# Blue Buffalo = diarrhea :-(



## jmamom (Dec 3, 2009)

Oh I am sooo sorry to hear that - I just gave her a handful of Blue Buffalo with her lunch, since I am planning to transition her off Iams. I guess I'll go extra slow with it, maybe skip it for dinner altogether. What has Duffy been eating so far?


----------



## zeke11 (Jul 21, 2009)

Duffy came with Purina lg breed puppy chow. I wanted to put him on something a bit higher quality and researched and researched and decided on Blue Buffalo. I have since read that BB can be too rich for some dogs. So maybe your pup will be ok with it.

I'm disappointed because BB seems such a great quality with good ingredients.

How old is your pup? And what are you transitioning from?

Kris


----------



## RSHANNING (Nov 14, 2008)

I am in the processo fo transitioning Sierra to Blue Buffalo and so far things seem to be going good. We are taking it nice and slow. We started the transition a week ago and so far things seem to be okay.


----------



## jmamom (Dec 3, 2009)

zeke11 said:


> Duffy came with Purina lg breed puppy chow. I wanted to put him on something a bit higher quality and researched and researched and decided on Blue Buffalo. I have since read that BB can be too rich for some dogs. So maybe your pup will be ok with it.
> 
> I'm disappointed because BB seems such a great quality with good ingredients.
> 
> ...


She's 13 weeks, and I'm transitioning from Iams puppy. From what I've heard its not the greatest for them. I haven't done much research, but I saw the Blue Buffalo recommended in a couple different sources. I also want something that is available at the pet store - I'm just not going to be able to travel to a specialty store, or count on mail order (I know I'd forget and wait until the last minute). I just know myself and want to be practical.
I'll keep my fingers crossed!


----------



## Daisy and Rita (Aug 31, 2009)

We use 'Hills Science Plan' from day one, Daisy is great with it, never had problems with it - Unfortunately it just happens to also be the most expensive food here, but we read up on it, got recommendations etc, so we're sticking to it. Her coat,skin etc looks really good from this diet (it's balanced with the protein - too much protein will send a puppy totally hyper! and my ,oh my, they are hyper enough lol).


----------



## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

I'm sorry the BB isn't working. I tried it with my cat, she got diarrhea too! I've heard of a lot of animals being unable to tolerate it. If you just started the transition- give it some time... Sometimes it seems like we should let the pets stay on what they do best with, not what we want them to be on. It's hard though, when we want the best for them.


----------



## zeke11 (Jul 21, 2009)

I hear you on that, Melissa. He was on Purina One large breed and nice firm stools. But I felt the nutrition was not 'there' on that food. I'm going to try Purina Pro Plan, same manufacturer but better quality of food.

One thing to watch for is the amount of calcium and also the amount of protein. Neither should be too high. Around 25% on the protein and 1% or below on the calcium.

Kris


----------



## Golden Leo (Dec 3, 2008)

I took off my dog from Purina Pro Plan last month. For over a month he had a diarrhea from it. He was on Purina for 8-10 months before diarrhea, never had good stool. Once he stopped eating Purina, everything went fine. He's now on Trainer Natural and cooked chicken meat with vegetables.


----------



## Marleysma (Oct 19, 2009)

We just made the switch from BB to Purina Pro Plan. Marley is doing much better-kinda feel bad because BB ingred. list sounds better. Was recommended Pro Plan line by a vet that has been feeding his dogs that brand for a while now. After the next puppy large breed bag goes we will try the shredded lamb and rice mix.


----------



## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

Best of luck on the Pro-Plan. I'm fairly certain that I will feed our new puppy Pro-Plan when we her him/her in the summer. Our cat does well on it too, I guess we'll be a Pro-Plan family! I also like that I see Pro-Plan coupons all the time. In my email directly from Purina, in the Pennysaver, online.


----------



## jsansale (Aug 19, 2009)

zeke11 said:


> For the second morning in a row, Duffy's had diarrhea in his crate overnight. I can only assume its the Blue Buffalo I've been transitioning him to. I've read that it can be too rich for some dogs.
> 
> I'm going to try the Purina Pro Plan lg breed puppy and see if that helps.
> 
> ...




Guinness my nine month old puppy had diarrhea for awhile. He was on blue buffalo chicken and rice. We switched him to the lamb and rice which helped. Sometimes Goldens have a hard time digesting chicken protein and that causes the diarrhea.


----------



## Goody82 (Mar 28, 2009)

We feed Scout Eukanuba large breed lamb and rice. It has worked wonders she had a really sensitive stomach.


----------



## Murphysmom (Nov 2, 2009)

I just switched Murphy to Purina Pro Plan and it's going great. His stools are finally firmer and it seems to agree with his stomach. I would definitely recommend it.


----------



## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

To everyone that is feeding ProPlan I would not do the shredded blend of foods. The shredded pieces have alot of soy in it with can cause some skin issues in some dogs. When the new blend came out I started feeding that to my dogs and Bama started chewing his feet, the vet said some dogs can have a problem with soy. I go with the ProPlan all life stages chicken and rice with the golden retriever on the cover and purple label.


----------



## zeke11 (Jul 21, 2009)

Marleysma said:


> We just made the switch from BB to Purina Pro Plan. Marley is doing much better-kinda feel bad because BB ingred. list sounds better. Was recommended Pro Plan line by a vet that has been feeding his dogs that brand for a while now. After the next puppy large breed bag goes we will try the shredded lamb and rice mix.


