Preference Between Blue Buffalo Formulas? - YorkieTalk.com Forums

Furbaby Friend · 09-20-2010, 06:50 AM

I was looking to switch my pup to a higher quality food when she finally comes home in November. She's currently eating Hill's Science Diet Small & Toy Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food:

Hill's Science Diet Small & Toy Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food at PETCO

I noticed the first two major ingredients are: Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal

From researching I know that Grain/Corn really shouldn't be the first ingredient listed, correct?

I've been looking at switching her to Blue Buffalo, but I'm not sure if there is a difference between the small breed formula vs. say wilderness (as there are serving sizes for small breeds given for "non small breed" foods). I'm a bit confused as to what I should switch her to. I was leaning toward the Small Breed Puppy Chicken and Oatmeal:

Blue Buffalo - All Natural Small Breed Dog Food

Any opinions?

Now I know you all might not know anything about cats, but I'm going to take a shot in the dark because someone may know because it is related to the Blue Buffalo food itself:

Does anyone know if the Blue Buffalo foods are Limited Ingredient Diets (aka hypoallergenic)? My cat Suki is on Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet: Green Pea and Duck for allergies (she used to throw up a lot on her original food, so I switched her and she's done great), but I was looking to switch her to Blue Buffalo as well if possible. I was thinking that maybe the Wilderness line meets the requirements for a L.I.D? That way I can buy the food all in the same place.

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance® Limited Ingredient Diets® Green Pea & Duck Allergy Formula Cat Food

Blue Buffalo - All Natural High Protein Healthy Cat Food

Thanks!

Breezeaway · 09-20-2010, 07:40 AM

My dogs liked blue Buffalo but they did not have a solid enough stool on it, it was always too soft.

Mine have done good on Taste of the Wild dog food that can be purchased at Tractor supply.

Furbaby Friend · 09-20-2010, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Breezeaway

My dogs liked blue Buffalo but they did not have a solid enough stool on it, it was always too soft.

Mine have done good on Taste of the Wild dog food that can be purchased at Tractor supply.

I'll have to see if there is a carrier of Taste of the Wild around here and look into the food itself. I don't believe we have Tractor Supply stores.

Thank you for the information!

Has anyone else experienced too soft stool on Blue Buffalo? :/ Or is it just very individualized and I won't know until she comes home?

Furbaby Friend · 09-20-2010, 08:13 AM

After using trusty Google, searching "Blue Buffalo + loose stool" I came up with the following:

"...revealed cases of hypercalcemia secondary to vitamin D toxicosis occurring in dogs that eat a single brand of dry pet food: Blue Buffalo Wilderness Diet, chicken flavor."

Read more:

http://www.rateitall.com/i-714334-blue-buffalo-dog-food.aspx#ixzz105Ot2MkW

People are reporting cases of widespread diarrhea and health problems

I went for Blue Buffalo after reading about many people using it on YT. Has anyone else experienced/heard of this???

And if this is a problem, any recommendations on alternate foods I can now research?

Just goes to show that companies sponsor a lot of links to hide this stuff. :P

nanny4679 · 09-20-2010, 08:53 AM

My Fancy eats Blue Buffalo Small Breed and doesn't have any problems with loose stools. It took several tries to get her to eat it but it was partly my fault for adding people food in it & now she eats just the dog food. Her hair seems to be shiny after eating Blue Buffalo. Hope this helps.

Furbaby Friend · 09-20-2010, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nanny4679

My Fancy eats Blue Buffalo Small Breed and doesn't have any problems with loose stools. It took several tries to get her to eat it but it was partly my fault for adding people food in it & now she eats just the dog food. Her hair seems to be shiny after eating Blue Buffalo. Hope this helps.

Thank you Nanny. This is the impression I got from most, if not all, the YT posts I've read. \

If Fancy is in the puppy stage it looks like there is only the one alternative for small breed food (chicken and oatmeal). If she is past the puppy stage, which adult mix do you feed her? Chicken and Brown Rice or Fish and Brown Rice?

