# Blue Buffalo Co Puppy Food?



## jesirose (Mar 27, 2008)

Does anyone use this food? When I went to the store to get all of the stuff I needed for Sadie (bed, leash, etc) this is the food they sold me. I got the puppy one. 
Here are the first couple ingredients:


> Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Ground Barley, Oatmeal, Rye, Whole Potatoes, Chicken Fat....


plus a ton of other stuff including blueberries, fish meal, various veggies. It even has green tea and omega-3 lol.  Also, it says it has 27% crude protein min. 

This is a bit gross - sorry - but Sadie's poops are always pretty wet (like really hard to pick up with the baggie) and kind of gritty. She went to the vet on her first day home and they did a stool sample or something and said it was fine. I know for the day before I got her she was fed Purina but don't know what was before that (She was bounced around a bit before finding our home)

I am so overwhelmed with what I've been reading about food to tell which brands are good. I don't have the time to make food, so I need to find a good brand. Does her poop problem (if this even is a problem?) mean I need to try a different food? Can I get some food recommendations?

Thanks guys.


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## Abbysdad (Dec 23, 2007)

I fed Abby the Lamb formula of BLUE. It is rated high in good quality. They sell it at Petsmart. At the top of the dog food forum there is a post of good quality dog food. I think it is not on the list but there is a formula that you can use to rate kibble from A-F. Blue is rated "A" As for the runs when changing a puppy from one kibble to another you need to gradualy do it slow. Plus just coming home will take time to get use to. So, don't worry. You can give your pup a tablespoon of raw pumkin in a can and that will help with the runs. Don't give her pumkin pie mix in a can. Just raw canned pumkin.

Also, reading and finding a good dog food is the way to go but it can lead to a fried brain! I'm still recooperating!


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

Try the stickys at the top of the food forum. Some members have rated most of the commonly used brands. And dogfoodanalysis.com is a good unbiased site. Most of us strive for 5-6 star foods from that site. Then I would find an independent pet store that carries the brands you are interested in. Check the manufacturers' websites, they usually have a store locator. If a store carries one premium brand they are likely to carry several. And they usually have free small sample bags for your dog to try before you buy a whole big bag.


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## jesirose (Mar 27, 2008)

Thanks guys  I am checking out that site, and I'm glad to hear someone else uses Blue. I was concerned they might have sold it to me because the brand wants them to, you know?

I will try the pumpkin. She's already been eating just the Blue for 5 days - if I start adding in the old stuff which I only have about 1/2 cup left of anyway, will that help or not? 

briteday, if I find a brand on that site and it is carried by Petsmart, is there a reason to go to an independant store instead? Our petsmart has 5 aisles of dog food, they have so many brands (I had no idea where to start!)


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## SMoore (Nov 9, 2007)

I work at Petsmart and have used Blue Buffalo a lot. In fact i may end up going back to it as my dogs aren't doing so well on RAW and im not sure I have the patience to keep trying new things.

I figure if it works then don't switch it.

I fed Pandora the Blue Buffalo puppy and then at around 7 months switched her to adult. SOmeone told me feeding puppy food to such a large breed pup can do more harm than good.

I feed my other adult dogs the Blue Buffalo Wilderness which I believe is a 6 star food. It has a lot of protein in it so I'm not sure it would be good for puppies (42%) but for my active adults its perfect.


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## Shalva (Mar 23, 2007)

my cat HATED it.... the cat food of course..... absolutely HATED IT
it took forever to use up the bag and we are back on another food but she just hated it. 
s


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## Lorina (Jul 1, 2006)

My cats liked the food well enough, but it didn't agree with my short haired cat. She kept having poop stuck on her butt. She does better on a food with higher fiber.


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## War (Oct 1, 2007)

I feed my dogs Blue Buffalo I feed Roxy the puppy formula and Raven the adult formula and they both love it! I also buy the canned version of Blue and mix that in with the dry kibble.Thier stools are firm and not smelly.
They are doing pretty well on that food and I'm happy with it.
I buy it at Petsmart at its about $1.69 for the cans and around $32.00 for a 30lb bag .So yea I would give it a thumbs up


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

IMO, there is no quality pet food sold at Petsmart. They produce their own brand, Authority, and would prefer not to have any higher quality competition. Blue Buffalo is probably the best food sold at Petsmart. But with a little effort on your part you can find BETTER foods for the same price. Since you live in a major metro area there should be an abundance of independent pet stores, farm/ag/feed stores, and other resources. FREE samples are usually available through the independents and ag stores. So you can try foods before spending $$$ on a 40# bag, another savings. Once you determine which food best serves you and your dog then you can shop price, maybe getting it cheaper than your local independents. Some members here purchase online at quite a savings. 

