Don’t go with Blue Buffalo, a lot of people have been reporting that their dogs have gotten diarrhea on BB lately.
Hello, I was wondering if anyone has been feeding Wellness Large breed supermix 5
I bought a new bag on Tues for my Newfoundland Boris and late Sat night he had very bad diarrhea. REALLY bad diarrhea upstairs downstairs everywhere. Now this dog is an avid counter surfer and had eaten just about everything (that’s what you get when you combine a large dog and kids) He has NEVER been this sick, he maybe gets loose poops but never full blown diarrhea. I brought him to the vet tonight because it had not resolved itself with a fast of 24hrs and small meals of chicken rice and pumpkin. After a stool examination my vet told me he has excessive bacteria in his stool which is causing the problem. She thinks it could possibly be the food because he did not get into anything else last week and he’s not a poop eater. Has anyone else had an issue with wellness lately, I am going to throw this batch away after I contact Wellness unfortunately I do not have the bag but I am going back to the pet store to see if I can locate the serial number.
I don’t what to feed the poor guy now I need to keep his weight down he has arthritis like I said hes 10yrs old. Maybe Fromm ??? Blue Buffalo
There are ingredients put into dog food to enhance the flavor and taste and those things can be addicting and make it hard for owners to change their pet’s food. If you ever pick up an issue of Pet Food Industry magazine, you might be surprised to see all the products and chemicals and mixtures advertised to enhance taste in a dog food. I foster dogs so they never get a transition whatsoever and I can tell you, they do just fine after the usual transition period. Some might not eat for a day or two, nearly three and I might need to mix in some canned food, but then they get over it and eat like every one else. You might just take longer to change her food out, even if it takes over a month or two. Feed 90/10 for at least a week and until she has no problem with it, then 80/20, 70/30, etc. You might even start with a 3 or 4 star food and work your way up to 5 stars foods or even feed a rotation of 4 and 5 star foods. I took my dogs off Beneful (that has corn and sugar and propylene glycol and probably tastes great and made by Purina) and won’t look back even if they loved it and scarfed it down and would choose it in a bowl to bowl taste test just like I would not rely on a bowl of cereal even if it were 100% complete and balanced for every meal of my life. For the Pro Plan, in the long run, I would be worried about the effects of the corn products being that 95% of corn is now a GMO and so is some wheat. GMO’s fed to test animals cause health problems and believe me, there haven’t been any human trials or research to their long term affects on our health. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6OxbpLwEjQ Then, I just don’t prefer companies that use feeding trials.
“The protocol requires six of eight animals complete a 26-week feeding trial without showing clinical or pathological signs of nutritional deficiency or excess. The cats’ or dogs’ general health is evaluated by a veterinarian before and after the test. Four blood values (hemoglobin, packed cell volume, serum alkaline phosphatase and serum albumin) are measured after the trial, and the average values of the test subjects must meet minimum levels. No animal is allowed to lose more than 15% of its starting weight” from wikipedia.
25% of test subjects can be taken out of the test for any reason including illness and not be reported in the final outcome and the food can still pass!
Then I would worry about problems arising from being fed gluten every meal of her life http://dogtorj.com/what-is-food-intolerance/gluten-intolerance/ and getting menadione. Not to mention there’s 4 grain ingredients in front of the poultry by-product meal.
There are just so many other foods out there that do offer you more for the money. Nutrisource and Dr Tim’s and Victor are a few.
I have an 8 week old american bulldog that I was told to feed blue buffalo wilderness puppy but it’s causing loose stools. The vet says he’s healthy and worm free and suggested science diet which I won’t give. I’ve been reading up on the foods and I am so confused. Can someone please help me find a good food for my pup. I don’t mind the cost.
My puppy “Trixie” (a medium sized labradoodle) has always been on Purina Pro Plan Focus (chicken and rice) since we brought her home. She is now 14 weeks old and we brought her home at 8 weeks. This is the food the breeder had her started on and recommended it to us. After reading ingredients and star ratings for this food I decided maybe it wasn’t the best for Trixie. I wanted to try switching her over to blue buffalo so I bought the lamb and oatmeal formula, I added the recommended amount to the pro plan for a slow transition. Almost immediately Trixie quit finishing all of her food at mealtime. I thought maybe she didn’t like the lamb so i tried the chicken and rice formula, same thing! So I did the taste test, one bowl with a little blue buffalo and one bowl with a little pro plan. She scarfed the pro plan and left the blue buffalo sitting there! So now I’m torn about what to do, she clearly is happier with the pro plan but I’m not sure I’m happy with the ingredients. I always fed my other dog (who just recently passed away at 15 years of age) Iams pro active mini chunks. Same thing, bad star rating but he loved it, and lived for 15 years! Are the ingredients in pro plan going to have bad effects on Trixie’s health later in life or will it be a fine food, just not “the best money can buy”? Any suggestions?