Has anyone else experienced a problem with Blue Buffalo and stool? Or the Vitamin D issue that I mentioned earlier? More positive reviews are welcome as well. I'm trying to gauge my choice in food. Thanks!

kdhawks · 09-20-2010, 09:12 AM

Levi ate Blue Buffalo Small Breed Chicken and Brown Rice for quite some time and did very well on it. I only switched his food (to Orijen) when I decided to try grain-free with him. He loves his Orijen, but I still have no problem with Blue Buffalo.

Rhetts_mama · 09-20-2010, 09:26 AM

Rhett's done extremely well on the BB Small Breed puppy. Shiny coat, firm stools, lots of energy. I tried switching him to TOTW and he had very loose stools on it. I think it comes down to the best quality food that works for your individual dog.

Furbaby Friend · 09-20-2010, 10:10 AM

Thank you all for your replies : )

I think I'm going to stick with the Blue Buffalo Small Breed formula for Rylie once she arrives and keep Suki on her Natural Balance L.I.D. I may have to go to different stores, but so be it.

It seems that Acana (33%) and Orijen (40%) exceed the recommended protein percentage of 27 or 28% for puppies (source: Yorkshire Terriers for Dummies, best book I've bought this month). I'm sure their adult formulas exceed the 22% recommendation for adults as well.

Blue Buffalo is over those percentages as well, but not by overly much (29% for puppy and 26% for adults). Is this a concern? Should I be looking for a lower protein alternative?

The book has the warning with the bomb picture beside this particular tidbit of information, so I'm hard pressed to argued with it... being that I did buy the book in hopes of it teaching me the right things! ^_^

Thanks again!

rachelanne820 · 09-20-2010, 11:16 AM

If you are feeding your cat Natural Balance maybe you could switch your pup to it? Their kibble is really good quality. They have all sorts of limited ingredients or they have the premium in small bites. Mine ate it for a while and liked it.

Plus, if you email them they will send you a ton of samples to try it out before you buy.

Britster · 09-20-2010, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Furbaby Friend

Thank you all for your replies : )

I think I'm going to stick with the Blue Buffalo Small Breed formula for Rylie once she arrives and keep Suki on her Natural Balance L.I.D. I may have to go to different stores, but so be it.

It seems that Acana (33%) and Orijen (40%) exceed the recommended protein percentage of 27 or 28% for puppies (source: Yorkshire Terriers for Dummies, best book I've bought this month). I'm sure their adult formulas exceed the 22% recommendation for adults as well.

Blue Buffalo is over those percentages as well, but not by overly much (29% for puppy and 26% for adults). Is this a concern? Should I be looking for a lower protein alternative?

The book has the warning with the bomb picture beside this particular tidbit of information, so I'm hard pressed to argued with it... being that I did buy the book in hopes of it teaching me the right things! ^_^

Thanks again!

Check out my posts in this one thread:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/3220432-post6.html
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/3220686-post8.html

It will explain a few things about protein content, and myths, etc.

Furbaby Friend · 09-20-2010, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rachelanne820

If you are feeding your cat Natural Balance maybe you could switch your pup to it? Their kibble is really good quality. They have all sorts of limited ingredients or they have the premium in small bites. Mine ate it for a while and liked it.

Plus, if you email them they will send you a ton of samples to try it out before you buy.

rachelanne820: Oh duh! Why didn't I think of that? I know they make dog food as well and yet I didn't even think of it!

I just went right for the popularly recommended food here thinking that I start with what the more experienced thought was a good idea and go from there.

I will definitely look into that option now! Thank you so much for pointing out what should have been obvious to me. A *big* thank you for the sample tip. ^_^

Quote:

Originally Posted by Britster

Check out my posts in this one thread:
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/3220432-post6.html
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/3220686-post8.html

It will explain a few things about protein content, and myths, etc.

