that area was actually what we were looking for in a new food.

He's doing well on it. Added plus is although it may be more expensive than "Brand X", he actually needs LESS of it per day, which means in practice it's less expensive than the cheaper brand. Something to think about!


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## BabyHusky (Jul 21, 2008)

For dry, I use Orijen. I get food for most of my friends dogs and I recently transitioned them all from Innova EVO to Orijen and the majority seems to love Orijen more. I use Innova EVO cans as a topper. =)


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

Innova also makes a grain free version called EVO.

I've tried all 3 and Uno likes the taste of orijen, though right now he's on acana which is a lower protein version of orijen. 

But why not rotate? dogs thrive on variety, if you want to feed grain free, stick with just grain free foods, I would think that regular innova and orijen rotation may cause digestive upsets due to bacteria in the gut constantly trying to adjust.


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## Uncle Moe (Sep 2, 2009)

Our collie/lab mix recently started displaying signs of food allergies. After much research online, we discovered that over 95% of all allergies in dogs are food related - and of those - the vast majority involve grains. 

We have recently begun feeding "Goober" Evo Red Meat Large Chunks - He simply loves it. Absolutely no grains in the food - and he is scratching a lot less now. His coat is fabulous too.

The food is rather expensive - but so are the numerous vet visits. Also you can feed a lot less of this food due to the high nutritional content.

I will strongly endorse this product. It has made a large difference in the quality of life of our large dog. 

You may wish to mix foods at the start with your smaller breeds as the protein content is very high.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

rsteps said:


> Hello, great site. I am a new member and need a little advice on food.


Welcome, and you definately came to the right place for that!



rsteps said:


> We are getting a mini Schnoodle in a week or so


Congrats!



rsteps said:


> I like that Orijen is grain free and they have a few different varieties that could be rotated for flavor variety.


Grain free foods are generally higher quality. While I have not tried Orijen (it's not avaliable here, and with other options, I don't bother ordering it online) I would if they had it in my area. Rotating is great if you're going to feed kibbles, but it doesn't have to be all from the same maker.



rsteps said:


> The pet store recommended Innova as well.


Innova is a good food for not being grain free. They also have a red mea formula of it for rotating, and many canned varieties, including their Flex line, which I have not gotten my hands on yet. While regular Innova is not grain free, they do make a grain free line called EVO that is pretty good. It also has an original formula that is chicken & turkey based, but also offer a red meat formula for to provide alternate protien sources. My Grissom likes them both, but does a full body wiggle for the red meat formula!



rsteps said:


> He will only get to be about 15lbs when fully grown so dont know if the high protein in Orijen is good for a small breed but have read nothing but great things about it.


A dog is a dog, big or small. Canines are carnivores, therefore their diets should be made up of mostly, if not only, meats. Protien is nothing to be afraid of, though a lot of major dog food companies and vets will tell you to beware high protien foods. It's simply nonsence. 


Innova and Orijen are both pretty good foods, but with only one being grain free, they aren't in the same class. I think you should be comparing Orijen and Evo, rather... in which case, I would go with which one is more readily avaliable to you, which agrees best with the budget you'd like to stay in, and which one your dog does best on. 
:biggrin:


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## whitewlf00 (May 28, 2009)

*Acana*

I like Orijen more than Innova..when my dane was on innova the color of the kibble gave him yellow poos which i couldnt stand.

He was on Orijen 6 fish and it gave him a beautiful shiny coat.

But it was too rich for him so I have him on Acana Grasslands and I really love the food. Its from the same company as Orijen and grain free, its also alittle cheaper which is really nice.


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