[Bobby dog]

Aquariangt – ever think about raw for your kitty? I have some very picky eaters too. lol Just fed some NV medallions today and was thinking of your quandary. Only a few of my cats will eat Nature’s Variety raw and that is only a few times a month. One cat will even do dehydrated every now and then. I figure even if it is only a few days a month, it gives them a little more of a variety in their diet.

Since it’s clearly cat food review day, here are mine:
I came across some sales while I was stocking up on pet food for the month and tried out some foods I would not normally buy.
Wellness Divine Duos, same experience as everyone else, my cats ate the pate’, ate all the gravy, and either left the chunks or ate a little bit of them. Finally tried Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul, all but one cat liked it. I am going to add this to my rotation. Also tried Nutro Max Cat Chic & Lamb Sr, only Archie liked it, and Chic & Liver, a couple of my cats liked it; adding Chic & Liver to my rotation.

~Natural Balance Platefulls BOGO – I tried the chicken and salmon recipes. It is packaged in a pouch and has very large chunks with gravy. Only Archie liked it and he didn’t even finish it all, he left some chunks behind.
~Science Diet GF on sale 10 cans/$8 – only had chicken left. The picture on the label looked like it was small chunk style, but it is pate’ style. It has vegetables listed on the ingredients, but they are cut very, very small and mixed in well. The only hint of vegetable is some specks of orange from the carrots. I liked that because my cats only eat around the veggies. Most of my cats liked it and ate it for a few days. Not sure what the retail price is; I would buy it again.
~Blue Buffalo Spa Select Turkey & Chic – this was on the clearance rack so I thought I would give it a try. All but one cat liked it. It is pate’ style and it was very similar to Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul. I would buy this again.

C4c:
I hope your pup is okay.

I am glad you’re doing better today. You didn’t over react and you kept it very cordial. Anyone who comes to DFA for over a year will come across a discussion or two on vaccs and titers and is well aware of the controversy. A few things this site teaches is to make the best decision for your circumstance(s) and do the best you can within your budget for your pets. You do that and more for your fur babies. Anyone who tries to make your feel guilty for your choices, insinuates you would compromise your dogs’ health by boarding them, or would ignore the risks of vaccination is mistaken. 🙂

[Angela A]

Now I can’t say that my GSD’s uti’s were caused by her food, but I can say that I switched from Blue Buffalo Basics Grain free to Kirkland (costco) grain free and she had 3 uti’s since the switch. Cranberry is in the Blue Buffalo, and not the Kirkland brand. We are back on Blue Buffalo and I am researching the Budget friendly foods now. Two German Shepherds put away some food! 🙂 Love that I joined! Thanks!

[Suburban Gal]

A lot of the others here have hit the nail on the head. I think good treats should contain the same ingredients that a good food would. That’s why I buy treats also made by many of the good food manufacturers like Blue Buffalo or Solid Gold.

I also look for treats that are made in the United States.

If they’re not made here, then I can live with treats that are made in Canada, Britain, Holland, Australia and New Zealand. I want a treat from some other country that has the same or similar standards that we have.

[james m]

We have a miniature schnauzer who have itchy skin, and allergies. We were recommended blue buffalo basics salmon and potato. He has been on it for a while and does well with it. Unfortunately it’s a little too much for our current budget. Are there any other less expensive brands I should consider that are close in nutrition and allergy friendly? Thanks in advance.

[Cassandra S]

Hi there! I’m new to the forum, but I follow DFA news as closely as possible.

I own two pitbull mixes. Emma is a 2 year old German Shepherd/Pit Bull mix with back leg/hip problems. She has not be diagnosed with hip displaysia, but I have been told to put her on glucosamine/chondroitin supplements. Zooey is a 1 year old Pit Bull/possible Labrador mix…(not quite sure what she’s mixed with.) Both dogs are rescues.

Emma and Zooey both have gas issues. Lately Emma has been vomiting at least 2 or 3 times a week. Occasionally she vomits up pieces of kibble, other times its just foamy with bits of grass. Both dogs are a little picky. It’s been impossible to find a food that they both like. They are currently on Purina Dog Chow (which I hate, but I had to do it because of budget constraints) but I am looking to switch them over to a better quality food that won’t break my wallet (or my boyfriend’s). In the past, I had Emma on Blue Buffalo Wilderness, but she stopped eating it; I then switched her to Nature’s Variety Duck. She liked it for a while but then she started to only eat the freeze-dried raw kibble and not the rest of her food. Then I switched her to Merrick’s Bison and Sweet Potato recipe, but she began to chew incessantly on her legs to the point where she was going bald. This is about the time I rescued Zooey.

Zooey was on Vet Prescribed Science Diet. She ate it and then Emma started eating it. It concerned me because it was a puppy food and Emma has problems with her legs and I didn’t want her to gain weight and create more issues. I eventually put both of them on Purina True Instinct (the turkey venison one?) and they both liked it and ate it up, but again Emma would begin to vomit occasionally. I then switched them to Taste of the Wild, but neither of them would touch it. I tried Merrick’s Pork and Sweet Potato recipe and Zooey loved it, but Emma once again began itching and chewing and I worried for her health so I switched to Nature’s Variety again, which neither of the ate…

Since I just recently moved and changed jobs, money has been tight, so that is the reason they ended up on Purina Dog Chow…

Any sort of recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Neither dogs have allergy diagnoses, but I believe Emma may be allergic to fish (both Merrick foods had fish in them) since she had the itching and chewing problems.