Britster: Thank you! I will be sure to check out these posts asap.

Furbaby Friend · 09-20-2010, 02:40 PM

Britster: Well now I know where all the diarrhea issues probably came from for all those people on that review website. It was most likely overfeeding. The Vitamin D toxicity could have resulted from overfeeding as well. Of course, I'm sure individual digestive systems can reject the food anyway.

Thank you for the post!

Perrella · 09-20-2010, 03:40 PM

My Zhoie has been on BB Salmon for quite sometime now, she loves anything fish. I mixed a teaspoon of Instinct wet with both her meals, but I rotate the can flavors. Currently she is on Duck and she is wild about it. Does the yorkie twirls all the way to the sunroom where she gets her food. LOL

Furbaby Friend · 09-20-2010, 04:54 PM

Perrella: Sounds like Zhoie is one very happy pup! ^_^ I hope my little girl is as pleased with what I end up feeding her. I don't think I'll divert from duck (see below). I also probably won't give her anything but dry food because we weened Suki off of it awhile ago (That is how we coaxed her into eating her Duck and Green Pea L.I.D. in the first place. She wouldn't touch the darn stuff before that) and I don't want her feeling jealous or getting back into it after potentially mooching off Rylie's bowl :P

Zhoie sounds adorable. I can't wait until my baby gets here!

All,

I am now thinking about putting Rylie on the Natural Balance L.I.D. Potato and Duck small bites formula for small breeds:
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance® L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets® Potato & Duck Formula

It is similar to what Suki (my kitty) eats and she's done very well. It is also grain free and hypoallergenic.

Also, I'm hoping since that both would be eating duck based that neither of them would be tempted to eat the others food :P I do plan on putting Suki's food on a high counter, which only Suki can get to, in order to keep Rylie away from the cat food as I've read in Yorkies for Dummies that cat food can cause health/digestive issues. Suki, on the other hand, would be able to access Rylie's food and so she might be tempted if it was chicken/fish flavored anyway and we really didn't pin-point what exactly she was allergic to. I just assumed it was the grains, but it could have been a protein source who knows.

It also meets all the protein percentage requirements I mentioned earlier. I know Britster mentioned that protein content can be an iffy matter, but it is kind of nice it adheres by the book. It puts my new mama mind at ease. Perhaps if I was more experienced I would feel more comfortable.

All in all, it seems this food fulfills basically the same requirements as Blue Buffalo and has some bonuses:

1.) It is *slightly* (but not by much) cheaper

2.) It is sold in the same place as Suki's current food since it is the same brand. I will have to double check that my specific store carries the small bites version though!

They also made a point on their website that puppies and adults don't need special formulas, so they only have the one for all growth stages. Is this accurate? Their reasoning makes sense: that the pups wouldn't eat something different from the parents in the wild, they'd just eat different amounts. It sounds like solid logic to me.

Thank you all SO MUCH for your input. I really appreciate it.

P.S. I'm sorry for being so indecisive, but I just really really want to be a good mama to my Rylie. I want so much to do everything right for her and I've already experienced the heartache and worry that goes with a poor diet via Suki. I don't want to put Rylie through that. I was uninformed with Suki, as all our prior cats did just fine on the "normal"(::cough::subpar::cough:

food.

