Wellness CORE is a much better food – it’s rated 5 star and is made by WellPet (a great company). Blue Buffalo is a questionable company and the Longevity line is only rated 4 stars.
So if anyone has checked out my other topic, I’ve been feeding my Shih Tzu Blue Buffalo’s FREEDOM Grain-Free Puppy Formula. On the side of the bag it says to feed my puppy 1/4 of a cup based on his weight. Now when I saw this I thought 1/4 a cup for EACH feeding. So all this time, I’ve been feeding my puppy 3/4 of a cup everyday. Sometimes he eats all of it. Sometimes he leaves some.
However, 1/4 of a cup daily divided between 3 feedings? 3 teaspoons a feeding?!? That sounds like such a small amount.
I am getting a GSP puppy and have narrowed down the foods, or so I thought.
I think we are going to start him on Fromm Gold Puppy, but I like the look of Taste of the Wild as well for variety once he is out of the puppy stage. However I saw Native being recommended for this specific breed. Of course, I will probably give variety in the form of cans, fresh, and perhaps raw later like I do with my beagle-terrier mutt (he’s on Fromm now but has eaten Wellness and Blue Buffalo as well).
For a puppy, would you stick with Fromm Gold or go ahead and do TOTW or Native Puppy or something else? I can’t quite afford to do all fresh with 2 dogs, so I’m looking for dry with cans/fresh/raw as a supplement.
Thanks!
Speaking of which, Pizza Garlic, do you know if the percentages you mention are on an as-fed or dry matter basis? I’m going to look into some of those as well. Yeah, I don’t like Science Diet either, and it seems like most of the Rx foods made specifically for cardiac conditions are similarly low quality.
Thanks, mah4angel. I did email Earthborn last week, and the Primitive Naturals is apparently .34% and the lowest sodium wet food is Toby’s Turkey at .16%. I asked for the dry matter percentage, but the person who answered didn’t clarify whether she was talking about dry matter or as-fed percentage. (The wet food is extremely low sodium if it’s dry matter, but kind of high if it’s as-fed.) It does sound like a good food, so I guess I’ll ask her to clarify.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 6 months ago by
Flossie.
I have no idea how much sodium this has, but I *always* recommend Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural simply because it’s a great food (great protein content, etc.). On chewy.com a 28-pound bag is $47.99 (~$1.71 per pound). If it was a 30-pound bag it would be about $51.42.
I also highly recommend Earthborn’s wet food tubs. On chewy you get a pack of 8 9-ounce tubs for $17.49. So about $2.19 per tub, and about $0.24 per ounce.
Obviously I really have no idea what the sodium levels are and both are a little bit above your $2/can and $50/30-pound bag limit but I thought I’d give my recommendation since I had great luck with both of these š
Thanks, everybody! I don’t see a holistic vet, but I give my dog fish oil, coq10 supplements, as well as something called Vetri-Science Cardio Strength (it has l-carnitine, taurine, and various other supplements; it gets really good reviews on a few different sites). My vet says he’s nowhere near the end stages, but I’d love to minimize the coughing as much as possible. He was diagnosed in March, and since then the coughing has been kind of up and down. Luckily, his behavior/activity level/appetite haven’t changed in the least, and I want to keep it that way as long as possible. (He’s a beagle, by the way, but we’re not sure how old he is; we found him on the street seven years ago.)
I’m still deciding on a food; I’ve emailed a ton of companies and am trying to sort through it all. None of the varieties I’ve asked about seem to have high sodium, at least. It’s confusing because some have given me “as fed” content, others dry matter content, still others milligrams, and I’ve just got to go through all my emails and figure out which brands meet all or most of the criteria I’ve mentioned. Thanks again!
My dog passed away last month because of CHF. The cardiologist suggested low sodium diet and the use of fatty acid, such as Salmon fish oil, as the supplement. Omega 3 & Omega 6 should be in the right proportion. I have also made nutritive consultation and the consultant suggested Salmon oil (in pill form) and L-Carnitine. My vet also recommended “Rx Vitamins – Formula CV”. Hawthorn is helpful too.
My dog was fed with “Karma” kibble which has a low sodium level of 0.06, you may also find the others as follows:
– Natura – Innova Low Fat Adult 0.12
– Natura – Senior Dry Dog Food 0.11
– Hills Prescription h/d (It was recommended by vet, but I really dislike it and stopped it, and used Karma instead) 0.07
I saw from books that the following dog foods also have low sodium level:
– Purina CNM Canine NF-Formula 0.22
– Select Care Canine Modified Formula 0.28
– MediCal Cardio 0.17
Hope you find the information helpful.
Best wishes for your dog!!
