Blue Buffalo vs Wellness?

[BabieChloe]

Ok, so I need some help! When I first got Chloe, she was on Merrick. She didn't have any poop eating problems on it.. but she didn't seem to like the food too much and I didn't like the company. So, I switched her to Blue Buffalo small bread puppy. She has been on it for about 2 months.. but ever since she started eating it she constantly eats her poop and NOTHING has worked to stop it! I tried pineapple, probiotic yogurt.. she still decides to munch on it in the am and I have gotten tired of running from my bed at 6 am to stop her from eating it.

Do you guys think it's the food that she can't digest properly? Is wellness better than blue buffalo? Help would be very appreciated, thank you!

[BabieChloe]

I also wanted to ask why there is garlic in blue buffalo... I thought garlic wasn't allowed?

[tokipoki]

I've fed both brands and had good results with BB and Wellness...I think they're pretty similar. We have fed various BB lines/formulas to 4 different dogs in our family and they all did well. The downside is that I do think it's kind of expensive for what it is (you can get other foods of similar quality that are also most cost effective) but I like to grab some of the wet food when it goes on sale. You mentioned garlic in their formulas....Garlic makes food more palatable and in small amounts may have some health benefits but can be toxic in large amounts. It's not something I add to my pups' meals but I have used various dog foods that contain it...I guess I'm not really concerned since I rotate foods and most of them don't contain garlic.

Wellness is also very good...Toki used to be on the Wellness Core Reduced Fat and Teddy did awesome on the Wellness Core Ocean (great coat, improved body condition) formula. I haven't fed any of their other kibble lines but I use a lot of their canned formulas as well with no issues.

I wish I could offer more advice in terms of the poop-eating though...not sure what the cause of that is but hopefully others can chime in with their experiences and knowledge.

[theporkieyorkie]

My boys are on Wellness. I've been feeding it for almost a year now. They were eating the Core Small breed mixed with their canned food but they don't like dry food...so they eat canned Wellness. I buy mostly the "complete" line...but I've also fed Simple and I bought a can of their stew last week and the boys loved it...so I think we will be getting more stew.

On a positive note...My older dog was having major gastrointestinal problems when we started Wellness and I had spent a lot of money at the vets because of it. I had tried all kinds of food and after a little bit, he'd stop eating it...but with the Wellness, he hasn't gotten "that" sick of it yet where he just downright refuses it. On top of that, his stomach issues have improved greatly and have pretty much cleared up. Even when he does have a flare up, it only lasts a day instead of a week like it used to.

A few things I don't like....the canned food has carregan in it and I wish it didn't(I did not know about Carregan when I first started feeding Wellness). I also don't like the fact that the company was sued a few years ago for false advertising(didn't know that either). They claim to be using human grade food when they were supposedly using by-products and parts. I am not sure how the lawsuit turned out, but I feel like at $2.70-$3.00 a can, I am paying good money to feed my pups. I spend about $90.00 a month on their canned food for an 8 lb and 4 lb dog. I feel like for that price, I should be getting GOOD quality ingredients.

I've thought about changing food...I am just afraid to upset the apple cart. Prince has been doing so good on Wellness that I am afraid to change. On top of that, the boys are PICKY!! They get sick of stuff quick. Heck, sometimes they turn their nose up at home cooked meat. I have thought about changing their food....possibly to Weurva...and I've also thought about cooking my own as I know I could probably get away with cooking them high quality organic food for about the same as it's costing me to buy them food.

[BabieChloe]

Originally Posted by theporkieyorkie

My boys are on Wellness. I've been feeding it for almost a year now. They were eating the Core Small breed mixed with their canned food but they don't like dry food...so they eat canned Wellness. I buy mostly the "complete" line...but I've also fed Simple and I bought a can of their stew last week and the boys loved it...so I think we will be getting more stew.

On a positive note...My older dog was having major gastrointestinal problems when we started Wellness and I had spent a lot of money at the vets because of it. I had tried all kinds of food and after a little bit, he'd stop eating it...but with the Wellness, he hasn't gotten "that" sick of it yet where he just downright refuses it. On top of that, his stomach issues have improved greatly and have pretty much cleared up. Even when he does have a flare up, it only lasts a day instead of a week like it used to.

A few things I don't like....the canned food has carregan in it and I wish it didn't(I did not know about Carregan when I first started feeding Wellness). I also don't like the fact that the company was sued a few years ago for false advertising(didn't know that either). They claim to be using human grade food when they were supposedly using by-products and parts. I am not sure how the lawsuit turned out, but I feel like at $2.70-$3.00 a can, I am paying good money to feed my pups. I spend about $90.00 a month on their canned food for an 8 lb and 4 lb dog. I feel like for that price, I should be getting GOOD quality ingredients.

I've thought about changing food...I am just afraid to upset the apple cart. Prince has been doing so good on Wellness that I am afraid to change. On top of that, the boys are PICKY!! They get sick of stuff quick. Heck, sometimes they turn their nose up at home cooked meat. I have thought about changing their food....possibly to Weurva...and I've also thought about cooking my own as I know I could probably get away with cooking them high quality organic food for about the same as it's costing me to buy them food.

Chloe also isn't too much of a fan of dry food after I introduced her to the "good life" lol.. meaning real chicken, vegetables and fruit. She's a smart little one, there is NO WAY she will eat her dry food in the morning unless I put something in it or at least put warm water on it. I tried a few times to not give anything in the dry food and she's a strong one lol, she didn't touch her food atttttttttt all until I gave in. For dinner time she'll usually go to the dry food by herself, but I think that's because she knows she isn't getting any more chicken or fruits for the day lol. I fed her merrick canned food when I first got her, and I also didn't know about the carregan until I found some black looking food in the can and decided to research it. I stopped feeding canned after that... and merrick in general. I heard a lot of good things about wellness and blue buffalo as well, and by the ingredients it looks like they're both the same.. it's just the poop eating that's bothering me. I know what you mean about the pickiness though, they get picky once you show them there's better things than their dry food lol.

[theporkieyorkie]

I forgot to add....I've never had a problem with poop eating until last week. I caught Ricky munching his turds off his potty pad twice. I had changed a few things in his diet though...he was eating a lot of homemade chicken and rice and I also had changed his treats. He was eating Natures Variety Raw treats and Pupperoni's.


I am still feeding the treats, but I haven't fed him any chicken and rice and he stopped eating his poop. So...I think it was all of the chicken and rice that caused it. He had pretty much stopped eating his canned food and only wanted the chicken and rice when it happened. I am guessing that either a.) he wasn't digesting it well and so it still tasted good out the other end or b.) he wasn't getting a balanced diet eating only chicken and rice and he was looking for additional nutrients. Once I went back to feeding him the canned Wellness, it stopped. I also made sure to give him vitamins just incase he was deficient in anything.

Someone told me about SEP(stop eating poop) that Solid Gold makes. You can order it off Amazon for about $12.00. I am hoping we won't need it.

[BabieChloe]

Ok as an update.. I started feeding Chloe Wellness, (small breed, complete health: turkey, salmon & oatmeal).. anddd she stopped eating her poop! She also is eating this more, I'm assuming because she likes salmon lol. I think the pieces are much easier for her to chew as well vs blue buffalo, but I'm really happy I haven't heard poop eating in the morning for the past few days!