[Rusty T]

I could not get my dogs to eat the Orijen, but I introduced them to it after they switched to the Kentucky Plant. Prior to that, mine were on Blue Buffalo Rocky Mountain Wilderness Red Meat Formula for Large Breed Dogs. I tried different five star brands, but our German Shepard / Husky mix refused everything. (He grew up on the Blue Buffalo, because that was the only thing our Lab, who has since passed would eat.) I’d give up for a while, and then try again. I tried every flavor of the Orijen, and he just looked at me like I was nuts. He’d eat it only in the evening meal when I mixed it with a half can of the Holistic Selects Meat Pate, and even then he wasn’t crazy about it. Then I tried I And Love And You Nude (not the Naked Essentials). He took to it right away. It is grain free and you can buy it on Chewy. Of course our other dog, a rescured German Shepard will eat anything.

Both dogs have been on the I and Love and You Nude for 3 months now, and they are thriving.

[Brady G]

Hello, DFA.
Long time creeper, first time poster.
My husband and I have 3 Pomeranians. Two of them just turned 1 and the other is about 5 months old.

Recently I decided to buy some “expensive” dog food and I chose Blue buffalo red meat for small breeds. They loved it and all was going well until our smallest (Boo) started having dry poop in his bottom EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. It didn’t register with us that it was the food until our other Pomeranian had poop sticking out of his bottom as well (Bear).

Anywho, I was curious if you could give me other dog foods that you think would give them the ability to poop without it getting stuck because all they do all day is drag their a$$es and I can’t handle it anymore.

We free feed because we aren’t home often and each dog likes to eat at separate times but I am attributing the hard poop to the amount of protein in the food.. they were on kibbles and bits (I know, gross, don’t shoot) just because I was being cheap but would like to stick with the healthiest option now..

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[Paula L]

I have a 6mo old lab puppy. He has already had a skin infection not sure if it is related to allergies or not. He is currently eating blue buffalo wilderness large breed chicken puppy formula. I have noticed that he does have formed stool but after he goes once he immediately goes again and it is pretty loose. Just wondering if maybe this formula could have too much fat or protein for him?? Has anyone had these issues?

[Nick B]

Hello,

Margo’s dad here again with another food question. We asked our vet what kind of food he recommended for Margo (11 month old Golden Retriever) and he said that he only recommends Hill Science Diet. Margo likes the food and we have had no issues and the large breed puppy formula seems to be in line with the calculator at 3.3/1000 for calcium and 1.2:1 for phosphorus and 30.1% protein. When we met with a dog trainer they told us that we should not be feeding Science Diet and the only reason the vet recommended is because they get a significant kick back…

I am at a bit of a loss. We are on a budget with her food and Science diet works within that budget, but I do not want to be feeding her something that is not good in the long-run for her. Is Science diet bad? Is there something else similar in price and readily available in most big pet stores for an almost 1 year old golden pup that weighs about 50 lbs.? I have looked up Pro Plan large breed puppy and is has slightly less protein at 28% and there is Blue buffalo wilderness large breed puppy and it is 35% protein but a little more expensive and Nutro Max large breed puppy and it is lower in protein at 26% and 4/1000 in calcium. Both seem in line with calcium and phosphorus. Help!?

Thanks! Nick

• This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by Nick B.

[Lisa S]

Hello,

Yes he had a couple of accidents in the house so we took him to be tested for a UTI. It was then that he was diagnosed and put on two different courses of antibiotics that did not cure this high PH problem. He currently eats Blue Buffalo Lamb and Rice.

[Susan]

Hi, contact the makers of Blue Buffalo again, can you ring them? this way they will put you thru to the proper section, ask a vet where you live can they place an order & have the dry & wet Blue Buffalo sent to their practice, nothing is impossible, especially when the vet will be getting a new patient & a customer….
Can you make a cooked or raw diet this would be heaps better then feeding a dry kibble… here’s a Natural Home Made raw diet or it can be cooked minus any bones but it gives you an idea what your dog should be eating, look for those ingredients in a kibble, I feed 1 meal cooked & the other meals kibble or wet tin food….
http://naturalanimalsolutions.com.au/Shop/2016/03/15/acidifying-diet-urinary-crystals/

[Lori J M]

My dog had a few UTIs, then had surgery for bladder stones. Even though he had no struvite crystals in his urine, the labs done on the stones came back as struvite.

So, after a struggle getting him to eat that nasty Royal Canin – he looked at me as if I were punishing him for no reason 🙁 and I refuse to feed him Science Diet, I went to another vet.

This one prescribed the new Blue Natural Veterinary Diet WU (a Blue Buffalo prescription) and both my dog LOVE it! It is protein based but low in the minerals that can cause stones. My little guy does get bored with one flavor, so when he begins to balk at his food again (he’s not very food motivated), with my vet’s blessing, I’ll give him some of my other dog’s Merrick which he goes bonkers for. He is also taking cranberry supplements and I have increased his water consumption dramatically. I also fill his bowl only with distilled water. He has had NO problem in almost 2 years now! With so many variables changing, it’s hard to know what is helping. Is it the food or the supplements or the water? Is it a combination of some or all?

So, my problem? We moved to another state and I’m trying to find a good vet who carries this product or one who will give me a prescription if I can find it sold somewhere. Blue Buffalo has no answered my email about how to find a distributor. I did find it on Amazon but the price is just STUPID. Almost $50 for a 6 lb. bag with Prime and over $50 for a case of canned (I feed both). While I was searching for this food, I came across some articles about the deceptive advertising in the past that Blue Buffalo was accused of. If it’s true that they use animal by-products but lie about it, I don’t want to use their food. However, if my dog is doing well on it now… maybe I should. I’m confused.

Since I’m not having luck finding a local vet who carries this, I’m considering keeping him on all Merrick again. Do I keep looking? Switch foods and keep him on supplements and maybe add vitamin C to be sure? Suck it up and pay the premium price on Amazon? Find a different food?

All opinions welcome.