AnonymousInactive
I have just had similar experiences as that on page 2 of the thread where Swissy Mix talks about her Bernese/Greater Swiss mix throwing up on Taste of the Wild puppy food. I have an almost 8 month old Bernese male who is right around 80 lbs. We got him at 8 weeks old and started him on Blue Buffalo and then as I researched how to feed larger breed dogs, I decided to switch him to TOTW. They have puppy formulas now that are 1.4% calcium / 1.0% phosphorus, which I thought was in line with what he needed. I’ve been alternating between the 2 varieties now for around 4 or 5 months without any issues.
As of the last 3 days though, Walter has also thrown up his food 3 separate times right after eating. I tend to think it is because the kibble is too small for him and he’s not chewing like he needs to. The end result of his vomiting makes it clear that he doesn’t need to bother chewing his food. I tried feeding him in a larger, more shallow bowl so he can’t inhale and we have stopped feeding him right after he comes in the house and is all hot. I thought the problem might be a combination of being too hot, eating too fast, not chewing enough. However, this morning right after he woke up he did it, so I guess it is either just the not chewing issue or the food itself. I don’t think it is a puppy issue, because he seems perfectly fine otherwise.
So my questions are as follows:
1. Does anyone know of a good food that has larger bites and still stays in the recommended ranges of cal/phosphorus? I guess it may have to be an all life stage or adult formula. I hate to be a stickler on price, but I feel like I’m already spending a lot on what he is on to make sure his food is higher quality, so I’d like to stay in line with TOTW, which is about $50 / 30 lb. bag.
2. How do you tell proper weight of a dog as hairy as a BMD? His weight is right in line with what he’s always averaged (about 10 lbs. / month), but he has such long, wavy hair, it struggle to tell if I’m feeding him enough or too much. I’ve been staying within the guidelines recommended on the bag, but it’s kind of hard to tell for sure. Any tips?
3. Any suggestions for getting him to slow down on his eating? He doesn’t have to compete with any other dogs, so there’s really no need for him to eat like he does.
Poop color can change with the different food. My 10 pugs eat different kibbles, cans and dehydrated and raw and they all have different color poops. Also she might still be trying to get used to the new food. There is a food called Abady granular and it has over 800 calories per cup. You could mix this in to your meatballs easily as it is a granular product.
Sorry guys!!
My 5 year old Lab has been on Newman’s Own Organic Beef canned food for many months. She has megaesophagus and the texture is good for rolling into meatballs. I also like that it is super high calorie because she does best with small amounts of nutrient dense food. I cannot buy it locally and ran out about a week ago. Ended up having to feed Blue Buffalo Wilderness Turkey and Chicken canned food for several days until my order of Newman’s was delivered. The texture was also good for rolling into meatballs but it had less kcal/can (502 vs Newman’s 625) and more fat which I am not wild about. But I noticed a dramatic improvement in her poop on the BBW!! On the Newman’s it is very dark (almost black) and soft but formed. On the BBW it was brown and firm. The dark poop has always concerned me but dealing with this damned ME, I have to pick my battles.
Should I stay on the BBW? Any reason why her poo would be so dark on the Newman’s. Maybe a beef vs poultry issue? Is dark (greenish, black) poo ok?
They are both 5* canned foods but the Newman’s has higher calories and less fat (fat takes longer to digest and the faster a ME pup can digest their meals, the better!) which is why I went with it in the first place.
My poor 10-yr-old female English Springer gets two to four UTI’s a year (for three years now). Vet puts her on heavy duty antibiotics and just recently suggested Craninadine which she’s been on for a few months now and yet another UTI!
She’s had crystals too, but not this time. Her urine is very diluted so I’ve been told to cut back on her water intake.
She is on thyroid meds and doing well with that (not so ravishingly hungry and weight back to normal)
AS FOR CAUSE: she’s been tested for other things – vet doesn’t see anything. She DOES lick herself often (you know, lady parts) and vet thinks she keeps transferring bacteria from her mouth to there and may be causing UTI. And her teeth and breath have gotten so bad because of that! I’ve asked about probiotics but no real enthusiasm from vet.
BEHAVIOR: Outdoors often (fence). Highly intelligent, stubborn and high-strung. Has more obsessive habits as she ages. Examples: more barking; she LOVES rabbit poop! YUK! Vet says that would not contribute to UTI problem, but I wonder, and try my best to keep her from it – we have so many rabbits in the yard! I also wonder if the licking is more behavioral.
I am with her all the time due to my disability, so she’s hardly ever left alone.
DIET: Here’s where I could use some advice. I’ve always suspected that it might be her food at least contributing to her problem and recently switched her to Blue Buffalo Senior. I’ve just found your wonderful site and realized that she DOES need more protein even though she’s older. DUH! So do I!! She’s not really a fan of it and she’s sick again, anyway. Vet gave me samples of Hills Adult t/d. Very large kibble to use as treats for tartar control. But now unsure of the quality!
