Orijen and Grain Free Feeding

Question
Ok, so I have two lhasa apsos (a 15 lb, 5.5 yr old female and a 30 lb, 4.5 yr old male).  The female is in great shape with no medical issues and she is very active.  The male is overweight (about 5 lbs due to longterm prescription steroid use for allergies) and has issues with allergies and and congenital elbow subluxation.  He is not very active and likes to sleep.  They were both on Science Diet kibbles for the first 4 years of their lives until I started researching switching foods as a way to help with allergies.  I switched them both (and the cats) to Orijen) and saw immediate improvement in their skin, coats, and energy levels.  Badger (Male) had no problems adjusting to the new food digestively and his allergies almost all cleared up (no more hot spots, foot chewing, persistent ear infections, etc, but he still has a few seasonal flare-ups), so I am fairly certain he had a food allergy and that he should be kept on grain free food.  Ginny (Female) loved the Orijen and showed great skin and coat improvement, but she never entirely "firmed up" after the switch, even after a gradual switch and going through about a 30lb bag.  

I decided to switch them to another grain free food to see if it would be better for her tummy, so I changed them to Blue Wildnerness - Salmon.  They seemed to like it ok at first, although not as much as the Orijen, and their stools were both good after a very short time.  Pretty quickly, though, they lost interest and were refusing to eat it or would eat just a couple kibbles and then abandon their bowls.  I tried the Duck version to see if maybe they just didn't like the salmon, but they had the same reaction to it.

Last night, I got frustrated as they stood ignoring their bowls and stirred in a little of the Orijen with their Blue Wilderness (I saved the last of it just in case) and they both gobbled it down like they were starving - picking out only the Orijen and leaving the Wilderness.  I'm thinking I may just switch them back to Orijen and see if Ginny doesn't adjust over more time.  

WHat are your thoughts on this?  I want them to be eating something good for them that they like, but I'm not interested in switching out brands over and over again, especially since these are not the cheapest foods to afford!

THanks for any advice you can give!

Answer
You need to find something with a similar analysis as the Wilderness. In Orijen, the closest would be the Senior, with 38% protein and 15% fat. It has a bit more protein, but the fat level is the same as the Wilderness. It is primarily chicken, but it still has a fair amount of fish, with a bit of turkey, in it. http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/products/seniorAnalysis.aspx Give that a shot for a few weeks and see how the dogs do on it, and if you still notice problems, then look for something else. I would try to keep the protein and fat levels (particularly the fat levels) as low as you can.

Another grain-free food you might want to try is Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream which is 25% protein and 15% fat. http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/products/dogs/dry_food/pacific_stream_canin...

Be sure to cut your male back on his food so that he can possibly start to lose some of that excess weight. If he is neutered, he would also require less food than he would if he was intact.