Hi there, I just posted a question right before you about some problems my dogs are having as well. My advice would be to check out Honest Kitchen. It really helped my dogs with digestive issues until recently when I screwed things up by trying to introduce a different brand of food because they were getting bored with my mixture of Blue Buffalo Freedom and Honest Kitchen that I had been feeding them for the past two years. Here is a link… I really love this company, how it conducts business, treats it’s workers, and creates awesome food for you good buddy: http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products
Hi all-I have a 1 year old male Vizsla and I think I need to find a better food for him. He currently weighs about 45lbs, which my vet says is a healthy weight for him, but he is soooo skinny. We are very active, we go for 1 hour runs every morning, and usually gets a another hour play session of his favorite game, fetch, in the afternoons and then another 40minute-hour long walk in the evenings. I have been feeding him Blue Buffalo and recently switched to the Blue Buffalo Wilderness, he eats about 4 cups a day that I usually split into 2 meals, but you can very much see his ribs and even his little hip bones on his back. His morning stool are usually large and solid, but then goes at least two-three more times a day that become more and more runny and his gas is beyond horrible. I just want to put a little more weight on him…any ideas?
I have two dogs, both German Shorthair mixes… one is an older male (11 years old), the other a younger (5 years) female. I love them both very much, both were shelter/rescue dogs. When we adopted the younger dog, we switched from feeding her Hill’s Science Diet (which is what we were sent home with from the shelter) to some sort of Purina Dry Kibble, since she wouldn’t eat the Hill’s. Since then and after finding this website (my knowledge about dog food and their ingredients greatly increased), her menu evolved from the low quality kibble to a mixture of Honest Kitchens dehydrated raw food (a company that I love) mixed with Blue Buffalo Freedom. I consider both of these foods to have above average to excellent ingredients and I feel good when I buy it for my two dogs. The problem is is that they both have very sensitive stomachs… when we started with the HK and BB it seemed to FINALLY fix the problem with terrible diarrhea that they both were experiencing with all the foods we tried (Castor and Pollux, Nature’s Recipe, and so on). Their bowl movements (I feel strange talking about this) were FINALLY healthy… fluffy yet firm, regular, didn’t stink. It was a miracle. Unfortunately, after about two years of eating various styles/flavors of HK mixed with BB, the younger dog “Jessie” decided that she absolutely didn’t want to eat it anymore. I got tired of preparing it only to have to dump it out (it’s very expensive) and then wash her dish (as I did after every meal since it’s a part raw diet). So, we tried some different brands thinking that it would add a bit of diversity to what they were eating. We went with Wellness Complete Health kibble and canned but soon found out that the diarrhea had returned (we introduced these foods slowly). We tried going back to the old food but she couldn’t shake the diarrhea (the older fella was having some problems as well, but not nearly extreme). We finally took her into the vet, which I dread doing because I know exactly what’s coming… a fecal exam (which is always negative), a bill for $100, and a lecture about how the food I feed them isn’t quality/adequate because it wasn’t “formulated” by veterinarians and pet nutritionists (in their words) as Hill’s Science Diet is. I don’t have a problem with giving the HSD Prescription i/d gastrointestinal a try… my problem is that the ingredient list is full of low quality foods and chemicals, yet they charge more per can/bag than the food with (what I consider to be) high quality ingredients that I was feeding my dogs. I’m sick of being treated as though I’m being insolent because I actually question what it is specifically about Hill’s that is supposed to calm my dog’s stomach. Is it the corn? The iodized salt? The food coloring? I know it sounds as though I’m being snippy right now, but this has been an ongoing problem as I’ve brought the dogs to the same vet in the past few years every now and then with small bouts of stomach problems and am told the same thing every time and mad to feel as though I’m an ignorant and irresponsible pet owner for not switching to Hill’s and I’m sick of it. I don’t have any other options to switch to a different vet, so that won’t solve anything. It has been three days and there hasn’t been any improvement so far on the HSD and, sorry it has taken me so loooonnnnngggg to get to the point, here is my question: Does anyone have an alternative to HSD i/d that actually has quality ingredients? Or, does anyone have any useful advice about what our next course of action should be? I thought I read something in one of the comment sections a long time ago about how German Shorthair Pointers are sensitive to a certain ingredient that is fairly common in most dog foods… does anyone know anything about that subject? And, is it just me, or do veterinarians actually know anything about dog nutrition, or do they just espouse what they are told by the salespeople from Hill’s? I don’t doubt that Hill’s probably does make some important prescription foods that certain dogs need, but the i/d just looks like crap to me. Thank you for taking the time to read and respond.