[DogFoodie]

OK, so if I’m understanding you correctly, you were feeding Blue Buffalo canned food and when you finished that, you began using Whole Earth Farms canned food. The Blue Buffalo food was chicken based and the Whole Earth Farms was beef based. The vomiting and diarrhea started after you introduced the Whole Earth Farms wet food and when removed, the vomiting and diarrhea stopped.

In addition to the canned food, you also free feed Dr. Tim’s.

And now, you’ve purchased Nutro Natural Choice Chicken, Rice and Oatmeal and Canidae Chicken and Rice to replace, I believe, the beef based wet food you were feeding. Are the Nutro and Canidae foods also wet foods or dry foods?

It does sound as though some ingredient in the beef based wet food was the culprit. Also, I would not free feed. Over eating is probably the leading cause of loose stools. Not to mention, the fats can quickly go rancid when exposed to air, especially if you’re in a hot / humid climate.

Are you looking for suggestions to replace the wet food?

[Travis A]

I will see about getting some on here, I can understand on the litter mates and raising 2 puppies is def more challenging, but mine are the same way they play and rough around a bit, not too much but we have 2 other dogs as well a 8-9 month old pit and young adult shep mix but has cerebellar hypoplasia so he is special needs and they all play with each other but i will def heed to the advice of seperating them as they get older i could see a toy or bone causing an issue at some point. Thanks for sharing yours as well, i would like to stick with a grain free for their next food, any suggestions that won’t break the bank? i do also mix up some soft wellness or blue buffalo food in their diet usually once a day and i’ll give them some eggs here and there along with some organic coconut oil as a topper, so i’ll for sure stick to a rotation of some kind.

[OnyxMom]

Hello everyone!

I have a 5.5 month old Newfoundland Standard Poodle mix puppy (Onyx) who weighed in at about 60 pounds 2 weeks ago. We were feeding him Blue Buffalo large breed but the food doesnt agree with him, he itches constantly on it. And, his poop is Never good. I hate picking up mushy mess always. gross.

So, I was thinking about switching to Taste of the Wild’s salmon stream puppy formula, He was on this food before we got him and he loved it and was doing well on it. Im picking TOTW because of the following reasons:
1. It’s actually pretty reasonably priced for a 4 star food (on DFA) and I am a grad student so money is an issue.
2. The calcium content is at 1.4% and as recommended in this article (http://www.ivcjournal.com/articles/feeding-large-breed-puppies/) since it should be around 1.5% it seems okay to me.
3. The salmon is supposed to be good for his coat, he has the poodle hair, and I would like for it to be shinier than it is now.
4. He loves salmon anything.

I’d say Onyx is quite healthy and has a BCS of 4. Other than the occasional bout of diarrhea especially if he’s been digging up dirt, he is pretty happy and healthy.

Can anybody tell me if this is a terrible idea please? Here’s the link for the TOTW nutritional information – http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/products/puppies/dry_food/pacific_stream_puppy_formula/

Thank you!

[Denise T]

I started feeding Blue Buffalo about 6 months ago and one of my shih tzu started having soft stools which this week developed into bloody diarrhea. I didn’t know about the carrageenan but it wasn’t in his previous food and he didn’t start having problems until I gave him the canned food. I had thought the Blue Buffalo was a good choice due to all the great reviews I’ve read and now I believe it has made my youngest really sick. I thought I was doing a good thing by limiting dry food and doing research, but it wasn’t enough!!

[Mom2Cavs]

I used to be the food “expert” at a small specialty pet food store I worked at part time. They have since sold to Petco (a few years ago). At times, there would be customers asking for me because I knew quite a lot about each food they carried. Now, when I happen to go into Petco, they all know me and leave me alone. Actually had one of the associates ask me something about Blue Buffalo the other day, lol! When I go into Petsmart, on a rare occasion, to look around or get some Wellness or Simply Nourish cans it bugs me when an associate comes up to me asking if they can help me or when they try to direct me to Blue Buffalo. I just smile and tell them that I’m fine and don’t need help, lol. Sometimes I’m tempted to “educate” them about Blue, but usually I just go on my way. And, btw, I used to be a rep for Nature’s Variety! However, when Petco bought out the stores I frequented I left the company.

[Jennifer P]

I am a new member as of 30 minutes ago. I have been researching food for months and there are so many mixed reviews so I thought I would become a member and ask other pet food experts. I have 4 Great Danes and I have 3 of them on a form of Blue Buffalo. This food is rated 4 out of 5 but it’s not on the editors choice list. As I am crazy paranoid about having the PERFECT food I just wanted to know why it wouldn’t be on the editors choice and perhaps I need to switch to a food that is listed? Thoughts?