Any tips would be greatly appreciated. I do live on a limited income so all fresh food may be hard to do, but some (like raw chicken wings?) may be possible.
I thank you in advance — Colleen
Hey Flossie,
Something I just recalled…. I have a Cavalier that means the world to me and Cavaliers are predisposed to cardiac disease, so I was talking to my TCVM vet about different cardiac support supplements and in particular, I asked about Standard Process Canine Cardiac Support. He said its a great product, but he would only recommend it for a dog with a cardiac problem and that it wasn’t best for use in preventing cardiac disease. Do you see a TCVM or holistic vet, by chance?
Flossie, I understand. I was stating a reason I won’t feed it. Same goes for Evangers and all the companies with poor customer service.
Thanks, Hound Dog Mom. Yes, by “organ meat” I meant the hearts you mentioned and nothing else. He’s already on a taurine/l-carnitine/coq10/vitamin supplement, as well as fish oil, but he’d be pretty happy with the chicken hearts as well.
InkedMarie, I wasn’t saying no one *should* be concerned about Diamond; I was saying that it wasn’t necessarily my primary concern, since I just discovered yesterday that one of the foods they’ve eaten for the better part of a year is made by Diamond and they’ve all done well on it. Clearly safety is important to me, since clearly that’s why I’m asking so many questions about these brands–I thought I’d made a decision on what to buy, but my concerns about their safety are what made me hesitate. As I said, I’m certainly willing to seek out alternatives that strike the right balance between all the various factors I’ve mentioned in this thread.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 7 months ago by Flossie.
If he has heart problems adding fresh heart as a topper an a regular basis could be very beneficial. Heart (also gizzards) are actually considered to be a muscle meat (nutritionally speaking), not organ meat so you could top the kibble daily with no issues – true organ meats (i.e. liver, kidneys, lungs, etc., while healthy, should be fed sparingly because they’re so nutrient-dense). Heart is rich in CoQ10 and taurine which are both known to be beneficial to heart health. The concept of glandular therapy also involves supplementing with the gland (or organ) that is experiencing problems – i.e. a dog with heart failure should eat heart, a dog with pancreatitis should eat pancreas, a dog with renal failure should eat kidney, etc. Glandular supplements that are much more concentrated can be purchased but feeding the fresh organ/gland is beneficial as well.
Flossie, we all have to decide what food o feed. For me, I won’t feed a Diamond made food. You can google, if you want, to find he FDA report on the Diamond factory inspection. That might not be important to you but it is to me. There are so many other foods out there o choose from but that’s jmo.
Thanks so much! I was just about to email Fromm’s to ask about sodium; it really does sound like a good option. And adding some meat as a topper is a good idea–my dog would definitely be all for it! The day I started mixing canned food into his dry food was the best day of his life, so organ meat on a regular basis would enrapture him. (He still eats like a pig and is very energetic; my vet says he’s certainly not in the end stages or anything like that. But his heart is enlarged and there’s fluid in his lungs that causes coughing, and two diuretics and two heart meds haven’t been able to eradicate it. I’m hoping lowering his sodium and adding some supplements will help bring it to a minimum for now.)
The Fromm Classics I mentioned is rated 3.5 stars and the Precise Senior formula is rated 3 stars – neither contain any bad ingredients and both are made by reputable companies, the lower ratings are due to the lower protein content. These foods could, however, easily be upped to 4 star quality by topping with some lean meat. Chicken gizzards, chicken hearts and beef hearts are generally pretty cheap at the grocery store – you could cook them up in a healthy oil (such as coconut oil or olive oil) and they’d be a great high protein/low sodium topper.
Precise Senior is 0.12% sodium and retails for $37.99 for 30 lbs. on Chewy(dot)com.
Hi Flossie –
I’m doing a bit of searching around and I think I found a good food for you! Fromm Classics adult recipe is 0.29% sodium on a dry matter basis. Fromm is a reputable company with no history of recalls. The food retails for $37.99 for 33 lbs. on Chewy(dot)com. If I find any more options I’ll let you know.
Thanks, everyone. I’ll definitely check out your suggestions, BetsyGreer!
InkedMarie, I think I’m aiming for anything less than .3% dry matter sodium content (or around 50-80mg per 100 kcal); my vet hasn’t actually said he needs to go on a low-sodium diet, but so much of what I’ve read about CHF advocates controlling sodium intake and I thought it would be a good idea to at least be aware of it. Of course, it’s confusing; some of the companies I’ve contacted have given me a percentage “as fed” instead of the dry matter content (which I only just learned is the percentage I should be looking out for). I don’t want to severely restrict him yet, just make sure his food isn’t high in sodium.
I’ll admit that I’m not as concerned about Diamond as a lot of people here, since I feed all 3 of my dogs 4Health right now (I just discovered that the dry food is made by Diamond). And I think that eventually I could probably find anecdotal evidence against every brand, since I doubt one exists that hasn’t ever had a complaint. Ideally, though, I’d love to find a brand with no history of recalls that strikes the right balance of good nutritional profile, affordability, availability, and lower sodium content–but I realize that might be a pipe dream.
