# Blue Buffalo or Wellness?



## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Hopefully I'll be getting a dog for Christmas. 

I was looking for grain-free, high quality foods. I've been on other forums and it seems these two are the best ones I can possibly find locally.

Which do you prefer? Wellness or Blue?


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## Destinystar (May 26, 2012)

My daughter switched her dog to Wellness and says he is doing great with it. I just switched my dog Barkley over to Evolve dog food and its grain free and he is loving it. He was being all itchy so I thought the grain free might help with that but since I am switching him over slowly and mixing it with his other dog food so it doesnt upset his stomach its really difficult and to soon to tell if its helping yet. In a few days I will switch him over to it completely so I will be able to tell then if its helping with the itching issue but either way I think going grain free is the way to go.


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## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

I rotate my crew between Wellness Core, Orijen, & Taste Of The Wild. If you look at the reviews here those 3 come up as 6 star, Blue Buffalo is a 4 star; Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost

BB isn't a bad food by any means, but given a choice I'd go with the Wellness.


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## Silverfang (Mar 25, 2011)

I don't have a dog, but my cat eats Blue. No problem with the switch. Now that I think about it, she has slimmed down since she's been eating it.


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

If you can find Wysong in your area, try it. 

I want good food for my cats and dogs but not too expensive so I like Natural Balance and Chicken Soup.

Blue is supposed to be really good. Also good is Spot's Stew made by Ellen Degeneres.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Thanks, everyone! 

Orijen and TOTW aren't in my Petsmarts and Petcos. :/ I don't know why. There might be in Walmart, but the closest one is 25 miles away, and I'm not the one that drives! :s

I'm thinking of going with Wellness Core, in the dog forum I see someone had bad luck with a bag. I can't base BB on that, but I want to be safe and sound.


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## Sena Hansler (Aug 24, 2011)

As long as you avoid Iams, I don't care what you choose! :lol:

BB or Wellness, either or. Depending on the dog, they also benefit from actual meat. Some small dogs not as much, as they are "designer dogs", but bully breeds, and working dogs definitely benefit!!


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Lol. Yep, I try to ignore those "great" commercials of Purina, Pedigree, and IAMs. xD

The dog will be a spaniel, retriever, or shepherd mix hopefully.  It'll surely benefit from not having those fillers. ^.^


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

LebronTheBetta said:


> Lol. Yep, I try to ignore those "great" commercials of Purina, Pedigree, and IAMs. xD
> 
> The dog will be a spaniel, retriever, or shepherd mix hopefully.  It'll surely benefit from not having those fillers. ^.^


Since you are getting a bigger dog, quality food will keep him pooping less. ;-)

Will you be getting him/her just before or right after the holidays?


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Even better!  Thought that was a myth, that's wonderful!

I'm not quite sure. My mother says we'll get in later on this year. I think in December, hopefully. We still need to move out first, and hoping the bank approves. (loan) And if we DO move, it's a definite yes. ^.^


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## JennNP (Jul 2, 2013)

Perseusmom said:


> My daughter switched her dog to Wellness and says he is doing great with it. I just switched my dog Barkley over to Evolve dog food and its grain free and he is loving it. He was being all itchy so I thought the grain free might help with that but since I am switching him over slowly and mixing it with his other dog food so it doesnt upset his stomach its really difficult and to soon to tell if its helping yet. In a few days I will switch him over to it completely so I will be able to tell then if its helping with the itching issue but either way I think going grain free is the way to go.


Such a similar story for us. Our dog, Cassie, has been struggling with hot spots and dry skin. We are currently in the process of switching her over to Blue Buffalo. So I also can't say if I've seen an improvement, yet. 

I would recommend just reading the ingredients then figuring out what works best for you and your budget. Food with "corn" or "byproduct meal" as the first few ingredients are no bueno! Same as what goes when people recommend food for our bettas here on the forum. Less fillers + More of what the animal would naturally eat = best.

And yay for the new dog!! How exciting! : )


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Sorry about your dog with the itch!  Hopefully Cassie will feel better soon. 

And yep, I learn so much on forums. ^.^ Thanks.


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## JennNP (Jul 2, 2013)

Thanks LBT! I hope so too. We have meds for her, but they're definitely just treating the symptom and not the cause. Hoping the food will do the trick! We also bought her Burts Bees hot spot shampoo XD Love Burts Bees for myself, I figured why not for the dog too!

Oh and don't forget to show pics of the new pup come Christmas time!


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

It's not sure, but the chances are high. I don't want to get my hopes up that easily. lol  

Are you going to feed Cassie Lamb & Brown Rice? Or just the Wilderness? I heard bad stuff about the L&BR on the other forum, I just want to make a small alert.


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## JennNP (Jul 2, 2013)

We went for chicken and brown rice. I also saw a youtube video (although it was several years old) with the whitefish one, and it was full of fish bones! 

We spent a lot of time looking at the wilderness ones. They were slightly more expensive and the only difference we could really see was that it included meat that is so pricey we can't afford to feed ourselves that well! We are already on a budget and had to cut from own food money to afford the Blue Buffalo food. I couldn't justify spending more on the wilderness to feed our dog duck, when I only get to enjoy duck during hunting season! haha


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## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

Grain, especially corn is a big offender for many things, most commonly skin issues. In the long run good food ends up being cheaper than vet visits & medication. Good chance you'll see the dog perk up a bit with a better quality food, I had that happen with a 10 year old foster turned family member a few years back. She came to me overweight, with bad teeth, pretty obvious diet of table food when she wouldn't eat the Wellness for the first few days.