[Debbie S]

Where do I start? Some background – back in 2013 our home consisted of two parrots, a cat, Mandy a 13 yr. old female Sheltie, Shadow an 11 yr. old male Sheltie, Roxie a 4 yr. old Pomeranian and two parents. About Sept. 2013 I was stupidly giving the dogs Milo’s Chicken Jerky (small pieces), when Mandy became ill. She was vomiting, had diarrhea and was very lethargic. We admitted her to the Vet hospital and she was put on IV’s for a couple of days but there was no helping her at this point and it was recommended putting her to sleep. We did and I started researching and found about the chicken being from China! I felt horrible and wanted to die right along with Mandy. I had obviously been poisoning my babies and Mandy wasn’t strong enough to fight it.
Fast forward to May 2014. We had been feeding Blue Buffalo Senior Grain Free dry and Blue Buffalo Family Favorite Recipes (various chicken/turkey flavors) mixture twice a day. Every single treat that we gave was made in the U.S.A. Shadow stopped eating any treats that were hard, would eat around the kibble and started acting strange even for him. At that point we started cooking chicken breast and white rice. (Then we find out rice can be toxic also). None of the dogs ever turned down the sweet potato that I give daily to the parrots. We took him to the vet thinking he may be having teeth problems. Nothing. Maybe a slight gum infection so he was put on a mild antibiotic. He still had his slight heart murmur but nothing to worry about. Exactly a week later on May 7th he was really restless, couldn’t find a place to lay down and about 11:30 pm he came out of the bedroom panting extremely heavy and drooling, I knew immediately something was wrong, woke up my husband, and called the vets for the emergency location. We hopped in the car, with me carrying him and he was panting louder than I’ve ever heard anyone breathe. We were almost there when Shadow bucked up into my chest and flopped down. He was gone.. supposedly by heart attack and they pronounced him DOA.

Now we only have Roxie and she has been as depressed as we are. She’s normally a little pig with treats and always cleaning others bowls if they walked away. She basically stopped eating, laid around and was totally depressed. Knowing this, we gave her time because she wasn’t acting ill and since she was a little overweight it wouldn’t hurt her to not eat as much as normal. Then she started turning down hard treats, and not eating the kibble in her food just like Shadow did. We took her to the vets after a couple of weeks of this because I was so anxious after the last couple of years and losing two of our babies. The vet took X-rays and a full panel of blood work. When he laid her on her back, her tongue turned blue so he was concerned. But her blood work was perfect and the only thing showing on the X-rays was the extra fat she was carrying which is effecting her breathing and probably the cause of her blue tongue.

We changed her food because she has to lose 1.5 – 2 pounds so we tried Hill’s Ideal Balance Slim and Healthy Adult mixed with the comparable canned food which was weird for us because we had always steered away from anything of Hill’s. Now after reading about it I want to stop feeding her that even though she loves it and is eating well again.

I need advice on what to feed a large framed five year old Pomeranian currently weighing 11 1/2 lbs. who needs to weigh no more than 10 lbs. She has arthritis starting in her knees and has just recently started constantly licking her lips. In the past we have just let them run the fenced back yard using the doggy door but I’ve started taking Roxie on nightly walks to help the weight loss along.

I’m thinking of Wellness Core Reduced Fat & the canned Weight Maintenance mixed or one of the Merrick choices. Any suggestions are appreciated since this seems like a very intelligent group.

• This topic was modified 11 years, 6 months ago by Debbie S.

[aquariangt]

Shinku won’t eat fancy feast. Or sheba. or simply nourish-pate, stews, or bisques. doesn’t eat wellness pate. no blue buffalo…. i’m going to try those sliced wellness you said, and also the weruva and tiki cat. She’s a peach

[Tina]

Anyone own a Golden Retriever? If so what do you feed yours?
My Golden Retriever Angel is 8 years old and has these problems;
*dry skin
*itchy skin
*red skin
*scabs all over back, chest and tail
*weak hip and joints
*Gains weight really quick
*eats very fast
*Very gassy
She is on Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Senior along with Hill’s Science Diet Large Breed Adult and Wellness Simple Salmon and Potato mixed in. She has only had chicken her entire life. These are the brands that she has tried as a puppy and a adult;
*Eukanuba Puppy
*Purina Pro Plan Puppy
*Purina One Adult
*Hill’s Science Diet Large Breed Adult
*Royal Canine Golden Retriever
*Blue Buffalo Large Breed Senior
*Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Senior
*Wellness Simple Salmon and Potato
None of these I was happy with and none of them did the trick except for Royal Canine (kinda). What can you suggest? I’m open to ANY suggestions, including all life stages dog food. She will eat anything and I mean anything at all. My only stipulation is that I can find the brand in multiple stores. She never gets bored of the same brand or flavor.

Thank You All

[Taylor D]

I have been an avid follower to this forum and website and decided to finally register to participate, not just because I have a question, although I do 🙂

I own three female Golden Retrievers. Misty is 10, Daisi is 6, and Lena is 7 months.

