# Blue Buffalo?



## tmorgan (Oct 3, 2011)

Right now I'm feeding my puppy iams smart puppy large breed kibble. I know its not the best and now I want to switch over to Blue Buffalo large breed puppy. Is this a good food or is there something better without having to pay out a fortune?


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

I fed my puppy Blue Buffalo and I still feed it.


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

I fed it at one time but after some research I decided to stop doing business with a company that was not forthright with some questions I had.

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/diet-nutrition/145562-blue-buffalo-what-they-hiding.html

Also some dogs don't handle it well (diarrhea), same with Orijen and Wellness.


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

My dog had diarrhea issues with it but I was feeding the Chicken formula and realized that my dog had a sensitivity to chicken. But I feed the Basics Salmon now and no diarrhea issues at all.


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## Salix (Feb 13, 2011)

Blue Buffalo for most of Denver's life. BB Wilderness Salmon for the past 3 months and he does excellently well on it. Great coat which he never had with other kinds of dog food. Overall higher energy and brighter, more alert. I'm satisfied with this brand for now but I always say: If someone can point me to a more feasible and higher quality dog food available to me in my area (BC Canada), I may be willing to try it. 

A note: BB Wilderness has a high protein percentage of 34% which I have not seen in any other kind of dog food. Most are around 22% which is nowhere near to enough for my 100lb+ beast. Diarrhea was severe in the first week so be aware of this and prepare for it if you decide to go this route. Some freak out after a few days of diarrhea. I stuck with it and it has paid off.

As another sidenote: I already checked out the BB -what are they hiding link and read some of it on another website during google searches. I'm not interested in customer service or having a red carpet rolled out to me. Give me the bag when I give you the money and I'll tell you if it's good with my dog. I pay more attention to how my dog reacts, his behaviours, his (stool) passings and inspect them closely, his alertness when I train him and his levels of energy. I'm fairly certain that there are other fantastic brands out there but as of this point, I am satisfied with what I see in BB.


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

I think for the quality, BB is overpriced personally. I -do- like their Wilderness formulas but it's not appropriate for a growing LB puppy.

Though I'm not in the same feeling that Iams is that bad. They have some new formulas that are actually pretty good (at least IMO but opinions are like buttholes, everyone has one, especially when it comes to dog food xD) such as their "Simple & Natural" formula. The only issue I have with them is the recall records. But of course, many who tell you not to feed Iams will turn around and recommend one of the many Diamond foods who have just as bad, if not worse of a recall record. I think it's all up to what you are comfortable with.

I use Sportmix and love it. Most people would say it's a poor quality product, I get great results on it, it's EU certified, their corn is non-gmo and they've never had a recall. For people who feel corn is "scary", I always recommend Sportmix Lamb & Rice formula.

Sportmix - Lamb Meal & Rice Formula

I pay $25 for 50lb of food which makes it very easy on the wallet. :thumbup:

The same company also makes Earthborn Holistic which has a "prettier" ingredients list if you want corn/wheat/soy free type foods. It's a little more expensive but still not a food that is going to break the bank.

Not sure where you live, but if you're anywhere near Texas I've heard great things about Victor.  It's a good quality product for a reasonable price.


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

Salix said:


> As another sidenote: I already checked out the BB -what are they hiding link and read some of it on another website during google searches. I'm not interested in customer service or having a red carpet rolled out to me. Give me the bag when I give you the money and I'll tell you if it's good with my dog. I pay more attention to how my dog reacts, his behaviours, his (stool) passings and inspect them closely, his alertness when I train him and his levels of energy. I'm fairly certain that there are other fantastic brands out there but as of this point, I am satisfied with what I see in BB.


Salix that thread wasn't about customer service it was the fact that BB will not release their cal/pho levels which leads me to believe they are too high. I would think they would proudly display it if it were in 'good' range.
That is the reason I stopped using their product not because of customer service.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

Salix said:


> A note: BB Wilderness has a high protein percentage of 34% which I have not seen in any other kind of dog food.



The majority of grain free kibbles have high protien. Natural Balance doesn't, but many others do. Unless you mean you haven't seen any others that are at exactly at 34%.


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## Paula R (Oct 5, 2011)

Anyone use royal canine or heard anything abouot it?


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## Draugr (Jul 8, 2011)

Overpriced for the quality and I would no longer feed it due to some horrifying customer experiences I've heard. Second-hand, of course, but from people I trust. They just do not seem straight forward with anyone and I get the impression that they are trying to hide something by their actions.

Mind you that's just my impressions by no means should you take that as definitive fact or anything.

I fed my dog BB as a puppy and he did fine on it but my next pup, if he is kibble fed, will most certainly NOT be fed Blue Buffalo. I plan to do some more research so I can start feeding him/her raw but of course that's just dependent on how comfortable I am with doing that at the time I add a new pup to my family.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

what's good for one may not be good for the other.



tmorgan said:


> Right now I'm feeding my puppy iams smart puppy large breed kibble. I know its not the best and now I want to switch over to Blue Buffalo large breed puppy. Is this a good food or is there something better without having to pay out a fortune?


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## sharkey19 (Sep 25, 2011)

I think it depends on how well your dog does on it. I don't believe Iams is as bad a company as people make them out to be. They do a lot of research for their products, and actually test their products unlike most companies. 

I am of the attitude that if your dog does well on it, then stick with it. If not, try something else. Iams is a decent product for the price.


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## sharkey19 (Sep 25, 2011)

Paula R said:


> Anyone use royal canine or heard anything abouot it?


I use medi-cal (which is the veterinary product line of royal canin), and my dog does extremely well on it.


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## k9tracker (Oct 2, 2011)

Hi there. Interesting subject "dog food". My family raised german shepherd's, doberman's and rott's. We would average having twelve to twenty dog's to be trained to be sold. In the old day's the bigger the dog the better for police departments and security companies that wanted " big dog's" for riot control and guard dog duties to the military which wanted small to mid size k9's which were easier to handle. We always fed our dogs one hundred percent raw food which included beef, chicken and fish, with skin and bones in an attempt to keep the dog's as close to nature as possible. We never lost a dog due to bloat and or had pano. 
Fifty years later i now feed my gsd the same raw diet but now i include a cup of kibble of blue buffalo as i feel it helps put some more vitamins into my gsd system.
When i see people buying those brands that have by products and all types of chemicals in the food it really makes me ill...never had one problem with blue buffalo


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## LovemyEli (Dec 28, 2010)

I feed the large breed basics. I really like it and it seems to work for my sensitive tummy boy who cant tolerate high fat content.


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