# Blue Buffalo Making Dogs Sick....



## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I just wanted to share what I discovered. I am watching an HRI foster this week. He has been in the vet hospital for many days. He was vomiting and had diarrhea. They did test after test and could not find anything wrong with him. When I got his food, I saw that his previous owner was feeding Blue Buffalo. I threw it right into the trash. I thought I bet this is what was making him sick. So then I did some detective work and check out what I found. Over 300 complaints most from 2013! Seems the company changed hands! Most of the complaints are the same as this little guy I am fostering.

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/blue_buffalo.html

He is doing fine now on rice and boiled chicken.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

here's more info from Sabines site http://forums.dogfoodproject.com/search.php?fid[]=4&sid=ad5dc88c5a48770d720fe8156eae185b

Do a search from there on Blue Buffalo., not so good news


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

I'm glad I switched the sisters away from that food . I feed them that their first year.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

It's kind of scary not knowing what is in the food. They don't regulate it well. So many companies say, made in the USA. But the ingredients come from China! I don't feed my guys anything from China. I actually email companies and ask where the ingredients are from.


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## Laurief (Nov 7, 2006)

Very interesting - I had Laila on this a while back and she had the same symptoms, and I changed foods right away. So glad I did!


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## rokipiki (Oct 15, 2010)

Interesting things are happening here in Croatia. We joined European union as full member on 1st July. Week ago I went shopping for Roki and some shelves in pet store were empty - no Taste of the Wild, no Earthborn, no Timberwoolf... Shelves with treats were also half empty. i asked what happened and shop assistant told me that all dog food that do not comply with EU regulations for pet food safety are withdrawn from shops. Later I checked those regulations and ingredients lists and realized that each food contains at leat three ingredients whicha re banned in EU, even for pets


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## gelbergirl (Jun 9, 2007)

I just switched Henry to Blue a few months ago - he seems to be doing well on it.
Maybe thinking to going back to Life's Abundance which is what I had him on as a pup.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I would switch him. Look at the complaints. Some people's pets died...

If you want to feed dry you might try Fromm or Orijens. They don't use anything from china.


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## Ruth4Havs (May 13, 2013)

Whoa, I didn't know that. I thought it was a good dog food. I feed Chester Natural Choice.


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## 1stladysoul (May 17, 2013)

Skye also suffered from me putting her on Blue Buffalo when I first received her in my home. I took her to the vet and they recommended me changing her food. It is sad when companies make products that increase or cause illness. Blue Buffalo should be banned from the shelves!


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## gelbergirl (Jun 9, 2007)

How do I find out about Life's Abundance? Otherwise I will consider the others Linda recommended. Do these companies admit to using products from China?

What about Stella & Chewys?
Is there a web site where I can check all of Henry's products?


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

rokipiki said:


> Interesting things are happening here in Croatia. We joined European union as full member on 1st July. Week ago I went shopping for Roki and some shelves in pet store were empty - no Taste of the Wild, no Earthborn, no Timberwoolf... Shelves with treats were also half empty. i asked what happened and shop assistant told me that all dog food that do not comply with EU regulations for pet food safety are withdrawn from shops. Later I checked those regulations and ingredients lists and realized that each food contains at leat three ingredients whicha re banned in EU, even for pets


Taste of the Wild is the one that my dogs were on when issues started here - Finn with allergies, and Augie UTI. I can't say for certain that this food caused the problems, but they were both doing well with no issues before they were put on this food. Also, an independent pet grooming business that also carries food carried Taste of the Wild but no longer does because there were too many complaints from customers that their dogs were not doing well on it.


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## 1stladysoul (May 17, 2013)

I am currently feeding Skye Grandma Lucy's Artisan pre-mix with ground turkey and have just purchased Amicus to use as a snack. Since I switched from Blue to Grandma Lucy's, Skye has not had any issues. I searched for a month to find the right dry kibble to introduce to her. I relied on information from the internet and especially from http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/amicus-dog-food/ to make this decision.

