# Another thumbs down for Blue Buffalo



## SillyHuman (May 17, 2014)

Someone warned me, but Pip has urinary problems, and the vet is sure it is the Blue Buffalo.

We are switching to Royal Canin.

I have a bag of Puppy Chow, in addition to the BB, that we are going to donate to Pets for Patriots. The program provides food to veterans so they can keep their pets. Neat idea.


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## JainaSolo (Jun 18, 2014)

SillyHuman said:


> Someone warned me, but Pip has urinary problems, and the vet is sure it is the Blue Buffalo.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I always consult www.dogfoodadvisor.com when looking into switching foods 


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## PoodleDuo (Jun 14, 2014)

Royal canin is crap... vets know nothing about nutrition. Blue Buffalo isn't really that Good anymore. Find a Good local owned pet store with high quality foods. They can help you find something for dogs with urinary issues.. 

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## SillyHuman (May 17, 2014)

PoodleDuo said:


> Royal canin is crap... vets know nothing about nutrition.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Said the anonymous newcomer. Thanks, but . . .


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

SillyHuman said:


> Said the anonymous newcomer. Thanks, but . . .


Well, in all honesty, anonymous newcomer comes bearing an important message.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I have had my dogs on Blue Buffalo for five years and my vet is always impressed by how great their health is. they both are super consistent in their weight and have not ever had health problems that could be attributed to their food other than Peeves having a hard time making the switch (GSDs have notoriously sensitive GI tracts).

As to PoodleDuo being new to PF, that she is, but if you check out her intro post she is an experienced dog person and certainly not veiled by lack of information about herself.

http://www.poodleforum.com/2-member-introductions/107770-new-poodle-mommy.html


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## Jamie Hein (Aug 17, 2013)

I agree with the newcomer... Royal Canin is crap. Dogfoodadvisor agrees it is crap. I agree when I look at the ingredients for myself and the fact that I haven't seen a good looking dog on the food yet and I see a lot of dogs since I am a groomer. Looking at the ingredients for the Royal Canin Vet Diet for Urinary Tract issues the first ingredient is rice, second is corn. Further down the list corn gluten meal. Rice and corn are both foods that are high in calcium oxalates which form the kidney stones and they also aren't appropriate foods to feed dogs in my opinion.


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## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

Highest rating any Royal Canin product gets on Dogfoodadvisor.com is 2-1/2 stars, and most are even lower than that. Seems to me if you are going to go through the trouble of changing foods, you might as well upgrade to something excellent.


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

LEUllman said:


> Highest rating any Royal Canin product gets on Dogfoodadvisor.com is 2-1/2 stars, and most are even lower than that. *Seems to me if you are going to go through the trouble of changing foods, you might as well upgrade to something excellent.*


Agreed. I've been feeding Penny Wellness Core Puppy. It gets a five star rating on DogFoodAdvisor and an even higher rating on the Penny scale. She loves it. She'll even take it as a treat.

Rick


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

I'm feeding Victor Grainfree All Life Stages kibble. It gets a five-star rating from DogFoodAdvisor. Don't know how appropriate it would be for a dog with urinary problems, but Blue loves it.


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

CharismaticMillie said:


> Well, in all honesty, anonymous newcomer comes bearing an important message.


The knowledge brought here by some of our newcomers amazes me regularly.


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## Suddenly (Aug 8, 2013)

Brandon has been chewing down on Grassland Grain Free Acana, and have had no problems. A high quality food is very important for our poodles.


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

With urinary problems, USUALLY hight protein is NOT what you need. Most foods on Dog Food Advisor that are higher rated have a lot of protein.


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## SillyHuman (May 17, 2014)

N2Mischief said:


> With urinary problems, USUALLY hight protein is NOT what you need.


That is almost word for word what my vet said. But what does he know? :angel2:


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

Here's an interesting article about diet for a dog with kidney disease. 

