blue buffalo...which one?

[Totoro]

We are getting our new puppy in 5 wks. I've been reading some on here and some books about nutrition/dog foods, and while I like the idea of Fromms, I think I'm going to be trying Blue Buffalo. I like how I have the option to just run to petsmart and get it right then if I run out..
I *think* I also read that some/or most bullies have a reaction to chicken? I see that the blue wilderness is listed as a 6 star food, while the other is a 5 star. (forgive me if I get any of this wrong)
My problem is that I like the idea of the blue wilderness, and its protein levels, but the puppy formula for it only has chicken available.
Should I start off with the lamb and rice blue buffalo puppy food and then switch the the adult wilderness food in another flavor besides chicken?
Or should I just try the wilderness puppy chicken to begin with?
Sorry it's just all a little confusing in the beginning. Any help is appreciated!

 

[Totoro]

EEk when I say "other food listed as 5 star" I meant the rest of the blue buffalo line, not Fromms.

 

[Lucy-licious]

I don't usually advise on food as I live in the UK and our food I'd different. There are many of our dogs with allergies to chicken however that doesn't mean your baby will be too. I would start with the best food you can afford and try it..if it doesn't work switch slowly to another....it's a trial and error process and eventually you find a food at agrees with your babies tummy i'll tag [MENTION=2]desertskybulldogs[/MENTION] and [MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION] to pop along with other advise though

Oh and congrats on the new baby I look forward to the pics I'm sure you won't be able to resist posting for us.

 

[Corlando465]

I suggest that you continue the same food he is currently eating when you bring him home, even of it is not a very good food. Once he gets adjusted to his new surroundings and being away from his litter mates and momma, then start transitioning him to the food of choice. Too many changes all at once may be too much for the little guy. Congratulations! The are so special!

 

[JeannieCO]

I will respond more in depth later tonight (gotta go get ready for work) but I fed Blue Buffalo for Wilson for nearly a year. I just recently switched though so I'll let you know my experience.

 

[bullmama]

I suggest that you continue the same food he is currently eating when you bring him home, even of it is not a very good food. Once he gets adjusted to his new surroundings and being away from his litter mates and momma, then start transitioning him to the food of choice. Too many changes all at once may be too much for the little guy. Congratulations! The are so special!

I agree, great advice. A week is probably a good idea. I think most puppy foids contain chicken, and usually intolorance to certain proteins do not develop until they get older. Most puppy foods contain a number of different proteins from meat sources so i would not worry about chicken this early, in fact adding it to the diet in smaller levels can possibly help with the development of a sensitivity to it from things I have read on high end dog food sites. This is why many manufacturers like Fromm and Natures Variety make the foods interchangeable. Their theory is if you give more than one food per day they will have less chance of developing an allergy to a specific protein.

Example, Fromm pork n applesauce for breakfast, Fromm Chicken a la vegs for dinner. With Natures Variety you also have frozen raw you can add to the mix.

 

[Totoro]

thanks for the advice everyone. So with Fromm, I can feed a puppy different flavors throughout the day with no ill effects? If so, I think I'm leaning toward that...I know I'd get tired of eating the same thing every day over and over again. Does Fromm make a puppy food, or is it for all ages? I really like that idea of being able to change flavors even though I'd have to order it.

Would it be ok to mix giving wet and dry food? Putting some wet food on top of the kibble every now and then for example.

And could I use another brand, like blue buffalo or something similar, for the canned (I'd rather order the dry if I have to, but buy my cans in store)? Oh, and the same for the treats-ok if I use treats that are a different brand?

Did any of that make sense? Thanks for all the help from everyone! I really do appreciate the info.

 

[JeannieCO]

Ok, here’s my experience with Wilson.

When we got Wilson at 8 weeks old he was on Science Diet. I knew to get him off that food immediately so I tried Wellness Super5Mix Just for Puppies first. I used the bag the breeder gave me for my first transition. He had runny stools but I wasn’t sure it was due to the food or teething. I switched him after one bag of Wellness to Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Puppy Lamb & Oatmeal Recipe for Puppies. He did ok on that and I kept him on the puppy version until he was 4 months. I then switched him to the Fish & Sweet Potato Recipe for Adult Dogs and rotated between that and Lamb &Rice recipes. Overall he did well on the Blue Buffalo, but he still had constant water eyes. Thanks goodness he never got any sores in his eye folds from all that wetness. I kept up on them every day, twice day too. I had him allergy tested at 8 months old and found out he’s allergic to chicken and a few other things so at least I knew I had him on the right protein based food. I want to say I switched him over to Wellness again at around 10/11 months just to see if there was a difference since he was past the teething stage when he was first on it. There was no change so after 1 bag of Wellness I switched him back to Blue Buffalo.

When the conversations of Earthborn came around I started looking into it. I always wanted to try Fromm but just couldn’t bring myself to “order” food online. Well I finally said what the heck and tried Earthborn Holistic Meadow Feast and ordered it from a local place here that delivers. I choose the Meadow Feast because it wasn’t too high in protein, 26%. My non bully Jack is on the Great Plains version but he needs the higher protein. I did a longer than needed transition than normal because I started a bit too early. I noticed about 10 days or so that Wilson’s eyes were drying up. Could this really be???? Well he’s been on a full transition now for 2 weeks and you got it, his eyes are 100% dry. What was the difference? Well, it was the Grain Free that did the trick. Now Blue Buffalo recently came out with a grain free but it’s Chicken.