Hi all-I have a 1 year old male Vizsla and I think I need to find a better food for him. He currently weighs about 45lbs, which my vet says is a healthy weight for him, but he is soooo skinny. We are very active, we go for 1 hour runs every morning, and usually gets a another hour play session of his favorite game, fetch, in the afternoons and then another 40minute-hour long walk in the evenings. I have been feeding him Blue Buffalo and recently switched to the Blue Buffalo Wilderness, he eats about 4 cups a day that I usually split into 2 meals, but you can very much see his ribs and even his little hip bones on his back. His morning stool are usually large and solid, but then goes at least two more times a day that become more and more runny. I just want to put a little more weight on him…any ideas?
Hi,
OK, so my fiance and I have been raising our pup Luna, who is a german sheppard/huskie mix. She is now 4 months old, and we have had her since she was 8 weeks. Feeding her has been a nightmare since day one. We started her out on Blue Buffalo Freedom for puppies and it caused tons of diarrhea issues. The vet chalked it up to various puppy parasites and such, and we she went on a boiled chicken and rice bland diet for a week to see how she did. She managed OK, but her ears were still red and she seemed to be a bit itchy. We started to reintroduce the kibble very slowly, but the moment we get to 75% kibble, she would go right back to the diarrhea. I brought it up to our vet again, she gave me a probiotic, claiming that perhaps all the meds she was on to rid her of puppy parasites, messed with her digestion bacteria. So, day 2 on the probiotic she is having the worst diarrhea she’s ever had. Finally I had enough and at the suggestion of a friend who had a similar problem, switched her to Blue Buffalo Wilderness for puppies. Within 24 hours of eating a mix of bland diet with the Wilderness food, she was having solid droppings that seemed to be healthy and normal. Again, during the transition, once we got to about 90% kibble, nothing but diarrhea again, red ears, itchy skin. Currently I am taking the advice of my sister’s vet, and we put her on a bland diet of boiled ground beef and rice (since all her food up until this point was chicken based). She is doing well on the ground beef, her ears don’t seem nearly as bad, but we need to find a food to transition her to that will not give her tons of tummy problems. I have heard many similar stories regarding this reaction to the holistic type dog foods. However, I also don’t want to be giving her shitty dog food. My sister’s vet recommended finding a Lamb and Rice based food because Lamb is supposed to me a bit more mild on their stomachs. So my grand questions is: What is a decent type of dog food, that is Lamb and Rice based, and isn’t too holistic? I welcome any suggestions on this matter as well! I am tired of cleaning up dog soup!!!! HELPPP!!!!!!!!!
Hi! I’ve been feeding my 6 month old Doberman / pitbull puppy Blue Buffalo puppy food but he still gets diarrhea fairly regularly. There’s no other symptoms (he’s still playful, happy, eating, drinking etc) we have been to the vet and they say he’s a healthy boy. However he still (especially when he’s excited) gets diarrhea. I’m wondering if maybe the food isn’t fully agreeing with him. Any suggestions on a decent food that may be easier on his tummy? Thanks all!!
I agree with Patty as well. My caveat would be to try to avoid food with grains….corn, soy, wheat etc.
We experimented…slowly with various brands and settled on Blue Buffalo or Wellness..both canned and kibble. Of course, every time we buy, we do check ingredients as companies are known to change to something cheaper and keep the label looking the same.
I would suggest that you show your boyfriend what “meat by products” are and let him know that they can have adverse effects on a dog.
We also stay away from any glutens for protein enhancing agents and only buy food that is made from ingredients here or in Canada. (no chinese). Check any treats you buy as well, as a lot of companies are putting an American flag on the package to make you think it’s made here. When you read the fine print, it says “made in china”. (poisonous ingredients a few years ago related to gluten).
The little extra spent on a quality dog food will pay you back in the long run with fewer vet bills and fewer skin problems for your pup.
