Any opinions on the Blue Buffalo brand kibble?

[hyperbole]

Haven't seen much in the way of positive or negative opinions on this food. Looks pretty good to me, first two ingredients are lamb and lamb meal (for Lamb kibble) or chicken and chicken meal (for Chicken kibble)... They brag about human grade ingredients, no by-products, etc.

http://www.bluebuff.com/

Any differences between Lamb and Chicken besides taste that I should be aware of?

Just considering changing Poplin's diet because of hotspots, I wonder if Poplin is allergic to something in the Canidae kibble that he gets fed now? Damien suggested Welness Fish & Sweet Potato, but I've read that some of your dogs have had runny poo while on that stuff....

[Jeff]

I quickly browsed the ingredients and it seems to be pretty good. Keep in mind that sometimes the first ingredient can be deceiving (though I dont think so in this case.) When a manufacturer states chicken as the first ingredient, often it is weighed while still containing water. Take the water out and it would drop to 7th or so on the list. I will check the food out further and see whats up in terms of carbs, etc. It looks pretty good though. Sometimes dogs will be more allergic to the protein in chicken as opposed to the lamb. I have fed all the so-called best brands, and if someone put a gun to my head and forced me to say the best, I would probably choose Innova followed by Canidae and Wellness. I have been feeding Wellness for a while (alternating between the Lamb and white-fish/sweet potato every few months.) I just started feeding Eagle Pack holistic (sardine, anchovy and salmon meal) It seems good, but I found one thing out that might keep me from feeding it in the future. It is real heavy on carbs (49%) as opposed to Innova and Canidae (approx. 40%) I'll double check the ingredients later tonight, and ask a friend of mine who is real on point when it comes to seeing all the ingredients in relation to each other.

[hyperbole]

Hey Jeff,

I'd appreciate your following up on that. I know next to nothing about it, only what I've read on this forum which is basically that you want to make sure at least the first two ingredients are meat products (not by-products)...

Anyway, looking forward to your reponse.

[Jeff]

Ok, sorry for the lag in replying. After my initial run through of the ingredients, they seem fairly good. I did notice one thing that made me pretty skeptical though. They tout it as being a super-premium petfood but... they make no mention to their meats being hormone-free. Innova guarantees all their meats to be hormone-free. Wellness' lamb formula is hormone-free too, but I dont know about their other kibbles. If one wanted to split hairs, you could argue that there is no need for sea salt to be added, as kelp is already listed as an ingredient. It's placement in relation to other ingredients shows that the addition of salt should not really be of a concern.
How much does it cost? I am assuming its around the same price as Wellness, etc. If thats the case, I would probably feed Innova or Wellness instead.
I think the fact that they do not have hormone-free meats would prevent me from feeding it to my dogs. Gawd, listen to me. I am sooo concerned about my pets' nutritional needs. After I hit the submit button, I am going to go have a Pepsi and a cigarette.

[hyperbole]

bump....

Looking for other opinions. Jeff seemed to like it well enough, anyone else?

[elegy]

i think if i were looking to feed an allergic dog i'd want something with fewer ingredients and fewer grains in it. but i don't know a whole lot about food allergies, as i've never dealt directly with them.

i don't see anything in the ingredients list that would make me not feed it.

[barbponys]

Sorry for the delay, been out of town.

I have read the ingredients, I would worry about the grain content. There's a lot in there. My other concern is, it's sold through PetSmart, not where I go to find high quality anything really. If I want cheap or foo foo I go there otherwise I stear clear.

I would urge you to give Timberwolf a try. www.timberwolforganics.com. Give them a read, I stand behind the product. The Ocean Blue is a true allergy formula and not a limited ingredient diet so should feeds well long term. It widely available in Portland, well relatively so. It's a bit more than Wellness but I have heard no one complain about loose stools or digestive upset. They have a wide variety of formulas so most dogs should be able to find one that works.



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Wagner’s Pet Supplies
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Portland,OR
Ph: 503-284-1885

[abman]

Blue is similar in quality to foods like innova,wellness,canidae etc. It basically depends on how each individual dog does and how they like it. When it tried it my dog really liked it. He doesnt seem to do as well on canidae as he used to but luckily my dog does well on innova and wellness and seems to like them also.