Has anyone used Amicus as a kibble?


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

A couple of years ago, while I was in PetCo looking at all the different foods, and had a bag of something in my hand, a guy came up to me and told me that I didn't want to be buying that inferior food. I said 'Oh really, what do you recommend?' Big mistake. He pulled a Blue Buffalo product off the shelf and went on and on and was really a pest. I finally had to tell him 'thank you for your advice, but I want to look them all over and decide for myself'. I thought it was a store employee until I got home and started thinking about it and figured out it must be a Blue Buffalo rep, although I hadn't seen a name tag or anything that identified him as such. I called the store and talked to the manager and told him that I was so put off by this man, that I really wasn't sure I ever wanted to step foot in his store again. He wasn't too happy to hear how I had been approached and assured me that he would speak with him. And apologized.


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

And that story above has nothing to do with nothing, but at least it did prevent me from ever trying it on my boys!


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## Kathie (Jul 31, 2008)

We stopped Blue Buffalo quite some time ago but with all these dog food scares we are seriously considering home-cooked. BUT, if we do then DH will have to be the cook!

Marina, what were the three ingredients that were banned over there?


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

gelbergirl said:


> How do I find out about Life's Abundance? Otherwise I will consider the others Linda recommended. Do these companies admit to using products from China?
> 
> What about Stella & Chewys?
> Is there a web site where I can check all of Henry's products?


I emailed them directly. The only reason I emailed Blue Buffalo was because Brady's mom feeds it. I told her it was bad. They were evasive and did admit that they use ingredients from China. Then I emailed Fromm and they said they don't get any ingredients from china. They were very direct with me where blue was beating around the push saying things like, we do our best to but ingredients locally blah blah blah 
BB has had many many recalls. Fromm s never had a recall.

This feeding can be scared stuff! Ugh


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## rokipiki (Oct 15, 2010)

motherslittlehelper said:


> A couple of years ago, while I was in PetCo looking at all the different foods, and had a bag of something in my hand, a guy came up to me and told me that I didn't want to be buying that inferior food. I said 'Oh really, what do you recommend?' Big mistake. He pulled a Blue Buffalo product off the shelf and went on and on and was really a pest. I finally had to tell him 'thank you for your advice, but I want to look them all over and decide for myself'. I thought it was a store employee until I got home and started thinking about it and figured out it must be a Blue Buffalo rep, although I hadn't seen a name tag or anything that identified him as such. I called the store and talked to the manager and told him that I was so put off by this man, that I really wasn't sure I ever wanted to step foot in his store again. He wasn't too happy to hear how I had been approached and assured me that he would speak with him. And apologized.


Actually, I think that Taste of the Wild bison flavour made Roki so sick two years ago. He did not want to eat that stuff and I did not realize that food was making himso sick. Clever pup!


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## Ruth4Havs (May 13, 2013)

Now I know which foods to avoid.


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## kawboy (Dec 5, 2007)

We switched our girls from Wellness to Taste of the Wild to try and save a little money. Tasha didn't do well on it so we switched back to Wellness Core after a short time. Any bad stories about Wellness or are we ok? I am careful to only buy chew toys made in the US if that really helps. That means no shopping in the pet department at Walmart.


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## wynne (Apr 30, 2011)

I feed Maya halo. She seems to do well on it.


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## Renee (Mar 27, 2008)

kawboy said:


> We switched our girls from Wellness to Taste of the Wild to try and save a little money. Tasha didn't do well on it so we switched back to Wellness Core after a short time. Any bad stories about Wellness or are we ok? I am careful to only buy chew toys made in the US if that really helps. That means no shopping in the pet department at Walmart.