Good luck with your new family member!
How long has she been on Nutrisca? It will take a while on a new food for the crud to get out of their system. I’ve been dealing with an allergy dog too. Your story sounds a lot like mine and my dog started off in a low end type food Pro Plan and I wanted a better food so bought Blue Buffalo and then all he(( broke loose. I kept trying new food changing the proteins and she just got worse and worse with rashes and red ears and raw paws etc. We are on NB potato and rabbit for three weeks now and things are improving but not perfect yet. She also will break out suddenly out of the blue. I’m telling myself it is what they call a “healing crisis”. Supposedly that’s all normal. I will tell you that she looks better now than she has since I switched her off Pro Plan. I’m assuming you took her off the Rachel Ray stuff because you wanted healthier? Or was she having problems on that? On Pro Plan, my dog was scratching a little but had a watering eye and that was pretty much all. Then we finally realized that all the foods she was allergic to had only one common ingredient and it is PEAS. I know she is allergic to other things too though like rawhide and cow bones.
I would suggest that you give her only one food until you find that it is OK. I would also suggest to not give any of those supplements you mentioned because right now you have no idea what she’s allergic to. My dog reacted badly to spirulina! If she has yeast then keep the probiotic. Then once you know the food is OK, add ONE new supplement at a time until you know it’s OK and no reaction. Any of these things can cause problems for a sensitive dog. She could easily be allergic to salmon oil or coconut oil or that glucosamine. Honestly the only thing that I can give my dog without it causing a problem, that I have tried, is her human grade probiotic.
If your dog was NOT allergic to the Rachel Ray food then look at the ingredients and try and find a better quality food with the same basic ingredients. Like if it has chicken then you know that chicken was not the issue. What I have learned from having a dog with allergies is that you can’t just say “oh that food has 5 stars it great for my dog”. It just doesn’t work like that. These dogs have a whole new set of rules when it comes to what to feed.
I have a 13 year old Jack Russell Terrier with some skin allergies. Several years ago we switched her to a lamb and rice food and that seemed to help with the itching. She has put on a few pounds and is getting older, so I would like to switch her to a senior food. I have not been able to find one that contains lamb and rice. The pet store recommended Blue Buffalo, which does not seem to be a favorite from the comments I see on the site. Thanks.
I have a chocolate Lab that has had numerous issues. I rescued her off of Craigslist in Oct. The person I got Karma from had her on Rachel Ray Noutrish. I switched her to Blue Buffalo Freedom for puppies (grain free) It all started in December with a big ear infection to both ears and small, red bumps on her abdomen last December. Diagnosis: chicken allergy. Switched to Natural Balance Potato and Fish with tuna and salt-free peas which she did fine on…for awhile. I noticed increased itchiness..she scratched and bit everywhere…no fleas. She also developed a UTI with struvite crystals so I switched to NB Potato and Rabbit. My vet suggested Hill’s Prescription for the crystals and UTI which I refused. The vet also states to stop giving her tuna and peas as the peas may have contributed to the pH problem. My baby has had 2 back to back UTI’s one with the crystals and one without. During the 2nd UTI I switched to Nutrisca Lamb and Chickpea (grain and potato free) and canned Lamb from Wellness as a topper (only in a.m.) She seems to be doing better although she still itches and bites her paws but it appears to go in spurts….. I’m wondering if it is enviromental allergies and not food. She has some eye goobers but I started using Ark Naturals Eyes So Bright and that has helped tremendously. She also was very flaking but that has almost gone away since starting her on Nutrisca. She is on Claritin/Benadryl/probiotic/salmon oil/liquid glucosamine and sometimes coconut oil. She is also on a cranberry extract for a urine pH of 9.
I have started to notice she is losing fur on the tips of her ears (just started last week). She has no ear infection that I can see. I had been cleaning 3x per week because they began to smell…now I am down to 1x per week
I use Richard’s Organics Incredible Skin Spray for the itchy areas and any hotspots. I also at times will rub in coconut oil
She has little red bumps on her belly which come and go….literally they are there in the morning and sometimes almost gone by night (could be the benadryl/claritin combo)
I have tried digestive enzymes twice (different brands) and she has vomited with both…not sure she can tolerate them…I’ve started slowly both times
I have to bring her back in for a re-check of her urine to see if the pH is down
Every dog food she has been on she has liked….she is not a picky eater (she even eats pills as if they were a treat)
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated and sorry it is long
We currently feed our dogs Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice dry food. We pay around $55 for a 30 lb. bag. We are looking for other good dry food options that cost a little less. Any advice?
