Orijen

Orijen Senior review

Name: Orijen Senior
Brand: Orijen

79.4/100Excellent

DryAdultSenior

A senior kibble that keeps protein high when many start thinning it out, and it sits in our Excellent band. Organ meat is unusually generous, with giblets at 10% and turkey liver at 5%. Pollock oil brings marine omega 3, and there is no cereal.

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Our view

Likely to suit

Older dogs whose owners want protein kept up, at 38% declared
Fussier old eaters: giblets and raw liver give the kibble a taste worth getting up for
Complaining joints, with pollock oil at 2%
A greying dog and a younger adult sharing one bin
Dogs kept off grain

Worth watching

Chicken, turkey, egg and four named sea fish, so no single-protein trial
371 kcal per 100g against the 357 typical, so measure the scoop
No glucosamine or chondroitin declared

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

How this scores

How we score

79.4/100Excellent

Protein and processingExcellent

Nutritional balanceOutstanding

TransparencyOutstanding

ValueExcellent

The details

Dog fit

Listed for adults and seniors of every size. The recipe does not change with age, so the portion has to do the adjusting.

Food type

Dry

Life stage

Adult, Senior

Breed size

Toy, Small, Medium, Large, Giant

Main protein

Chicken

The score, in context

Orijen Senior 79.4

All one Excellent. Typical dry food: Good.

The senior label has not been used as an excuse to thin the recipe, which is where most of its distance over the typical dry food comes from.

What's in it

Fresh chicken, raw turkey18%, 10%Fresh meat is largely water, so neither figure survives the oven intact.
Fresh chicken giblets (liver, heart)10%Unusually generous organ meat, and intensely palatable.
Raw whole herring, raw whole hake6%, 5%
Fresh eggs, raw turkey liver5% eachLiver is heavy in B12 and vitamin A.
Dehydrated chicken, turkey, mackerel, sardine, herring5% down to 4%The dried tier that keeps the protein up after cooking.
Whole red and green lentils, peas, lentil fibre, chickpeas, pinto beans, pea starchPulses bring protein and fibre with their starch. No cereal.
Pollock oil2%Long-chain omega 3 for ageing joints and coats.
Chicken fat2%Named, like every fat here.
Navy beans, kelp, pumpkin, squash, zucchini, carrots, apples, pears
Chicory root, greens, berries, turmeric and herbs down to rosehipsChicory is the prebiotic; the rest is seasoning.

Zinc, copper, vitamins B1, B5 and E, all dosed, plus an Enterococcus faecium culture for the gut.

Named ingredients

Fresh chicken (18%), raw turkey (10%), fresh chicken giblets (liver, heart) (10%), raw whole herring (6%), raw whole hake (5%), fresh eggs (5%), raw turkey liver (5%), dehydrated chicken (5%), dehydrated turkey (5%), dehydrated mackerel (4%), dehydrated sardine (4%), dehydrated herring (4%), whole red lentils, whole green lentils, whole peas, lentil fibre, whole chickpeas, whole pinto beans, pea starch, pollock oil (2%), chicken fat (2%), whole navy beans, 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 recipe. Twelve animal entries come before a single pulse, with organs at 15% between the giblets and the turkey liver. The starch comes from lentils, peas, chickpeas and beans, and both added fats are named.

Nutritional analysis

Declared analysis

Energy

371 kcal/100g

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

76%

Carbs

14.7%

Veg

0.3%

Oils

Other

Pricing & size