After much research and reading Hound Dog Mom’s list of Large Breed Dog Foods (I even printed it out) I decided to feed Lena Wellness CORE Puppy for her first year.
She made the switch great (she was eating Blue Buffalo Wilderness at breeders) and is doing great on it. Her coat is sooo soft.
The thing I have noticed is if I give her too much of that kibble, she will get soft poop.
I know this is a high protein/ high fat food and I should be giving her less than what the bag says.
She is a good weight now, nice and lean, no ribs or hips showing, although I can feel her ribs. But she is small for her age!
She weighs 30 pounds and she is 7 months!
She is only gaining about 5-10 pounds a month.
I am feeding her 2 and a half cups of the puppy food a day, divided among three meals, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
She does fine on that amount, poop is fine. When I try to increase the amount, she gets soft poop.
I do pour some fresh raw goat milk in with her food each meal when I am increasing her food, and sometimes it keeps the soft poop away but not all the time.
I know why she gets the soft poop, and I know she is of good weight for her size, no ribs are showing.
But she is small for her age and breed.
Is it possible she is not getting the calcium she needs, because of the decreased amount I am feeding her, because of the protein rich food?
Wouldn’t the calcium levels listed for the food be for an average serving size?
Wouldn’t it be okay to feed her a food slightly lower in protein maybe around 30-32%, instead of the 36% in Wellness Core Puppy, but with slightly higher levels of calcium?

Their is a Slow Growth Method of feeding Goldens or large breeds that some breeders recommend following. Even with the Slow Growth Method, Lena should weigh at least 65 pounds for her age.

I also know high protein is not a problem for large breeds.

I was just wondering if I could switch her to a good 4.5-5 star grain free food with 30-32% protein with higher levels of calcium. Or even a 35%+ protein food with higher levels of calcium, since I would still be feeding her less than the amount listed on bag.

[arwyru24]

My cat that has what seems to be an iron stomach, seems to have environmental allergies/sensitivities. He was overgrooming bald patches on his legs and under his arm pits so among other things I switched from a clay litter to Tidy Cats pure naturals and I mix in Blue Buffalo clumping since its been on sale. I don’t really have a go to at this time.

[raam]

Hi, my 6 month old Belgian Malinois pup has had three bouts of giardia. Every time he was on Panacur, he lost interest in his food and it stayed that way after, preferring to starve himself rather than eat. In his short life I switched him from Blue Buffalo Wilderness LBP to Fromm LBP, and then after his last bout switched to Farmina LBP.

He initially went nuts over the Farmina, so I was surprised he lost taste for that as well (he always found the BB and Fromm a bit ‘meh’ to begin with). Before the giardia he also had beautiful solid, dark poops after switching to Farmina, though it hasn’t solidified since (although he was tested negative at the last fecal checkup).

I was hoping it would change with a strict feeding schedule (it’s there for 15 mins, then I take away), but it has been a month and a half and he still dislikes the kibble, only eating a minimum. I now mix it with a bit of wet food because he was getting too skinny.

Any people with similar situations or advice? I feel stuck between wanting to stick it out or switching yet again (I was considering Acana LBP).

Our trainer suggested he might be allergic to chicken, but he has no symptoms other than mushy poop and a dislike for his kibble.

[Susan]

Hi, Omayra has ur little man been fleaed? as that is probably causing his itch, a nice bath & a good flea product like frontline should keep the fleas away Frontline make a really good spray, I dont know if it can be used on pups u’d have to check..food allergies are rare especially a 3month old pup, only around 5% of dogs will suffer food allergies, some may be intolarant to certain foods, & have food intolarences also look at the Fat% on ur treats alot of treats are high in fat & you can only give a few treats a day as they can cause diarrhea & muchy poo.. its best to use ur dogs daily kibble (Blue Buffalo) as a treat when training…..make sure you keep up with his worming….sounds like u are both sharing ur little boy so make sure that you both arent giving treats at different times & just use some of his kibble as a treat…
Someone else will have to help with the Raw as my boy is on kibble & home cooked chicken & pumkin..sounds like ur little boy has a loving caring home..

[Omayra R]

Hello all.

My sister adopted a puppy last month and he is the first dog to be our family member. He will be 3 months old tomorrow (June 8th).

We were told to feed him dry mixed with wet 4 times a day, up until July 19th. After that, 3 times a day dry.

His dry is the Blue Buffalo holistic life protection brand, and his wet is Wellness for puppies. For training treats we have Organix peanut butter cookies and Fruitables pumpkin and apple flavor.

Now his poop is finally coming out solid, but at the end it’s a little mushy. From my understanding, poop must be solid and not that smelly. At first he was pooping diarrhea, but that was before he got his deworming shot. After the shot, no more diarrhea but would like it his poop to be more solid and a tad bit smelly. This morning he pooped a lot! He hasn’t pooped since. I asked my sister how often does he poop now and she hasn’t been paying attention, so bare with me. As I don’t live with my family and the dog. I stay over the weekends to watch over him. Since I have a more flexible schedule, I can take him to the vet etc.