I just bought the treat this Friday at Walmart, so far nothing has happened. The ones I bought are chicken strips and the ingredients are chicken, brown rice syrup, vinegar and green tea extract. In the back of the package in the pink bottom section their is a web site http://www.fullmoonpet.com and a 1-888-970-FULL number. I have a 10yr old Llasa Apso and he weights 18 pounds. I was giving him before blue buffalo treats and saw these ones that kind of look the same w/the same ingredients but cheaper. I will let you guys know if anything happens
AnonymousInactive
I don’t have volume numbers, but the companies with the mass-produced brands are the ones with the largest annual revenues by far. Blue Buffalo’s annual revenue (these are 2011 numbers) was about $352 million. P&G Pet Care (Iams & Eukanuba) – $1.8 billion. Nestle Purina – $10.4 billion. Mars Petcare (Pedigree, etc) – $16.2 billion.
BUT Blue Buffalo and other brands that are appealing to a desire for higher quality ingredients are seeing huge increases in sales as people are becoming more aware of what is in their petfoods. More and more brands are showing up and having success, so it seems to be a great trend in the right direction.
ran across this web site. A while ago i discontinued blue buffalo. and was asked why. Some thing in side told me it wasnt the same. Just the comments I was getting from my customers made me uncomfortable. so please if you of any of your friends or family feed Blue Buffalo link on and read this. It blew my mind……….
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/blue_buffalo.html
359 Complaints and Reviews about Blue Buffalo Pet Foods
http://www.consumeraffairs.com
My husband is a research fanatic and we decided on the Blue Buffalo adult chicken and brown rice based on the rave reviews. While our 2 year old lab eats …
I use NutriSource also and have had no issues. I prefer the grain-free varieties. I had bad luck with Blue Buffalo and my dog ended up with diarrhea. My vet said it was a rich food and other dogs had been brought in for the same issue. If the dog is suddenly not eating after switching and has GI issues and is otherwise healthy and active, it is most likely the food. Also, rice in dog foods can cause gas and other issues in certain dogs as it is sometimes hard to digest and will sit and ferment in their bellies. So if your dog is having bad gas issues as well, I would consider switching to something without rice. My dog can’t handle rice either. Best of luck to you.
I do not care for Blue Buffalo either. It gave my dog diarrhea. Vet said it’s a very rich food.
Has there be a review of Blue Buffalo “Blue Bones” (Dental Chews)? How about Blue Buffalo “Blue Stix” (Beef and Potato)?
Thanks Mommadog (hope I got your username right, sorry if I didn’t) So I bought Blue Buffalo Life Protection and I top it Blue Wilderness Wet Food. My dog loves it!!!! The wet food gives him a great energy boost! What is your opinion on Blue?
Just check out Dr. Mike’s lists of 4 and 5 star foods – most would be comparable to Blue in terms of ingredients. You can also scroll through the threads to read the feedback others have left on the foods.
We have a soon to be 5 year old Dalmatian who is currently eating ProPlan Salmon. We rescued her in March and her coat was fine. Since the summer she has been itchy and looks like a rash under her coat. She is also chewing at her paws. We thought we’d switch to another food to help/investigate if it was the food (Proplan worked for our other Dals) or see if maybe she had allergies to the grass (which another Dal had). I also wanted to give her a food that was more nutritional and not a lot of fillers, hence the Blue Buffalo. People rave about this, but I don’t like the newest posts that I’m seeing! Any other suggestions?
Just got a new puppy with what we believe to be a pitbull mix a couple days ago. Someone dropped him on a friend of mine and she was going to take him to the shelter but I brought him home with me instead. The vet said he’s about 10weeks old and he already weighs about 20 lbs. The vet said based upon his body frame and the size of his paws that he is likely to be a large dog pushing close to 100 lbs when he gets fully grown. So I am looking for a quality puppy food to feed him. I have been feeding him 4Health Performance Adult food (which I feed my other dog) while I researched what kind of puppy food would be best suited for him. I know it doesn’t have all that he needs but figure it is definitely a higher quality than standard Purina Puppy Chow. A lot of the top dog foods aren’t available in my area but I know that I can get Wellness, Merrick, Taste of the Wild, and Blue Buffalo locally. I see that Wellness puppy is on your list but is that the standard Wellness puppy or the large breed formula? Any advice is greatly appreciated. 🙂
I’m not a fan of Blue Buffalo.
