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Is Blue Buffalo a quality dog food?

Lately I've read some scary info on leading brands of dog food that are poor quality and can cause health issues. I've recently switched my Corgi from Iams to Blue Buffalo and hope I made a smart choice. Does any one feed their dog Blue Buffalo and what is the quality compared to Iams the previous food I fed her?
Thanks!!

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Thanks for everyone's comments. I feel much better now about the new food and will use Dog Food Adviser for research.

Blue Diamond makes Blue Diamond Blue Buffalo makes Blue Buffalo. Both have a blue diamond on the packaging, which only adds to the confusion. They are not the same. Blue Buffalo has their patented life source bits, which are a key component to the foods' success.

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Blue is a good food, but I think it is overrated. I feed my dogs Taste of the wild which is a little cheaper and I think a better food. The makers of Taste of the wild also make the Kirkland brands for Costco. Natures Domain is almost identical to Taste of the wild at a 40% discount. A couple of minor changes to the ingredients. You can switch between Taste of the wild and Natures Domain if you just can not get to Costco.

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Awesome! I didn't know they made the Kirkland stuff! I've used both and have always really liked the Taste of the Wild foods (or rather, my dogs all have), so that's pretty cool.

Just so everyone knows Taste of the Wild food is made by Diamond. Diamond makes Blue Buffalo. So they are made in the same factory. I don’t personally recommend Blue Buffalos to any clients/family because Blue Buffalo / Diamond is notorious for having recalls and unsanitary processing facilities.

Blue Buffalo is not owned by Diamond. They're owned by General Mills.

We tried Taste of the Wild and my dog got skin allergies and sick. I changed to Blue for Digestive Care and she improved immediately.

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I used to feed my dogs Blue Buffalo and it is a better than average dog food. I did find it expensive and when I adopted a third dog and took on two fosters, I also switched to Costco's Nature's Domain.

Here is a great resource for Dog Food choices.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

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The dogfoodadvisor site is my Bible. I carry a list of all the dry 5-star brands, whenever I think about changing. We're on Merrick Texas Beef Grain Free these days.

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Blue is one of the best foods! Switching to that from Iams is day and night. I second Jessica - read the rover link about dog food and how to choose a good one. I hope you switched the food gradually over a week-long period, by the way, to avoid her stomach being upset.

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Here is a great blog post on Rover's Daily Treat Blog about the secret ingredients in dog food: http://www.rover.com/blog/the-truth-a...

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I've subscribed to Whole Dog Journal since they first came out. They don't allow ads in their publ'n., so it's always impartial. Once a year, they put out their dry dog food review and show most prominent cos. that fit their criteria. Certainly Blue is on the list, but so are many others. None are inexpensive, but some are more reasonable than others, and they're big proponents of mixing it up. I could mail you a copy of this year's review if you want to email me your address. I'm at "emailnancycohen@gmail.com". They also explain how they arrive at their conclusions, and how you can make your own decision(s).

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I agree with everyone. Iams to Blue is a huge improvement. There is lots of false rumors but some true. Do your research. Ask advice. And be careful which sites you use for your research. I also like http://dogfoodadvisor.com Personally I switched to Blue grain free cuz my puppy has loose stools on regular Blue sm. Breed puppy. Now she doesn't. I didn't see the need for grain free but now I do. All dogs are Different and you need to see what works for each one.

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I am trained in holistic pet diets and Blue is one of the best.

Lower grade foods are cheap, but they have mostly no nutritional value. Your pet will eat more of the cheap food faster - because they aren't getting the nutrients they truly need. You'll find that higher quality foods satisfy them, so they won't eat all the time (which is more cost effective for you!)

Always read the ingredients. If it doesn't sound like something you would eat, you probably shouldn't give it to your pet. Cheap foods are mostly gluten, dyes and other things I won't disgust you with here. :/

When switching foods, remember to mix them at first, gradually reduce the old food and add more new food so their tummy can adjust easily. You might find your pet will then pick out the old food and spit it out on the floor and go right for the better brand. They know better than we do sometimes - their sense of smell for "bad" is amazing! :D

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I know this a very old thread at this point, but when searching Google for Blue Buffalo reviews it comes up so I wanted to drop this link detailing a class action lawsuit against them. Apparently, our 4 yr. Pittie mix included, Blue Buffalo consumption has resulted in vet ER visits for gastro upset sometimes resulting in death. Please educate yourself and be aware that this brand has also been involved in other questionable events.

https://m.facebook.com/nikki.barker.589/posts/10107255556628432?d=m (https://m.facebook.com/nikki.barker.589…)

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I have heard good reviews on it however Nutro Lamb/Rice is what we have had all our dogs on, keeps the coat shiny and excellent poop health!

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There's a lot of conflicting info out there about what constitutes "quality" dog food. Over the years, the rules I've come to follow are pretty simple. All ingredients in the info panel are listed in order of amount, so the first ingredient is what there is most of in the food. I scan the first 4-5 ingredients. First product should be a real meat. The word "byproduct" or should not appear anywhere in the first few ingredients. I stay away from corn, since it's as nutritious and digestible for dogs as it is for people (as in not at all, it's purely filler), but I don't do grain free. Finally, I watch the protein content. A lot of brands market high-protein foods, especially for puppies or active dogs, but it's unnecessary and in many cases can cause more health problems than it solves, including development problems and kidney trouble. For me, if it fits those criteria and my dogs enjoy it, I feel secure knowing they're probably eating better than I do most days. Personally, since neither of my dogs require a special diet, the best I've found for the money is Costco's Kirkland dog foods.

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First order of ingredients on bag of Blue Life Protection Formula listed as follows 1. deboned chicken 2. chicken meal 3. whole ground brown rice 4. whole ground barley 5. oatmeal 6. chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols) protein 24%

Looks pretty similar to the Kirkland stuff!

Most of your facts are wrong. Corn is a great source of protein for dogs and is highly digestible and "byproduct" often means organ meat. Organ meat is significantly more nutritious than muscle meat.

You also need to take into consideration the recall history of the foods you're choosing and why they were recalled. Blue buffalo has been recalled for lying about its ingredients and it's been recalled for containing lead.

Alex, Corn is a very poor source of protein, not to mention a trigger for allergies in some pets. Despite not having much protein Corn isn't even a complete protein, lacking several essential amino acids . By products are not necessarily nutritious,often containing fat,sinew, and vicera

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