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Need a new dog food urgently, Blue Buffalo Warning

Smart_Family

Dog Food Guru
It can get really tricky to do half raw and half kibble. I myself do kibble with occasional raw treat as full time raw doesn't work for us right now.
 

babyjoemurphy

Well-Known Member
I considered the half and half and decided to do kibble and raw as treats. My stove dehydrates so I am going to get a bunch of meat and dehydrate it for him. What is the best meat and what to avoid. I will be using the jerky for training and "good boy" treats. I also never thought of giving my dog a whole carrot to chew on. Murphy will be getting one tonight. He is on BB and since we got him 12 days ago. He is 2 1/2 every poop has been soft. That and the fact that he has had an ear infection 3 times in the past 6 months (I am in contact with his previous Vet) I am taking him off chicken. What is a good other meat for Mastiffs. My sheppard had Lamb and potato because he produced too much oil and got oil pimples on his skin. And is it really safe to give dogs un cooked bones? I've never giving bones because I was always taught it was bad for them. And I also read not to give then weight bearing bones, I am assuming that is bones from a larger animal then a chicken or rabbit? Again Murphy use to get RAW but his previous family stopped it
 

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ruthcatrin

Well-Known Member
You can use pretty much any meat you can get for jerky treats. If you think he has chicken issues then avoid chicken, otherwise whatever floats your boat.

As long as the bones are RAW they're fine, though you may want to avoid large animal leg bones (like cows) as they can be very hard and can crack teeth. You also want to make sure the bones are large enough that the dog has to crunch them a bit to get them down (no chicken wings for large dogs for example). If its been a while since he had raw he might puke the bones back up at first while his body re-adapts to digesting them.
 

Jadotha

Well-Known Member
In my opinion, everyone is overreacting to the Blue Buffalo situation. Back in 2010, there were issues with kidney problems associated with excessive vitamin D. Not all BB brands were implicated. After investigation, it was determined that the manufacturer for BB had been running batches of product with high levels of vitamin D which contaminated the kibble. Blue Buffalo voluntarily initiated recalls of affected foodstuffs, and corrected the problems.
 

ruthcatrin

Well-Known Member
Jadotha, that wasn't the 'recall' originally mentioned in this thread. The 'recall' mentioned here was no such thing and was infact a rumor started by someone who likely didn't know how to read recalls and freaked, and it spread across the interent like you would not believe, ending up on alot of different message boards, cause people didn't know how to check their facts before helping spread it. The thread has wandered quite a bit off the original topic.....
 

babyjoemurphy

Well-Known Member
It peaked my interest because I was already looking to switch Murphys food anyways. And yes the thread wondered and wondered. Now I am taking advantage of the change in the thread. Who better to learn from then Mastiff owners.Better then the Pet store min. wage student employees. I use to feed my Sheppard all natural food that we as people could eat.....Not that I tried it, but Murphy is a larger dog with other needs. SO now I learn. And tonight Mr Murphy is getting a big fat carrot. No more buying baby carrots in this house. Once my green bean plants have plenty beans he will have them too. Not in his food bowl though. What other foods out of the fridge is good for them?
I will not give him chicken

---------- Post added at 06:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:59 PM ----------

It peaked my interest because I was already looking to switch Murphys food anyways. &nbsp;And yes the thread wondered and wondered. &nbsp;Now I am taking advantage of the change in the thread. &nbsp;Who better to learn from then Mastiff owners.Better then the Pet store min. wage student employees. &nbsp;I use to feed my Sheppard all natural food that we as people could eat.....Not that I tried it, but Murphy is a larger dog with other needs. &nbsp;SO now I learn. &nbsp;And tonight Mr Murphy is getting a big fat carrot. &nbsp;No more buying baby carrots in this house. &nbsp;Once my green bean plants have plenty beans he will have them too. &nbsp;Not in his food bowl though. &nbsp;What other foods out of the fridge is good for them?<br>I will not give him chicken
 

Jadotha

Well-Known Member
@ Ruthcatrin
Ahhh, ok. And sorry if I derailed the thread. Thanks. It's just that I diligently check any scientific analyses and issues identified by reputable sources associated with food I provide my pets. The only kidney related issues I discovered were related to the excess vitamin D in particular batches which were recalled as described in my post. Obviously everyone is free to make their own decisions about what to feed, but I hate to see what seems to me a reputable company subjected to ill-founded internet rumour.
 

ruthcatrin

Well-Known Member
's'ok, this one was a rumor about the chinese chicken jerky issues. I assume someone saw the similer symptoms between the old BB recall and the jerky issues, didn't check their dates, and went nuts. I did a write up on my blog, along with a bunch of links, and how to read the recall dates (which ARE confusing) and I'm still getting hits 8 months later from internet searches 'blue buffalo recall chicken jerky' or similer.