Hi Flossie –
I wouldn’t feed Canidae because their food (or at least most of it) is manufactured by Diamond.
I wouldn’t feed Blue Buffalo because I believe they have poor quality control and no integrity. Last summer I purchased a bag of their dog biscuits and there were bugs in the bag. A month later I bought a bag of their cat food and upon opening it found that it was covered with mold. That same summer a friend of mine started her puppy on Blue Buffalo and the dog got very sick, the issues cleared up as soon as she switched foods. Many other have reported similar issues – the stories are all over the web – however Blue continuously denies that there are any problems with their products. Go to truthaboutpetfood(dot)com and type in Blue Buffalo – check out the articles.
I wouldn’t feed Nutro mainly due to the fact that they don’t have a single formula high enough in protein for my tastes. I also don’t like that Nutro is owned by Mars – a large corporation (also makes Pedigree and Royal Canin). There have been a lot of complaints about Nutro lately as well (you can also check these out on Truth About Pet Food).
Flossie: I fed Canidae years ago. What maximum sodium level do you have to stick with?
I agree with the others and hope you can come up with some additional choices.
I used Canidae Pure Elements once when I though that the manufacturing had been moved to Canidae’s new manufacturing facility, Ethos; only to find out that much of the manufacturing is still through Diamond so you couldn’t be sure that what you were buying was being made by Ethos or Diamond. Diamond is a deal breaker for me. My dogs weren’t thrilled with it anyway and I used it only briefly for the duration of one small bag.
I’d check out Dr. Tim’s and I’d contact Dr. Tim ([email protected]) and ask him which formula he might suggest for your dog. Dr. Tim’s is budget friendly and Dr. Tim is a vet who is very hands on with the production of his food… he’ll get back to you very quickly with a response. I just checked the site quickly and didn’t see anything regarding Sodium. You need a combination of excellent customer service, budget friendly and a quality product. I’d also try Earthborn, NutriSource and Fromm ~ all three of those fit your requirements ~ assuming the Sodium is OK.
InkedMarie, do you use Canidae? I’d always heard good things about it, but now there are several comments on this site about it causing (or seeming to cause–it’s conjecture after all) digestive problems in dogs who’ve been on it for years. It worries me that maybe there’s a contaminated batch or something; wish I knew if there are actually a lot more people who *aren’t* having problems with it. The Platinum varieties are pretty low in sodium.
Hound Dog Mom, can I ask why you wouldn’t choose any of them? They get pretty good reviews here, so that’s why I picked them to ask about their sodium content. I actually was planning to order from Chewy, but there are so *many* options and variables that I don’t know how to narrow it down except the way I’ve been doing–making sure they have a good nutritional profile, checking the prices, then emailing the company to ask about sodium content (I *really* wish they’d start listing sodium on the package!). What brands are better but in the same price range? I’d prefer something that isn’t more than about $2 a can or $50 per 30lb bag. (I feed him both canned and dry food.)
I wouldn’t feed any of those foods. Have you considered shopping online? Sites like Chewy, Wag and Petflow would really open up some options for better quality foods – they all have a wide variety and quality brands and offer free shipping. I’m not sure about the sodium content of any brands (you’d just have to start calling companies) so I can’t speak for that, but I know I wouldn’t feed my dogs Blue, Canidae or Nutro. How much are you looking to spend?
I hope someone can come along with some other options for you. Of those three, I’d go with Canidae.
I have another thread about looking for sodium content on 4Health, which my dog with CHF currently eats. I’ve considered switching, though, and I’ve contacted all three of these companies, who have been really helpful and forthcoming with their sodium info. All three have varieties with a low sodium content.
But even though they have good official reviews on this site, the comments on the reviews have me worried. Apparently a lot of dogs on Canidae have suddenly experienced digestive issues, some people don’t like Blue for various reasons, and Nutro might have had a formula change.
I guess I can rule out the Canidae since there are quite a few posts about issues with it (has anyone reported this to the company?), but I’m not sure how to choose between Blue and Nutro. Does anybody have any further info about them, or another perspective on the issues people might have with them?
I think I’m just overwhelmed–it seems impossible to find a food that has a good nutritional profile, doesn’t have any issues with quality control, has readily available info about sodium, AND is easy to find and not ridiculously expensive. Does a food that fits all those requirements actually exist?
I just adopted a puppy from a rescue, his mom and her puppies were dumped. The mom is a smaller German Shepherd and the vet thinks he has Burmese Mountain Dog. He is the cutest and sweetest ālittleā guy. I can guess this is going to be a big boy. Ever since I considered adopting him I started doing research on dog foods, they have changed a lot since my last dog.
