# Vet (who knows her dog foods!) recommends we switch from Blue Buffalo



## azul99 (May 5, 2009)

Our rescue dog Rosie, a terrier/wire-haired dachschund mix, has been on Blue Buffalo (small bites) since early March, and since then has had loose stools to varying degrees. Sometimes they look fine, other times not, but at all times - especially late in the day - she has had the occasional drippy ending to her stool.

Late last week she started having diarrhea, so we put her on chicken & rice over the weekend. Yesterday we started transitioning her back to Blue Buffalo and the diarrhea came back with a vengeance. So, I spoke with our vet (who knows a lot), who said she sees this sometimes with Blue Buffalo, and told us to feed Rosie chicken & rice until her stool stabilizes, and that after that, we should switch to a low- or no-grain food. She noted that if the food has any grain, it should be rice (since other grains e.g. wheat are potentially allergenic).

We can do that; it's not a problem (we are happy to pay more), but in reading some of the posts in this forum I'm a little concerned about no-grain food producing a loose stool. After the issues we have been experiencing, that's the last thing we need.

Does anyone have a suggestion for which dog food we should try for this transition? Ideally there should be a small-bites food for whatever brand we choose, as Rosie weighs 15 pounds - she is such a fast eater that I'd be worried she wouldn't chew larger-size kibble sufficiently for digestion purposes.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

Natura prodcuts are a very good line of foods! EVO Premium Dog Food, Natural Cat Food, Healthy Dog Treats – Natura Pet Products

I right now feed my dogs evo and I have wellness core and wellness super five mix and I have merrick bg (before grain) buffalo. 

Innova is a great food Orijen great, the natura brands great alot of good foods out there! Protien is what you want to be the first ingrediants meal is the best! 
The protein level is high in these foods (gainless) and can cause gassiness is what I have found but my pups stools have been firm and they have now after alot of gas have transitioned quite nicely.

I know that there are small bites foods in these products! Look into them and see if anything suits your pup!
Good Luck!
You can buy them at the mom and pop pety stores the premium places and also you can buy wellness at petco.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

As far as grainless goes, I like Wellness Core and Merrick Before the Grain. I haven't used Orijen but hear mainly good things about it. 

I personally don't feed grainless only because none of my dogs have taken very well to it. (and yes, I do know HOW to feed grain free, they still didn't take to it after a full year) Though I plan to try my six month old Corgi on it when he is a year old.
Innova, Merrick, Wellness Super5Mix, Taste of the Wild, Solid Gold, and ZiwiPeak are all good. 
Canidae, Natural Balance, Nature's Variety, and California Natural are pretty decent, too. 
From there, it's really jsut a matter of how much are you willing to spend, what food does the best for your dog, and avaliability in your area.


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## claybuster (Dec 18, 2008)

azul99 said:


> Our rescue dog Rosie, a terrier/wire-haired dachschund mix, has been on Blue Buffalo (small bites) since early March, and since then has had loose stools to varying degrees. Sometimes they look fine, other times not, but at all times - especially late in the day - she has had the occasional drippy ending to her stool.
> 
> Late last week she started having diarrhea, so we put her on chicken & rice over the weekend. Yesterday we started transitioning her back to Blue Buffalo and the diarrhea came back with a vengeance. So, I spoke with our vet (who knows a lot), who said she sees this sometimes with Blue Buffalo, and told us to feed Rosie chicken & rice until her stool stabilizes, and that after that, we should switch to a low- or no-grain food. She noted that if the food has any grain, it should be rice (since other grains e.g. wheat are potentially allergenic).
> 
> ...


Hi Azul,
Let me start by saying I do not feed a kibble. I do not feed Raw either. I feed what is called a Granular, from Abady, developer of commercial raw feeds first sold in the US. Granular products came out about 10 years after the Raw as a convenient option to feeding Raw.

In understanding diarrhea, you first need to understand what the causes are, and how the industry prevents it. What causes diarrhea is simple. Dogs being true carnivores, their bodies attempt to rush inappropriate ingredient through the digestive system (they do not belong). The industry as a whole feeds dogs as if they are omnivores or ruminants (just look at the ingredients) and therefore are faced with a dilemma. The solution to slow down inappropriate ingredients is none other than high fiber diets. It is easy to be fooled by innocents numbers on the panel like 3, 4 and 5% when in reality the situation is much more drastic. Ingredients such as Beet Pulp (a common expansion type fiber in dog food), when hydrated (wet in the stomach) can expand as much as 250%. The 3-5% represented on the panel is in dry form. Actuality is, after expansion of the fiber, that 3-5% now represents a much larger portion of the feed.

The proper way to form stools and the right way to form stools in dog food is using much higher concentration of meat source ingredients and less of the inappropriate ingredients and less of the fiber. There is only one way to achieve this in a dry feed and that is with the use of by-product meals.
In fact, no dog food (dry) can be adequate without the use of by-product meals. Unfortunately by-product meals are shunned by the industry despite being able to deliver animal source proteins in abundance and the manufacturer due to the cheaper costs could deliver 3X's as much animal source proteins. Granular feeds such as Abady takes advantage of those economics in by-product meals and that is the reason they have the strongest animal source protein core compared to anyone else in the industry (they most all rely on gluten source proteins)

The only way to firm stools is the natural way for the dog with lots of meat and fat. The dog body is perfectly capable of firm compact stools when fed accordingly without all the fiber. Grain-free is no escape, flaxseed is a dietary fiber. If you want firm compact stools each and every time, you have to feed the dog like the true carnivore it is, not like an omnivore or a ruminant. And the key to that is higher concentration of animal source proteins, no fruits, no veggies, less fiber with no reliance on gluten source proteins.

Sorry if I sound like an Abady commercial, not my intent, but I have been feeding it for over 6 years with no mixing of other feeds and have had nothing but excellent results, and that includes proper stool formation each and every time.


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