[Minsway]

Thank you! Yes, I have save food, throw up and stool.
I will look for some of the forums you are speaking of and post .

Yes, Blue Buffalo will pay for the vet bills. Yet you are allowing Blue Buffalo Dry Dog Food Company to pay for your silence. If they pay for your bills, you have no claim and you have no voice.

Im on a mission to “Save A Life Campaign ”
To help those not to experience what my two girls went thought after eating Blue Buffalo Dry Dog Food. They died a horrible death!

[Susan]

Hi Minsway, I’m very sorry for your loss….you’d feel helpless, I can’t imagine going thru this, 1 dog passing but to have 2 dogs die, it would be so awful. So sorry…

Have you posted this information on the reviews section under all the Blue Buffalo formulas, that’s where people go to see how many stars & what ratings the “Dog Food Advisor” has given their kibble that their dog is eating..

What did your vet say he thinks caused the deaths of your 2 dogs & did you have the food tested for evidence?
Have you contacted Blue Buffalo & what have they said?

[Molly F]

I feel like too much crap has gone down with Blue Buffalo to feed their food.
If he likes Wellness and does well on it, I’d keep that going!
Also check out the Large Breed puppy article and thread to make sure you’ve got safe calcium levels.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by Molly F.

[PuppyMom3]

Background

Our two sweet pups are a medley of health issues. You know the concept of mutts being healthier because of the diverse genetics? Well, our dogs are the one in a million that have (what seems like) every possible issue from the many different breeds that make up their genetics. Both their regular vet and the neurologist theorized this may have been due to trauma in the womb since their mama was malnourished and living on the streets for so long.

A brief rundown of their more major issues include:

1) (Girl -& Boy?-) Severe food allergies with skin reactions and vomiting
2) (Girl) Possible megaesophagus (we have an appointment next month for diagnostics)
3) (Boy) Cerebellar hypoplasia
4) (Boy) Possible degenerative neurological disease (we have to wait and re-test in 6 months for changes)
5) (Boy) Probable mild case of laryngeal paralysis (not officially diagnosed but regular vet is pretty certain and we want to give our boy a break from invasive/sedation testing since he just had an MRI and spinal tap so we aren’t pushing for an official diagnosis at this time)

What I am Trying to Accomplish

With all of these issues going on, I want to make sure their food is as wholesome and non-damaging as possible. Especially since a good diet and exercise therapy can help slow the progression of neurological issues if our boy has a degenerative disease.

Previous Foods/Diets We’ve Used

Blue Buffalo Wilderness
Blue Buffalo Freedom
Taste of the Wild
Blue Buffalo Basics Limited Ingredient Grain Free. This seemed to work for a while but the skin issues and vomiting have returned.
Homemade diet. This was a pain in the butt. When they were younger and had their initial digestive issues, I homemade their meals for two weeks as an experiment to see if their issues cleared up. They did really well on this diet- no digestive upset, no skin issues, no vomiting, nothing. The down side was it was really time and labor intensive and the cost was astronomical. Since they were younger and in active growth stages, we spent significant time researching their required nutrition and establishing recipes that met those needs. Especially to mitigate the chances of developing hip dysplasia down the road since they are larger dogs. On top of that, we spent nearly $100 a week because hydrated, fresh food has less concentrated nutrients/calories so the dogs needed larger portions than they had with dry food. I am hesitant to go back to this method since I was making 14 cup batches of food every other day (they get just over 7 cups a day between the two of them) and spending more on their food than ours!

Things I am Considering

1) Outlandishly expensive pre-made food. Such as The Honest Kitchen. It seems to have really good ingredients but at $100 for a 10lb bag that will last between 16-20 days for one 60lb dog (so between 8-10 days for 2 dogs) that seems prohibitively expensive. (http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/marvel)
2) Outlandishly expensive homemade food. See all the notes above about the pros/cons of this.
3) Some other less expensive option I hear about on here? Labor intensive stuff is a pain in the neck since I work full time, but it is more preferable than spending significant sums of money because my husband is currently not really thrilled with the $100/10lb bag of food option.

Your Suggestions?

I would love to hear from anyone who has used pre-made meals with quality ingredients that didn’t cost an arm and a leg, or who have made their pet’s food at home without spending a fortune. All of the websites and forums that I have found almost exclusively feature people with small dogs (under 30lbs) so their efforts are a quarter of what mine would be under the same circumstances with two 60lb dogs.

[HoundMusic]

There is so much internet hype out there, and much of it, believe it or not, is actually started by or egged on by competing dog food companies. I’ve also seen unfounded complaints hurled at just about every company that holds a fair portion of the market, some with pictures so fake, it’s sad to realize that there are people out there with so much time on their hands.

So, while I personally don’t care for Pedigree due to a few reasons, the artificial coloring agents being at the top of that list, it’s not killing dogs, and you are not automatically doing better by the dog by feeding a “holistic” feed. I’ve known plenty of unreasonably long lived dogs eating Pedigree, and very, very few on Blue Buffalo that didn’t have some sort of complaint regarding chronic bowel problems.

Just my 2 cents.

[John R]

We’ve been feeding our 11 month old black lab who we switched over to Blue Buffalo Wilderness Large Breed Puppy food when we brought her home at 12 weeks. This past August we transitioned her over to Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Large Breed Puppy. She is now 11 months old and we are moving each of our Labs (we have 3) away from Blue. They have had more diarrhea since they’ve been eating Blue than at any other time in their lives. I’m not sure what it is about Blue, but it is making our dogs sick. They’ve had multiple recalls through the years – most recent MAY 2016 – and I have lost faith in them.

