[james y]

Hello newb here looking for a little info.

First a little background
My 9 month old pitbull, maple has recently been having problems. She undoubtedly had worms and was scratching alot and losing hair. At first i was feeding her purina dog chow and she was doing fine. Then the wife brought home pedigree and thats when the hair loss started. So i instantly thought the dog had mange and began treating her for it. I also read that a raw diet would boost the immune system so i did that too. I fed her venison mostly, with raw eggs and gave her vitamins everyday. She cleared up and we started back with the unused portion of pedigree. Well she broke out in hives!

Ok so the dog is allergic to dog food…just my luck. A vet friend told me to try bil-jac frozen food so i did for a couple weeks. She was doing great on it! we got rid of the worms and shes putting on wieght and her coat is awesome! Although the frozen food isnt very convenient so i just googled best grain free dog food and found this site. I came across a name i recognized “blue buffalo” and this very site said it wss a five star food. So i purchased 20 pounds of the grain free wilderness red meat puppy food. It was pretty pricey, as a matter of fact i figure i could buy hamburger for $3 a pound but its so much easier than having to refrigerate or prepare raw food.

2 days into feeding and she seems to be doing just fine. I dont monitor poo, so i cant say anything about it.

Anyhow now im seeing all this bad stuff on the web about blue dog food….and something about a lawsuit with purina?? Is there any truth to these claims about the food hurting dogs or is it maybe a bunch of hired posters or something? If the stuff wasnt $60 a bag i would just throw it out and go back to the biljac.

[InkedMarie]

You’re correct, Blue Buffalo is having issues. I do not think they’re a bunch of hired posters.
Your vet friend may have recommended Bil Jac raw but unless something has changed, it’s not the best. Did you check the revew of it here? Up top in the red line, click reviews and look for it.

What are you using to treat the worms?

[james y]

I just used some puppy wormer from the grocery store. We fasted her for 24 hours and then treated her. Its been a week and shes already putting on some weight. She gets another does this weekend.

Im not really concerned about what the best food is. I just wanted something as good as the frozen food in dry form. One thing i can say about the biljac is theres alot less poo in the yard now and her coat is amazing!

We are on day three of the blue wilderness puppy food. She seems fine, but gassy like when she was on puppy chow. I guess its just something in puppy food

[james y]

One question still remains. If the food has hurt even one dog, why does this site give it five stars? I payed $60 for this stuff based on the review HERE! If i end up having to throw it out…

[InkedMarie]

James, go back to the homepage here, in the search (upper left) type “how we rate food”.

There is specific criteria used and it does not involve anything other than ingredients, NA/GA. A food may come out with high stars, due to the above but it’s up to the owner to research if there are any recalls, dogs getting sick, etc.

[Akari_32]

You might try Wellness CORE. It’s a favorite of mine to buy for my dogs, and they love it and do very well on it. It’s a bit cheaper than a Blue Buffalo, as well.

Thay said, not all dogs do well on premium diets, just like not all dogs do well on lower grade diets. Finding what works is what’s most important.

[aquariangt]

As Marie said, the food is solely rated on the ingredient panel, and the nutritional and guaranteed analyses. There are plenty of 4 and 5 star foods that most here wouldn’t feed because of the company, and likewise, there are some 3 star foods I would feed instead.

If you join editor’s choice, they go more in depth on the companies themselves as opposed to just the bag of dog food.

I do agree with Akari, Wellness CORE is similar to BB wilderness and a superior product and company, in my opinion

[james y]

Wow. Wish i had researched a little more before dropping the money. Shes still doing fine so i will keep feeding it for now. After that its back to biljack

[aquariangt]

If you’re wanting a frozen cooked or raw product, there are some others you should check out over Biljac-it’s still not the best. I probably would feed it over Blue personally because I have extreme distrust of that company, but Biljac isn’t something I would feed either. The ingredients aren’t great, and for a product in that style, it’s protein level is pretty low (lower than most kibble I feed, if not all-when I use raw or cooked I use it as a topper and use it to really get that protein level up without a lot of added crap).

I would check out Nature’s Variety or Freshpet, both available where Biljac is, or if you shop at smaller food stores, there are even more available

[InkedMarie]

James,
Up above, click the Dog Food Advisor bnner. Then, look at that page, there is a link for raw dog food reviews. i wouldn’t feed Bil jac.

Edit: Bil Jac is apparently cooked frozen, not raw. For that review, just look under “B” in the reviews.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 1 month ago by InkedMarie.

[james y]

Are these reviews for bill jac done by the same person who reviewed blue buffalo and gave it five stars? If so, surely you can understand my hesitation to follow the grade system.

[InkedMarie]

Yes they are. Take a look at the ingredients in Bil Jac.

I dont understand what the issue is. You didn’t read the article on “how we rate food” before reading the reviews. You seem to think that if a food has issues, such as Blue, that it shouldn’t be highly rated. Is that what you’re thinking? If yes, I’m sure there are other dog food ratings websites that take ingredients/GA/NA and any problems into account.

[aquariangt]

Read my first post, that explains how everything the rating system works. Reading forums, review comments, and joining editors choice gives you more insight into the company. There is no real way to grade the quality of ingredients other than what the ingredient panel says, as well as judging the company itself based on a bag. Follow the grade system, but ou must do,your own research as well, to keep informed on that end. Blue buffalo looks good on paper, just often not in practice.

The other thing to keep in mind is there is no food that is perfect for all dogs.

[aquariangt]

Uh, ok

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