09-20-2010, 06:50 AM	#1
Furbaby Friend YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Buffalo, NY, United States Posts: 971	Preference Between Blue Buffalo Formulas? I was looking to switch my pup to a higher quality food when she finally comes home in November. She's currently eating Hill's Science Diet Small & Toy Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food: Hill's Science Diet Small & Toy Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food at PETCO I noticed the first two major ingredients are: Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal From researching I know that Grain/Corn really shouldn't be the first ingredient listed, correct? I've been looking at switching her to Blue Buffalo, but I'm not sure if there is a difference between the small breed formula vs. say wilderness (as there are serving sizes for small breeds given for "non small breed" foods). I'm a bit confused as to what I should switch her to. I was leaning toward the Small Breed Puppy Chicken and Oatmeal: Blue Buffalo - All Natural Small Breed Dog Food Any opinions? Now I know you all might not know anything about cats, but I'm going to take a shot in the dark because someone may know because it is related to the Blue Buffalo food itself: Does anyone know if the Blue Buffalo foods are Limited Ingredient Diets (aka hypoallergenic)? My cat Suki is on Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet: Green Pea and Duck for allergies (she used to throw up a lot on her original food, so I switched her and she's done great), but I was looking to switch her to Blue Buffalo as well if possible. I was thinking that maybe the Wilderness line meets the requirements for a L.I.D? That way I can buy the food all in the same place. Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance® Limited Ingredient Diets® Green Pea & Duck Allergy Formula Cat Food Blue Buffalo - All Natural High Protein Healthy Cat Food Thanks!

09-20-2010, 08:13 AM	#4
Furbaby Friend YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Buffalo, NY, United States Posts: 971	Oh dear! After using trusty Google, searching "Blue Buffalo + loose stool" I came up with the following: "...revealed cases of hypercalcemia secondary to vitamin D toxicosis occurring in dogs that eat a single brand of dry pet food: Blue Buffalo Wilderness Diet, chicken flavor." Read more: http://www.rateitall.com/i-714334-blue-buffalo-dog-food.aspx#ixzz105Ot2MkW People are reporting cases of widespread diarrhea and health problems I went for Blue Buffalo after reading about many people using it on YT. Has anyone else experienced/heard of this??? And if this is a problem, any recommendations on alternate foods I can now research? Just goes to show that companies sponsor a lot of links to hide this stuff. :P

09-20-2010, 09:12 AM	#7
kdhawks Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 2,359	Levi ate Blue Buffalo Small Breed Chicken and Brown Rice for quite some time and did very well on it. I only switched his food (to Orijen) when I decided to try grain-free with him. He loves his Orijen, but I still have no problem with Blue Buffalo. __________________ katy&levi

09-20-2010, 09:26 AM	#8
Rhetts_mama Donating YT 4000 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Georgia Posts: 5,959 Blog Entries: 1	Rhett's done extremely well on the BB Small Breed puppy. Shiny coat, firm stools, lots of energy. I tried switching him to TOTW and he had very loose stools on it. I think it comes down to the best quality food that works for your individual dog. __________________ Don't get your knickers in a knot. Nothing is solved and it just makes you walk funny.

09-20-2010, 03:40 PM	#14
Perrella Donating YT 5000 Club Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: VA Posts: 8,040	My Zhoie has been on BB Salmon for quite sometime now, she loves anything fish. I mixed a teaspoon of Instinct wet with both her meals, but I rotate the can flavors. Currently she is on Duck and she is wild about it. Does the yorkie twirls all the way to the sunroom where she gets her food. LOL __________________ Tena & Zhoie Sweet Little Miracle

09-20-2010, 07:40 AM	#2
Breezeaway No Longer a Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Wildcat Country(KY) Posts: 2,114 Blog Entries: 26	My dogs liked blue Buffalo but they did not have a solid enough stool on it, it was always too soft. Mine have done good on Taste of the Wild dog food that can be purchased at Tractor supply.

09-20-2010, 08:53 AM	#5
nanny4679 Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Lascassas,Tn Posts: 28	My Fancy eats Blue Buffalo Small Breed and doesn't have any problems with loose stools. It took several tries to get her to eat it but it was partly my fault for adding people food in it & now she eats just the dog food. Her hair seems to be shiny after eating Blue Buffalo. Hope this helps.