[Sandra W]

My 11 mo old Glen chews at her toes and scratches her ear. This is a recurring problem and has been treated with medications each time. A vet suggested changing her food/treats and I am looking for the proper dog food. She started with a standard dry food the breeder used and then I used Horizon Legacy Puppy Grain Free. I don’t remember a real problem then. After we got another puppy (Vizsla) I stopped the Horizon (I could only get it in 8 lb bags) and switched to Wellness Complete Health Puppy Deboned Chicken, Oatmeal & Salmon Meal. It was a few months before I noticed the chewing and scratching, so it may not be a food allergy, but I’m going to try changing her food. Also, the Blue Buffalo Health Bar treats (all varieties) need to be changed. Does anyone have a recommendation/suggestion?

[Craig T]

We use Blue Buffalo Wilderness Healthy Weight Chicken Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food for our nearly 10 year old Labrador Retriever

[Richard K]

I have a shi-tzh and a pomeranian and about 2 months ago my shi-tzh got really sick throwing up and severe diarrhea. I took him to the vet and they did blood work and really didn’t find anything so they said it must just be a virus well 2 days later my other dog started the same thing. Well I thought It must be a virus. I took him to the vet and got him medication and they both seemed to be doing fine so I stopped giving them the medication. Well about 3 or 4 days later my shi-tzh started it again. I still had some medication left so I started him on it again and called the vet and he said to keep giving him the medication. So I did and after about 5 days he was doing fine again and I ran out of the medicine anyway but about 4 days go by and he starts it again! I called the vet and he sent home more medicine so I kept giving it to him and he again got better but again about 4 days later he starts again! I took him back to the vet and they did a test on his pancreas and gave me more medicine and said they would have results the next day. We’ll the test they did came back fine! I asked the vet what is going on I mean I’m up to 600 bucks in vet bills and still no answer! He said maybe it’s his diet! Well I used to feed them the blue buffalo until the lawsuit came out about their food having by products in it so I then changed to earthborn which they have been eating around 1 and a half years now with no problems. I always mix their dry food with wet food and they love it so now I am looking for a 5 star wet and dry food I can try them on that i can purchase somewhere near me. I see merrick is rated 5 star but I also read they were bought out by purina/nestle. I’m not sure I trust it being made by Purina? Can someone suggest a good dog food wet and dry i can try on them? Oh both my dogs are old. One is 9 years old and one is 10. The shi-tzh seems to have a more delicate stomach. Thanks

[Hattie H]

I’ve just begun my self education into better dog nutrition and weight loss and could use some advice. I have a 7 year old female lab that weighs 80lbs. We travel a lot and thus her activity level varies week to week from very little when it’s just her and I at home to highly active when we she’s with her 3 year old Australian Shepard cousin. I determined she’s a 7 on the body condition scale and that her ideal weight is likely around 65lbs -70lbs. Based on Internet searches, talking to people, and using the different formulas I’ve come up with a wide range of recommended daily calorie intake, from 850-1400, to get her to her ideal weight. I’ve been feeding her 1300 cal/day for a couple weeks and was going to drop it closer to 1000 as I haven’t seen any weight loss. When I started this weight loss campaign I also switched her from blue buffalo to a mix of Fromm Gold senior (3 cups/1077kcal) and honest kitchen Keen (.5 cup/235kcal) I was advised to put her on a senior food based on her age and activity level but the senior foods typically have less protein and from my research I’m seeing that a lot of people recommend higher protein. The protein/ fat amounts for these foods are 23/11 and 21/15, respectively.

Aside from needing to shed a few pounds she has no other health problems and recently got blood work done everything came back great. She just turned 7 a week ago and I want to get her in optimal health so she’s with me for a very long time. The plan is to keep researching and learn all I can about dog nutrition and start adding in raw and better foods as I figure out what those are…

So, does anyone have thoughts or advice on the calorie intake, food choices, protein amount?

[John T]

Laura, first of all the Blue Buffalo has been causing a lot of part problems with dogs and their digestive systems but your problem sounds a little more suspicious than just the dog food. I would try giving him some simple boiled chicken and rice and if he throws that up then there’s something else wrong. I hate to say it but it almost sounds like he may have some type of blockage. Have they done an ultrasound? But again, the first thing I would do is try some boiled chicken and rice and see if he holds that down if he doesn’t get to the vet and have them do an ultrasound or X-ray. If he is the kind of dog to choose and puts everything in his mouth he very well could’ve swallowed something and has a partial blockage. Nothing to play around with. Good luck

[laura t]

Hi everyone. I am late to the game learning about Blue Buffalo and was told it was reputable, which I am sure it is, however our beautiful 4 month Charcoal Lab who has been eating the large breed puppy formula has had maybe one solid poop his whole life. And the last 2 weeks has been throwing up the food. I passed it off for a while because he likes to explore and I am constantly picking things out of his mouth. But the last 3 days have been horrible with throwing up his food. I went online to investigate… and found the consumer affairs reports. SIGH!!! I have been causing this all along. So I wanted to use a new food. My question is… normally you slowly introduce new food. Seems silly to mix something that is already upsetting his tummy with the new food… but don’t want to make things worse. How did people switch over to their new food?

[laura t]

Hi everyone. I am late to the game learning about Blue Buffalo and was told it was reputable. However our beautiful Charcoal Lab who has been eating the large breed puppy formula has never had a solid poop. And the last 2 weeks has been throwing up the food. I passed it off for a while because he likes to explore and I am constantly picking things out of his mouth. But the last 3 days have been horrible with throwing up his food. I went online to investigate… and found the consumer affairs reports. SIGH!!! I have been causing this all along. So I wanted to use a new food. My question is… normally you slowly introduce new food. Seems silly to mix something that is already upsetting his tummy with the new food… but don’t want to make things worse. How did people switch over to their new food?

[Natalie M]

Blue buffalo chicken and brown rice puppy is what he had

[Kathleen C]

Blue Buffalo has a lot of different ingredient foods. Each is maybe different in protein amount. What did you dog get sick on?