By the 3rd day she figured if she didn't eat what was given the younger two guys would continue to chow down on her portion. After about 4 months she lost the excess weight, & was keeping up with a couple dogs way less than half her age. Having a better physical condition for being knocked out for dental work I had that taken care of, after a day of rest it was like a second puppyhood for the old girl.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Haha I wish I was able to hunt. I ate fried duck before, not really tasty IMO. Blehh

Yep, dog food is very expensive. Even the crappy brands sometimes are. :lol:


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Tolak said:


> Grain, especially corn is a big offender for many things, most commonly skin issues. In the long run good food ends up being cheaper than vet visits & medication. Good chance you'll see the dog perk up a bit with a better quality food, I had that happen with a 10 year old foster turned family member a few years back. She came to me overweight, with bad teeth, pretty obvious diet of table food when she wouldn't eat the Wellness for the first few days.
> 
> By the 3rd day she figured if she didn't eat what was given the younger two guys would continue to chow down on her portion. After about 4 months she lost the excess weight, & was keeping up with a couple dogs way less than half her age. Having a better physical condition for being knocked out for dental work I had that taken care of, after a day of rest it was like a second puppyhood for the old girl.


That's great she got better! It sucks on how many people abandon their pets to shelters, and their conditions are already bad. :/


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## JennNP (Jul 2, 2013)

We're definitely happy we made the change! Our vet tried to tell us she was "bored" and that's why she got hot spots. I did some research myself and they come from allergies or infection. I'm hoping it was the corn in her old food. We'll see how it goes. 
So good to hear the positive effects it had on your dog, Tolak! Luckily, Cassie loooves her new food. We're still mixing it in with the old, and she tries to pick out just the Blue Buffalo lol


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## registereduser (Jul 30, 2010)

JennNP said:


> We're definitely happy we made the change! Our vet tried to tell us she was "bored" and that's why she got hot spots.


Crazy vet! I hope you got a new one after that. It's like saying you get zits from being bored ;-)


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## Midori (Jul 26, 2013)

We personally feed Taste of the Wild. Here it is cheaper then Wellness and Blue, about $2-3. But I had feed Wellness before, and out dogs really like it. Never had them turn down the Wellness. 

We also tend to buy them from tractor supply. 

Good food makes all the difference, we've never had hot stops on out dogs while feeding Wellness or Taste of the Wild.


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## Bounce (May 26, 2012)

Midori said:


> We personally feed Taste of the Wild. Here it is cheaper then Wellness and Blue, about $2-3. But I had feed Wellness before, and out dogs really like it. Never had them turn down the Wellness.
> 
> We also tend to buy them from tractor supply.
> 
> Good food makes all the difference, we've never had hot stops on out dogs while feeding Wellness or Taste of the Wild.


X2 on getting Taste Of The Wild at Tractor Supply. Tractor Supply also sells "4 Health" brand dog food that comes in a grain-free formula. I think it is a little less expensive than the Taste Of The Wild.

I feed TOTW and my dogs do great on it.


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## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Hey, it looks like there is a distributor near me for TOTW! 

I guess I can get that, if it's for the best.  Which type do you guys recommend? High Prairie?


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## Bounce (May 26, 2012)

I usually rotate between High Prairie and Pacific Stream but will buy a bag of the Wetlands formula occasionally just for added variety. They eat them all equally well and I can't tell that they prefer one over the other.


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## Midori (Jul 26, 2013)

We rotate the TOTW food too, never buying the same kind back to back. 4-Health also is good we feed the 4 health wet food. If you need to save money I think 4-health would be a good alt.


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## Tolak (Nov 13, 2012)

My wife will rotate TOTW based on the picture. Last time they were chasing ducks, this time they're hunting buffalo, pretty funny for a reverse trio of 20 pound terriers. Pet Supplies Plus has the best prices around for dog food, and it's on her way home from work. Never had a problem switching between varieties, no slow transition, just one bag to the next.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

After doing a lot of research I switched my WGSD puppy to Premium Edge puppy large breed-I started him on Diamond brand large breed puppy-since I feed Diamond brand cat food and really like it for the cats, but he didn't seem to like it and I can't afford the Blue Buffalo, TOTW or a couple of others of the 5 star brands.

My WGSD just turned 6mo old and weighs 68 pounds-happy, healthy and full of energy.

I feed the Pure Balance-no grain to the adult dogs and plan to feed it to my WGSD puppy once I switch him to adult food at 1 year of age. You can get it a Wal Mart and it runs about $1/lb for the chicken/brown rice-double that for the lamb.

You may have posted this already and I missed it...But what kind of dog/puppy are you getting....

My puppy has changed my life to say the least...lol.....He is my number one buddy...Skipper'D...spoiled rotten best friend....lol....


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Sorry for the double post-I wanted to add a few really good links on nutrition needs especially of the large breeds that I found helpful ...

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=grading_kibble

http://www.thepetfoodlist.com/petfoods_pg1.htm

http://www.lgd.org/library/Optimal%20feeding%20of%20large%20breed%20puppies.pdf

https://www.msu.edu/~silvar/hips.htm

http://www.newmanveterinary.com/large.html

This one has some neat calculators-all you need to do is add weight of the dog

http://mycockerspaniel.com/mer.htm


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## Fenghuang (Dec 28, 2012)

I don't have a dog, but I feed my cat Blue Buffalo. He never had any healthy problems and he really likes it. I also give him some Wellness wet food from time to time and he absolutely loves that, but it's too expensive for me to switch to it completely.


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