# Blue Buffalo



## Peco (Jun 11, 2011)

I started my Bella on Science Diet at 6 weeks old when I got her, well after some research I found out SD isn't a very good food. While still having about 1.5# of the 3# bag of SD I started to switch her over to Blue Buffalo Puppy food and now on straight BB and now running low on the 6 pound bag of BB. Now heres my question "Should I be feeding her BB puppy food or BB large breed puppy food?" I was talking to the the girl at Petco (she was very helpful and sound like she knew what she was talking about) and she said I should feed Bella BB PF until she is about 40# and then I should put her on BB LBPF? Now from what I,ve read on these forms she should be on BB LBPF right of the bat, so should I go against when the girl at Petco said and just get BB LB PF??? Here are the analysis on both foods: Blue Buffalo Puppy Food - 
Crude Protein min27.00%
Crude Fat min16.00%
Crude Fiber max4.00%
Moisture max 10.00%
Calcium min 1.30%
Phosphorus min1.00%
DHA min 0.10%
Omega 3 Fatty Acids* min0.40%
Omega 6 Fatty Acids* min 3.50%

Blue Buffalo Large Breed Food 
Crude Protein min28.00%
Crude Fat min12.00%
Crude Fiber max4.00%
Moisture max10.00%
Calcium min1.20%
Phosphorus min0.95%
DHA* min0.10%


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## lonestarag05 (Feb 28, 2011)

bbp formula is too high in calcium @ 1.3%.

LBP, is correct at 1.2% (highest recommended for GSD's) as well as having a better protein mix.

Lots of threads in the archives that go MUCH deeper into the subject.


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## neiltus (Mar 10, 2011)

hi from another ag.

I second BB lbp for the same reasons


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## lonestarag05 (Feb 28, 2011)

neiltus said:


> hi from another ag.
> 
> I second BB lbp for the same reasons


Howdy!


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## WarrantsWifey (Dec 18, 2010)

BB LBP is what your looking for.... Same reasons Lonestar stated....


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## caurimare (Mar 18, 2011)

lonestarag05 said:


> bbp formula is too high in calcium @ 1.3%.
> 
> LBP, is correct at 1.2% (highest recommended for GSD's) as well as having a better protein mix.
> 
> Lots of threads in the archives that go MUCH deeper into the subject.


so if 1.2% of calcium is the highest recommended for gsd how can we trust a food in this case BB LBP that says they have a minimum of 1.2 %, what is the max? and also everybody recommends orijen LBP as one of the best kibble and they state 1.5% min/1.7% max . can somebody please clarify this.
thanks


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## neiltus (Mar 10, 2011)

your looking for a phosphorus to calcium ratio between 1.2 and 1.5 +/-. It is not overall % in the food, (now don't go feeding something that is 8% calcium), it's the ratio.

I feed prairie chicken and rice. It comes in at 1.41% I know plenty of pups that have eaten it and not developed issues.

There are a TON of factors that are more important than this in determining joint health. If you do this and don't address the other factors-having a pup bread by stud/bitch not OFA or not known to produce decent joints, if you take your pup on 5 mile walks 2x a day, if you engage in tablework or jumping too early, or if you feed too much food in a ratio and end up with a balloon of a huge/heavy puppy, well, all of those and a few other things can factor into joint issues.

Food is just one MINOR factor.

Just as an FYI, I got off the phone with Nature's Variety today...they have a LBP where the max ratio comes in at 2. I asked if it was a new product and they have not updated the labels yet...she said the LBP can have a higher ratio than their prairie food. It also contains omega oils and Glucosamine, etc. 

After that conversation I will just continue on prairie with Nupro....

If a food that your dog does well on has 1.6% I would not worry too much about it.

There are also a ton of other threads on this for a couple hours worth of reading...

I think if you go with a prairie, bb lbp, wellness lbp orijen, etc, you will be fine. I would not feed something that is 95% animal product with a ton of bone and a 5% ratio though.

You can overfeed and get worse results with something with a 1.0 ratio.


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## Alois (Feb 4, 2011)

lonestarag05 said:


> Howdy!


 wondered how many were on here


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## Scarlettsmom (Jul 12, 2011)

We were told to use BB initially, but our vet suggested Royal Canin Digest/joint health and we switched. Scarlett has a much better stool now and her coat is gorgeous! The cost difference isn't significant.


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