[Natalie M]

What ever amount is in blue buffalo

[Natalie M]

I was buying ideal balance and just heard it is being discontinued. I was having it auto shipped through chewy.com need a good food to replace it with. I have one senior, one adult and one that is sensitive to high protein diet and got sick off ones too high in protein (like blue buffalo) or too cheap (like nibbles and bits) HELP

[stones]

Dog food manufacturers:
Ainsworth:
Blue Buffalo (some varieties dry)
Rachael Ray

American Nutrition:
Mulligan Stew can
Natural Balance can
Wellness can

Berwind Corp WellPet:
Holistic Select
Wellness

CJ Foods:
Blue Buffalo (some varieties dry)
Castor Pollux dry* (recently purchased by Merrick Pet Food—it is not known when or if they will move manufacturing to the Merrick facilities)
Drs Foster & Smith
Nature’s Variety dry
Rotations
Timberwolf
Nulo

Diamond Pet Food (numerous plants):
4Health
Apex
Canidae* (recently purchased their own manufacturing plant—it is not known when they will or if they will move all manufacturing to their own plant)
Chicken Soup
Country Value
Diamond
Diamond Naturals
Kirkland
Natural Balance dry
Nature’s Domain
Premium Edge
Professional
Solid Gold
Taste of the Wild
Wellness (one variety)

Elmira Pet Products Ltd:
Happy Paws
Happy Tails
K9 Premium
Nutram
Sigma 7
Petcurean dry

Evangers:
By Nature can
Canidae can
Evangers can

KLN Enterprises (Tuffy’s Pet Foods):
Dogswell
Natural Planet Organics
NutriSource
Pet Time
Pure Vita

Mars Petcare (numerous plants):
Cesar
Nutro
Ol Roy dry
Pedigree
Royal Canin

Nestle:
Chef Michael
Purina
Pet Promise

Procter & Gamble (numerous plants):
California Naturals
Eukanuba
Evo
Iams
Innova
Karma

Simmons:
Blue Buffalo can
Canidae can
Castor Pollux Can
Life’s Abundance Can
Nature’s Logic Can
Ol’ Roy Can
Dogswell can
Evolve can
Petcurean can
Nature’s Variety can

[Marissa B]

My puppy Harvey is one year old, and ever since May he has had pretty bad allergies. From when he was a puppy we had him on blue buffalo chicken and rice large breed puppy and then he got bad itchy welts with diarrhea. Then we switched him to Zignature salmon (limited ingredient diet). That seemed to work for about a month or so, the welts came back, his hair started coming out and diarrhea also followed along with vomiting. We took him to the vet, chest and stomach xray came back normal, blood levels came back normal in his cbc and LFTs. They gave us a medicated shampoo, started him on Hill prescription zd and started him on steroids. Needless to say reading the ingredients on this hills I’m not overly impressed, seems like there is a lot of fillers and its 90$ a bag!!! I don’t mind paying if it works, but now it seems like his welts are back, he won’t eat the food unless we put sweat potatoes on top and his shampoo isn’t helping. I’m lost at what to do, every time he comes off steroids he gets the welts back. I don’t have enough money to keep taking him to the vet every few weeks for tests and drugs and food etc. I’m considering a raw diet possibly because every time we put him on the bland diet he is completely fine with no itching and welts and long term steroid use at his age scares me. Any advice is greatly appreciated! 🙂

[pitlove]

Hi Chris-

The main reason vet’s recommend Purina is because they believe in the food. It is formulated by nutritionists, veterinarians, and other specialists. Many vet’s feel this is important when choosing a food. They are also one of the leading researchers (aside from Hill’s) in large and giant breed puppy growth and nutrition. I personally feed Pro Plan and after trying many of the “better”(including Orijen and Acana) dog foods, find that Pro Plan works the best for my allergy dog and my food intolerant cat.

Of course the vet’s who sell Purina make money off of it, just like the independant pet store that sells Orijen makes money off that too. I’m unaware of vet’s actually getting kickbacks for selling food and I have worked at a vet’s office. They get discounts on food, but so do I working at an independant pet store and so do the workers at Petco and PetSmart. I personally don’t see the difference, but that’s just me.

Most people do not like Blue Buffalo because of the lack of integrity on the companies part and their dishonesty during the recent law suit. Also they are quite overpriced for what you are actually getting.

[Chris S]

@Susan W I hadn’t heard of them, but I’ll look them up and get some more info, thanks for the recommendation.

@pitluv OK thanks for the clarification.

Any other recommendations?

Right now she’s on Blue Buffalo Wilderness but she doesn’t seem to care for it, she’ll nibble it but for her to really eat it I have to mix it with wet. I have also seen others say they’d never feed their dog Blue but didn’t see any reasons given.

I have heard they have had some calcium/phosphorus ratio issues in the past, but this was from our 1st visit to a new vet, who was trying to push purina, that she sells, on me. Have read that this is mainly due to the kickbacks they get not cause it’s quality food.

I had only bought a small bag so would like to start transitioning once its about done.

Thanks.

[InkedMarie]

A lot of us won’t use Blue Buffalo products due to recent problems.

[sophia s]

I read dogfoodadvisor’s review of Blue Wilderness food rolls–2.5 stars because of “modest” amount of meat and presence of not only molasses and vegetable glycerin but also sugar.

I like it because it is grain-free, potato free except for potato starch, soy free, carrageenan free, and corn free. AND my very picky eater really likes it.

I want to use this product exclusively as a training treat instead of using Zuke’s Tiny Naturals because I would save quite a bit of money by switching.

Here are the ingredients for for Zuke’s Tiny Naturals Peanut Butter Flavor:
Peanut Butter, Chickpeas, Peas, Sweet Potatoes, Glycerin, Pea Protein, Agave Syrup, Gelatin, Coconut Oil, Flaxseed, Salt, Flax Meal, Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Succinic Acid, Natural Flavor, Sunflower Lecithin, Mixed Tocopherols, Rosemary Extract, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Zinc Proteinate.

Here is the link for Dogfoodadvisor’s review of Blue Wilderness Food Rolls:
/dog-food-reviews/blue-buffalo-wilderness-wild-rolls/

Questions:
As a training treat, is one of these options better than the other?
Is the food roll a suitable option as a training treat?
If neither is suitable or recommended as a training treat, what moist training treats would be a good option?