Tell us more about your dog; ie: breed; age; medical / nutritional needs; food intolerances / allergies. What are you currently feeding your pup?
I’ve been asking for a review of the new Earth’s Pride item at BJ’s as well but haven’t seen one yet.
I am currently using the Earth’s Pride Pet Foods and really really really love them! I had moved off of the Costco brand to Blue Buffalo which I was paying a fortune for because my dog’s didn’t do well on Kirkland despite the good ingredient deck. When the BJ’s dry foods came out I was skeptical because the disparity I saw between Kirkland and Blue Buffalo.
Because of that I wanted to asked questions about the food and was told by BJ’s that their food is made by a company called GlobalOne pet. They provided me this e-mail address cutsomerservice@gloablonepet.com to contact them. Upon my asking they told me they peroxide value test their meats, they don’t buy farm raised fish, they said they did all the little things that I guess made a difference in the more expensive foods vs. Kirkland. We currently use the Grain Free Duck but have used the Chicken and Lamb as well for the dry and my dogs are doing great and LOVE IT! We use the wet as well as a treat sometimes and man they are doing great on it as well. Best part it’s a terrific value still, (although not as cheap as Kirkland).
Hope this helps!
I have a Schnauzer who’s prone to pancreatitis. He was on Pedigree Adult Complete for years and he would have frequent bouts of pancreatitis, constipation, stomach pain, vomiting and his poops were hard as rocks…and looked like them, too. I switched to Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken and all 3 of my dogs suffered from frequent soft stools and bad gas, although they absolutely loved the food. The frequent soft stools had me worried for my Schnauzer, so I switched (again) to Victor’s Beef and Rice formula. I transitioned each time in about 7 days time. Now that they are completely on Victor’s…they won’t eat. Should I go back to the BB? I’m a little nervous because of all the complaints I’ve heard about BB. Also, it’s hard to find locally…I really hate to keep switching them, but I’m not really sure what else to do. Any advice is appreciated!
He does like carrots. What are the safest vegetables to give dogs on a daily basis? We treat him as we leave 2 x’s a day and then a little at bedtime.
If the kibble is only 10-20% of his daily intake you could safely replace it with fresh foods such as tinned sardines, plain yogurt or kefir, lean pieces of leftover meat, low glycemic vegetables or eggs. This would be a much healthier option that kibble and could also be a good way to make sure some of your healthy leftovers don’t get wasted. 🙂
Thanks HDM, I have never experienced what you have with the mold or bugs. He has not had any ill effects so far and he has been on it a couple of years. I believe this bag is ok since no adverse effects but will be looking for a replacement.
There is just so much stuff out there that its hard to know what to use. Im guessing I could try anything on the 5 star list here and we should be good to go. This is really only about 10 to 20% of his daily intake so I could do away with it all together and just replace it with low cal treats since that is really what we use it for.
I can only speak from my personal experiences. Last summer I ordered a bag of BB biscuits from Pet Food Direct and when I opened the bag there were bugs (the product wasn’t expired and there were no holes in the bag that I could see). A month or so later I purchase a bag of their cat food at a local feed store and when I opened it there was white mold all over the food (wasn’t expired and I couldn’t see where it had gotten wet). That same summer my friend got a new golden retriever puppy and tried to transition her to BB – the dog got really bad diarrhea and it cleared up as soon as she took the dog off BB. I then started reading on the negative reviews on this site and other sites and haven’t touched a BB product since. It’s too bad because they used to make really great stuff – I fed my cats BB for years. The company has really gone downhill though – imo.
Any word on this food? I keep seeing posts about dogs getting sick within the last 6 months. We feed him the Life Protection Formula with the Life Source bits as a secondary food source. Main food source is Grandma Lucys freeze dried chicken. We mostly use the dry kibble as “treats” for training as we thought it might be lower calorie then actual treats. Also if we happen to run out of GL then we supplement with BB until we can get to the store.
We are thinking of switching our Dalmatian’s food to Blue Buffalo to help with her itchy skin and paws. I’ve been trying to find the big differences between the Blue Buffalo’s lines, but can’t really see what separates each line except grain-free, high protein etc. I am hoping you can help me make a good decision for our girl so we can give her better food and help with all the itching! Thanks!
