Ahh hes a springer!! my 9 month old is on just about 300 id say - somewhere between 250 - 300 is about right

Why feed two foods? Dogs are not little humans, life is so much simpler if you feed a single food and dogs do fine!
If you're feeding 300g of good quality food to a 16kg dog then I would suggest that unless you're giving it a lot of exercise then you might be feeding on the high side quantity-wise. Look at the recommended amounts for your dogs weight (it's on the bag) and use that as a guide.
I have a dog about the same size and she gets lots of exercise and 200g of Whites Premium a day. Her body condition is absolutely right.
What that means is that my 15kg bag lasts 75 days. If I was overfeeding at 300g a day the bag would last 50 days - or in money terms it currently costs me £140 a year to feed her, at £29 a bag (as opposed to £211/year if I upped the food to 300g a day!!)
Get the feeding amount sorted and you can save serious money, particularly if you're feeding such an expensive food as Orijen!

Ive just thought - at 7 mths I was only feeding him up to 250g of Orijen though this was not mixed with another food. I have only just increased it really. He seems a very good healthy weight for his age

This is really good advice ...thanks . Yes about the two kinds of kinds. I do agree. I am trying to finish the Wainwrights which is a huge bag and I am trying to finish this one ..I will stick to waht you said . He does get about 25 mins of exercise /run a in the morning and then again teh same in the evening . I am going to stick to origen and I think I will have to reduc ethe quantity too now as he has started twice a day and i am doing 300 a day ! I do think it is a bit much .2372.jpg

I wd have to reduce the quantity then .....Thanks .2374.jpg

I've been looking at the large breed puppy. I use it for adults but have never used it for puppies. The detrimental effects of high protein on joints/skeletal seems to be disputed, whereas excess calcium and phosphorous does seem to cause problems. Has anyone fed a large breed dog on orijen? The calcium and phosphorous ratios are lowered in the large puppy food.

It's all very well saying John Burns is a vet and says that pups (and adult dogs) should get low protein low fat. However, there are millions of other vets out there who say the opposite! I've yet to hear of a wild or feral dog that grew up with musculoskeletal issues because it ate raw meat and bones (which are higher in protein than Orijen!).

Millions of raw fed pups grow up around the world (mine included) every year eating Orijen and/or raw food (again, raw food is higher in protein and fat than Orijen!) and they're just fine. It's a fine line to espouse if you're selling a food that's low in fat and protein though I guess. Coincidentally, meat is much more expensive than grain, yet Burns dog food (which is at least 80% grains) still costs as much as the 70% to 75% meat-packed foods like Orijen and Applaws??

It's up to the individual at the end of the day, but until dogs fed on raw meat and bones suddenly start becoming deformed and ill and their physiology decides they need to eat 80+ percent oats and rice, I know what my lot will be eating.

I don't see how lean muscle mass in a pup (or adult) can cause issues, it's nonsense! I'm pretty sure a fat dog carrying excess weight due to eating carbohydrate laden foods is far more likely to suffer musculoskeletal issues, and the literature agrees. A dog eating carbohydrates will process those before it processes fat and protein. Carbs WILL be stored as fat if they're present at a level above IMMEDIATE energy needs (i.e. what the body is using that minute to stay alive).

Protein on the other hand is not converted to sugar (unlike carbs) and cannot (is not) stored as fat in the body. Any excess is simply peed away, leaving a lean healthy dog with no excess weight on its frame. Orijen have a few white papers on this issue (with scientific references) on their site, in the 'library'.

Library | Orijen Pet Foods .co.uk

The calcium : phosphorus levels in Orijen are balanced to ensure there is no abnormal growth even in large breeds, and you can find much more info on their site as I said. If you're in any doubt, peel back the lips on your furry friend, and see what you can see. Do those long, tapering daggers look like they're designed to crush rolled oats, or kill and rip apart meat?...

Cannot really comment on this particular brand, Many have tried to convince me 'that the quality of the protein' has significant benefits.... To me a complete 'dry diet' is as bout as unnatural as you can get. Consequently I have choosen to opt out of what I consider to be the 'lazy persons diet'

Really hope I have offended none with this post, these are just my opinions.

Del, as someone who has fed his working dogs on raw food for as many years as I care to remember, I agree. I'm a member of the UK Raw Meaty Bones Lobby amongst others, and have put a lot of work into raising awareness among pet owners, lobbying at the political level and more.

But I've come to realise that some people just don't want to feed raw / can't feed raw / won't feed raw. To you and me that's a shame, but all the same if those folks are going to buy a kibble I'd at least like to help them choose a 'decent' one. As we know, animal/meat protein is by far the best for dogs and as such a kibble with 70% named, free range, antibiotic and hormone free meat in it is by far preferable to a generic, 'mixed cereal and animal byproduct derivatives' product consisting almost entirely of soy protein and chemicals.

As such I've had to learn to 'dial back' a bit and where someone clearly doesn't want to know about raw, at least try to be helpful. I still usually get the raw comments in though. Gentle nudges...

So why is your opinion is Orijen more 'decent' then say Arden Grange or Burns? I personally would have major concerns regarding feeding a large breed puppy such high levels of protien, irrespecitve of its scource.