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!

[Jessica K]

My dog (1year old 12 pound Dachshund mix) has had a number of allergic reactions to different brands of kibble including Blue Buffalo and Merrick so my last vet asked if I wanted to try to switch him to a raw diet. After some research, we decided to switch him over and follow the raw meaty bones diet guidelines. Since then, he has been primarily fed either chicken legs or wings with eggs, organ meat and some vegetables to supplement. I have recently started to add goat milk and/or kefir when I can.

I was planning on switching his primary source of bone/protein around to fish or beef but haven’t gotten a chance to do so.

He was due for his vaccines and because I moved, we took him to a new vet. Once she found out that he was on a raw diet of mostly chicken wings and legs, she flipped out and told me I was abusing my dog. I asked her what I was doing wrong or if she had recommendations on a different raw feeding style but she ignored me and told me that if I didn’t switch him back to kibble, that she would take him away. I tried to explain his allergic reactions and even politely asked about what to do if he was on a kibble diet and had an allergic reaction but she gave me no answer.

Am I genuinely doing something wrong? Is this somewhat of a common reaction and has anyone dealt with a similar situation before?

Notes:
His allergic reaction mostly consists of a skin reaction but he does have the occasional ear infection. His skin reaction starts off with him turning bright pink/red, bumps and then blisters.
The original vet recommended the chicken wings and legs because of his size. I did manage to find him turkey necks once (rather hard to find in my area) but had to cut it into smaller chunks.

[Logan W]

For those new or novice to homemade dog food, it does take some research and a little bit of trial and error to see what your dog will eat. I’ve been doing homemade 100% for about 7 or 8 years now and I would highly recommend it. It does require some initial time and research but it’s all well worth it. I first started with several dogs and wasn’t convinced, like many here, that anything available on the market was as nutritionally dense as homemade. I started when I first adopted several dogs and they loved eating anything I bought, but the food certainly never agreed with them and they were sick all around my house. I think the last food, both dry and soft, they ever ate from the pet store was Blue Buffalo way back when. I would give them rice and chicken till they got better then slowly start working commercial food back into their diet. Every time… they got sick. That’s when I started out on the quest for something that I could rest assured was wholesome and nutritional… from my own hands.

People are right here when they warn you of feeding your dog homemade food without understanding your dogs nutritional needs. We all know our dogs will eat just about anything and you’d hate to learn the hard way that you are malnourishing your dog. I started by searching the web for a canine version of a daily nutritional requirements list that includes not only the macro nutrients (proteins, fiber, fat, carbohydrates, etc.) but also details all the micro nutrients (different amino acids, minerals, vitamins, etc.). The lists are out there if you search. It will be a long, long list of about 30-40 nutrients.

Once I found this list, I did some calculations based on my dogs activity level and size, multiples really. Then I created an Excel spreadsheet of all the target daily nutritional requirements. From there I started searching the web for natural sources of each nutrient and cross referencing them again sites to make sure they weren’t toxic to dogs. You’d be surprised to find that much of the normal fresh meats and vegetables at the store have just what your dog needs. I created a list of ideal food ingredients and Googled each ingredient’s full nutritional profile and built a tab for each ingredient in Excel listing out its nutrients per 1 gram or other serving size. Then I would build other worksheets modeling possible combinations of natural ingredients and seeing how the resulting nutrional profile compares to the target. You’ll find, just like with any animal, that you’ll never get it perfect. You may figure out that adding sweet potatoes helps you fill one nutrient you were targeting only to provide an exceeding amount of another. This is inevitable but just make sure that you aren’t creating a recipe that has far too little of one nutrient that is very important, or even far too much of another that can cause problems if ingested in large quantities like Vitamin A, etc. Its really a process or trial and error modeling a recipe that is really close. I got a few recipes and then went for it. But I do give my dog a multivitamin once a day too just to be a little safer.

The recipes I’ve been using for some time is muscle meat and some organ meat like ground beef and beef livers or kidneys, or chicken breasts and chicken livers. Organ meat is very nutritionally dense and its what dogs go for first when they find a animal in the wild. Muscle meat is a thing we humans prioritize for some reason so remember that you dog IS NOT BEST SERVED WITH FILET MIGNONS OR CHICKEN TENDERS. For veggies, I use about 3-5 different vegetables and switch them up every once in a while. My favorites are sweet potatoes, carrots, spinach, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, squash and zucchini. For fiber and carbohydrates, I pick between a rice (white or brown) or beans (dry pinto or black beans). There’s other things I do too, like I use quite a few eggs and I boil the eggshells to sterilize them. Then I grind the dried shells into a powder for their high calcium needs. I also add some ground flax seed and olive oil to every batch. That’s really it about ingredients… now the PREPARATION METHOD becomes vitally important.

If your dog is like any of mine, they probably don’t care to eat vegetables raw or their own flavor. Also, how you cook the vegetables and beans/grains can either retain most of the nutrients or deplete most of them. Dogs have very short digestive tracts compared to humans and that means that just because they can eat a raw carrot…. it doesn’t mean there digestive tract can break it all down fast enough before it passes. Pressure cookers are great for dog food vegetables. Pressure cookers apply high heat for a very short period of time that not only softens the vegetables so they are more digestible, but it helps retain the nutrients in the vegetables much better than, let’s say, boiling them. One could simply use a steamer, but the trick I use is adding some chicken broth to the pressure cooker so that it injects a tasty flavor in all the vegetables. I chop all my vegetables and pile them into the pressure cooker and add a couple cups of real chicken broth and set it for 10 minutes, done. I pull out the finished veggies and set aside. Then I do the same flavor-injection with the beans or rice by using the pressure cooker too. I take out the beans or rice when finished and mix it into the cooked vegetables I set aside.