I feel like Iām studying for an exam and failing. I am so confused at this point. I looked into brands like ; Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Blue Wilderness, Canine Caviar, Innova, Natures Variety, etc etc ā¦ After speaking to many people they stated that the higher end brands were to rich for their dogs and or created loose bowls. Iāve looked at the med end, but not all that happy with some of the ingredients. I loved the information on the, āLarge Breed Puppy Food Listā with the calcium percentages, and the food with rabbit as the main ingredient sounded to be like one of the best meats to use. But I just donāt know which might work out best for him. I was able to bring him home today and they have him on Pedigree so I want to wean him off this as soon as possible. Also, I would like to find a good food that wonāt break me. I donāt mind paying a little more for better quality but some of the pricing is way out there.
I really want something that is good for him but it has to be something he enjoys. Oh and I’m looking for a dry food.
If anyone has any suggestions or recommendations for me I would greatly appreciate it.
Hi everyone, I have a 2 1/2 year old, male Yorkie. We had the pleasure of becoming his pet parents a little over a year ago. We are having issues with food allergies. He gnaws/licks his feet, so much at times their raw, he’s constantly scratching. No sneezing. When we first got him he was eating Purina moist & meaty/beef & cheese. We wanted to switch him to a little healthier product and to a kibble thinking a kibble version was better for his teeth. Since then, he has had issues. Funny he wasn’t having allergy issues on the Purina. We’ve tried Nutro, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance LID, Taste of The Wild High Prairie, even a prescription dog food from the Vet, (which made him vomit several times in just 2 weeks) and many more I can’t remember at the moment. Of those brands we’ve tried Chicken, Turkey, Duck, Salmon, Venison – which we have him on at the moment even Venison jerky treats. We’ve tried grain free, limited ingredient, etc. The Salmon made him vomit, may have been too rich for him. I’ve researched and researched, some posts I’ve read said California Natural was great for dogs with food allergies, but I’ve seen they have had several recalls lately. Little scared to try that one yet. We are at our wits end!! Hate to see our baby suffering. We are wondering now is it the meat protein (since we’ve tried so many different proteins) he’s having issues with or could it be the “dry” formula in it’s self. We left him with his Aunt for a week and she feed him Fresh Pet Select, CHICKEN. She said he didn’t scratch or gnaw any that week. So are we on to something, or just barking up the wrong tree (pun intended)??? Could there be some difference between the dry and wet formula that would cause food allergies??
I have never fed Science Diet and luckily become dog food savvy before getting sucked into the “My vet knows everything” deal. I do know the ingredients are crap, however.
Dendad, have you looked up all the 4 and 5 star foods here? I personally would stay away from Blue Buffalo and anything Diamond has had their hands in making. Here is a link to the Diamond (people who make blue buffalo among others!) recalls
/dog-food-recall/diamond-dog-food-recall-expands-again/
I know some people here feed Nature’s Variety, Orijen, Fromms, Annamaet, Brothers, just to name a few. I know some people on here are have found a decent brand at their Costco that is pretty budget friendly but I have forgotten the name. If you want to know of more 4 and 5 star foods on this website just click “Home” at the top and on the left there will be a link “Dry Dog Food.” click that and from there you have the option to click how many stars.
Remember though variety is key! Choose a couple different brands and rotate at the end of every bag, or every couple months. Change the protein source, if the source in the food you are feeding is beef, choose chicken next time, so on and so forth. And remember to rotate SLOWLY, especially if you know your dog gets an upset tummy when you switch to fast.
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This reply was modified 12 years, 7 months ago by
DieselJunki.
Unfortunately, I’m still feeding her Science Diet because I haven’t had time to get the research done (wrecked my car right before my baby died, so I’m without transportation too). I don’t want to change her to a new food until I know for sure it’s the right thing. I’m so grateful for this site. It has given me the info I need to decide on a new food. I’m leaning towards Blue Buffalo, but need to look into it further. I certainly will take Science Diet out of our lives at the earliest opportunity, possibly tomorrow if at all possible. A friend is going to take me to buy whatever food I decide on.
Thanks for asking. At present, I’m open to any suggestions. I have begged my wife not to get another dog. My little dog misses “Stretch” as much as we do, but I don’t want to go through this but one more time.