Agree with Patty,
Seniors need more quality protein and most “senior” foods have a reduced amount of protein and an increased amount of fillers or grains which are actually more inflammatory. There are some exceptions like Amicus Senior, Merrick Classic Senior, Orijen, Blue Buffalo Wilderness Senior and a few others. But I would stick with an “all life stage” food with at least 30% protein.
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/05/05/surprising-findings-from-tufts-study-of-37-senior-dog-foods.aspx
There are several options to help with joints: green lipped mussel, omega 3, tumeric, Wysong Arthegic, Actiflex 4000, glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin, tart cherry, Esterifiedd fatty acids like cetyl-myristoleate, Yucca http://www.1800petmeds.com/Yucca+Intensive-prod10850.html
http://www.coxvetlab.com/products/acti-flexk9.htm
My 9 month old Red Bone Hound/Lab mix is scooting and biting her booty. My vet told me to supplement her food with pumpkin, but I figured that I could just change her food and solve the problem. She ate Iams when she was younger when this problem started, so I swicthed her to Blue Buffalo grain free puppy. At first Blue worked, nice hard stools, no scooting or biting. But over time her stools loosened up and she is having the same problems again. I am very diligent about not feeding her any grain, and I know she doesnt have worms. Just bought some Earthborn coastal grain free, hope it works. Her sister still eats Iams and has no problems, any suggestions would really help. After reading many, many blogs I just feel lost. The fibre content of Blue is more than Earthborn is that a problem
? Chicken vs fish? Hound Dog Mom help!!!!
Sincerely, Max & Marlowe
My dog was diagnosed with SARDS/IMR in April. In addition to finding a successful treatment with Dr. Plechner, I switched his diet from Purina One to Blue Buffalo. They have a simplified Salmon/Potato recipe that has helped. Here is some more info from Dr. Plechner’s website regarding food allergies that may also help. http://drplechner.com/learn/allergies/dog-food-allergies/
I’m still in the process of sorting this out so I don’t have answers, only anecdotal info:
I have been feeding my gsd blue buffalo large breed chicken since I got her 2 years ago. First the puppy formula then adult. No problems at all til the last bag I bought in early August 2013. Explosive and persistent diarrhea the day after I started feeding her the ‘new’ food followed by vomiting.
I started feeding her real rice, chicken and carrots to ease her pain. Then while transitioning her back to the blue buffalo by sprinkling it on the ‘real’ food, the diarrhea started again. To be clear, I don’t know for sure blue buffalo is causing the problem. I am just a person with a dog, not a food testing laboratory. But she is highly monitored – we are always together and hasn’t eaten foreign or domestic poop, objects or greenery.
After reading about others with similar experiences on this forum , I thought I should add mine to the list. Blue Buffalo is denying any change in their formula. My dog gets sick when she eats it. I hope yours doesn’t.
Hey all,
My 15 year old Lhasa/Shih Tzu mix has been diagnosed with the onsite of chronic kidney disease. He’s on Azodyl and until recently was eating Blue Buffalo’s Homestyle Recipe Senior. The vet is recommending we put him on Prescription Diet K/D. While the ingredient list isn’t horrid, it ain’t great either. And I know it’s going to be pricey.
Since Thorndyke only eats canned food these days, what foods would you recommend for him?
Thanks!
I had my boxer mix puppy/adult (just turned 1) on Blue Buffalo Wilderness. We’ve only had her for 2 months. She was on Purina One Puppy when we got her, vet recommended Science Diet. She was doing OK on that (was eating twice daily), but that’s when I found this website and wanted to put her on something better. Settled on BB. Well, I’m not sure she likes it. she’s only been eating once a day. I got a couple of cans of wet food and mixed in about 1/3 can with the dry. The next day she didn’t eat and had diahhrea all day, then the next day every time she drank water she would throw it up. I figured that maybe it was too rich for her. Took her to the vet – they gave her fluid injections, and an anti-nausea shot. She’s been on chicken and rice since, but I’m looking for some kind of food that would be good for a dog that may have a sensitive stomach or some GI problems. Does anyone have ay sunggestions for me or know how i would figure that out? On a side note, she LOVES the chicken and rice. Would it be bad just to keep her on that and maybe mix in some fruits and vegetables?
Thanks for your help!