Next I chop up a cook the meats/organs either in a large pan or also in the pressure cooker (depends on the meat). I add a generous amount of olive oil and pour in the eggs and ground eggshells + ground flax seed. When this is all done I mix it all together with the already completed parts I set aside. A little salt and its done. I divide the food up into glass, airtight containers that hold enough for no more than 5 days of food. I keep one in the fridge and the others in the freezer. After the first container is nearing empty, I start thawing the second container. I give me 20-30 lbs guys about 1 cup of the food nuked for about a minute, morning and night.

How’s it working? Wonderful coats, plenty of energy, no skin problems EVER, all vet checkups clear and I’ve had their blood tested drawn at different times of their metabolic cycles to test for nutrients in their bloodstream (a whole lot of expensive testing just to reassure me that what I was doing was good) and not a single thing ever wrong with them. Since their food is not very hard or dry, you do need to brush their teeth or make sure they get plenty of dental chews. Their stool should be nice and loose, but not huge and frequent. Once or twice a day is normal. Their digestives tracts are using more of the food mass than was being used when feeding commercial food filled with corn and other grains. So their stool gets smaller. You can go online and find paid recipes backed by vets, but I’ve yet to see one that is truly all homemade. They typically create recipes that require using some overly priced supplement powder they distribute or co-advertise for. Don’t waste your time on them.

You may find that your dog devours the food right away or plays the hold-put game for something better. Mine play both games depending on their mood. They usually don’t eat the food right away cause it’s just been reheated and they know not to try. So they usually meander around for a while before eating it later. But when they finally eat… they eat it all… every last piece of vegetable, bean and rice, etc.

So there’s my experience and I hope it inspires you to give it a go and stick with it. I have an electric pressure cooker only for the dog food… best investment ever. It costs me about 50 cents to feed 1 lbs dog for a week. So that’s $10 a week for one 20 lbs dog. I consider that a much better ROI than commercial dog food. Since I only have one freezer, I only make food every 2 weeks and spend about 2 hours when I do. But you get used to it and you learn the process inside and out. I’d never go back. Now if only I would eat as good as these damned dogs do!! 😉

[Josh H]

I have a 12 week old puppy and I use to feed him Blue Buffalo Large Puppy Life Protection formula by itself… then he started sticking his nose up at it. I would take it away and give it to him at the next meal time and he would eat a bit and then do the same thing. I didn’t think it was a health issue, just that he didn’t like his food. I bought Wellness CORE puppy and when compared to Blue Buffalo’s food it smells a lot better (Blue Buffalo doesn’t smell like much). For the last week I have been mixing Wellness CORE into his Blue Buffalo food and he eats nearly everything except for a couple of Blue Buffalo kibbles. I have heard similar stories with Orijen with the food smelling really good and I am assuming that if the food smells good that a puppy / dog will find it more appealing.

[Josh H]

I have a puppy who will be 12 weeks old tomorrow. I am currently feeding him a mix of Blue Buffalo Large Puppy (Life Protection formula) and Wellness CORE puppy (slowly getting to 100% Wellness food- he started turning his nose up at Blue Buffalo, but he absolutely loves Wellness). What I am confused about is that both companies give very different feeding guidelines. He is about 23-25lbs, Blue Buffalo says he should eat between 2 3/4 to about 3+ cups daily, but Wellness says he should be eating a minimum of 3 1/2 cups a day or more. I’d say the Blue Buffalo guidelines are a little more vague, but I am still confused either way.

Please help!

Also, he is an Akita / Husky mix.

[Josh H]

I got a puppy about a little over a week ago, but I haven’t had a dog in 10+ years. I use to feed my old dog Blue Buffalo and so that’s what I got my new puppy (Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy). About 4 days later he stopped eating all of his food and he would literally turn his nose up at it. He wasn’t throwing up, nor did he have diarrhea (I suspected he just didn’t like his food). So I joined this site and started doing a ton of research. I got a 5lbs bag of Wellness Core Puppy (which he absolutely loves) and the only way he will eat the Blue Buffalo food is if I mix it in with the Wellness. In terms of Blue Buffalo, I was shocked that they admitted to lying about ingredients, have been outsourcing certain ingredients and has been having recalls. I want the best for my puppy, but is Blue Buffalo a brand I can trust or has it just gone downhill? I think eventually I want him on just Wellness which seems pretty good, or is there something else I should be giving him?

[Maria K]

I would avoid Royal Canin and Purina. Blue Buffalo, Go!, Taste of the Wild, and California Natural are all tricky because some of their formulas are great and some aren’t. Just be sure to choose carefully!

[InkedMarie]

Vets get very little nutritional education. You need to be careful what you feed a large breed puppy; go to the Diet & Health issues forum here and read the stickie on top, highlighted in yellow, on what is appropriate foods for large breed puppies. I’m not sure if it’s “too late” or not.

I would not feed anything by Blue Buffalo; they’ve had their share of problems.

You can try a spoonful of canned pumpkin (the one without the spices) while you transition. Also, over feeding can be a cause.

[Angel76736]

Try blue buffalo, they have their freedom and basics line. Both are grain free. They have ones for large breed as well. Petsmart usually carries a large selection of blue buffalo food. I personally use blue buffalo basics large breed dry food. It has worked great. It leveled out both of my dogs digestive issues. I had gone through several different types of food and once I got on them on blue buffalo everything leveled out nicely. Hope this helps you with your pup.

[Maria K]

Recommend:
– EVO
Avoid:
– Natural Balance
– Pro Plan Focus
Acana can be good or bad depending on which formula you choose. Same with Zignature, Fromm, Blue Buffalo, and Annamaet. I am using Acana’s Regional Ranchlands right now and my dog is thriving!

[Maria K]

I would avoid the Irish Lamb stew but love the other Blue Buffalo stews! I wouldn’t recommend the ZiwiPeak. The Primal Freeze-Dried formulas are mostly good. I would avoid the lamb as mentioned earlier and also the chicken. Same thing with Stewart’s, I would avoid the beef and bison but the rest are good! Vital Essentials are great!