I notice after he eats, he gets itchy. I’m wondering if he has any food allergies? I know this mix is prone to skin sensitivity. I want that itching to stop. Also read that tear stains are more proned to his food, not breed. We clean his eyes often but would to see that decrease. It’s not excessive though.

Can anyone here suggest me a new diet, please? I’m looking into the raw brand route but i’m not sure how many times a day with these foods. Sorry, this all so new to me.

I’m also in the process of looking for a well reputable holistic vet. I’m just do terrified of all the horror stories with vets and diets I’ve been reading online.

We want the very best for our little guy.

Thank you 🙂

[Bobby dog]

Hi Leslie R:
Canned food is high in moisture, maybe stews have a little more moisture than pate’? IDK Check out these brands: Wellness Core, Blue Buffalo Wilderness, By Nature 95%, Hound & Gatos, and EVO & EVO 95%. Some of these canned foods may not be supplemented with vitamins, they are only for supplemental feeding. I am not sure if they are what you are looking for, but they could be a place to start. Some canned foods that are low in carbs may be high in fat. You didn’t write what kind of health he is in, other than his diagnosis, so these may or may not be good for him depending on his current health condition.

Also, I read the other suggestions you received about making homemade food for him. You could always look into feeding both homemade and canned as well.

Here’s a DFA link about calculating carbs in dog food that may be helpful:
/choosing-dog-food/dog-food-carbohydrate-content/
I love JRT’s, good luck finding what he needs!

[Akari_32]

I don’t know if I could do canned or not. “Good” canned food isn’t a popular thing around here. It’s pretty much Wellness or Natures Variety, or Mr. Pretend Good Blue Buffalo, as far as that goes. Everything else is like Pro Plan and Science Diet. Though Walmart does have Pure Balance…. And I can look online, and see of I can find anything.

And about the premixes, I think doing no carbs (or as little as possible) is best. This dog smells like a rag used to clean up milk that was left in the sun for a week @.@ So if I did canned, it’s have to be like the 95% ones.

I’ve been looking around at home made and raw sites. Kind of hard on my phone, but I’m getting ideas 🙂 I’ll look into that site, as well.

Does anyone have any links to good prices supplements?

[Tina]

Anyone own a Golden Retriever? If so what do you feed yours? My Golden Retriever Angel is 8 years old and has these problems;
*dry skin
*itchy skin
*red skin
*weak hip and joints (she is on cohesion for this)
*sometimes over weight
*eats very fast
She is on Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Senior along with other small bags of stuff mixed in. She has only had chicken her entire life and as a younger puppy/adult was on;
*Eukanuba Puppy
*Purina Pro Plan Puppy
*Purina One Adult
*Hill’s Science Diet Large Breed Adult
*Royal Canine Golden Retriever
*Blue Buffalo Large Breed Senior
*Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Senior
None of these I was happy with and none of them did the trick except for Royal Canine (kinda). What can you suggest? I’m open to ANY suggestions, including all life stages dog food. My only thing is that I need it to be inexpensive, not cheap but not like $80 for a 24lb bag.

[DogFoodie]

I’d switch the pup immediately. He already has loose stool, so a quick switch wouldn’t hurt. Something he’s eating doesn’t agree with him and the longer he’s exposed to it, the more damage that it can do to his gut. It sounds like he’s been eating the Blue Buffalo for at least a little while, is that right? A good I found that was very easy to make a quick switch to is NutriSource. I used the Adult Chicken & Rice when I needed to make a fast switch with a pup of mine.

I’d pay close attention to the ingredients in what you’re feeding and your pups reaction to the food in an effort to try to determine the offending ingredients. I ended up with a spreadsheet with one of mine before I figured out that he can’t eat fish in any form, chickpeas or garlic (garlic, of all things).

Personally, I wouldn’t feed any Blue Buffalo products.

[Patrice M]

I have a 16 month old Standard Poodle (Jake). He has a ton of energy and very happy. He is the coolest dog in the world. (lol) Anyways, he has never been a big eater but he does eat. Some days he will eat 4 cups some days he wont eat at all. I have tried feeding him twice and three times a day but that didn’t seem to matter, so now I free feed him. He is 24 inches from the floor to the top of his shoulder and only weighs 39 pounds. The vet recommended Eukanuba High Performance food but I see here it is not rated very high. Can any one suggest a food to help put weight on my dog and still be a good healthy food. He also by the way has gas issues with some foods. He is eating blue buffalo puppy now and no gas (unless he eats the cat food) but we have been through several that either gave him runny stools or bad gas. I suppose if I could feed him cat food he would fatten up a bit but I’m sure that’s no good for him.

[Tina]

Anyone own a Golden Retriever? If so what do you feed yours? My Golden Retriever Angel is 8 years old and has these problems;
*dry skin
*itchy skin
*red skin
*weak hip and joints (she is on cohesion for this)
*sometimes over weight
*eats very fast
She is on Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Senior along with other small bags of stuff mixed in. She has only had chicken her entire life and as a younger puppy/adult was on;
*Eukanuba Puppy
*Purina Pro Plan Puppy
*Purina One Adult
*Hill’s Science Diet Large Breed Adult
*Royal Canine Golden Retriever
*Blue Buffalo Large Breed Senior
*Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Senior
None of these I was happy with and none of them did the trick except for Royal Canine (kinda). What can you suggest? I’m open to ANY suggestions, including all life stages dog food. My only thing is that I need it to be inexpensive, not cheap but not like $80 for a 24lb bag.

