Hey Guys and Gals, labbies and labbettes,

Well, I guess I probably should have done this sooner, but yesterday we bought Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice for large breed puppies for our growing girl.

We used to be on Purina ONE, but will be making the switch here shortly. I went with Blue Buffalo because it was the highest rated food according to DogFoodAnalysis.com that I could find at our local PetsMart.

Just wondering if anyone had anything to say about the food, good or bad.

I'm kind of excited to be putting her on a better quality food and am hoping that she'll like it as well. She is having some major problems with gas and slight problems with itching, so here's hoping that it will clear up a little.

This post

http://www.lab-retriever.net/board/royal-canine-any-t7277733.html?t=7277733&highlight=buffalo

talks about Blue Baffalo being involved in the pet food recall, however they didn't know what the results were.

At least you made a decision, unlike me who is still waffling. Ugh!

I feed blue buffalo to Barkley. We have had great results with it. People remark all the time on what a beautiful coat he has, and how soft his fur is (when he calms down enough for them to pat him!). I don't have any complaints about it. I think a lot of people either love it or hate it, but I have had great results with Barkley on it. My avatar isn't of him on it though, that was taken when we first got him and he was switching over to it, and unfortunately I suffer from bad photography skills so my signature picture is too dark to see his shiney coat!! Beware the gas will get worse before it gets better!!

Didn't you just post that your puppy was sick after doggy daycare? I'd hold off on the change until she's feeling better.

We used it for awhile. I had no problems with it, I just wanted better.

BB is a pretty decent food with a good list of ingredients (some might argue that it's got too many grains). I had one of my dogs on BB L&R for about a month or so but it didn't work for her (discovered she has issues with barley).

From what I recall, only some of BB's canned products were involved in the big recall, and that was because the manufacturer deviated from BB's formulation without permission. None of their dry kibbles were involved.

I tried it during my search for something better than Nutro Natural Choice and I had gotten a kind with fish and sweet potato I believe it was and Lena wouldn't even touch it- it really had a fishy smell. That's the only experience I have had with it.

I ended up going with Canidea All Life Stages Lamb and Rice, and it took care of the pooping problems Lena had and some other minor things I've noticed, she has a wonderful shiny coat still too.

What works for one dog may not work for another........you have to find what works best for your dog! You won't be disappointed in the decision to switch!

We tried it for Puck. He liked it okay, but he seemed extra frito-smelly when he was on it. It had wheat in it, I think. If it works for your dog, though, stick to it!

Didn't you just post that your puppy was sick after doggy daycare? I'd hold off on the change until she's feeling better.

Yeah, she is getting over from being sick.

I actually haven't started mixing her food just yet. We've purchased the dog food and we have enough of the Purina ONE to get us through a few days before we start the mixing process and moving to another food.

The only other choices I'd have felt somewhat comfortable with that PetsMart had available was the Avoderm and the Nutro.

I did notice the BB recall in another thread, but when I searched around, it seemed to be regarding the cat food. I couldn't find anything saying the dry kibble had been recalled.

We're gonna give it a shot and see how she likes it and how she does.

anyone have any idea on how long this little experiment should take place before making a judgement?

When we switched Barkley we did it WAY too fast. But he came with some sort of food, which we had no idea what it was, but figured it was something like Ole Roy, the people that used to have him weren't too well suited for him. He was seriously gassy, and had soft stools for about a week, but we just gave him a bit of plain yougurt to help his stomach. After about a month or so his coat improved and he looked better.

I used BB a couple of years ago and intestinally, it didn't work out.

Since the re-calls it makes good sense to look into the company who you pick to entrust your dogs health.
" Blue " does not own a manufacturing plant and got burnt by a Plant they hired to make their foods. Put in an ingredient that was not even supposed to be in it.
Their ingredient panel looks better than most foods..
So if you have e-mailed them and asked them if they have a member of their company on site when the food is made they may have corrected a major flaw in their company.

Blue Buffalo was the first food we fed Noel when she was diagnosed with yeasty ears because it was free of wheat, corn and soy. I switched her to Natures Recipe after that because she had loose stools on the Blue Buffalo. She had loose stools on Natures Recipe too, so I imagine it wasn't the Blue Buffalo, but just her having a sensitive stomach. If you're looking for something you can get at Petsmart, Blue Buffalo isn't a bad choice as long as it works for your dog.

Noel's been fed everything (well not every brand, but you get the message) from Purina One to Canidae, Orijen, Natural Balance and Solid Gold and still had loose stools. The only thing that has firmed them up is a supplement she's on. She would still be on something I could get at Petsmart if she didn't have such a sensitive stomach.

The Blue Buffalo Company is no longer on the "Whole Dog Journal's Approved" list. This company won't disclose origin of manufacture so they were dropped from the 2008 list of approved dog foods.

The Blue Buffalo Company is no longer on the "Whole Dog Journal's Approved" list. This company won't disclose origin of manufacture so they were dropped from the 2008 list of approved dog foods.


I did not know this! Thanks for the update on this food.

We have yellow lab, with itchy skin problem. Been on many foods, last one Eukanuba Labrador Retriever! Then Blue Buffalo, but he had a very large loose stool. Now on Purina One, Sensitive System, stool fine, still a little itchy, but much better!