BB's not a favorite food company of mine, but they aren't the worst by any stretch, and they don't source their ingrediants (with the possible exception of the vitamin/mineral mixes) from China, which is a plus.
 

babyjoemurphy

Well-Known Member
Oh Im not changing foods due to a recall. I would think if there was a recall all bags would be pulled off the shelves. The internet can be a horrible thing.
And sweet potatoes is a staple in my house, easy enough to dehydrate them

What is your ideal food for a EM?
 
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Smart_Family

Dog Food Guru
My usual go to foods are Orijen 6 fish, acana wild prairie, earthborn great plains feast, meadow feast or coastal catch. I can make other suggestions if you'd like.
 

Sadies Mom

Well-Known Member
I had always though BB was a good food, so I got it for Sadie in the beginning. My vet is very anti-BB and she told me, even though the ingredients look good, she had a lot of dogs with unexplained diarreha and when she wanted to get some more info and called them, the would blow smoke up her rear end or not return calls. Sadie did ok on the food, but it gave her horrible gas.
 

Smart_Family

Dog Food Guru
For some reason too a lot of dogs don't like the little blue life bit things. It's not a bad food, I've just seen better results from other foods that are the same price.
 

rhonda7770

Member
I have a pack made up of 3 Cane Corso babies and a yorkie and a chug... my yorkie has allergies triggered by all the chicken and grains in most dog foods.All of the food recalls had been a major worry for me.. I was trying to find a food that would provide what my Mastiff's needed as well as maintain my smaller dogs ... After much trial and error I have found that they all respond best to a Salmon and sweet potatoe kibble. The yorkie is regrowing her hair and the skin irritations are gone... and the mastiff's are not overly gassey ... THANK GOD!

I have used Blue Buffalo and Taste of the Wild, and just recently settled on a Salmon & Sweet Potatoe food by For Health.. It is Tractor Supply's store brand put out by Diamond... who also distributes the Taste of the Wild food that I was using for them. Since I have taken in more rescues, I need to be able to provide top quality while still being cost effective.
 
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babyjoemurphy

Well-Known Member
Since I switch my guy from BB chicken, to Chicken/grain free he now has solid poops. It has been 3 weeks since the transition was complete. He came to us on BB. So happy I joined this forum. I would have been lost if I didn't. Oh and he has hardly any GAS!
Thanks again to everyone
 

Jadotha

Well-Known Member
Ok, I think everyone should calm down. The Blue Buffalo kidney issues appeared in 2010 - early 2011. They were related to excessive levels of vitamin D in specific batches which were caused by the manufacturer of these batches -- who had processed a product high in vitamin D prior to running the Blue Buffalo. More recently, there has been a campaign of rumour and innuendo that associated Blue buffalo with problems associated with chicken jerky produced in China. Blue Buffalo does NOT outsource production of chicken jerky to China. We have fed Blue buffalo to our dogs for a long while and have been delighted with it. I really think it is too bad when a reputable company (who instituted a proactive and voluntary recall of the vitamin D contaminated foodstuffs) is smeared.
 

babyjoemurphy

Well-Known Member
I decided to switch my guy not because of any recall. Recalls can happen at anytime to any food, stroller, crib, car seat, and anything else that is NEEDED. Mine was due to loose bowels and ear infections. Wanted him off chicken and grains. There are always recalls or issues with almost everything we buy now adays.
 

ruthcatrin

Well-Known Member
Ok, I think everyone should calm down. The Blue Buffalo kidney issues appeared in 2010 - early 2011. They were related to excessive levels of vitamin D in specific batches which were caused by the manufacturer of these batches -- who had processed a product high in vitamin D prior to running the Blue Buffalo. More recently, there has been a campaign of rumour and innuendo that associated Blue buffalo with problems associated with chicken jerky produced in China. Blue Buffalo does NOT outsource production of chicken jerky to China. We have fed Blue buffalo to our dogs for a long while and have been delighted with it. I really think it is too bad when a reputable company (who instituted a proactive and voluntary recall of the vitamin D contaminated foodstuffs) is smeared.

I don't think any of the current comments were people switching because of the recall (or lack there of)?
 

Jadotha

Well-Known Member
Oh, ok...sorry if I read that wrong! Also to clarify I didn't mean anyone on this thread or forum was 'smearing' BB. I just really get perturbed when it appears there are still people 'out there' who are spreading unfounded rumours that alarm and worry people trying to make the best decisions for their dogs. I was buying BB yesterday and I had a woman run up to me shouting, 'Don't buy THAT!! Haven't you heard abou the kidney problesm?
Apologies again! And I think the foods being suggested are good ones.