# blue buffalo - bad?



## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

i feed my dogs innova. they are doing great with it and i really like the food. but, i would like to rotate and thought about blue buffalo. i did some research and it seems like there are a lot of complaints lately, also people that say their dogs and cats got really sick. 
what else would you recommend? maybe wellness? i don't want to order the food online and they dont sell acana anywhere near. 
i get influenced so easy by what people say  so i need some advice.


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## Sangaris (Jun 2, 2011)

BB seems overpriced for the quality. Wellness Core would be a better choice for both quality and price. Earthborn is another good choice. It comes in both grain and grain free formulas.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Blue Buffalo is about the same quality as Wellness. Blue Buffalo Wilderness is their grain-free line, which is comparable to Wellness Core. I've heard nothing about dogs getting sick on these foods, but I'm assuming what you're talking about is related to the issues with Diamond? Personally, I wouldn't let that bother you, but it's obviously something you have to decide for yourself.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

i googled blue buffalo reviews and then it showed me reviews and complaints. "a lot" of complaints lately. 
i will finish innova and then see what food i am going to switch to. 
i know, i'm influenced way too easy by what people say.


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## Sangaris (Jun 2, 2011)

Leave enough of the Innova for a gradual switch, otherwise it can irritate their tummy. 

I did forget about BB Wilderness; I was comparing it to BB Freedom which is also grain free. 

After you get feedback from others, check out dogfoodadvisor.com to compare quality.


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Salina said:


> i googled blue buffalo reviews and then it showed me reviews and complaints. "a lot" of complaints lately.
> i will finish innova and then see what food i am going to switch to.
> i know, i'm influenced way too easy by what people say.


Well, Wellness is a great food too, if you're more comfortable with that and have it available nearby.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

i think i will go with wellness in the future. even though i know blue buffalo won't made my dog sick, i always have that in my mind and then i always think whatever "weird" happen, is cause of bb. *lol*


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

I am skeptical of consumer complaints on the Internet. Recalls don't necessarily trouble me, either, depending on who initiated them.

I feed Taste of the Wild. When I Google "Taste of the Wild Complaints," I can quickly locate long lists of "Adverse Event Reports" (complaints.) You'd probably get similar results with any consumer food out there.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

i know. thats why i dont google dog foods anymore ;-) but i did with bb...big mistake :doh: 
but the store close by also carries wellness, so i will try it out. 
should i still buy puppy food for my 7 month old lab? or is normal food ok?


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

Most people feed puppy food for the first year. Molly (the only puppy I've had in about 50 years) got Canidae All Life Stages because we also have an adult dog and I preferred to feed them the same thing.



> You'd probably get similar results with any consumer food out there.


It's been four minutes since I posted this and I can't believe nobody has suggested a raw diet. That might be an option for you if you can manage it.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

raw diet is not gonna work for me i dont think. i know nothing about it, would be worried my dog does not get what it needs, ... and i just dont think its the right thing for me.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

There are many dog foods out there, some that have a good track record are Fromm, Earthborn, NutriSource, Annamaet...


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## boxerlover876 (Dec 31, 2011)

Salina said:


> raw diet is not gonna work for me i dont think. i know nothing about it, would be worried my dog does not get what it needs, ... and i just dont think its the right thing for me.


You could feed a grind until you're comfortable.


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## wolfsnaps (Apr 27, 2007)

i am not a fan of the Enterococcus Faecium they use. Other than that though, I personally don't think its THAT bad


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

is wellness under diamond? or is wellness a seperate company?


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

wellness is not diamond now


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

ok, thank you everybody. still open for more dog food advice :hungry: 
but i think i will try wellness...


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## boxerlover876 (Dec 31, 2011)

zhaor said:


> wellness is not diamond now


One of the formulas is made by Diamond though I believe.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

They stopped right after the recall I think


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

so even though i dont think i will switch to blue buffalo, why are there so may negative posts on that petfoodtalk.com website? seems a little weird, since other dog foods have positive ones or bad and good ones. just wondering...