What to Feed Pets with Kidney Disease - PetMeds®

According to this, protein restriction isn't necessary in stages 1 and 2 and may actually cause other problems. In stages 3 and 4, low protein and low phosphorus diets are recommended.


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## SillyHuman (May 17, 2014)

My pup does not have kidney disease.

Folks, I would not blow off medical advice given to me on the word of people on the internet, especially before I had had a chance to actually follow the doctor's advice. I am not being obtuse, I am simply not being an idiot. 

FYI, Blue Buffalo refuses to submit it's product for testing, so there is no telling if what they say is in it is what is actually in it. Again, over "people on the internet," I will take the advice of my own vet and the majority of vets of who have expressed an opinion on the subject of the best brand of food.

My post was not an invitation for advice, and no where in it did I solicit advice. So, if you are understanding me to say that "armchair vet" advice is not welcome, BRAVO, you understand correctly. 

I am not posting to this thread again.


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## PoodleDuo (Jun 14, 2014)

However there are a lot of foods that have lower protein... Even a weight management or senior food might be lower protein.. I'm not home or on my laptop so can't give links. Things like fish,I think Turkey, and other cool meats will have lower protein. Acana /origin/blue Buffalo are fairly high protein levels and I would advice against using it.

Vets learn barely anything about nutrition. SCIENCE diet, royal canin are overpriced junk that the vet gets kickbacks for. 

What about even feeding raw?
Even though I'm an "anonymous new person" I've been around dogs for years. I've rescued, managed 200 dog daycare, groomed, worked at a vets, worked at an all holistic pet store... I've been around thousands of dogs from Wolf Hybrid to Chihuahuas to Afghans to labs to Portuguese water dogs to spinoli italionos (sp? ) etc. Etc. I'm definitely not new to dogs and have dealt with everything from uti to kidney failure to parvo. 


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## JainaSolo (Jun 18, 2014)

SillyHuman said:


> My pup does not have kidney disease.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Interesting that you would post something on a social networking site and expected people to not give their opinions or share their experiences and knowledge. Just because we are "people on the internet" doesn't mean we don't have something to share that may help you or someone else. I imagine no one intended to offend you in any way.


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## honda123 (May 29, 2014)

PoodleDuo said:


> Vets learn barely anything about nutrition. SCIENCE diet, royal canin are overpriced junk that the vet gets kickbacks for.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


In over 20 years of Veterinary practice, we have NEVER received "a kickback," (money), from SCIENCE diet and/or Royal Canin, nor any other dog food company.

I would like to know your sources for your two statements.


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

honda123 said:


> In over 20 years of Veterinary practice, we have NEVER received "a kickback," (money), from SCIENCE diet and/or Royal Canin, nor any other dog food company.
> 
> I would like to know your sources for your two statements.


I don't know anything about kickbacks, but it does seem to me to be a conflict of interest to recommend something you're making money on, especially if the something is readily available elsewhere--I think both Science Diet and Royal Canin are on the shelf at PetsMart, aren't they?


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

JudyD said:


> I don't know anything about kickbacks, but it does seem to me to be a conflict of interest to recommend something you're making money on, especially if the something is readily available elsewhere--I think both Science Diet and Royal Canin are on the shelf at PetsMart, aren't they?


Not the veterinary formulas, which admittedly do have a purpose and those foods tend to do their job well, which is why DFA doesn't even rate veterinary prescription diets.

For a dog that doesn't require a veterinary diet, Hills and RC (can be found at pet store) really are low quality foods compared to everything else out there. Is it the end of the world to feed these foods? Probably not, but there's better.

All of that said, I gave Pro Plan a try recently (gasp!) and really liked how my dogs did on it. I really try to keep an open mind about foods. Ideally I would still be feeding everybody raw, but it's not possible anymore for me.


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## PoodlePaws (May 28, 2013)

My dogs eat Taste of the Wild southwest canyon formula. It's grain free. And is rated 4-5 stars. It's a lower protein than the wetlands or prairie formula. The fish formula has even lower protein than the one I feed. 


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