[Martha T]

I was wondering if you could explain why on
your regular dog food advisor website you show blue Buffalo Steve’s as a five-star wet food. When I ask you about it on editors choice you gave me a thumbs down please explain

[Akari_32]

I’m telling you, it’s those Blue Buffalo treats! He’s crazy for them. If I want him to come and he’s not coming when called, I just shake the bag and he comes running XD

[Akari_32]

Going to be picking up 96 cans of Sheba up up here in the next few days. Should cost me about $20, plus tax >=3 I (conveniently lol) have it narrowed down to 8 flavors (no fish, and feeds at 1 can per 4 pounds), which means 12 of each flavor. That’ll fit right into my 30-ish day set up of food, with some extra, and I also plan on another 15 cans of price matched Wellness, which should cost me about $5. And that odd number will take care of that pesky extra can of tuna Wellness Grain Free I have laying around, since he gets two cans a day of the Wellness. Yay!

Also, I’m teaching him to shake. Because I apparently have nothing better to do with my life LOL He’s doing really good, and this is our first real try tonight. He could eat his weight in those Blue Buffalo cat treats if I let him. We must have went through about 20 tonight! LOL When he gets better at it I’ll share a video :3

[Martha T]

I was just wondering why on your dog food advisor page you have blue Buffalo wet stews listed as a five-star dog food. And then when I ask you on the top choices page about it I kind of got a thumbs down. Will you please explain.

• This topic was modified 4 years ago by Mike Sagman. Reason: Fix Duplicate Topic Title

[Phil S]

Yes, Blue Buffalo is privately owned, but they currently do not make their own food. They have several co-packers to make their food …
American Nutrition, Hazle Township, PA
CJ Foods, Bern, KS
ProPet, St. Mary’s, OH and Owatonna, MN
Triple T Foods, Frontenac, KS
Tuffy’s Pet Foods, Perham, MN

[aquariangt]

There are a few blue buffalo threads out there, I would go read those and you will see some of the reasons that it potentially isn’t on there. Many (myself included) do not trust them as a whole

[Kritterlady]

What will it take for Blue Buffalo to make the list?

[Martha T]

What are your thoughts on the blue Buffalo Stews, on the dog food advisor page you have them listed as a five-star dog food.

[cindy q]

Rosie is only 7 mos almost 8 so we don’t really have favorites yet, but she has eaten Blue Buffalo wilderness her stools were very loose on it so we switched to Merrick grain free dry and topped with Merrick canned. I really wanted her to like The Honest Kitchen, but she didn’t.

[Naturella]

Omg, just 5??? Lol. Well, let’s see… from what I’ve fed… I’d say:

Victor Grain Free (particularly the Ultra Professional)
THK all
Canned Merrick (the minced/pate style ones only – Bruno didn’t do so well on the stew ones for some reason…)
Canned Wellness Core
Annndddd…. I really can’t pick a winner for #5 from the ones I’ve fed so far… I like Earthborn Holistic, Dr. Tim’s Kinesis Grain Free, Holistic Health Extension, Nutrisca, Blue Buffalo Wilderness, Now Fresh, and Nature’s Variety Instinct… I guess, if I have to elicit a winner it will be Dr. Tim’s…

But, I really want to try Orijen, Acana, Go!, Back to Basics, and Wellness Core (in kibbles). Also TOTW both kibbles and canned, and Annamaet. So I have a long way to go… But so far so good. 🙂

[Tina]

My GSD mix has become very finicky over the past few weeks. In both the mornings and afternoons he will either turn his nose up or take a bite and then walk away. I’ve tried adding fresh chicken and chicken broth but he eats the chicken right out of it. Other techniques I’ve tried include, changing flavors of wet food, changing brands of wet food, changing both brands and flavors of wet food, changing textures of wet food and last changing dry food. He’s tried Hill’s Science Diet (Wet and Dry), Blue Buffalo (Wet), Wellness (Wet), Nutro (Wet and Dry) and Hill’s Ideal Balance (Wet and Dry). He’s had chicken as his protein since he was a puppy. What dog food is good for finicky eating dogs both wet and dry? What should I do?

[DogFoodie]

Huh, they actually responded; but they’re still be evasive and didn’t give a straight answer to the question I asked.

Here’s Blue Buffalo’s response:

Hi Betsy,

Thank you for taking your time to contact BLUE. While we do not purchase any of
ingredients from China, we are not provided the list of our suppliers for our
ingredients. I do apologize.

Take care,
Tracy

Blue Buffalo Co.