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## Mheath0429 (Sep 4, 2011)

Salina said:


> so even though i dont think i will switch to blue buffalo, why are there so may negative posts on that petfoodtalk.com website? seems a little weird, since other dog foods have positive ones or bad and good ones. just wondering...


Because people are more likely to complain than to promote a product. To be honest, it depends on the dog. Just because one dog got the runs, doesn't mean another will. Our dogs did GREAT on Wilderness. We had that in our rotation. Now mine eat raw, but it is a good kibble.


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## zhaor (Jul 2, 2009)

So i went over to the petfoodtalk.com website and I didn't really see any valid complaints. Granted I only quickly skimmed through the comments but the couple complaints I saw were just ignorant. Stuff like "sooo glad we didn’t follow the pet stores advice and switch him to the high protein brand" or "my vet sd Iams is fine" or "she starts to gain weight over the past few months. which affects her legs badly"

There were even complaints about garlic and ones that thought blue buffalo was diamond (i guess cause it's a blue diamond logo).

I wouldn't base anything off of those complaints.


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## Mheath0429 (Sep 4, 2011)

Agreed Zhaor, Not to mention Garlic is never a valid complaint. MANY commercial foods have it in there. And, in small amounts it is great for flea control


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## Deaf Dogs (May 28, 2012)

Well, BB Wilderness isn`t too bad, there are definately worse. I wont feed any food made by Diamond, and I wont feed Innova, Evo or any food made by P&G, just like I wont feed any food made by Purina and Mars. I`d also prefer the company manufactures their own food, but I haven't gone completely that way... yet. So I rotate between Orijen, Acana, Fromm, First Mate, The Honest Kitchen, Addiction, Merrick, Before Grain, Precise, Horizon Legacy and Amicus.

My dogs get something different every meal. Variety is so important to every dog, imo. I think we've caused serious digestive issues in our dogs by feeding them the same thing day after day after day...


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## Mheath0429 (Sep 4, 2011)

Deaf dogs, blue wilderness is not made by diamond. Never has been. Its made by blue.buffalo.


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## Deaf Dogs (May 28, 2012)

I never said they were, I was stating what I wont feed  maybe I worded it wrong. But no, I know they aren't and have nothing to do with Diamond.


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## roxiefoxie08 (Dec 15, 2011)

merrick,nature's variety


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

kafkabeetle said:


> Blue Buffalo is about the same quality as Wellness. Blue Buffalo Wilderness is their grain-free line, which is comparable to Wellness Core. I've heard nothing about dogs getting sick on these foods, but I'm assuming what you're talking about is related to the issues with Diamond? Personally, I wouldn't let that bother you, but it's obviously something you have to decide for yourself.


BB is a VERY rich food, I've had two dogs that didn't tolerate it AT ALL even with slow introduction and I've known of several others that had the problem as well. 

Salina, I'd get a small amount and see how you're dogs do on it, some do fabulously and others don't.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

roxiefoxie08 said:


> merrick,nature's variety


Merrick is having a HUGE recall for foods due to nails in several batches.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

I wil just try wellness first. If they do good, i will feed wellness and innova. I dont mind that innova is P&G now. It still produced by the same company just P&G owns the company now. The ingriedients are still good and my dogs are doing good with it. Never had an "unitchy" dog like that.


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## Abbylynn (Jul 7, 2011)

I switched to Wellness after the last Diamond recall due to sanitary issues in their plant .... my dogs are doing great on it!  I was feeding BB and TOTW. I preferred TOTW over BB though. My dogs were not that fond of BB ... actually.


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## Bear2010 (Aug 21, 2012)

Check out the dog food advisor,you can put in any food you are interested in to get the ratings,breakdown and ingredients.http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

cshellenberger said:


> BB is a VERY rich food, I've had two dogs that didn't tolerate it AT ALL even with slow introduction and I've known of several others that had the problem as well.
> 
> Salina, I'd get a small amount and see how you're dogs do on it, some do fabulously and others don't.