I want to also add that when he got neutered this past February, I had my vet check his eyes to make sure his tear ducts were ok and that there wasn’t any eye lashes scratching his eyes. His eyes were just fine. My vet once though before this that his watery eyes could have been from the his fold between the nose and eye being so big. So that’s my experience that I share with you. Hope it helps in making your decision but if I knew then what I know know, this is what I would do.

I would suggest trying Earthborn Holistic Puppy Vantage Natural Puppy Food: Here’s the Ingredients:

Chicken Meal, Whitefish Meal, Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Rye Flour, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), Tomato Pomace, Ground Flaxseed, Apples, Blueberries, Carrots, Peas, Spinach, Garlic, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Taurine, L-Lysine, DL-Methionine, Beta-Carotene, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Oxide, Magnesium Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Niacin, D-Calcium Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, L-Carnitine, Vitamin B12 Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Ferrous Sulfate, Biotin, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Manganese Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Dried Lactobacillus Plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product.

 

[JeannieCO]

Fromm makes a puppy food, Emma was on it and she did really good with it. It's called Fromm Puppy Gold and it's Duck and Lamb based.

I need to add too on the can food that if you go with a grain free kibble make sure that your can is grain free too or you'll defeat the purpose. I might also note that we have always given some canned food at the night feeding but I stopped about the time the switch stopped (I ran out). I had been buying Wellness/Blue Buffalo canned so I'm pretty sure now that Wilson had a grain issue. Just a thought for you.

 

[Kozman]

It's trail and error, the breeder had her on Purina Pro, we switched over to Merrick when we got her home. Merrick was good but she always had soft poop. We changed over to Blue Wildness and we alternate between the chicken and duck, the poop is firm and she loves the food - and it's grain free.

There is really no "best' food, each dog is different.you have to try a few to see what works...goood luck.

 

[ChanelnBrutus]

Ok, here’s my experience with Wilson.

When we got Wilson at 8 weeks old he was on Science Diet. I knew to get him off that food immediately so I tried Wellness Super5Mix Just for Puppies first. I used the bag the breeder gave me for my first transition. He had runny stools but I wasn’t sure it was due to the food or teething. I switched him after one bag of Wellness to Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Puppy Lamb & Oatmeal Recipe for Puppies. He did ok on that and I kept him on the puppy version until he was 4 months. I then switched him to the Fish & Sweet Potato Recipe for Adult Dogs and rotated between that and Lamb &Rice recipes. Overall he did well on the Blue Buffalo, but he still had constant water eyes. Thanks goodness he never got any sores in his eye folds from all that wetness. I kept up on them every day, twice day too. I had him allergy tested at 8 months old and found out he’s allergic to chicken and a few other things so at least I knew I had him on the right protein based food. I want to say I switched him over to Wellness again at around 10/11 months just to see if there was a difference since he was past the teething stage when he was first on it. There was no change so after 1 bag of Wellness I switched him back to Blue Buffalo.

When the conversations of Earthborn came around I started looking into it. I always wanted to try Fromm but just couldn’t bring myself to “order” food online. Well I finally said what the heck and tried Earthborn Holistic Meadow Feast and ordered it from a local place here that delivers. I choose the Meadow Feast because it wasn’t too high in protein, 26%. My non bully Jack is on the Great Plains version but he needs the higher protein. I did a longer than needed transition than normal because I started a bit too early. I noticed about 10 days or so that Wilson’s eyes were drying up. Could this really be???? Well he’s been on a full transition now for 2 weeks and you got it, his eyes are 100% dry. What was the difference? Well, it was the Grain Free that did the trick. Now Blue Buffalo recently came out with a grain free but it’s Chicken.

I want to also add that when he got neutered this past February, I had my vet check his eyes to make sure his tear ducts were ok and that there wasn’t any eye lashes scratching his eyes. His eyes were just fine. My vet once though before this that his watery eyes could have been from the his fold between the nose and eye being so big. So that’s my experience that I share with you. Hope it helps in making your decision but if I knew then what I know know, this is what I would do.

I would suggest trying Earthborn Holistic Puppy Vantage Natural Puppy Food: Here’s the Ingredients:

Chicken Meal, Whitefish Meal, Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Rye Flour, Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), Tomato Pomace, Ground Flaxseed, Apples, Blueberries, Carrots, Peas, Spinach, Garlic, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Taurine, L-Lysine, DL-Methionine, Beta-Carotene, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Oxide, Magnesium Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Niacin, D-Calcium Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, L-Carnitine, Vitamin B12 Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Ferrous Sulfate, Biotin, Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B1), Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Manganese Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Dried Lactobacillus Plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product.

This is great advice!

 

[cowsmom]

you have gotten some great advice and i agree. keep the dog on old food till they get settled in. bullies have sensitive tummies and to many changes will be upsetting. when they get settled in i dont see why not blue buffalo wilderness or fromm puppy. i will say this. blue has had recalls in the past but i think it has been a while since they have had one. having said that i have used wilderness before. have not used fromm but lots here have great success with it. cant wait to see pics of your new baby. :D

 

[Totoro]

Thanks everyone for your help =)

 

[BulldogMom31]

Doing the same here, my puppy is 10 weeks now, we got him 2 weeks ago, and today i decided to switch his food, he was on Eukanuba which i know it's not good, so today i started to give him Wellness, just gave him his first meal, we'll see how he does, i'm so nervous tho lol,......And doing off course the slow transition!!! Good Luck with your puppy!!!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Doing the same here, my puppy is 10 weeks now, we got him 2 weeks ago, and today i decided to switch his food, he was on Eukanuba which i know it's not good, so today i started to give him Wellness, just gave him his first meal, we'll see how he does, i'm so nervous tho lol,......And doing off course the slow transition!!! Good Luck with your puppy!!!

Just do the switch slowly! You will be fine!