[Naturella]

Christina – good luck with Holistic Select, really hope it works! But do rotate proteins too! 🙂

And I second Sue – when he is on a good food, you will see him shine – the coconut oil will help too – I was shocked at Bruno’s shine after a small bag of Blue Buffalo Wilderness and a lot of THK Beams – I didn’t even realize he wasn’t shiny before that, lol!

As for the coconut oil – glad you have found the good, unrefined stuff! Make sure you give him small (1tsp-1tbs/day) but regular doses. You can give it daily – for Bruno, I give it every other day. I am sure he would eat the whole jar if I just let him, lol, but it would be much better to do it slower but more regularly, plus, I think he may “OD” on the fats, lol (JK, but I can’t imagine that a whole jar would be good, lol).

And lastly, as for the transition – it is indeed good to add plain yoghurt with lots of probiotic strains (I use Dannon Plain and Stoneyfield Organic), or plain Kefir. Also canned plain pumpkin is good too. You can add a spoonful of each with his canned and kibble and alternate at feeding times. Or add both, whichever.

[DogFoodie]

As expected, I never received a response from Blue Buffalo to my specific question asking from where their vitamin / mineral premix is sourced.

[Naturella]

Christina, I would say probably give it a few days (2-3-ish) before you add a new ingredient just so you know if he would react for sure. As for tomatoes, I guess you could put them in a blender or food processor for a few seconds until they are pretty much mush, then try them. Make sure the whole elimination diet does not last too too long, as it is not a balanced way to feed a dog, so hopefully within 10-14 days you will know if he reacts to a particular ingredient. If he doesn’t react to any of the ones listed above, I would go with a grain-free diet, or a rice-and-maybe-oatmeal-or-millet-or-barley-as-the-only-grains diet. But grain-free is generally safer for an allergy-prone dog.

One of my classmates and friends told me that her dog was extremely itchy eating Pedigree and Beneful, so I told her what I know, and she got him on a grain-free diet – said the itch has been considerably reduced to just an occasional “normal” scratch here and there. She didn’t do an elimination diet, just straight up eliminated the grains, and she was lucky her dog did not react to anything else. So that is also another way you can approach it – just try a good quality fish-based kibble and add the THK Beams as treats and coconut oil, and see how that goes. I would probably still do an elimination though, just to be sure for myself. But, it may work out that he just needs good-quality grain-free kibble.

In case you want to just try the kibble round, some good grain-free kibbles (I will just list them for your ease, in no particular order) are:
Wellness Core – I want to feed in the future
Holistic Select
Orijen – I want to feed in the future
Acana Grain Free – I want to feed in the future
Victor Grain Free – I feed now
Earthborn Holistic Grain Free – I feed now
Dr. Tim’s Kinesis Grain Free – I have fed, no issues
Holistic Health Extension Grain Free – I have fed with no issues and I feed one of their grain-inclusive formulas now
Now! Fresh – I have fed a small bag (less than 1lb) with no issues
Nutrisca – I have fed, no issues
Nature’s Variety Instinct – I will feed (have a bag lined up under the sink, lol), and I have fed samples with no issues
Back to Basics Grain Free – I will feed the grain-inclusive one (have a bag lined up under the sink also)
NutriSource Grain Free – I have fed samples with no issue but it is severely overpriced in my area so I’m not sure I would buy a bag to feed it
Taste of the Wild – some don’t like it as it is produced by Diamond and that company had a huge recall issue in 2012 that they handled poorly, but 3 friends feed/have fed it with no issues
Blue Buffalo Wilderness – I have fed with no issues but some owners report tummy and stool issues with their dogs when on Blue food. However, 2 other friends have fed/still feed Blue with no issues.

I am sure others can pitch in with more recommendations, plus, if you can afford it/want to, it really is better to feed canned/dehydrated/homemade/raw. Or you can mix them up – I feed kibble and canned/THK food/fridge add-ins (like eggs, yoghurt, raw bones, etc.). But yeah, just start off with determining what works for Chance, you can always add new things once he is at least on better food. 🙂

[Dru N]

My 9 year old American Bulldog has a inoperable tumor and has been on prednisone for the past year. His appetite is extreme. We have been feeding him FreshPet Select for about a year now. He also gets a lot of snacks. He is still losing weight and rather than increase the FreshPet which is expensive, we would like to give him a high calorie dry food in addition to the FreshPet to keep his weight up.

He should be about 120 lbs. He’s lower than that now, probably closed to 105 to 110. The last time we tried to give him Blue Buffalo he got really bad gas. He also has a lot of skin allergies. Do you have any suggestions on a dry food that would be good?

[Jose S]

What confuses me about Blue Buffalo is that, in 2007 they had a major dust up with American Nutrition (ANI) ANI was putting ingredients in Blue Buffalo’s food without their consent. Blue Buffalo called it “tampering.” The FDA chimed in as well. Blue Buffalo said they would never use ANI again. Why then, according to the Whole Dog Journal, does ANI make Blue Buffalo dry?