You may think you are paying more for better food but in the long run you are not. You end up feeding less of food with fewer fillers so 40 pounds lasts longer. And your vet bills will decrease as your pet's quality of life increases. Honestly, my dogs and cat only see the vet for a yearly check up.

Here is an unbiased report of BB from dogfoodanalysis.com :

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php/product/1610/sort/2/cat/all/page/1

And the puppy food:

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php/product/531/sort/2/cat/all/page/1


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## SMoore (Nov 9, 2007)

briteday said:


> IMO, there is no quality pet food sold at Petsmart. They produce their own brand, Authority, and would prefer not to have any higher quality competition. Blue Buffalo is probably the best food sold at Petsmart. But with a little effort on your part you can find BETTER foods for the same price. Since you live in a major metro area there should be an abundance of independent pet stores, farm/ag/feed stores, and other resources. FREE samples are usually available through the independents and ag stores. So you can try foods before spending $$$ on a 40# bag, another savings. Once you determine which food best serves you and your dog then you can shop price, maybe getting it cheaper than your local independents. Some members here purchase online at quite a savings.
> 
> You may think you are paying more for better food but in the long run you are not. You end up feeding less of food with fewer fillers so 40 pounds lasts longer. And your vet bills will decrease as your pet's quality of life increases. Honestly, my dogs and cat only see the vet for a yearly check up.
> 
> ...



Actually Petsmart pushes the sales of Blue Buffalo more than Authority. At least in my store we even have people come in to help sell the food and it's usually advertised at the register.

I'd never suggest Authority to anybody, most dogs I know wont even eat it and I see more bags of it returned than sold.

Also I think it's kind of harsh to say that no quality pet foods are sold at Petsmart as the Blue Buffalo Wilderness has been given a 6 star rating.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1328&cat=all


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## gypsylakat (Mar 30, 2008)

I agree with Smoore in the year i've worked at Petsmart, i've NEVER reccomended Authority (nor has anyone else i work with) and have reccomended blue buff a lot, we tried a lot of brands before arriving at blue buff at the reccomendation of my manager (apparently petsmart has this statistic that close to 50% of their employees use it, not so sure how accurate that is, but that's what I heard) Our boxer loves it, and her coat has gotten a lot more color since we switched. 

I do have a question about Blue Buff though

My Bf's parents went to this pet expo and one of the other food salesman there was telling her that he heard that the FDA recently requested a list of where Pet food was manufactured and Blue Buffalo wouldn't give them their list? anyone heard of this? I have looked on the internet and I can't find anything recent.


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## SMoore (Nov 9, 2007)

I haven't heard anything about that. I do have one thing I dislike about Blue Buffalo is their salmon & fish recipe. I know a lot of people who have bought it because their dogs have a chicken allergy and there IS chicken in that food it's just further down the list.

The lamb and rice however does not have it so I've been telling people to switch to that flavor if that case applies to them.

One of our dog trainers has a pit bull who is highly allergic to chicken in dog food (not raw chicken) and almost flipped out on it.

I know it must be a recent change because a few months ago we were all looking at the ingredient list and it was not there.

So that so far is my only complaint. That and my cats hated it so they eat Nutro now. They're happy on it.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

gypsylakat said:


> My Bf's parents went to this pet expo and one of the other food salesman there was telling her that he heard that the FDA recently requested a list of where Pet food was manufactured and Blue Buffalo wouldn't give them their list? anyone heard of this? I have looked on the internet and I can't find anything recent.


Whole Dog Journal recently asked all the quality pet food manufacturers to disclose where their foods were processed, and Blue Buffalo did not respond. I have no idea if the FDA did this also.....shouldn't they KNOW where the foods were made? I can't say I have full confidence in government agencies, but this seems like something they should be able to find out for themselves.


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## AutumnWynd (Feb 20, 2008)

Both my dog and my cat eat BB, both do very well on it. I noticed after putting my dog on it that his coat got shinier and he poops less. I just switched my cat over to it, so I cant say for sure but as of right now he has not thrown a fit over it and is eating it just fine


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

gypsylakat said:


> My Bf's parents went to this pet expo and one of the other food salesman there was telling her that he heard that the FDA recently requested a list of where Pet food was manufactured and Blue Buffalo wouldn't give them their list? anyone heard of this? I have looked on the internet and I can't find anything recent.


