Is Blue Buffalo dog food bad? My dog has no issues, should I switch?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Lila. There is a lot of confusion regarding pet food and it can seem difficult to make a good choice. You need to keep in mind that every pet is different and what works for your dog may not work for someone else's. I recommend a food that is certified by AAFCO to start as this means that is meets minimum standards. Next, the puppy need to like it and eat it willingly. There needs to be no vomiting and diarrhea on the diet nor an excessive amount of bowel movements. A dog should defecate 2-3 times per day. More than this is abnormal. Finally, her haircut should be glossy and healthy. If she is meeting all of these requirements on her diet, then there is no reason to change. My only warning is to avoid grain free diets as there is recent research linking them to heart disease. I hope this information helps!

Blue Buffalo has had a few recalls, most recently in March due to possibly high thyroid hormone levels in beef. It was a voluntary recall you can read more about it at https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls/ucm547335.htm. There have been no recalls listed since that time. I would consider it a safe food. Some dogs do well on it, but we also see dogs where this brand causes diarrhea or GI upset. Every pet is different and may do better on one food vs. another, so if you have been feeding Blue Buffalo and your dog does well on it, I see no reason to change his diet.

I'm sorry Hulk has been having problems with soft stool! It could be that his diet was causing the diarrhea, but it could also be that he had a GI illness or ate something rotten. It's good that the bland diet has helped clear it up, and I would find another food to feed him besides Blue Buffalo. I am not a fan at all of it, there are many cases of dogs having GI issues on it. It also have very poor quality control over how it is made, and they have had a number of recalls. Brands of food I recommend include Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. You can get his used to one of these new brands by slowly adding it to the bland diet, and over time, increasing the amount of the new food and decreasing the bland diet until he is eating the bland diet only. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Frankly, I'm not a fan of Blue Buffalo since they have been cited for lying about the ingredients in their foods more than once. My personal favorite brands of dog food are Science Diet and Royal Canin. Both are excellent quality, made in their own facilities so there's less chance of contamination with other foods and all are extensively tested for effectiveness and palatability. If he hasn't been to the vet in a while, I recommend getting him checked to make sure there isn't some underlying medical condition causing his upset stomach.

Blue Buffalo is a terrible food, and I never recommend it. You'd be hard pressed to find a vet who recommends it. I would switch Billy's food. Brands I recommend Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina Pro Plan, and Iams.

Blue Buffalo is not a good food despite what all their marketing ads tell you. You will find very few vets that think it's a good choice. She would be better off back on Purina and I'd suggest the Pro Plan Puppy for large breed dogs. I think you should switch her back slowly to the Purina. It is typical for dogs to poop a lot of Blue Buffalo as they don't really seem to absorb/digest much of it. I also suggest you add in a probiotic to aid with digestion for the next couple weeks. https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/purina-pro-plan-focus-large-breed-chicken-and-rice-formula-dry-puppy-food https://www.petco.com/brand/tomlyn

I would not recommend blue buffalo as I have seen some negative side effects of their urine. One of my favorite more natural foods that dogs seem to like is natural balance limited ingredient diets. They have a lot of flavors. I hope this helps.