It's no richer than comparable foods...Blue Buffalo Wilderness has 38% protein, 17% fat and 38% carbs. To compare, Wellness Core has 38% protein, 18% fat and 36% carbs. And the grain-inclusive formulas of BB aren't really "rich" at all, in that they are much lower in fat and protein. I think if your dogs are used to lower protein/fat foods (I think you mentioned Kirkland around here somewhere) I wouldn't be surprised if they took a while to adjust. I inadvertently avoided this situation with Sydney because my switch to higher quality foods was very gradual as my income rose...she went (roughly) from a Beneful generic to Purina One to Whole Earth Farms to Taste of the Wild (lower protein formulas) to ToTW (high protein formulas), then finally to a whole slew of the highest protein, lowest carb kibbles on the market (NV Instinct, EVO, Back to Basics, etc). She's never once had diarrhea as the result of a food switch. Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is that the problem your dogs had is much less likely due to the qualities of the food, and much more to do with too big of a change in protein/fat in too short of a time. You might need to transition using whole bags of slightly better foods until you reach the one that you want.

Sydney did ok on one of the grain-inclusive Blue Buffalo formulas a long time ago (can't remember which) but she did not like the taste at all.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

Well, my Mastiff who did fine on Evo got very sick on BB, went back to Evo and he did fine again, he ws on the Evo untill he passed away fom cardiac problems (hereditary). As I said, I know too many dogs that have had issues with BB for me to trust the food. I'll use Kirkland, Wellness, Solid Gold and Evo according to the individual dogs needs.


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## aiw (Jun 16, 2012)

It sounds like you've heard a lot of complaints about Blue Buffalo so I thought I'd throw in a good experience. My little dog who is very prone to allergies (we were told by the rescue he could only ever be on raw because of it) is on Blue Buffalo wilderness and doing great. The itching is WAY less and he doesnt have any bald spots anymore. He gets much less than the recommended daily amount and if anything has a little bit of pudge to lose. The food is expensive but lasts a really long time because of how little he needs.


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## AmandaG30 (Jan 31, 2012)

That was one of the better brands we tried, but my dogs just didn’t like the taste, and spit out the darker life source pieces of kibble. I’ve actually had my dogs on Natural Balance for a long time and they love it. It’s also one of the safest foods you can buy. They are one of the few companies that tests all their food for salmonella, melamine etc and puts the results of every bag on their website.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

RonE said:


> Most people feed puppy food for the first year. Molly (the only puppy I've had in about 50 years) got Canidae All Life Stages because we also have an adult dog and I preferred to feed them the same thing.


Lol I thought I was the only one that did ALS bc I had a pup & an adult in the same house lol. I just thought I was bring cheap :/




> It's been four minutes since I posted this and I can't believe nobody has suggested a raw diet. That might be an option for you if you can manage it.


True, I switched from diamond & TOTW bc they started changing their formulas & my dogs for whatever reason, as soon as they got all 'new & improved taste' my dogs didn't want to eat it any more so I was forced to switch otherwise do would still be feeding it.


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## Deaf Dogs (May 28, 2012)

dogdragoness said:


> Lol I thought I was the only one that did ALS bc I had a pup & an adult in the same house lol. I just thought I was bring cheap :/
> 
> 
> 
> ...


You didn't switch from Diamond though.... Canidae is made by Diamond too...


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## kafkabeetle (Dec 4, 2009)

Deaf Dogs said:


> You didn't switch from Diamond though.... Canidae is made by Diamond too...


Where did she say she fed Canidae?


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## Deaf Dogs (May 28, 2012)

I may have misread, looking back she said she did the same, but it was probably her just using ALS not ALS Canidae LOL


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## boxerlover876 (Dec 31, 2011)

Deaf Dogs said:


> You didn't switch from Diamond though.... Canidae is made by Diamond too...


Canidae isn't made by Diamond anymore. They have their own plant now.


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## Deaf Dogs (May 28, 2012)

boxerlover876 said:


> Canidae isn't made by Diamond anymore. They have their own plant now.


