# Another "which is a better dog food?" thread.



## hk45shooter (Apr 7, 2009)

As some of you may know, or remember (those of you with good memories) I had been having issues with dog (puppy) food for Nico. Issues about getting a better food locally. I started off with the Exclusive by Purina Mills (& was told it was a OK food at best), then switched to a brand the vet sold called Ivet (& was told it was about the same as the previous food).

Anyway I was reading the local free trader paper this morning & there's an ad in it from a local pet groomer that carries Royal Canin & Nutra. I call her up & ask about each, she says she quit carrying the Nutra cause they keep raising the price & decreasing the bag size. (Good for her for taking a stand on that. IMO anyway.) Instead she say she is going to have Blue Buffalo.

Of the two brands Royal Canin & Blue Buffalo, which do you think is a better food. Money is a small issue, meaning not very much but I do not want to pay more than I would for myself to eat a week.

She says she uses the Royal Canin for her dogs (some kind of Poodle).

<span style="color: #000099">*The Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe ingredients sound pretty good to me.*</span>

Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal (natural source of Glucosamine), Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Ground Barley, Whole Potatoes, Tomato Pomace (natural source of Lycopene), Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Natural Tocopherols), Natural Chicken Flavor, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Flaxseed, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal, Kelp Meal, Taurine, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Green Tea Extract, Turmeric, Garlic, Sunflower Oil (natural source of Omega 6 Fatty Acids), Herring Oil (natural source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Dried Chicory Root, Black Malted Barley, Oil of Rosemary, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin C, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Beta Carotene, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Folic Acid, Biotin, Choline Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Zinc Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Zinc), Iron Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Iron), Copper Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Copper), Manganese Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Manganese), Potassium Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Potassium), Cobalt Proteinate (source of Chelated Cobalt), Potassium Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Salt, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Bifidobacterium thermophilum, Bifidobacterium longum, Enterococcus faecium.

<span style="color: #000099">*The Royal Canin MAXI Large Breed Puppy 32 does not sound as good, since it has corn gluten meal in it. *</span>

Chicken meal, rice, corn gluten meal, brown rice, chicken fat, barley, wheat gluten, chicken, natural chicken flavor, dried beet pulp (sugar removed), anchovy oil (source of EPA/DHA), sodium silico aluminate, psyllium seed husk, potassium chloride, dried egg product, salt, fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS), dried brewers yeast extract (source of mannan-oligosaccharides), monosodium phosphate, L-lysine, taurine, DL-methionine, choline chloride, glucosamine hydrochloride, vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), biotin, D-calcium pantothenate, vitamin A acetate, niacin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2) supplement, folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], Trace Minerals [zinc oxide, zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite] , chondroitin sulfate, marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.), preserved with natural mixed tocopherols (source of Vitamin E) and citric acid, rosemary extract.

Is there something I am missing, or are my views of these foods off? 

Sorry for the long post, I tried linking the ingredients, but the links were not working right.

Thanks.


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## Grims (Jul 3, 2008)

Blue Buffalo looks much better in this comparison. I stopped reading The RC when it got to the corn ingredients. The BB also has two meats (although the first being a water meat would be dropped down the list somewhere) 

Although I wouldn't feed either.


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## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

Royal Canin is not great food. There is wheat gluten and corn. BB is a lot better IMO.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

The Blue Buffalo is a much better food than Royal Canin IMO. The Royal Canin puppy contains both wheat gluten and corn gluten meal. These are among the top food allergies in dogs and are low-quality fillers. Here are the definitions of these according to AAFCO:

Corn Gluten Meal - the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm.

Wheat Gluten- The tough, viscid nitrogenous substance remaining when the (wheat) is washed to remove the starch.

Additionally if you look at the ingredients in the Royal Canin, both the second and fourth ingredients are rice, compared to only one actual meat ingredient (chicken meal) in the top 5 ingredients. If you were able to add up the amount of the two forms of rice it is likely that this food would be revealed to contain a lot more rice than it does meat. In contrast, the first two ingredients of the Blue Buffalo are both chicken.


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

Blue buffalo, stopped reading when I saw the corn gluten in RC. Here's a website for you: http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=betterproducts 
Will help you decide what ingredients you do and don't want in your pets food.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Blue Buffalo by a landslide


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## allieg (Nov 4, 2008)

Haven't fed either but BB would be my choice if I had to choose.


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## darga19 (Mar 4, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: Lucy DogBlue Buffalo by a landslide


Another vote for BB. Stay away from the corn!


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## Daisy1986 (Jul 9, 2008)

I am sure there is better than BB, but I feed it to all 4 of my dogs and they do great. 

Of the 2 Blue Buffalo would be my choice.


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## hk45shooter (Apr 7, 2009)

That is basically what I thought, about the BB being the better of the two, & since I am no expert I come here to ask those of you that are more knowledgeable than I am.

My vet suggested staying away from corn as much as possible too, & even the two that I have tried have had it, but the I-Vet had it further down in the ingredients. 

I will be going over to the groomers tomorrow to get me some of the BB, even thought she said she just got it in today & has not even got a suggested price from the company rep.

I am so glad there is more choices for me in my area now other than grocery store food & what ever the Vet has to offer.


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

i think Royal Canin is very good at marketing their food , (ie we make a food specifically for your _______'_enter breed here_'). i think it blinds people to the fact that they are charging an exorbitant price for a mediocre product.


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

Wow your vet suggested foods with no corn?? He's a keeper!


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## Grims (Jul 3, 2008)

Yeah, with all the vets recommending that Science Diet crap....and corn is the first ingredient!


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## hk45shooter (Apr 7, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: DenaliFofaliWow your vet suggested foods with no corn?? He's a keeper!


He did not really come right out & say it, but I got the hint.

Told me that corn is a high allergen in a lot of dogs. So I took it as stay away from.


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

Most vets don't have a clue! Mine for example, suggested I feed my puppy Purina Puppy Chow and I had her on Natural Balance.
And he also suggested that I Alpha roll her...


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## hk45shooter (Apr 7, 2009)

So I got a 30 lb bag of BB, $49 & some change out the door.

About average, or high?


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## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

Yes - Lg Breed Puppy is $48.99? at Petsmart - I think.


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## lcht2 (Jan 8, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: hk45So I got a 30 lb bag of BB, $49 & some change out the door.
> 
> About average, or high?


that seems high. i can get the blue wilderness for that same price and that is better than the "regular" blue buffalo recipes.


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## hk45shooter (Apr 7, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: lcht2
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: hk45So I got a 30 lb bag of BB, $49 & some change out the door.
> ...


Your area may be a larger town/city than mine. This is what it available to ME.


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## phgsd (Jun 6, 2004)

I pay 49.99 for the Wilderness, but it's a 26 lb bag vs a 30 lb bag of the other formulas, so it does end up being more expensive per pound even though the price is similar per bag.


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