Blue Buffalo dog food vs. 4 health dog food

[staceycase69]

I use 4 Health. Overall it is a pretty good dog food. It comes with and without grains. Has a goodly amount of protein and only one controversial ingredient. It is $38 at Tractor Supply for 30 pounds. Good luck to you.

 

[K9Dave]

A raw diet is the only way to go if you ask me. Your dog will transform in front of your eyes. I recommend this to many and especially dogs with medical problems. They almost all just disappear. Recently I switched a friends English Bulldog to raw and the changes are remarkable. Exzema is gone along with ear infections and being overweight. I feed my 2 large breed dogs for around $16 per month and it's the highest quality, fresh and never frozen chicken. We all have chickens because we want to eat healthy eggs and meat but our dogs are often forgotten and eating Big Brand Name, manufactured food with additives.

Think about it. Commercial dog food is only a recent phenomenon. Before that, they ate table scraps and raw meat and bones.

 

[hawksblessing]

When an animal throws up, it is because they are getting toxins out of the body. Something good can be triggering the release and therefore helping the animal to get it out of their system. You say you give them Advantage and this stuff is very toxic to their blood! If you need a natural flea remedy that will eradicate fleas for years on end, just put 8 parts mule team borax and 1 part table salt together and sprinkle it into carpets, a doghouse carpet sample or even the cracks in the wood floors. Then the animal becomes the collector of environmental fleas and takes them to bed indoors or the treated doghouse where the adult fleas die within 24 hours and their thousands of eggs they lay in the carpet, etc. dry up and never hatch; takes about 2 weeks to permanently end flea problems. This way the whole environment is protected and you will never even see another flea! So easy, no toxins and we've done this for 30 years and never have a flea problem since! Tell your friends to stop putting poison on or in their animals...just a moneymaker for big pharma who also influences the veterinary field. You're welcome, Susan

 

[svfarm]

I personally prefer to feed my dog Orijen, when I can afford it. It's one food she always loves and I know is good for her long term.

 

[Sadie57]

Just throwing my opinion in also. I have 4 dogs and one is older and has ALWAYS had yeasty skin. Having had my own stores for a few yrs. I, too, found that when IAMS and SCIENCE DIET got into the grain stores, it seemed to cheapen their products with fillers, like the corn. Tho, I am constantly looking for more economic, GRAIN FREE, foods, I find that the Salmon or Whitefish foods appeal to all four of my "kids". And except for the occasional seasonal break out, my Boxer, with the sensitive skin does well with it. And, I might add, that through constant contact with my vet, have learned that a lot of dogs have allergies to Beef. Who knew?

 

[jazziegirl]

I have 3 Dog, a chihuahua, a lab mix and a Shepherd Rottweiler mix. Until recently all 3 Ron pedigree. I ran out of food and fed them a cheaper version until I got paid and my shepherd mix reacted horribly. Not only did he start scratching and eating his fur off, but his throat began to close up. I put him on Science Diet. It seemed to work well however dried his coat up terribly. Then changed him to Pro Plan. Unfortunately Pro Plan is a bit pricey so I have been looking at options. For health

 

[jazziegirl]

I have 3 dogs, a chihuahua, a lab mix and the Shepherd Rottweiler mix. Until recently all were on pedigree. Unfortunately I had to buy a less expensive brand for the last week of the month and my rott mix reacted terribly , including his throat closing up. Switched to Science Diet and While the symptoms cleared up his skin became horribly dry. Switched him to Pro Plan, and his skin is much better. I have been looking at for help as a less expensive alternative, as I will be feeding it to all three. I've done a lot of research and much of it seems to suggest if I put her on a better quality food my lab will probably drop a few pounds. My dogs are fed on a schedule twice a day, no people food. That being said, suggestions? Please

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Six dogs, love taste of the wild, wetland, or Pacific stream, no more puking, shiny coats,firm poops, loads of energy, and in my opinion affordable.

 

[dekel18042]

I have 3 Dog, a chihuahua, a lab mix and a Shepherd Rottweiler mix. Until recently all 3 Ron pedigree. I ran out of food and fed them a cheaper version until I got paid and my shepherd mix reacted horribly. Not only did he start scratching and eating his fur off, but his throat began to close up. I put him on Science Diet. It seemed to work well however dried his coat up terribly. Then changed him to Pro Plan. Unfortunately Pro Plan is a bit pricey so I have been looking at options. For health

One reason there are so many dog foods is that there are that many opinions Many of the foods are excellent. Some I wouldn't feed to my goldfish. There are some things you can do to lessen skin problems and allergies in dogs.
First thing I do when I get a puppy (and for five days now I have added an 11 week old to the family) is I try to build a cast iron stomach. They eat excellent food, but not the same brand every day year in and year out. Everything I feed has a 5 star rating and no grains. They eat canned and dry and freeze dried and raw and cooked and fresh. One advantage to this is that if a food you are feeding is recalled or they change the formula or is unavailable, it really isn't much of a problem.
The next thing is, I believe, extremely important. My dogs are all vaccinated and their vaccinations kept up to date, but they are not over vaccinated. They get only one vaccination at a time, not a whole slew and there must be a space of three to four weeks in between.
For those worried about price, I've found that often feeding a better quality food isn't more expensive. I have a friend with a large breed dog who ate 8 cups of super market food a day. He had allergies. She switched and on her new brand, he is looking much better on 3.5 cups per day.
Learn to read labels, try a food and see how your dog does and go from there. Not every food is right for every dog. Some of the pet food stores offer weekly specials of excellent foods. If you can time your purchases to this or go in when a food rep is there, you can often save a bundle.

 

[torilovessmiles]

Just would like to throw a bit in, I don't think Blue Buffalo is much healthier than Purina. Blue has been linked to serious kidney and other urinary problems in mainly cats, but dogs as well. Some of the ingredients in lower quality dog food is not as bad as Blue claims. It's a marketing ploy to create a problem and offer a solution, which they sell. Makeup companies use the same strategy. For example, meat by-product is meat. It is the organs and "undesireables" that humans could, but don't want to eat. Blue makes it sound like this is made in a laboratory and will kill your dog. The only thing that they are right about is the poor nutrition from grain, such as corn and wheat, but there still isn't proof that it will hurt your dog or shorten it's life. There are plenty of grain-free foods that are less costly than Blue. People like to think one brand is the answer, but there are a lot of different brands, and different dogs may need different foods. Never accept information from the company that is trying to sell you something!
If you go raw diet, remember that dogs are not "true" carnivores and need some vegetables. My dog likes peas and carrots! With small dogs, raw feeding isn't very expensive, but can be pretty costly with larger dogs.