I need help finding a good dog food for my 2 and a half year old, 15 pound Shih Tzu. While at a friend’s house, he was given some Purina Beneful Healthy Weight. I was so happy and shocked that he was eating because he is the pickiest eater in the world. I have tried numerous dog foods like two flavors of Blue Buffalo, Caesarās, Pedigree, a hypoallergenic type, etc. Well, I ran out and bought a bag of the Beneful because I was so happy my dog likes a food…until I read the ingredients. CORN? Chicken BY PRODUCT? EW! I read some reviews and found it to be the worst dog food that can have serious health consequences. I threw that bag away and informed my friend. Unfortunately, I am back where I started, my dog still refuses to eat and I do not know what to do. I mixed the dry food with water, warmed it up, and added some turkey. That only seems to help for a day and then my dog gets tired of it. I even have resorted to feeding him turkey and rice almost every day just so he will eat and even know he still backs up from food. The vet said that a dog will not starve themselves and there are dogs that live to eat and then there are dogs that eat to live (mine would be in the second category). I then bought Newman’s Own Organic Adult Formula and mixed some water in and he ate it. I want to know if that brand is good? And if not, are there any other brands that are healthy and have no recalls?
Hi jaxsmom –
Unfortunately many people are experiencing these same issues with Blue Buffalo. My friend’s golden retriever puppy got very sick on the Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy formula. I also don’t believe that any of the Blue Formulas are appropriate for a large breed puppy such as a lab. I’d recommend checking out the Large Breed Puppy thread – it’s under the “Diet and Health Issues Forum.” Hope that helps!
We have a 6 month old lab mix puppy that has developed a poor appetite and weird eating habits within the last month. He was on blue buffalo lamb and oatmeal puppy food for a couple of months. One day he started getting diarrhea and was acting less energetic and wouldn’t really eat without much coaxing. So we took him to the vet and there were no issues. The vet recommended Prescription Diet food for digestive health and we tried that. He seemed to like that and we decided to slowly get him back on his old food and he would eat his old food when it was mixed with the Prescription Diet. We wanted to get off of that since the first ingredient is corn and get back to something more natural. We tried switching to the blue buffalo large breed puppy chicken and rice to see if he liked that flavor instead. But he really doesn’t have much interest in it and won’t eat it all of it. He will usually take a few kibbles and bring it to a rug and eat it there and then walk away for a bit. His stool is sometimes solid, sometimes loose and it varies how many times he goes in a day. He sometimes has gas too. He also itches his ears and paws a lot, so we are thinking he might have allergies. Does anyone have a suggestion for a dry food that is natural and in the same price range as blue buffalo? Should we get a large breed puppy food? We are considering Hollistic Select as an option.
Thanks for the help!
OzParticipant
Also at the store I get food they have:
Blue buffalo, Solid Gold, Natures Variety, Natural Balance, Natures Recipe, Halo, Merrick, Nutro Ultra, Natural Choice, Wellness, Science Diet, and *cringes* Purina products and grocery store brands
Hello, my name is Bo, I’m from IL. I am looking for advice because my 8 year old mixed breed Rockie hasn’t been eating regularly and has occasional diarrhea and even vomited twice in the last 2 weeks and once or twice in he prior 2 week period. Right when we think she is getting better, she has a couple bad days. She used to devour her food in 30 seconds flat, but now she just looks at it, eats a kibble, spits it out, and if she does decide to eat, it will take her 5 mintues to finish 3/4 cup. Lately she will wake me up at 5am (normal eating time) whining, so I will put food in her bowl and she will just look at the food, then look at me with a sad face.
She has been on blue buffalo for a few years, currently chicken and brown rice. The sickness started shortly after a family picnic where she consumed plenty of table food and possibly some raw chicken juices momentarily before I ran over and stopped her. Yes I was a very bad doggie dad that day! Right around that time is when we opened a fresh bag of Blue Buffalo as well. That was a month ago and she hasn’t been right since. Since then we have been extremely careful to keep her away from any table food and garbage but she still has loose stool, vomits occasionally and has lathargic days. Occasionally her stomach will growl so loud we can hear it across the room. Yeserday she had bad gas, which is rare for her. According to some reading I’ve done on this website and consumeraffairs.com it seems there might be some bad Blue buffalo food going around recently, and I am not sure if the food is to blame for Rockie’s problems. Certainly I wasn’t doing my job a month ago, so bad parenting may be to blame. My wife and I are contemplating switching her food to see if that makes a difference. We had a vet appt last week, then for 2 days before the appt, her stool was normal and she was eating somewhat normal. So we canceled the appt. Might be time to make another appt.
There are a lot of variables here, I know. Any input is appreciated. I really want to get my girl back to the happy and healthy dog she used to be!
Thanks, Bo
I have a 4 month old Rottie. He was on Blue Buffalo Wilderness puppy. He had loose stool a lot. Blue would not give me a answer about the calcium levels so I switched to Wellness Core Puppy and have NO problems at all with it. It is on the list also. With my pup Wellness Core Puppy is the one.
So for the past nine years my brother owned a lab x collie. He was on a very poor diet (grocery store brand kibble) then my brother decided he didn’t want the dog, so I decided to adopt him. Yesterday I took him to the vet for his shots and the vet said he was underweight. This is because he wasn’t being fed enough by my brother.
