Orijen

Orijen Large Breed Adult review

Name: Orijen Large Breed Adult
Brand: Orijen

78/100Excellent

DryAdult

A chicken-led kibble sized and dosed for big adult dogs. Ten animal ingredients come before the first plant, and the panel carries taurine and L-carnitine in print. Pulses carry a modest starch load, with no cereal anywhere.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Large adults kept deliberately lean, with protein at 38% and lighter energy than most dry food
Heart and muscle support in print: taurine at 400 mg and L-carnitine at 75 mg per kilo
Dogs that do better without grain
A chicken eater whose owner wants the rest named too, pollock and sardine down to turkey liver
Older big dogs whose joints like a marine oil

Worth watching

Chicken, turkey, salmon, herring, pollock, sardine and egg, so not for an elimination diet
Calcium at 1.7% of dry matter suits a grown dog; a large breed still growing wants a growth recipe
Fat at 15% and a long fish list make a rich bowl, so move a delicate stomach across over a week or so

Written by our editorial team. Independent guidance, not veterinary advice.

How this scores

How we score

78/100Excellent

Protein and processingExcellent

Nutritional balanceOutstanding

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueExcellent

The details

Dog fit

Listed for large adult dogs. The label asks 244 to 303 grams a day for a less active dog of 30kg to 40kg, and the energy figure is our estimate, so treat it as a starting point.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult

Breed size

Large

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Orijen Large Breed Adult 78.0

All one Excellent. Typical dry food: Good.

Animal ingredients in the first ten places and a low carbohydrate load lift it well clear of most of the dry shelf.

What's in it

Fresh chicken29%Mostly water, so it does less finished work than the headline suggests.
Fresh chicken giblets (liver, heart, gizzard), raw turkey6% each
Raw salmon, raw whole herring5% eachThe marine half, and why the bag is not fish free.
Dehydrated chicken, pollock, sardine, turkey, herring5% each, herring 4.5%The dried tier, water already gone.
Whole red lentils, whole peas, lentil fibrePulses bring protein and fibre with their starch.
Raw turkey liver, fresh eggs4% each
Green lentils, chickpeas, pinto beans, navy beans, dried apple fibre
Whitefish oil, chicken fat, dehydrated chicken liver0.5% eachLong-chain omega 3 for joints and coat.
Dried kelp, pumpkin, squash, carrots, apples and other fruit and greensGarnish; chicory root is the prebiotic.
Turmeric, milk thistle, burdock root, lavender, marshmallow root, rosehips

Taurine at 400mg and L-carnitine at 75 mg per kilo, the large-breed pair, with vitamin E at 500 IU, zinc at 105 mg and a full B vitamin set.

Calcium is 1.7% of dry matter, more than a growing large breed should be given.

Named ingredients

Fresh chicken (29%), fresh chicken giblets (liver, heart, gizzard)(6%), raw turkey (6%), raw salmon (5%), raw whole herring (5%), dehydrated chicken (5%), dehydrated pollock (5%), dehydrated sardine (5%), dehydrated turkey (5%), dehydrated herring (4.5%), whole red lentils, whole peas, lentil fibre, raw turkey liver (4%), fresh eggs (4%), whole green lentils, whole chickpeas, whole pinto beans, whole navy beans, dried apple fibre, whitefish oil (0.5%), chicken fat (0.5%), dehydrated chicken liver (0.5%), dried kelp, fresh whole pumpkin, fresh whole butternut squash, fresh whole carrots, fresh whole apples, fresh whole pears, fresh whole zucchini, dried chicory root, fresh kale, fresh spinach, fresh turnip greens, fresh beet greens, whole cranberries, whole blueberries, whole saskatoon berries, turmeric, milk thistle, burdock root, lavender, marshmallow root, rosehips.

Against the range

One grain-free recipe in which ten animal ingredients run before the first plant, fresh and raw entries first and a dried tier behind them. Every plant is a legume, and the tail is fruit, greens and botanicals. Every entry in the vitamin and mineral panel carries a printed figure.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

334 kcal/100g

Estimated using Modified Atwater factors*

Protein

38%

Fat

15%

Fibre

Ash

Moisture

12%

Dry weight

Protein

43.2%

Fat

17%

Fibre

6.8%

Ash

9.1%

Carbs

23.9%

As-fed composition

Estimated breakdown of the finished product by ingredient category, from the declared ingredient list and ingoing weights. These are estimates, not measurements.

Meat

84%

Carbs

14.6%

Veg

0.4%

Oils

Pricing & size