Hi, just posted this under “reviews”, but am thinking that maybe posting here would be better…
I am transitioning my dachshund mix from Blue Buffalo Fish and Sweet Potato to Nature’s Variety Instinct Rabbit Formula. (I want to go grain and potato-free.) Even with his old food, he would wait until the very last second before bed to eat – like he was holding out for something better. (He is food obsessive and is constantly hoovering the floors, looking for crumbs.) But he HATES this new food. He sniffs it and walks away. I just watched him try to eat it, and he finally gave up and walked away. The first night he ate it all up, but hasn’t wanted to touch it since then. I don’t know if it’s my imagination or not, but I feel like he might be itching after he eats, too? I noticed it has lamb in it – maybe it’s the lamb that disagrees with him? His stool is normal, but it’s he’s just acting weird and definitely NOT liking the new food. Any thoughts or suggestions on something else to switch him to?
Hello, all–
First time posting here.
I adopted my dog in November of last year, so I am unfamiliar with his medical history. He had his first seizure while my mom was watching him for a week after Thanksgiving (end of November). Then, he had another seizure while I was home with my parents on Christmas Day.
He was good on the seizures until last Sunday (again, we were at my parents), and then he had another one this morning (a week in between seizures this time). This is the FIRST time in 4 seizures that he has had one at my house.
Now, when he is at my parents house, he eats the food that my mom feeds her dogs (which includes t/d Hill’s Prescription Diet for dental health). When he is at my house, I feed him Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain-Free. HOWEVER, he had his teeth cleaned on Monday (the day after the seizure before last), and the vet recommended I switch him to Hill’s t/d Prescription Diet for Dental Health. I just began giving him this food as his main food (replacing the grain free Blue Buffalo) on Friday of this week (3 days before seizure).
My question is this: Could his seizures be related to the food? It seems like that to me, but I’m not sure. He has had a full blood work up and has no signs of epilepsy, so if he does have epilepsy, it is idiopathic in nature.
Thanks!
I have a three yr old Anatolian with severe allergies. I recently had blood test done for food allergies. It came back with sensitivity to potato = 245, milk = 233, barley = 188, beef = 163, brewers yeast = 143, rice = 120, chicken = 118, lamb = 112. It has been a challenge to locate dog food products that do not include these products. I am currently using Blue Buffalo Basic grain free mixed with a can of the same product. She is on daily 10 mg of prednisone as well as antihistamine, lanoline rise and twice monthly bathing. I have read as much as I can get my hands on. I would appreciate any new ideas or a new approach.
Hound Dog Mom, in searching for best foods for my dog, I’m realizing that my cat needs better food, too. I noticed that you said you feed your cats Nature’s Logic. Which variety do you feed, and you you rotate foods with your cats? Right now she is on Blue Buffalo Indoor/Fish. I seriously think she has pica (she eats EVERY little thing she finds) and we have would up in the emergency room more than once. Now I am wondering if it might be linked to poor nutrition..?
I used BB Wilderness about 3 years ago (about 10 or 12 bags) and didn’t have any issues. It was during the 2010 recall too for excess vitamin D. I wonder what is going on with BB now?
BB was the 1st kibble I gave my greyhound after adopting him. The kennel used a mix of kibbles so it was a cold turkey start for Harry. He had horrendous stools & lost hair by the handful. He was only off track for a month so I chalked it up to the huge lifestyle transition, which most likely played a giant part, but I’ve wondered after hearing similar stories if the food made it worse. Guess I’ll never know. Glad to hear the pups are all doing better
thank you.. they are doing better now.. but it’s taken a very long time..
best.
First of all thanks for the replies and suggestions. When I said in my first e-mail that Ellie is a picky eater, I meant an extremely picky eater. We have tried adding eggs, liver, and other things to her food. She will not eat the eggs. She will not eat any fish, such as sardines. She will eat liver. I boil chicken livers and after they are cooked and cooled, I wrap each one in plastic wrap and then drop them into a freezer bag. That way I can thaw out one at a time for her. I slightly warm them and then chop them and mix with her food. She will eat those, but so far they have not put any weight on her. She does have an unusually small mouth and teeth. She is also very small boned. So the Vet said that if it takes her a long time to eat her kibble, it is most likely too large for her and therefore, she may not be getting enough of it. Yes, Taste of the Wild is not tiny kibble like Blue Buffalo. So I think due to that, I need to switch her to a smaller kibble that is for tiny dogs and puppies. I am looking into that. Does anyone know of a Grain Free Puppy Kibble that is also a very small kibble, around the size of a pea or smaller? The TOTW is around the size of a dime, so a big large for her. It does take her a long time to eat just one piece. She works and works at it. So this may be one of her problems.
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