Now I have the task of helping him put on weight. His current weight is 43.5 lbs. ribs, spine and hips can be seen and felt. I switched his food over to holistic blend. (We tried acana, Orijen and blue buffalo but he would constantly have diarreah. But he’s tolerating the holistic blend very well.
The food feeding guidelines for his weight is 1 1/3 cup daily. The Kcal is 390 per cup. My dog is very active and gets a lot of excercise daily.
How much should I feed him to gain weight?
Hi, I am new to this site but am loving all the information I have found so far! However, I believe I’m overloading myself with info and its all running together, confusing the heck out of me! So I would love to just give a little information and get a little in return if possible.. We recently adopted a young feral pup and have been working to socialize/rehabilitate her. She is a “lethal white” (I despise that term) Catahoula mix- who is deaf and partially blind as well… We were this sweet girl’s last chance at adoption and I am so grateful we found her because she is blossoming in our household! Anyway, at about ten months of age, when we adopted her, she tore her ACL and was recovering from that when we noticed her limping getting worse despite strict confinement. We took her for X-rays and the vet diagnosed her with severe hip dysplasia in one of her hips. Sigh.. I could not make this up if I tried.. Luckily the other hip joint looks amazingly healthy! We have no idea about her past and as she seems to be somewhat of a genetic anomaly, we just want to do whatever we can to help her have a healthy, happy, hopefully long life! This girl deserves it. She is a healthy 70lbs, but we are trying to slim her down slightly. She is curently on Blue Buffalo now, but my question is if there is a better quality food that would be better suited to her joint needs or if supplimentation would suffice. I just read the calcium levels are most important earlier on and now that she is about 15 months old am I correct to assume that it is not the main concern anymore? Should we go grain-free to help with inflamation? Suppliments? What is my ideal path here? Please advise anyway you can.. I should mention we have several other animals and actual children, with another on the way, and will hopefully send them to college one day so we are certainly on a limited budget š THANK YOU!!!
Rebecca
So I rescued a dog 2 months ago. He, Zeus, is about 38-40 lbs and about 1 year old and DNA says mutt (1/4 Amstaff, 1/8 boxer, 1/8 bulldog, 1/8 keeshound, 3/8 mutt). Zeus was a stray and came in the shelter at 18 lbs and gained about 10 lbs in the 2 weeks he was there. When we rescued him he was being fed Science Diet and we continued for a bag and did 1 small bag of Rachael Ray Nutrish 6. He checked out as being healthy, no shedding or itching at all but some dandruff. There was a vet visit where he had dropped a few lbs so vet told us to double food but when I switched to 100% Wellness Super5Mix for puppy it was clear I had to cut back (soft poops and farting). Now I am finishing Wellness and I just bought a bag of Blue Buffalo Adult fish and sweet potato. We have had Zeus for about 2 months and now he is scratching and shedding like crazy but no dandruff. So how can I tell if the food is causing the scratching and shedding or whether it is environmental? Unfortunately, I can’t place the exact timeline of when the shedding started and dog food changes were. We were feeding too much for several weeks I would say so could that cause these problems? It seems that as I’ve improved the quality of the food, his shedding and itching have worsened. Also, how concerned do I need to be to transition dog foods as it seems to be what is recommended? I had read that quite a few dogs have difficulties with chicken? Is that really a concern because it is the easiest protein to find. I have to say that I am not interested in raw food but would consider a canned and dry combo. I would love any advice/suggestions you have.
This is all new to me! I have a pomapoo puppy, 10 months old. Started him on science diet puppy, but switched to buffalo blue a couple months ago after researching nutrition info. He loved it! A week into the new bag he started feeling sick, threw up a couple times and diarrhea . Cleared by the vet..,he’s been eating chicken and rice…but I can’t get him to tolerate the dry food (increased gradually) now. Any suggestions for a different food? Not sure what to do.
They’re currently on Wellness Healthy Weight. My male is 15 and is on the skinnier side due to his age. My female is 4 and she is slightly overweight.
I can’t even name all the brands I’ve tried since the list is so extensive, but the ones that come to mind are Avo Derm, Prescription Diet, Science Diet, Blue Buffalo, Innova, Canidae, Wilderness, Natural Balance, Solid Gold, Holistic Select, Honest Kitchen… I’m sure there’s more but that’s all I can remember now.
I only brought up the breed thing because I’ve known other pit owners that seem to have the same issues. I figured it was common in the breed.
I wouldn’t mind trying a digestive enzyme but I wouldn’t know where to begin. Originally with my male I thought it was nerves (he’s got an OCD issue as well as separation anxiety) so I tried a holistic “sedative” to help with that and it just made his bowels worse. That was the last one I tried.
