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Thank you for this post. It is amazing how much information is our here and never gets around. I don't feed BB but I know there are many that swear by it. It will be interesting to find out how this lawsuit ends.
What I don't understand at all really is why people feed their dogs commercial dog food at all in the first place????????
Most of us, at least I think that most of us would not feed our children in such a manner. Prepared food out of a bag nearly 100% of the time. I spend far less feeding my dogs a well balanced home made diet than I would have to pay for most of the premium brands of commercial grade feeds.
Not everyone has the time, skills or desire to prepare food for themselves, much less their dogs.
Not everyone has the time, skills or desire to prepare food for themselves, much less their dogs.
I understand that for sure. However at least around these parts there are a lot of small operators that are making very good "all natural" dog food blends. I buy a lot of "homemade dog food" from a local butcher for $1.50 a pound.
I wouldn't fault a company on the ingredients but on the failure to disclose. Dog owners have a right to know what those ingredients are. Once they know, they are in a position to make an informed decision.
E.g. one of my dogs can't have any poultry at all, not in any form, due to an eye condition that will worsen, if the diet includes poultry, causing him to go blind. We are on a prevention program with poultry-free food from Wellness (from the vet's "approved" list of foods), special eye drops, and opthalmic check at the specialist every 6 months. His eyes actually improved once the condition was discovered and a new program started.
Sometimes it doesn't matter, but other times it really IS important to know everything that is in a dog food.
The links didn't work for me, so am I assuming correctly that BB misleads customers into believing some of their foods do not contain chicken or other poultry? If that is the complaint, I don't understand. We had to stop feeding anything with chicken in it a year ago. We were feeding a BB chicken formula. So I was looking at the ingredients on their salmon formula, and there it was on the label: chicken. I mentioned it to the girl at Petco, and she told me all BB foods contain chicken, whether or not chicken is in the name of the food. So we went with Natural Balance Limited Ingredients.
BTW, count me in the group who believes Purina is swill. Well, maybe not even as good as swill.
What I don't understand at all really is why people feed their dogs commercial dog food at all in the first place????????
Most of us, at least I think that most of us would not feed our children in such a manner. Prepared food out of a bag nearly 100% of the time. I spend far less feeding my dogs a well balanced home made diet than I would have to pay for most of the premium brands of commercial grade feeds. The vet is just blown away at the extreme health and vitality of all of my dogs. Amazing teeth, skin, coat and well just everything really. In my mind these pet food companies are just another extension of "Big agra, pharma and chem". I will do anything I can to not support them and that includes buying their junk they call "Dog food".
You sound like me ten years ago. I wrote your exact post dozens of times. I used to say feeding raw was easy, inexpensive, and the dogs' teethand breath were amazing, stool volume was reduced, coats were gleaming, etc., etc.
That wasn't quite true. It wasn't cheaper than a really top notch commercial food. It cost a lot more, especially after meat prices began to shoot up. It wasn't easy. It was a royal pain. It ate up a lot of time, and I grew sick to death of cutting up chicken after chicken, every week for 12 years. I was sold on the promise of far reduced cancer risk and slower aging. To further ensure their easy transition to old age, we went 8 years between giving them any kinds of vaccinations except bordetella. We titered them every year.
After ten years on raw, one dog developed horrendous dental problems and crippling arthritis. And an ulcer -- he could no longer digest raw food and I had to begin homecooking. That was even more work, but I did it because I loved the dogs and I had no choice. Both dogs died of cancer, two months apart. Anything could have led to their cancers, and maybe they would have died long before their 13th and 14th birthdays if we had never fed them so well. We will never know. But I did feel kind of snookered when Jimmy began to fail so badly at the age of 8.
I used to say to my husband, as I was making a veggie-oatmeal-boiled chicken mush by the bucket load, "If we ever have dogs after Jimmy and Hallie, we're feeding a good food -- out of a BAG."
Sorry, I was tired. I've been there and done that and I don't look down my nose at those who feed raw or homecooked. Good for you. GREAT for your dogs. But please don't scold those of us who do feed commercial food. There are some very good ones out there now, and I don't feel the slightest bit guilty.