Miley got really sick when I fed her Wellness Core. I threw the bag out and switched her to a different food and she got better. So I will never buy Wellness again. I think you can hear a horror story on every brand of dog food. I just put her on Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream (based on a referral of a groomer who also breeds Havanese) because of Miley's itchy skin. It has seemed to be helping and they love the food.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

Actually I google blue buffalo complaint and came up with over 300 sick dog complainants. Then I google Fromm and came up with nothing.


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## Renee (Mar 27, 2008)

lfung5 said:


> Actually I google blue buffalo complaint and came up with over 300 sick dog complainants. Then I google Fromm and came up with nothing.


There are no specific complaints when I google TOTW either, but that doesn't mean people don't complain about it just cause it doesn't come up on google?!? I did not write up a complaint about Wellness Core on the internet...I called the company directly. Not every dog food is going to agree with every dog. My point is you have to read reviews and see what works for your dog. What might work for one will not work for another dog. Unless you are making your own dog food from scratch, there are no guarantees that store bought dog food won't make your dog sick.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I understand what you are saying. Brady's mom tried fromm but even with great reviews it was too much for her guys. But with BB having over 300 complaints of the same thing, I bet it's more than just not agreeing with a dog. They have had so many recalls over the years, I bet there is more to it.


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## gelbergirl (Jun 9, 2007)

I just switched to "Life's Abundance". This is the brand I had Henry on when he was a pup into adulthood.

Awful what is going on with BB.


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## emichel (May 3, 2012)

I think it's important to differentiate between a particular food not agreeing with a dog's digestive system vs. a food found to have toxins or contaminants in it.


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## miller123 (Aug 13, 2011)

We had miller on blue buffalo for a bit but he had very very very loose stool and vomited at least once a day for four days before I switched foods to NOW Grain free natural (http://www.petcurean.com/for-dogs/now-fresh/grain-free-adult). He does very well on it. I was wondering if this is food that anybodys dogs are on or if its considered a good food?


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

I've heard very good things about NOW ...


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## gelbergirl (Jun 9, 2007)

Henry has actually had impressive poops since he had started on Blue.
I mean, gorgeous, I should have taken pictures! hoto:
(well formed, very regular, etc)


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

emichel said:


> I think it's important to differentiate between a particular food not agreeing with a dog's digestive system vs. a food found to have toxins or contaminants in it.


Well said. That's what I was trying to say. You don't have over 300.00 reported complaints in just a short amount of time unless there is a problem with the food. Maybe it's certain batches but I wouldn't take the chance of getting a bad batch especially since they get ingredients from China.

If you question the food you are feeding look on dog food analysis? I think that's the website. They rate the foods. Then you should email company to see if they get any of the ingredients from china. You can also google if they've had any recalls. I just don't trust anything from china and I'm Chinese! So that should tell you something lol!!


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## emichel (May 3, 2012)

gelbergirl said:


> Henry has actually had impressive poops since he had started on Blue.
> I mean, gorgeous, I should have taken pictures! hoto:
> (well formed, very regular, etc)


Thanks Gelbergirl, you made my day. Yes you should have taken pictures. In fact I think this would be a great thread, photos of all of our dogs' poop. ound: But I'm not gonna start it! He he.


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## emichel (May 3, 2012)

lfung5 said:


> I just don't trust anything from china and I'm Chinese! So that should tell you something lol!!


You guys are just too funny today. Yeah, I think avoiding anything that is sourced from China is essential, because thus far their quality controls are so bad. Unfortunately made in the USA is no guarantee of safety, either, it's just that the odds are better. I've gotten a little fanatical about food safety in general, and there are even a lot of problems in the human food industry, especially with meat. But what can you do, you can't just be totally paranoid and live on air. For cripes sake, even the air isn't totally clean! I think all we can do is inform ourselves as best we can, avoid the obvious hazards, and make the best decisions we can from there. It is not easy -- I mean life, not just dog food! :fear:


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I'm not too over protective. I walk my guys off leash and they even drink from puddles at times......It's just the food I worry about. I will buy made in the USA treats, but the problem is the ingredients can still come from China! Ugh


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