Hi NiseyNorris –
If you head over to the large breed puppy topic area there’s a lot of information there about appropriate foods for large breed puppies (it’s located in the “Diet and Health Issues” forum) and even a list of grain-free foods that are appropraite. A fried of mine got a golden pup last summer and the pup did really well on the Wellness Super5Mix Large Breed Puppy formula – she tried Blue Buffalo Life Protection Large Breed Puppy first and it made the pup really sick. Even if the Wellness does work out though I’d recommend rotating in a least two or three other brands on occasion – it’s not healthy to feed the same food continuously. Look for a food with 3.5 g. calcium per 1,000 kcal. or less (roughly 1.2% calcium or less – be sure to contact the company to obtain the actual calcium level, don’t base calculations off the minimum stated on the package). A food doesn’t need to state “large breed” on the bag, it just needs to meet AAFCO requirements for growth or all life stages and have appropriate calcium levels.
Hi saireah –
Now that your pup is 8 months old I think it would be safe to be a bit more lenient on calcium levels – dogs can usually start regulating calcium absorption around this age. I think Dr. Tim’s would be a great choice – it’s a very high quality food and made by a reputable company. I have also found Dr. Tim’s to have excellent customer service. Although, I feel I should add that I personally feel “recall history” isn’t a very helpful metric when trying to determine the quality of a food or the risk of a future recall. Some of the most reputable companies in the industry (i.e. The Honest Kitchen) have had recalls, often times these recalls are precautionary. On the other hand, just because a company has never had a recall doesn’t mean they can’t have one tomorrow and some companies downplay and/or ignore issues with their foods just to avoid having a recall or remove products from shelves using terms such as “withdrawal” rather than recall (examples: the Chinese chicken jerky issue – there was obviously something wrong with these products however companies avoided recalling the products in spite of numerous deaths and illnesses, the current issues with Blue Buffalo and Nutro foods that are being ignored by the companies and Great Life’s product “withholding”). You need to know the company and know whether they can be trusted – if they’ve had a recall find out what the recall was for, whether it was precautionary (proactive) or whether the company waited until animals got sick before they recalled the product and whether or not the company is a repeat offender (i.e. Diamond – numerous recalls). With that said, some other “recall free” brands I’d feel comfortable recommending in addition to Dr. Tim’s are: Earthborn, Annamaet (as Marie suggested), Victor, Nature’s Logic, Artemis and NutriSource.
Have a 6 mo/old Goldendoodle and have fed him Blue Buffalo Life Protection Puppy Formula from the start. He constantly has very loose stools and extreme odor. Is there another brand that will help him have more normal stools?
I am at a loss as to what to do. I have purchased Orijen, Wellness, Blue Buffalo Life Essentials, Natural Balance, Innova (before the recalls thank goodness), EVO (also before recalls) Merrick, Solid Gold and our dogs don’t like any of them. My husband brought home Purina Healthy Morsels and they tore into the bag and ate like they were starved! What??? I’ve had to add meat to the good foods to even get them to touch it and yet they love the taste of this cheap food that is bad for them. Anyone have a logical explanation for this? I certainly don’t want them eating this cheap food that has all the bad ingredients in it. Have any of you found a 4 star food that your picky dogs eat well? I’m absolutely stumped as to what to do. Thank you for any suggestions. rypke1
P.S. The Purina dog food my husband brought home that night was NOT for our dogs. Our neighbor had ask him to pick it up for them and our dogs tore open the bag and got into it. It was not our intention to let them eat this.
Hey,
I just wondered if dogs need some salt in their diet.
I seem to recall (not sure though) that when DFA gave advise on how to choose dog treats, he said it’s best to check there are no coloring, sugar, salt etc. However, in the dog food reviews I see that the salt ingredient is not mark in red, and it doesn’t say it’s bad. Also I see that many dog foods that are highly rated (Blue Buffalo, TOTW) have salt in them.
The food I feed my dog doesn’t have salt in it, and I thought it’s a good thing, but now I wonder if maybe some salt in the dog’s diet is necessary?
Thanks!
I had looked at The Honest Kitchen, but that was another one that used rosemary as a natural preservative. There might not be anything behind the connection with rosemary and seizures, but I would like to try finding something without rosemary for now.
I will definitely check out those other sites though. Thank you!
I have been reading about Darwin’s raw, and those don’t seem to have rosemary. They are also running an introductory offer for 10 pounds for $14.95, so I thought I would try that with her. She has become a bit of a picky eater since our lab passed away, so I want to try finding a smaller amount before investing $90 in something she won’t eat.
The problem is though that I live in the middle of nowhere in Kentucky, so there aren’t all that many natural dog food options offered around here. Even Feeder’s Supply, Pet Smart, etc. has a limited selection and most of that is Blue Buffalo. Chances are we will have to order whatever we feed her online.
With the cost of any store bought raw I’m still hoping to maybe feed her half raw/dehydrated and half dry. Hopefully I can narrow down the dry foods I am considering once we get an allergy test.
1 month ago