[Andrea V]

Information overload!!! I need some help please! With so much social media I believe I am asking the wrong people for advice. I have gotten a million different responses to what people feed their Cane Corso. We are bringing our puppy home in three days, he is a full blooded cane Corso. Eventually I would like to do the raw diet but definitely need to learn more about that. What is an appropriate kibble to start him on? I heard the blue buffalo wilderness is great? Any thoughts?

[Melinda L]

I need help in finding a lower price dog food. I have 5 dogs “ALL RESCUES” 1 has severe chicken allergies. Right now I am feeding all of them, Blue Buffalo Turkey and potato grain free limited ingredients. My allergy dog is doing great on this but it is breaking the bank.

[RobbW]

Hey, all! First time posting here. We have two canine family members: an 8yo male Golden Retriever and an 8yo female Beagle. We are having a hard time with urine burn in our lawn, and I’m trying to decide if I changing our dogs’ food would help at all.

We currently feed both dogs Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken Recipe Grain-free Dry Dog Food, which gets a 4.5 star rating on DFA and is relatively affordable, comparatively speaking. We’ve had them on this food for almost a year now. Previously, we were feeding them Honest Kitchen Revel dehydrated, which they loved. However, our family likes to travel a lot, and it was always an inconvenience for our house/pet-sitter to mix and feed THK while we were on vacation. So, we’d usually have her feed a dry kibble while we were gone. But sudden changes like that always gave them horrible diarrhea. So, we decided to switch over to a high-quality kibble permanently.

Unfortunately, this spring/summer, our lawn has suffered quite a bit of damage from urine burn. Researching, I found this is due to the nitrogen in the urine. Several multi-step solutions have been recommended, one of which is switching to a higher-quality protein dog food (the other steps being frequently watering our lawn and encouraging our dogs to increase their water intake). I thought the Blue Buffalo was a high-quality protein kibble, but maybe it’s not high-quality enough? Also, there’s a couple questionable ingredients that are possibly implicated in lawn burn, one of which being DL-Methionine.

So, my thought is to switch to an even higher-quality protein kibble, such as Wellness Core. And possibly also to start topping it with some THK grain-free dehydrated food?

And thoughts, opinions, recommendations, advice on my plans for switching foods to combat this lawn burn problem? Any other solutions I should look into?

My biggest concerns about switching food is 1). Just the long process of slowly switching foods, 2). Wellness Core is quite a bit more expensive than the Blue Buffalo they’re on now (by almost $20 per bag on Chewy), 3). Is Wellness Core going to be *THAT* significantly higher-quality protein to make much difference?

Thanks for any help!

[Debra E]

Standard Process makes a Cardiac Support Supplement that a seasoned, top notch dog rescuer had recommended to me when one of my Maltese was diagnosed with a heart murmur. Blood work also showed he and his “brother” needed Denamarin (now available generically as Sylben, a Milk Thistle Extract plus hepatic support (liver). Bambi’s heart murmur was never a problem and both the 15 yr. old and 11 yr. old (who were seemingly on their last legs) found new life and energy here in Florida with my 90 yr. old dad and I had them on Blue Buffalo (before the recalls, as they assured us they only used human grade ingredients). Even their treats were only Blue. Their bloodwork 6 mo. later was NORMAL and except for old age, they both lived to be 14 (when Bambi’s trachea suddenly collapsed and we had to put him down) and then Beebop (17) died of a broken heart in my arms the 2nd night after his passing. I now have the last of the 3 Maltketeers, Thumper (nearly 16) and am trying to cope with is severe arthritis — which is going amazingly well with a combination of Western and Holistic DVM care (accupuncture, supplements, Adequan shots, Rimadyl, Tramadol for pain, etc.) Hope that helps. They can live a long healthy life even with a heart murmur. Just keep an eye on your Chi and look for panting, easy exhaustion and do regular checkups. Hugs, MalteseMom

[Brenda G]

My 12 year old box was told she had cancer and acute renal failure (acute = early renal = kidney). The vet insisted that unless I paid $200 a week for special hill’s K/D (or any other prescription diet) she would die and regardless she would die in 6 months. I was heart broken I couldn’t afford $200 a week. I had at the time 2 other dogs and a horse. So I cried for about a day straight (ok probably a lot longer than that), I love my dogs just like everyone here. I had to do my research and find the best alternative to the prescription diet. So I asked the vet if you could recommend anything else what would it be? That’s the only thing that she was willing to recommend also should mention this vet sells the dog food but was willing to give me a prescription for it to get it else where. The vet was willing to tell me that the two important things in a K/D diet were protein and phosphorus. I did my research and I called every major manufacture (iams and pedigree share the same phone number apparently a company called mars 1-800-675-3849) etc. Most dog foods contain around 0.8% phosphorus so I was looking for anything with less. I found one blend of dog food what wasn’t weight ( the weight control tastes gross and she wont eat it) controlled the price was more than reasonable at about $22 for 27lbs which would last my two dogs 2 weeks (now we have one other dog but it last them a month) This is a no sugar added no dyes and no artificial preservatives dog food (for all three brands). Here’s the kicker I could only buy it online in large bags or drive like 20mins plus for smaller more expensive bags(I had two large breed dogs and one small breed). I contacted Iams this week because the price of the dog food had sky rocketed to 47 (on amazon) which is way too much and Walmart wasn’t showing when it would be back in stock or at all. Come to find out they discontinued it 8months ago. I searched high and low and found blue buffalo (aka blue diamond) had about the same values but there have been 1400 consumer complaints and many recalls of their food and the same with purina. I did contact both companies and they did offer weight control alternatives to the dog food I was currently feeding. But again both companies had poor recall records and a lot of dogs were getting sick from their brands from diarrhea or vomiting and worse sometimes death. As my dog is a boxer she’s a natural gas bag so feeding her anything that would further upset her already delicate gastric intestinal systems is absolute a no no. Oh i forgot to put in the numbers, so when this all started I had her blood ran to see where she was at she had high phosphorus and high protein so I switched to this dog food “Iams so good Savory chicken” then took her to a different vet which was much further away by about an hour and half. The vet said that her levels still showed problems but dogs with her levels lived years so keep doing what i was doing. Anyway I’m writing today about this discontinued product because I think people should know about it. Call the number I put in and ask iams to start making the product they claim that the sales were poor but I assure you it ran out online all the time and it would sky rocket in price then drop back down. This is a good alternative to $200 a week. And they are not telling people enough about their product to say hey try this it might help your wallet and your dog. I have seen someone write about primal or nature’s as well as lotus which is really really really expensive. If there is enough pressure on iams they will bring the food back. This is working and its not breaking my already busted pocket book. It really shouldn’t be about money but when you dont have money to spend like that it kind of is the best you can afford. Once supply runs out they dont make any more and I cant find anything that she will eat. I’m not saying I know better than a vet. I am not buy any means a vet however I tested it before I put her on it full time. Switched her from pedigree normal nutrition for a week then had her blood checked again. About a year ago they gave my dog 6 months. As long as she has a good quality of life I’m happy. I’m going to buy a few smaller bags to give myself time to research incase they dont change their mind but so far the ones that are the best make your dog sick. I have done tons of research both this time and last time when I found the iams so good. It really makes me angry that people are buying it but stores wont carry it.