Tina, thanks for sharing your experience I'm sorry it was so heartbreaking. It shows us that there is room for all viewpoints, and that there is a lot more that we don't know than we do, and that goes for humans as well as our beloved furred friends. Science is a matter of discovery not certainty which is why we have the 'scientific method.' We all must choose what we think is best for those we love and who depend on us.
Judy is still scratching, she had fleas and I treated them. I gave both dogs a bath yesterday no fleas anywhere. I think it's her food, I've changed them to a no grain diet and am cycling them through various brands to see if that helps. I did the home cooked thing for awhile when Bruno our lab was dying but as you said Tina it is a lot of work and is expensive. Like most I only give them food made in the USA. I read elsewhere on CD that some companies put 'Made in America' on their products and if you check it's made outside of the US. That can mean the components are raised elsewhere and made in one of the many countries that constitutes 'America,' north or south.
You sound like me ten years ago. I wrote your exact post dozens of times. I used to say feeding raw was easy, inexpensive, and the dogs' teethand breath were amazing, stool volume was reduced, coats were gleaming, etc., etc.
That wasn't quite true. It wasn't cheaper than a really top notch commercial food. It cost a lot more, especially after meat prices began to shoot up. It wasn't easy. It was a royal pain. It ate up a lot of time, and I grew sick to death of cutting up chicken after chicken, every week for 12 years. I was sold on the promise of far reduced cancer risk and slower aging. To further ensure their easy transition to old age, we went 8 years between giving them any kinds of vaccinations except bordetella. We titered them every year.
After ten years on raw, one dog developed horrendous dental problems and crippling arthritis. And an ulcer -- he could no longer digest raw food and I had to begin homecooking. That was even more work, but I did it because I loved the dogs and I had no choice. Both dogs died of cancer, two months apart. Anything could have led to their cancers, and maybe they would have died long before their 13th and 14th birthdays if we had never fed them so well. We will never know. But I did feel kind of snookered when Jimmy began to fail so badly at the age of 8.
I used to say to my husband, as I was making a veggie-oatmeal-boiled chicken mush by the bucket load, "If we ever have dogs after Jimmy and Hallie, we're feeding a good food -- out of a BAG."
Sorry, I was tired. I've been there and done that and I don't look down my nose at those who feed raw or homecooked. Good for you. GREAT for your dogs. But please don't scold those of us who do feed commercial food. There are some very good ones out there now, and I don't feel the slightest bit guilty.
I'm not a zealot about raw feeding. After all, I sell my puppies to people who will be feeding them kibble. I do feel that it's a superior method of feeding. I'm just lucky to have a very good and reasonable supplier close at hand. I don't find it extra work just to thaw a container of food.
I run competitive field trial bird dogs. I spend a ton of money on these critters in care, entry fees, vet bills and travel. I too tried the raw diet for my dogs. I too became poor and exhausted trying to feed 5 large dogs with very special needs. They have to have a high fat content to work the way they work. And the protein to fat ratio has to be right. And they have to have the correct amt of carbs in there.
I am no scientist. Went back to Purina Pro Plan... the dogs do great on it. Purina has it's own testing facility, has been around forever and ever and a whole lot of professional dog folks use their foods.
Feed your dog what works for your dog. Read the bag, make sure a meat product is in the first 3 ingredients, use a fat/protein that is right for your dogs level of activity. Don't be misled by cute TV ads... it's easy to be taken in by those puppies and cute kids.
Purina vs Blue could be a turf war, but if Blue is not telling what ingredients they are using.... hmmmmmmmmmm, makes me think.
its the battle of the toxicwastebuckets because my dd said the science diet people were first in line against bb. science diet sicced the better business bureau and others on BB a couple times already. oh boy lets all sue each other because our crap ingredients are better than your crap ingredients!! the best liar wins
I was finally able to get the link to open. Wow. Purina has some nerve, and this just shows how threatened they feel by a food company that is giving them real competition -- and doing television advertising. I don't know all the facts of the case. I don't know how many rice hulls and chicken byproduct meal BB puts in their food when their promotions say they don't. But having fed Blue Buffalo food for six months before one of our dogs began having problems with chicken, I know it is far superior to any of the foods Purina makes.
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