Is Orijen Good For Huskies? Our Honest Review

Orijen is considered a superior kibble on the market, but does that mean it’s good for huskies?

In this article, I review Orijen and whether or not your husky will benefit from their food. Orijen haven’t asked me to do this review, I just think it’s necessary considering how popular this brand is with husky owners.

As far as dry kibble goes, Orijen is one of the best in terms of quality and freshness. Orijen also has a favorable macronutrient breakdown prioritizing protein and fat, ideal for active working breeds like huskies.

Is The Quality Of Orijen That Good?

Orijen is considered to be one of the best, if not the best brands of kibble on the market. They claim to provide a biologically appropriate diet that’s based on what dogs would have eaten like in the wild.

And as huskies are deeply in touch with their roots, this kind of promoted quality instantly appeals to husky owners as a good choice.

Let’s get right into the quality of their ingredients.

Orijen, their ingredients, and what you need to know

Meat Content and Quality

This is exactly where Orijen excels beyond all other brands and is the main reason why they are also one of the most expensive.

Orijen promotes that 2/3 of meat that goes into their product, is either fresh or raw. “Fresh” means it’s had no preservatives and has only been in the fridge. “Raw” means no preservatives and it has been flash-frozen to preserve the quality and nutrients.

The other 1/3 of the meat is air-dried at 90°C to create a concentrated source of protein. This is only done with either chicken, turkey, or fish.

So, the overall quality of the meat that goes into Orijen kibble, is considered to be fresh, whole meat. Which is extremely high quality (and rare for kibble).

There’s next to zero processing of the meats other than keeping it fresh via refrigerator, or from being flash-frozen, both methods contain zero preservatives or nasty chemicals.

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The Way Orijen Makes It’s Food

A huge difference between Orijen and other brands is that they outsource nothing. Everything is kept in-house.

This may sound obvious but you would be surprised that many of the mainstream food brands out there, do not make their own food, and in fact, have companies you’ve never heard of make the kibble for them. Initially, this doesn’t seem like a big deal, but what happens here is a lack of quality control, and the brands selling you “their” dog food, don’t actually know what’s in it. Orijen doesn’t do that.

They have their own kitchens with their own employees making your dog’s food.

When they make the formula, at least 50% of everything that’s going into it like the meat, the vegetables, and fruits are all fresh. This is very different from how other brands do it, which rely heavily on powdered and dried ingredients.

Because so much of the content is fresh and has its natural juices, Orijen does not add any water to the mix. Meaning the final product has concentrated goodness that isn’t watered down through necessity.

They also prepare their food at the lowest temperature possible (90°C) to preserve nutrients, while safely cooking the ingredients properly.

Attention to detail and care like this is uncommon. And it certainly contributes to a better, healthier, and more nutritional kibble when the dust settles.

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Biologically Appropriate

Orijen makes their food with evolution and biology in mind. Meaning they strive to create the correct ratios of protein to fat to carbohydrates, as it would be consumed by dogs in the wild.

Dogs would have hunted and consumed everything from plants, fruits, general vegetation, and of course, smaller animals.

Many people believe that mainstream kibble is causing serious issues for our dogs, as it contains so many ingredients and preservatives that are not natural or anything like what dogs have consumed for thousands of years.

Orijen promotes that it understands this and they even take it to the point where the correct ratios of meat, organs, cartilage, and marrow of the animals going into their food are correct.

If you’re someone who agrees that a raw food diet is better, but you still want to remain on kibble, Orijen is going to be the closest kibble available to the nutrition of a raw food diet.

What’s Good For Huskies

So how does all of this relate to Siberian Huskies specifically? Let’s run through the benefits for huskies.

Sensitive stomachs, kibble, and the raw food diet.

Well, to start with one of the most common issues husky owners face, is their husky’s sensitive stomach, you may have this issue with your own husky.

Huskies have an extremely efficient metabolism and by nature do not have a big appetite anyway, but this doesn’t change the fact that they are very sensitive eaters.

Many kibbles out there contain ingredients and allergens that will not work well with the majority of huskies, that’s why many owners struggle to find a food that works for their husky.

