Blue Buffalo?

[SoCrafty]

I know food is a really sensitive subject - but I figured I would ask anyway.

I was looking for a 3.5-5 star puppy food (rating by a popular rating website) that is affordable. Breeder has her on a decent food, but I wanted something different (personal choice).

So I wanted to switch brands (slowly!). I studied all the foods that I could find and fit in my budget. I settled on Blue Buffalo Life Chicken and brown rice puppy. Has 27% protein, which is right in between what they say Shelties should have. The higher rating foods are mostly grain free and, thus, higher protein. It has a 4.5 rating, was in my budget (about $20 for 6lbs). It will last a while, she's small.

I was so satisfied, until I looked online on Consumer Affairs and saw so many complaints! It has 1 star there. Dogs are getting sick and possibly dying. I don't want to make her sick! Has anyone fed Blue Buffalo? Is it OK to feed?

My other option is Wellness Complete. I refuse Nutro products and I don't want any higher protein than 27%-28%.

 

[SpringerLover]

I don't like Blue Buffalo for a variety of reasons so I don't feed it personally.

Why do you want such low protein? That's quite low for a puppy food, much less an adult food.

 

[SoCrafty]

It was mentioned on another website that higher protein is bad for Shelties as they can suffer from kidney issues. They said target range is about 27%/28%.

Can you tell me your reasons for not liking this particular food? Feel free to inbox me if you don't want to say it publicly.

 

[Beanie]

Some interesting stuff here. It's not a food I would feed, personally, and my sister is actually switching her dog off it after this stuff has come out.
http://www.petfoodhonesty.com/

FWIW I have been feeding my guys 32% protein for a good long while, at least as long as I've had Payton. Payton is now on a 38%, and Pepper is trying it as well after encouragement from my holistic DVM. Auggie and Georgie are on 34% now and during agility season we are considering putting Georgie on the 38%. At no point has either my sports vet, my regular vet, or holistic vet told me it was a bad idea - in fact the sports vet and holistic vet are both the ones who wanted Auggie on higher protein anyway. Auggie's breeder is a CVT and her husband has a MS in animal nutrition and neither of them have any problems with the dogs being on higher protein.

I personally feel like this is one where there is no hard science proving it's high protein diets as the cause and I have no problems feeding them higher protein (I don't feel like 32% or 34% is "high" protein anyway; I believe when they are talking about high protein, they're really talking about the diets that are over 50%, and there are a few of those out there. Not many but a few.) But of course it's up to you to feed whatever you are comfortable with... just throwing that out there.


I am not opposed to Wellness as a brand, personally, and they were on my list of foods to consider. Right now I am feeding Earthborn Holistic and happy with how it's going. You might peek at their grain-inclusive formulas (I'm pretty sure they have some) and see how those look!

 

[amberdyan]

I've definitely heard of people feeding Blue Buffalo and their dogs doing well on it, but dog had really bad diarrhea until we switched him to Fromm, so it's not something I would feed. Fromm is pretty darn affordable though (especially the grain inclusive kind- mine has a grain allergy) and he does great on it.

 

[*blackrose]

Although I've never fed Fromm, I have had good experiences with the company and it would probably be one I'd turn to if I ever wanted a grain free/alternative food.

Right now I'm feeding Purina Pro Plan Sport and am extremely happy with it. Doubt I'll switch off any time soon! I...also do not care for Blue Buffalo.

 

[Laurelin]

My dogs do not eat wellness very good. Even Hank who is a bottomless pit.

I've fed BB in the past off and on with no issues but generally wouldn't feed it now.

If ordering online is an option chewy.com has some good options like Annamaet. Some of the grain inclusive foods are also a bit lower protein.

I find my dogs do best between 26-34% protein. Not sure why but it works.

 

[SoCrafty]

Thank you all for the suggestions! I am going to return the bag of BB and try something else. I will look up the Earthborn and Fromm (I think my SIL feeds Fromm). I have never heard of the Annamaet, but will look

 

[PuppyInMotion.com]

You can try Taste of the Wild too. It has a similar cost to BB, and maybe just a bit lower. Here is cost comparison table too that maybe helpful: Dry Food Cost Comparison

 

[monkeys23]

I've been doing a rotation of midgrade to good grain free foods since having to stop doing raw and the dogs have been doing well with that.

I got poor enough results from TOTW and Nature's Domain that I stopped feeding them. Having to feed Scout 4 cups a day to hold normal weight kinda negated the cheap price point. Icky poos. Flaky skin. Blech.

Earthborn doesn't get the best results, but the price point is good enough that its still in my rotation. Right now feeding the buffalo one. They really like it. The lamb one they did meh on, but the buffalo and fish seem to sit really well with my dogs.

Was really impressed with the Merrick duck & Sweet potato. Will be trying the other kinds.

Annmaet is awesome. Tried the fish one. It was a little pricey even on clearance at my local store, but if I catch it on sale again I will definitely buy it.

BBW is overpriced for what it is IMO. They did fine on it, but meh.

Acana grain free singles are awesome. If you are ordering online those are worth looking into.

I really like the Go Now fit & free (the one with the terv on the bag).

Zignature trout and salmon was good.

Tried Nutrisource salmon, ehh it was okay. This is going to sound really weird but their fur stank when we had this food.

I will try Fromm at some point I'm sure. Their reputation speaks for itself.

I haven't fed Wellness Core to my dogs, but it is my go to for my cats. Seriously have tried many others, but always go back to this. Finding something the cats will both eat and do well on is always fun.