I found the perfect dog food Iams so good savory chicken (as well as their salmon and their beef have all the same % this is the beef but its the same as the chicken) The arrows show the two important values to a dog with liver problems

Crude Protein, minimum 21.00% <—-
Crude Fat, minimum 10.00%
Crude Fiber, maximum 5.00%
Moisture, maximum 10.00%
Linoleic Acid, minimum 1.9%
Calcium,minimum 0.65%
Phosphorus, minimum 0.5% <—-
Iron, minimum 225 mg/kg
Zinc, minimum 160 mg/k
Vitamin E, minimum 80 IU/kg

[pitlove]

Hi Jacob-

Basically here’s the thing. Companies like Hill’s and Purina have put in years of research into the topic of proper growth and nutrition for large breeds. Royal Canin to an extent but not as much as the other two. In reality these foods are better to use because of how much research is backing them.

Also in reference to All Life Stages foods; no they are not all appropriate for large breed puppies. A lot of companies will not provide a nutrient analysis on their website so you will have to do some leg work and contact them and ask for their MAX levels of calcium and phosphorus in their All Life Stages or growth diets.

Dr. Tim’s Kinesis and NutriSource Large Breed Puppy are 2 excellent foods that you can purchase through chewy.com. Dr. Tim’s has been feed trialed as well which is important.

Fromm would out rank Royal Canin for a lot of people simply because they like the way the ingredients look. Both will let the dog grow properly. RC is just a bigger company that does feed trials and conducts their own research so from the view point of a veterinary nutritionist, RC beats Fromm.

Blue Buffalo is a tad shady of a company and I personally do not feel comfortable recommending them and I wouldn’t use their products again (I did when my pitbull was little).

[Francine R]

I bought Shep Pure Being du dog food. There is not one ounce of grain in it. It has many of the same ingredients as the high – priced food at Petco. I can send anyone a picture of the whole bag. One of my Eskies has a sissy stomach. If the food isn’t good it’s like a spackle shot layer! Both Eskies loved it and neither had an issue. I gave them a few kibble at a time to start.

The food has the same slightly oily consistency as the Blue Buffalo. But, I’m TIRED of paying $60 for a bag of dog food that probably cost $8 to make! It’s RIDICULOUS these prices. I’m now saving $36 a pop, OVER HALF of what I spent on Blue Buffalo. No itching and scratching from my dog. A CLEAR sign there are no grains.

[Susan]

Hi Lori, I have a dog with IBD stomach & skin allergies, have you seen a vet about the soft stools yet? when Patch was doing soft sloppy yellow poos he needed his anal sacs expressed… then once his poos started firming up his anal glands emptied by themselves, if his poo is yellow & smells bad he will need Metronidazole tablets, Metronidazole is an antibiotic for the bowel…
When Patch was eating Wellness Simple kibble for 2-3months it started to make Patches poos go yellow, sloppy & smelly again, so I had to put him back on Metronidazole for 10days & I changed his kibble to Taste Of The Wild Roasted Lamb & so far he’s doing really well..
First try another brand of kibble, have a look at “Taste Of The Wild” Pacific Stream Smoked Salmon or TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb, a few dogs with EPI & IBD do really well on Taste Of The Wild Kibbles, Patch does the best poos when he eats TOTW I don’t know WHY?? stay away from kibbles with chicken if your dog isn’t OK with chicken……
Also have a look at “California Natural” Lamb & Rice it has just 4 ingredients, no peas, Just Rice & Lamb, dogs with IBD & IBS do really well on California Natural Kibbles…. http://www.californianaturalpet.com/products
If after trying a limited ingredient kibble like California Natural or TOTW & poos are same Yuk, then see a vet & ask for a course of Metronidazole you get 21 tablets in packet, that’s a 3 week course, if vet gives you a script you can get from chemist (Cheaper) & try the California Natural again, The Blue Buffalo could of made his bacteria in the bowel too much bad bacteria & not enough good bacteria google S.I.B.O or Dysbiosis (leaky Gut)

[Lori Y]

hi. I have an 8 year old cockapoo who has started having some digestion trouble and now has soft stools- not liquid but definitely soft. Last week we had to get his anal glands expressed for the first time (outside of groomings), and I believe it’s because of this. We fed him Blue Buffalo Basics Lamb and Rice (I now see on this site that BB isn’t highly rated- a total surprise to me!) and switched to the BB grain-free formula which hasn’t helped. He doesn’t do well with chicken products either. I would really appreciate any suggestions for what to try next. Thanks so much!

[Suzanne W]

Desiree mentioned she mixes this with blue buffalo dry dog food, which I also make my own topper to mix in with blue buffalo! I like desiree’s recipe! Good job!