Orijen

Orijen Puppy review

Name: Orijen Puppy
Brand: Orijen

79.7/100Excellent

DryPuppy

About as meat-forward as a puppy kibble gets, in our Excellent band. Protein converts to 43.2% of dry matter and carbohydrate to just 19.3%. Calcium is printed and in range for growth, which is what lets it be listed from toy to giant.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Puppies of any size, with calcium at 1.59% of dry matter
Owners who judge a bag by its first few ingredients
Pups that burn through energy, at 400 kcal per 100g against 376 for the typical puppy kibble
Grain-free homes. Lentils, peas, chickpeas and beans do the binding
Pups that thrive on variety, with poultry, sea fish and egg on one label

Worth watching

Chicken, turkey, five kinds of fish and egg, so no single-protein or fish-free plan
Rich and energy dense; weigh portions for a steadier pup
The 340g bag is a taster, too small to feed from

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

How this scores

How we score

79.7/100Excellent

Protein and processingGood

Nutritional balanceOutstanding

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueExcellent

The details

Dog fit

Listed for puppies from toy to giant. Start from the maker's chart for your pup's expected adult weight and revise it as the weeks go by.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Puppy

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Orijen Puppy 79.7

All one Excellent. Typical dry food: Good.

The lead over the typical puppy kibble is built on the label itself: meat and fish fill the room that starch would have taken.

What's in it

Fresh chicken, raw turkey23%, 10%Mostly water at this stage, so the shares shrink a good deal in the finished kibble.
Fresh chicken giblets (liver, heart)8%Offal named down to the parts.
Raw whole herring, raw whole hake6%, 5%Whole fish brings its oils and minerals in the one ingredient.
Fresh eggs5%A complete, easily used protein.
Dehydrated chicken, turkey, mackerel, sardine, herring4% eachAlready dried, so they carry their protein straight through.
Chicken fat4%
Red lentils, peas, green lentils, chickpeas, lentil fibre, pinto and navy beans, pea starchThe whole starch side. Pulses bring fibre, B vitamins, iron and zinc.
Raw turkey liver, pollock oil2% eachMore liver, and marine fat on top of the whole fish.
Kelp, pumpkin, butternut squash, courgette, carrots, apples, pears, chicory root, greensTreat it as seasoning.
Cranberries, blueberries, saskatoon berries, turmeric, milk thistle, burdock, lavender, marshmallow root, rosehips

Zinc, copper, vitamins A, D3, E, B1 and B5 with printed doses, a live Enterococcus faecium culture for the gut, and natural tocopherol and rosemary extracts as preservatives.

Named ingredients

Fresh chicken (23%), raw turkey (10%), fresh chicken giblets (liver, heart) (8%), raw whole herring (6%), raw whole hake (5%), fresh eggs (5%), dehydrated chicken (4%), dehydrated turkey (4%), dehydrated mackerel (4%), dehydrated sardine (4%), dehydrated herring (4%), chicken fat (4%), whole red lentils, whole peas, whole green lentils, whole chickpeas, lentil fibre, whole pinto beans, whole navy beans, raw turkey liver (2%), pollock oil (2%), pea starch, dried kelp, fresh whole pumpkin, fresh whole butternut squash, fresh whole zucchini, fresh whole carrots, fresh whole apples, fresh whole pears, dried chicory root, fresh kale, fresh spinach, fresh beet greens, fresh turnip greens, whole cranberries, whole blueberries, whole saskatoon berries, turmeric, milk thistle, burdock root, lavender, marshmallow root, rosehips.

Against the range

One grain-free growth kibble whose first twelve entries are all animal: fresh and raw poultry, whole sea fish, eggs and a block of dehydrated chicken, turkey and fish. Pulses take the small starch role left over. Calcium is printed at 1.59% of dry matter, and preservation is natural, with tocopherol and rosemary extracts.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

400 kcal/100g

Protein

38%

Fat

20%

Fibre

Ash

Moisture

12%

Dry weight

Protein

43.2%

Fat

22.7%

Fibre

5.7%

Ash

9.1%

Carbs

19.3%

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

74%

Carbs

14.7%

Veg

0.3%

Oils

Other

Pricing & size