I heard Wellness did that, but I did not hear Canidae did... I`m going to have to look into it, because I used to feed it in my rotation before the big Diamond recall, so if they`re manufacturing their own (which is a requirement of mine now) than I can go back to feeding it


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## sheltiemom (Mar 13, 2007)

I tried Blue Buffalo a few years ago and my dogs had bad gas, but looking back I think I did an almost cold switch. I wonder if my results would have been better with a slow switch.


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## StellaLucyDesi (Jun 19, 2008)

I have used Blue Buffalo in the past for my dogs, and cat. I think it's a fine food. They do use quite a few different plants to manufacture their food (5-6, I think lol). I also like that Wellness has totally gone away from Diamond (even though they only made one formula, that's one too many for me). Canidae is not produced by Diamond anymore....they built their own manufacturing plant...yay! Btw, currently, I'm feeding Holistic Select grain free (made by their own plant in Indiana and no recalls...Wellness is made there now, too) and will rotate with Fromm and perhaps Wellness Core Small Breed and Pinnacle grain free.


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## Salina (Sep 2, 2012)

i switched both dogs to wellness now. and my young dog likes it a little better than innova. she is a bad eater :-/ but, i'm happy with it and had no problems with the switch.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

would you guys recomend canidae in your rotations? i am always looking for foods for rotate options in case the ones i am using go to pot... you never know with DF :/


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## boxerlover876 (Dec 31, 2011)

I've heard of some dogs having problems with Canidae. Mainly weird poops. They just moved to their own facility though and their Pure line is decent. I'd recommend it. I've never fed it personally though.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

boxerlover876 said:


> I've heard of some dogs having problems with Canidae. Mainly weird poops. They just moved to their own facility though and their Pure line is decent. I'd recommend it. I've never fed it personally though.


Regarding Canidae, this was posted on another forum:


I called Canidae today to ask about the food and their own "Ethos" plant. In a nutshell, I was told Ethos is a small plant, making currently the cat food and some of the ALS products-they still work with co packers Diamond and American Pet Nutrition(may be others, it was very difficult to get information) and have no immediate plans to stop and make all their own food. The food made by Ehtos will be distributed in the Midwest-I attempted several times to find out how the consumer could tell where it was made and she was very unhelpful, stating "there is no way" and then correcting herself to say "there was a way" but its difficult to say who provides what food to what areas?!?! Apparently, SOME of the ALS for NY might come from APN in Pa, but DIAMOND MAKES ALL THE GRAINFREE AND CONTINUES TO DO SO


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## boxerlover876 (Dec 31, 2011)

InkedMarie said:


> Regarding Canidae, this was posted on another forum:
> 
> 
> I called Canidae today to ask about the food and their own "Ethos" plant. In a nutshell, I was told Ethos is a small plant, making currently the cat food and some of the ALS products-they still work with co packers Diamond and American Pet Nutrition(may be others, it was very difficult to get information) and have no immediate plans to stop and make all their own food. The food made by Ehtos will be distributed in the Midwest-I attempted several times to find out how the consumer could tell where it was made and she was very unhelpful, stating "there is no way" and then correcting herself to say "there was a way" but its difficult to say who provides what food to what areas?!?! Apparently, SOME of the ALS for NY might come from APN in Pa, but DIAMOND MAKES ALL THE GRAINFREE AND CONTINUES TO DO SO


That's dissapointing I thought they finally broke off.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

boxerlover876 said:


> That's dissapointing I thought they finally broke off.


I just realized who you are!


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## boxerlover876 (Dec 31, 2011)

InkedMarie said:


> I just realized who you are!


Yeah I try to stick with one username for reasons like that. I just added it in on the bottom here.


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

boxerlover876 said:


> Yeah I try to stick with one username for reasons like that. I just added it in on the bottom here.


same here, I'm 'dogdragoness' on every dog forum & some form of 'dragoness' on any other type of forum... there is always a dragoness somewhere in my username LMBO


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

thats too bad, man are there ANY small, DF companies that independantly make their food anymore?


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## Deaf Dogs (May 28, 2012)

Fromm, Champion (Orijen, Acana), First Mate, Horizon... there are other more obscure ones that I can't remember


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

any made in the USA? the ones that have to be importated from Canada are too pricey down here.


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