[Carolyn H]

Hi – I have an adolescent Rescue Cattle Collie in the city who tends to get extremely hyperactive, bordering aggressive when he’s had high protein food. I had him on Blue Buffalo Wilderness and switched to the chicken (beef upsets his stomach) Blue Buffalo Freedom. He’s starting to not like the food much and I need to make a switch. Since I’m changing, I thought I’d try to upgrade him to Solid Gold which my last dogs ate & seems to have a good review on here. My concern is the % protein in the food. I don’t want to starve him but he just can’t handle that much protein without becoming a madman!!

I am very careful to ensure he gets adequate exercise for his age/breed despite not living in the country.

[pugmomsandy]

It’s located here:

/?s=blue+buffalo

[Suburban Gal]

That said, I’ve also dealt with both puppies and picky eaters.

(I have a very long history with dogs. I just turned 37 and have never been without a dog in my life.)

In my experience, it’s best to just pick a food and stick with it. I’ve limited treat intake and have even withheld treats in an effort to get my dogs to eat their food.

Just put the food in the bowl, put the bowl down and leave it. Eventually, the dog will get hungry and eat. Don’t let the dog get the best of you either. You’re the master or pack leader. If you want the dog to eat XYZ, then this is what they’re going to eat.

The only time I’ve ever switched foods is if there was a problem and it didn’t sit well with my dogs after awhile.

I don’t know a lot about food rotation though I know some people do it.

IMHO, it’s really best to stick with one food. It’s something I’ve always been doing from the very beginning of dog ownership and it seems to work just fine. If anything, I’ll usually switch up the different kinds of hard and canned food I’m giving. In other words, I just don’t stick with Blue Buffalo Wilderness chicken. I also buy and feed turkey, duck, beef, venison, etc… . Once I’m done with the bag of duck, I buy a bag of the chicken. When I go get cans, I make sure I have a variety, at least 2 of each protein.

[Suburban Gal]

Blue Buffalo is actually a really good food.

If you’re going to go with Blue Buffalo, then I highly recommend their Wilderness line. I’ve fed that for many years to my last dog, a white German Shepherd named Lexi, and never had any problems with their Wilderness line. We’ve tried several foods with her (Wellness, Natural Balance, Holistic Select to name a few) and found Blue Buffalo’s Wilderness to be a very top notch food. I wouldn’t suggest anything else in their line (Life Protection, Freedom, Basics, etc…) other than their Wilderness line. It’s the absolute best of what they carry.

[ChristieRS]

I had used BB here for my little ones, but one of my Yorkies ended up with colitis. She was hospitalized for IV therapy (fluids, antibiotic) for 2 days. Horribly bloody diarrhea, severe dehydration, listless and dull personality. She is my “healthy” dog, the only one who doesn’t get liver support therapies. I attribute the illness to BB. I found complaints at http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/blue_buffalo.html that caused me to cease the use of BB immediately just over a year ago. So many there had furbabies that had the same symptoms as my little Yorkie. Now, looking at the complaints, they haven’t slowed down. I have a total of five furbabies (4 canine, 1 feline), 3 of the 4 doggies have liver impaired and receive lactulose (helps rid body of toxins) and Denamarin daily. I attribute their not ending up with colitis to their daily regimens. Two of them did have diarrhea while the one was so sick.

[DogFoodie]

I asked Blue Buffalo to tell me exactly from where do they source their vitamin / mineral premix; this was their response:

Hi Betsy,

Thank you for taking the time to contact BLUE. Our foods all are manufactured
here in the USA. Many of our ingredients, such as our grains and meats, come
from the USA except for our lamb and venison which can be free range from New
Zealand. Where possible our suppliers are instructed to source their ingredients
from the US. Where the ingredients are not readily available in the US, such as
many vitamins, minerals and nutriceuticals, our suppliers will only work with
reputable foreign companies, and subject all ingredients to rigorous quality
testing. We do not source any ingredients from China. All of our ingredients
are USDA approved and inspected.

I hope this helps!

Take care,

Tracy
Blue Buffalo Co.

I responded that no, that the response didn’t help and asked my question again.

Talk about spin. She tells me that when ingredients aren’t available in the U.S., their suppliers work with reputable foreign companies. But, she tells me that “we” don’t supply anything from China. She fails to tell me whether or not their suppliers procure vitamins / minerals from China. I’m sure they do, but it’s fun watching them try to make it looks as if they don’t.

[Hound Dog Mom]

To me there’s a big difference between saying “Our food contains X” (when it doesn’t) or “Our food is free of Y” (when it contains Y) as opposed to using undefined terms such as wholesome/healthy/etc. as descriptors for a product that may or may not be those things depending on opinion. To me outright lying about ingredients and putting a marketing “spin” on a product are two different things entirely. I don’t think what Blue Buffalo is allegedly doing is in any way similar to how Purina presents their products.

[Tina]

Purina vs Blue Buffalo Update

http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2014/05/07/pet-wars-blue-buffalo-fires-back-at-purina-over-food-quality-claim/

I found this statement very interesting

Blue Buffalo uses third-party co-manufacturers to produce its foods, but Bishop said the company provides all of its own ingredients. Bishop said, however, that he trusts his manufacturers and that his firm has “people watching the manufacturers” closely for quality-control purposes.