Taste of the Wild vs Orijen: Let’s Find the Winner!

Giving the nutritional balance in dog food is necessary. Every pet parents want to give their dog the best nutrition. So, they will have a healthy and happy life. But, most pet parents don’t understand what their fur babies need. They may have concerns about the food they’re giving to their dog. So, comparing brands to find the best choice can help you decide which is the best, especially with extensive different food brands to choose from. So, we compare Taste of the Wild vs Orijen to help you make a decision.

Before we dig deep into each brand’s category – from ingredients to recall history – let’s start with the comparison table of Taste of the Wild vs Orijen:

Description	Taste of The Wild	Orijen
Protein source	12 different protein sources: Angus beef, bison, wild boar, fish, fowl, lamb, venison	12 different protein sources: Angus beef, bison, boar, chicken, deer, duck, eggs, fish, goat, lamb, pork, turkey, venison
Vitamin source	Vegetables, fruits, and botanicals	Fruits and vegetables, and botanicals
Formulas	Puppy, adult, seniors, pregnant or nursing, grain inclusive, grain-free	Puppy, adult, seniors, all life stages, grain-free, healthy weight, large breed, small breed, limited ingredients
Nutrition	31.90% crude protein, 18.00% crude fat, 5% crude fiber	42.30% crude protein, 23.90% crude fat, 6.30% crude fiber
Availability	Available in nearby pet stores and online	Available in nearby pet stores and online
Recall history	One recalls in 2012	One voluntary recall in 2008, one lawsuit (dismissed)
Price	View on Amazon	View on Amazon

Brand history

While comparing Taste of the Wild and Orijen, you should at least know about their histories.

Taste of the Wild Dog Food

Taste of the Wild is exclusively manufactured by Diamond Pet Food in the five production facilities in the USA. They’re in California, South Carolina, Missouri, and Arkansas. A family-owned business, Taste of the Wild, was founded in 1970 by Gary Schell and Richard Kampeter.

They had the vision to make affordable premium pet food, so pets can get what they need. Taste of the Wild produces high-quality foods using local and internationally sourced ingredients. They get regular raw materials from international suppliers from New Zealand, Germany, China, and Belgium.

In 2007, Diamond Pet Food debuted premium Taste of the Wild that rich in natural ingredients. Since then, they have become one of the best brands in the pet food market. If you’re still unsure, take a look at how we compare Taste of the Wild to Blue Buffalo here.

Orijen Dog Food

Orijen is a pet food brand and products created by Champion Pet Foods LP. Reinhard Muhlenfeld founded the company in 1985, and the company is based in Canada. They produce their products in Alberta, Canada, and Kentucky.

Orijen produces biologically appropriate pet foods, which contain whole prey animal ingredients such as meats, organs, bones, and blood. Hence, their products are high in real-meat-protein sources. They get the ingredients from vetted farmers, ranchers, and fishermen all over Canada. 

Ingredients

Food containing high-quality ingredients, vitamins, and minerals is necessary for your dog. As a pet parent, you would want the products you’ve bought to provide the nutritional value as a promise.  So, you should know what is in your dog food. 

Taste of the wild 

Taste of the Wild combines many high protein sources to provide various formulas with unique flavors. They make affordable food with protein sources based on your pet’s natural diet. The brands use some primary ingredients, such as: 

• Meat: Angus beef, bison, venison, wild boar, and lamb
• Poultry: chicken, duck, and egg 
• Fish: salmon, trout

 They also use other ingredients, including beans, Brewers yeast, pea protein, canola oil, tomato pomace, and peas. See how these ingredients compared to other brands in our article about Canidae vs Taste of the Wild.
Some of their favorite flavors are:

• Lamb in gravy
• Roasted venison and smoked salmon
• Canyon river-trout and smoked salmon

Orijen

Orijen makes its products using 85%-95% premium animal ingredients. The brand partners with trusted local farmers, ranchers, and fishermen around Canada and the US to get the source of ingredients. They use fresh and raw ingredients that meet with The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) standard.
Orijen contains primary protein sources, including:

• Meat: beef, goat, lamb, pork, wild boar, bison, venison
• Poultry: chicken, turkey, quail, duck, eggs
• Fish: mackerel, salmon, lake whitefish, pollock, herring

As for vitamins, their ingredients include fresh fruits, vegetables, lentils, peppermint leaves, dried kelp, pumpkin, salmon oil, and more.

Formulas

Both brands make their dog food with excellent ingredients for all stages of life.