This is why many husky owners turn to the raw food diet, and despite being hard to get right, huskies often do well following this time-proven diet.

Although an issue with the raw food diet is how expensive it is. $300-400 is a normal monthly bill for fresh produce for a husky.

As said in the previous section. Orijen is going to be the closest kibble there is to a raw food diet.

Huskies thrive off a diet high in protein, medium-high fat and low carbs

Another big factor that makes Orijen stand out from the crowd is their low carbohydrate formulas.

A husky’s ideal diet is high in protein, medium to high fat, and low carbs. This style of diet mimics a wild diet and will digest the best.

Many other companies are quick to bulk up their foods with carbohydrates because they’re incredibly cheap, easy to store, and they “fill out” their food. But the truth is that carbohydrates are not ideal for your husky’s digestive system or body.

In fact, according to the national research council, approximately ZERO carbohydrates are needed to sustain a healthy canine diet. That just goes to show how carbohydrates are not fundamental nor essential. Protein and fat alone do the job. (of course, this is impractical to actually implement, but the point is that the lower the carbs, the better).

Many huskies are zinc deficient

Another common issue with huskies is their zinc deficiency.

Not all huskies suffer from this, but it’s certainly a well-known issue for this breed.

Zinc is the second most important trace mineral in your husky’s body and plays a vital role in the proper functioning of many bodily processes and organs.

It also affects their skin and their coat, something else that huskies often have issues with.

So how does this relate to Orijen? Well, regardless of mal-digestion or mal-absorption it’s still critical to ensure your husky’s diet is rich in high-quality forms of zinc. And the quality of the food your husky is eating matters when it comes to zinc.

Whole, fresh meat ingredients will contain unrivaled forms of zinc that are also easier to absorb. As far as kibble goes, Orijen, with its fresh ingredients ensures not only a good amount of zinc but premium forms of zinc, that digest better.

Other commercial kibbles usually add lower quality forms of zinc in like zinc sulfate or zinc oxide. These don’t digest very well.

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Out Of All The Orijen Kibbles, Which Is Best?

In our opinion, for huskies, Orijen Six Fish will be the best option.

Many readers of My Happy Husky voted Orijen Six Fish the best for their huskies.

This is likely due to the fact that protein isn’t coming from common allergens like chicken, beef, pork, or lamb.

As mentioned earlier, huskies are extremely sensitive and even meats like chicken and beef may not work well, despite being so common.

Six fish is abundant in Omega 3, 6, and DHA which are all essential fatty acids that contribute to healthier skin and coat, immune system, eye health, heart health, and brain function.

It’s high in protein, high in fat, and has a lower amount of carbs than most other options.

For these reasons, it often comes out on top for Siberian Huskies.

Is Orijen Worth The Money?

With all of this premium quality, comes a premium price tag.

You can check here to see the current up-to-date price on Amazon. Remember that a 25lb bag will last around 1 month.

Everyone has different opinions, and some owners have great success on premium brands like Taste of The Wild which is considerably less expensive.

But if you’re very concerned about the quality of the food your husky is eating, then Orijen can’t be beaten (in terms of kibble). In many people’s opinion, it is the best kibble available.

If Orijen is within your budget, then it’s sensible to at least try it out, because in the long run over the course of many years, the food we feed our dogs will have a big impact on their overall health.

When Orijen Isn’t Necessary

If you are currently using what’s still considered to be a premium brand, and your husky is thriving off of it. There’s no need to fix what isn’t broken.

With huskies being sensitive, fussy, not hungry (and the list goes on) consider yourself lucky if he’s gobbling down every meal.

There are other brands out there that do a good job too, and Orijen isn’t the only player in the game.

I would say that if you are struggling to find a kibble that works well with your husky, Orijen should be your next option. This premium quality could be exactly what your husky’s body needs.

Last Thoughts

This article is quite favorable for Orijen, but they did not ask me to write it. I try to provide quality information that only helps husky owners.

Orijen has done an amazing job to create a quality product above the rest and many husky owners have reported that Orijen is finally the kibble that their husky eats and thrives from.

So It’s important for me to document that for other husky owners to be aware of.

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Orijen Website:
https://orijen.ca/en_CA