09-20-2010, 10:10 AM	#9
Furbaby Friend YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Buffalo, NY, United States Posts: 971	Thank you all for your replies : ) I think I'm going to stick with the Blue Buffalo Small Breed formula for Rylie once she arrives and keep Suki on her Natural Balance L.I.D. I may have to go to different stores, but so be it. It seems that Acana (33%) and Orijen (40%) exceed the recommended protein percentage of 27 or 28% for puppies (source: Yorkshire Terriers for Dummies, best book I've bought this month). I'm sure their adult formulas exceed the 22% recommendation for adults as well. Blue Buffalo is over those percentages as well, but not by overly much (29% for puppy and 26% for adults). Is this a concern? Should I be looking for a lower protein alternative? The book has the warning with the bomb picture beside this particular tidbit of information, so I'm hard pressed to argued with it... being that I did buy the book in hopes of it teaching me the right things! ^_^ Thanks again!

09-20-2010, 11:16 AM	#10
rachelanne820 YT Addict Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Knoxville, TN Posts: 257	If you are feeding your cat Natural Balance maybe you could switch your pup to it? Their kibble is really good quality. They have all sorts of limited ingredients or they have the premium in small bites. Mine ate it for a while and liked it. Plus, if you email them they will send you a ton of samples to try it out before you buy.

09-20-2010, 02:40 PM	#13
Furbaby Friend YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Buffalo, NY, United States Posts: 971	Britster: Well now I know where all the diarrhea issues probably came from for all those people on that review website. It was most likely overfeeding. The Vitamin D toxicity could have resulted from overfeeding as well. Of course, I'm sure individual digestive systems can reject the food anyway. Thank you for the post!

09-20-2010, 04:54 PM	#15
Furbaby Friend YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Buffalo, NY, United States Posts: 971	Perrella: Sounds like Zhoie is one very happy pup! ^_^ I hope my little girl is as pleased with what I end up feeding her. I don't think I'll divert from duck (see below). I also probably won't give her anything but dry food because we weened Suki off of it awhile ago (That is how we coaxed her into eating her Duck and Green Pea L.I.D. in the first place. She wouldn't touch the darn stuff before that) and I don't want her feeling jealous or getting back into it after potentially mooching off Rylie's bowl :P Zhoie sounds adorable. I can't wait until my baby gets here! All, I am now thinking about putting Rylie on the Natural Balance L.I.D. Potato and Duck small bites formula for small breeds: Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance® L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets® Potato & Duck Formula It is similar to what Suki (my kitty) eats and she's done very well. It is also grain free and hypoallergenic. Also, I'm hoping since that both would be eating duck based that neither of them would be tempted to eat the others food :P I do plan on putting Suki's food on a high counter, which only Suki can get to, in order to keep Rylie away from the cat food as I've read in Yorkies for Dummies that cat food can cause health/digestive issues. Suki, on the other hand, would be able to access Rylie's food and so she might be tempted if it was chicken/fish flavored anyway and we really didn't pin-point what exactly she was allergic to. I just assumed it was the grains, but it could have been a protein source who knows. It also meets all the protein percentage requirements I mentioned earlier. I know Britster mentioned that protein content can be an iffy matter, but it is kind of nice it adheres by the book. It puts my new mama mind at ease. Perhaps if I was more experienced I would feel more comfortable. All in all, it seems this food fulfills basically the same requirements as Blue Buffalo and has some bonuses: 1.) It is slightly (but not by much) cheaper 2.) It is sold in the same place as Suki's current food since it is the same brand. I will have to double check that my specific store carries the small bites version though! They also made a point on their website that puppies and adults don't need special formulas, so they only have the one for all growth stages. Is this accurate? Their reasoning makes sense: that the pups wouldn't eat something different from the parents in the wild, they'd just eat different amounts. It sounds like solid logic to me. Thank you all SO MUCH for your input. I really appreciate it. P.S. I'm sorry for being so indecisive, but I just really really want to be a good mama to my Rylie. I want so much to do everything right for her and I've already experienced the heartache and worry that goes with a poor diet via Suki. I don't want to put Rylie through that. I was uninformed with Suki, as all our prior cats did just fine on the "normal"(::cough::subpar::cough: food.