Taste of the Wild

Taste of the Wild is one of the best choices to consider if you’re looking for high-quality food for your pet. They provide various food formulas, including:

• Wet food
• Dry food 
• Grain inclusive 
• Grain-free

Taste of the Wild also has the formula for any dog with a special diet. They provide all pet stages of life, including dog food for puppies, adults, pregnant or nursing, and senior. Besides, you can choose dog food by the line of products. These are:

• Taste of the Wild (the primary line) 
• Taste of the Wild Ancient Grains
• Prey Limited Ingredient

Each of the line products provides different nutritional needs. We recommend exploring the content of each formula to know what the benefit to your pup. Compare these formulas to another top brand on our article about Diamond Naturals vs Taste of the Wild.

Orijen

Orijen offers lots of food varieties that rich in protein with raw and fresh meat. The brand also includes high-quality and natural ingredients, like vegetables, fruits, and botanicals.

Pet owners can choose dog food based on life stages and special diets. Their life stage formulas include:

• Puppy
• Adult
• All life stage
• Senior

Meanwhile, the unique diet formulas include:

• Grain-free
• Healthy weight
• Small breed
• Large breed
• Limited ingredient

What’s more, Orijen offers several types of food, including wet food, dry food, freeze-dried food, and freeze-dried treats. Let’s see how these compared to another brand on our articles about Acana vs Orijen.

Nutrition 

To make your dog live a healthy and happy life, knowing the nutritional value of the food is essential. So, you’ll know what you should give to your dog. Some of the factors you can consider when choosing a food dog are protein, fat, and fiber.

Protein

Protein becomes the primary energy source for your dog regardless of size, age, and health condition. It provides energy and helps in muscle production. Also, protein helps repair cellular regenerations and maintains the health of hair and skin.

Between the two brands, Orijen provides more protein compared to Taste of the Wild. Orijen contains 42.30%, while Taste of the Wild has 31.90%.

Fat 

Not only protein, but dogs also need fat as a source of energy. Besides, fat is good for kidney function and reproduction. Fat also the primary source of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. The fatty acids help the dog’s fur and skin glow.

What’s more, fats essential to dog food because it gives flavor and makes food taste appetizing. Hence, it’s necessary to provide food dog contains with a good amount of fat. 

Taste of the Wild provides less fat with 18.00% of fat. As for Orijen, it contains 23.90% of fat.

Fiber

Fiber is often included in dog food formulas. It’s essential for digestion and mostly comes from plant-based ingredients. Fiber gives benefits to a dog’s health, including prevent indigestion and helps with weight.

Good food dogs should contain fiber somewhere between 4% and 6%. Both brands have a good percentage of fiber in their dog food formulas. But, like protein and fat, Orijen provides more fiber than Taste of the Wild (TOTW) with 6.30%, while TOTW has 5%. 

Here’s the summary of Taste of the Wild vs Orijen nutritional ingredients.

Dry Food	Taste of the Wild	Orijen
Crude Protein	31.90%	42.30%
Crude Fat	18.00%	23.90%
Crude Fiber	5%	6.30%

Flavors

Most dogs would love to eat food with any flavors, while others are fussy, don’t like certain flavors, or want a change. As pet parents, you may want to try rotational feeding by changing up your dog’s food. If you change the different formulas, you should feed them slowly to avoid stomach upset.

Taste of the Wild and Orijen has several flavors from their product range, with seven different protein sources for TOTW. It looks plenty, but it’s limited compared to Orijen, which offers 12 various protein sources. 

Recall history

Both Taste of the Wild and Orijen had only one product recall. In 2012, Taste of the Wild recalled their product once due to the Salmonella risk issue. 

Meanwhile, Orijen recalled their product in November 2008. But, Orijen also had a contamination lawsuit in 2018. In February 2019, the case was dismissed. 

Price

Taste of the Wild and Orijen certainly provides high-quality dog food. But, Orijen produces the best dog food regardless of the cost. So, it makes Orijen products more expensive than TOTW. Meanwhile, Taste of the Wild offers attractive prices also good products.

Taste of the Wild vs Orijen

Choosing dog food brands for your fur baby can be tiresome. If you’re unsure about the nutrient your dog needs, you can ask your vet for guidance. They would give you the correct information about what your dog needs. 
Hopefully, with our comparison summary between Taste of the Wild and Orijen, you could choose the best food for your dog.

Conclusion

Many pet parents consider various factors when choosing between Orijen vs Taste of the Wild. Both brands provide exceptional levels of protein and have a safe track record. But, Orijen offers higher levels of protein and meat sources.

Also, Orijen offers more special diet dog food compared to Taste of the Wild. On the other hand, Taste of the Wild has more formulas for age levels. Orijen will be the best for your dog if you don’t mind the budget. But, if your concern is the price, Taste of the Wild could be your best choice.