I should also add that the FDA has nothing to do with pet foods. The USDA governs animal feed. That totally slipped my mind when I replied the first time.


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## jesirose (Mar 27, 2008)

I didn't realize this was still going!

I went to an independent store with a list of foods I liked off the dogfoodanalysis website. The staff helped me pick out one, California Naturals. It is only a 4 star on the site, but Sadie loves it and since we switched her poop is getting much better. The vet checked it for parasites again and there was none, but there was a lot of bacteria, so she put her on some antibiotics. 

Blue Buffalo Sales Reps are in the petsmart store, and encourage people to buy it - trust me  They often have other brands in there but I have gone to the petsmart every day of the week one week and the same rep was still there. I think that is just her job, to be at that store all day.

Their website has stuff about that dog food list:
http://bluebuff.com/health/faqs.shtml#question1a



> Why is BLUE dry dog food currently not on the Whole Dog Journal's 2008 Recommended List?
> 
> We've been receiving questions recently from pet parents wanting to know why BLUE dry dog food is not on The Whole Dog Journal's Approved Dry Dog Food List this year after being on the list since 2004.
> 
> ...


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## MaddiesMom (Nov 8, 2007)

I think dog food brands on this forum are a very personal thing. Everyone has opinions and some think their brand of choice is the only brand of choice, but to each their own. That's the beauty of freedom of speech. 

When we got Maddie she was on Eukenuba - in my opinion (see my opinion - maybe not yours) barely a step above grocery store dog food. In my opinion my mom's dog food of choice (Iams) for her dog is not for my dog, but her dog does well on it. He's not over-weight, sickly, etc.

I switched Maddie to Blue Buffalo puppy formula. She is now on Blue Buffalo Wilderness, which she loves. I got samples of Chicken Soup, which she promptly threw up. I decided then and there not to mess with what works. 

No one at our local PetSmart pushed me into buying it. I did my own research and got a sample from Blue Buffalo. I mixed it with her other food and she ate it right down, which was not happening with the Eukenuba. She even ate around the Eukenuba in the bowl. I threw out the old dog food and went to PetSmart that day and bought Blue Buffalo - never had a problem with the food switch.

I do not have a problem with the price - I don't care that there are, what others feel are "better" dog foods out there at a lower price. That may work for your dog. I feel what ever Maddie likes and does well on is more than worth it - no expense spared. 

I can recommend all I want, but ultimately it is what your dog likes and does well on. All I know is my Maddie is a Blue Buff dog for life.


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## chevygirl (Apr 14, 2008)

Hi I actually work for the company. If you did not transition the dog for its old food over to blue that can happen and also you have to think of it this way before the dog was eating McDonalds and candy every day of its life and you just change it to a well balance meal. Have you ever watched supper size me when the man went back to eating healthy he had to detoxify slowly. Did you do a transition if so how long did you do it for?


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## JenTN (Feb 21, 2008)

I would never consider them becaue a rep at Petsmart asked what I was feeding and I told her "Innova Large Breed Puppy". She then proceeded to tell me that if I ever wanted to switch Bo over to a holistic food to try Blue Buffalo. I don't think she'd ever even heard of Innova


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## jesirose (Mar 27, 2008)

chevygirl said:


> Hi I actually work for the company. If you did not transition the dog for its old food over to blue that can happen and also you have to think of it this way before the dog was eating McDonalds and candy every day of its life and you just change it to a well balance meal. Have you ever watched supper size me when the man went back to eating healthy he had to detoxify slowly. Did you do a transition if so how long did you do it for?


If you'd read the post you should know the answer.
We switched her to California Natural and she is better now.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

chevygirl said:


> Hi I actually work for the company. If you did not transition the dog for its old food over to blue that can happen and also you have to think of it this way before the dog was eating McDonalds and candy every day of its life and you just change it to a well balance meal. Have you ever watched supper size me when the man went back to eating healthy he had to detoxify slowly. Did you do a transition if so how long did you do it for?


i wouldnt call blue buffalo a well balanced meal. i have found FEW kibbles out there that ARE a well balanced meal


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## reverend_maynard (Aug 4, 2007)

GreatDaneMom said:


> i wouldnt call blue buffalo a well balanced meal. i have found FEW kibbles out there that ARE a well balanced meal


What do you feel is wrong with Blue Buff?


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

reverend_maynard said:


> What do you feel is wrong with Blue Buff?


i never said anything was wrong with it, but its not what i would call well balanced. as i stated, i have found VERY few that are. if you really want me to list reasons why i dont feed it, i would.


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