Carrie,

Just wanted to warn you....I had my other dog on the shredded mix and he LOVED the shreds. However, the gas was horrible! Someone here on the forum told me that the shreds contain soy which can cause gas. Not saying Marley will get gas from it, too, but in case he suddenly does you'll know the cause - lol!

Kris


----------



## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

A lot of the so-called "premium" foods are too rich for some dogs. 30% protein by weight is a pretty substantial amount, so the ones that are even higher often cause more problems than they might solve.


----------



## maquignon (Dec 23, 2009)

Not too rich!!! You just have to feed much less!!!

And some dogs need longer than the normal two weeks transition.


----------



## Azzy (Dec 24, 2009)

I actually feed Toby Blue Buffalo (puppy feed) and have been doing so from the day we got him. Maybe it's the transition that's causing the problem, anyway good luck with your golden.


----------



## tonisaysss (Nov 6, 2009)

we just switched from iams puppy to blue buffalo puppy. i honestly wouldn't sweat the loose stools when swapping foods, especially after two days. 

layla had HORRIBLE gas but is fine now. her stools are firm and she absolutely loves the food.


----------



## tonisaysss (Nov 6, 2009)

tippykayak said:


> A lot of the so-called "premium" foods are too rich for some dogs. 30% protein by weight is a pretty substantial amount, so the ones that are even higher often cause more problems than they might solve.


blue buffalo puppy food is around 18-22% protein. that's not too rich.


----------



## zeke11 (Jul 21, 2009)

tonisaysss said:


> we just switched from iams puppy to blue buffalo puppy. i honestly wouldn't sweat the loose stools when swapping foods, especially after two days.
> 
> layla had HORRIBLE gas but is fine now. her stools are firm and she absolutely loves the food.


oooo, you would definitely sweat it if you saw the diarrhea Duffy had!! It was more than loose stools. He is perfectly housebroken and crate trained. But in the morning, it was ALL OVER him and the inside of his crate. It was horrible. That day he continued to poo diarrhea outside - kept asking to go out over and over.

I stopped the BB and gave him rice and his normal Purina food.

The next morning, again, all over him and his crate. Yecch, not quite as loose, but still basically mush. And again, he suffered during the day - going out and having mush outside as well.

The third day, thankfully no more. But I did NOT want to continue the BB and cause this crate disaster anymore, that's for sure. Just not worth it for either me or him!

Kris


----------



## jmamom (Dec 3, 2009)

So far no trouble with the Blue Buffalo - I'm going very slowly, though. Keep your fingers crossed!:crossfing


----------



## jmamom (Dec 3, 2009)

zeke11 said:


> oooo, you would definitely sweat it if you saw the diarrhea Duffy had!! It was more than loose stools. He is perfectly housebroken and crate trained. But in the morning, it was ALL OVER him and the inside of his crate. It was horrible. That day he continued to poo diarrhea outside - kept asking to go out over and over.
> 
> I stopped the BB and gave him rice and his normal Purina food.
> 
> ...


I don't blame you - I would've stopped the BB right away too, poor baby! I'm sure you'll find one that works, there are so many good ones out there.


----------



## tonisaysss (Nov 6, 2009)

zeke11 said:


> oooo, you would definitely sweat it if you saw the diarrhea Duffy had!! It was more than loose stools. He is perfectly housebroken and crate trained. But in the morning, it was ALL OVER him and the inside of his crate. It was horrible. That day he continued to poo diarrhea outside - kept asking to go out over and over.
> 
> I stopped the BB and gave him rice and his normal Purina food.
> 
> ...


 
aww, poor thing. the fact that he went IN his crate would worry me as well. if the purina works for him, then might as well. i've seen a lot of posts about other's dogs doing very well on it.


----------



## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

tonisaysss said:


> blue buffalo puppy food is around 18-22% protein. that's not too rich.


That doesn't sound particularly high, no. I feel like I've heard a bunch of people on the forum report this kind of reaction to BB, though.


----------



## tonisaysss (Nov 6, 2009)

tippykayak said:


> That doesn't sound particularly high, no. I feel like I've heard a bunch of people on the forum report this kind of reaction to BB, though.


i checked and you were correct. my mistake. puppy formula is 27% crude protein. 

my layla absolutely loves the food but i'm considering switching her again. :no:


----------



## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

tonisaysss said:


> i checked and you were correct. my mistake. puppy formula is 27% crude protein.
> 
> my layla absolutely loves the food but i'm considering switching her again. :no:


Is she healthy and doing well? There's no reason to change away from a food for philosophical reasons if the dog is doing well.


----------



## tonisaysss (Nov 6, 2009)

tippykayak said:


> Is she healthy and doing well? There's no reason to change away from a food for philosophical reasons if the dog is doing well.


we're on our second bag of food. it seems like it's a toss up if her stools are firm or not and she still is a little gassy.

i will probably just ride out this second bag of food and see if things improve. i hate switching her food because i know it's obviously stressful. 

someone suggested mixing a little pumpkin with her kibble so i might give that a go.


----------



## zeke11 (Jul 21, 2009)

I don't know if its the protein that makes it "rich" - could be some of the other ingredients. I was very attracted to BB because of the natural and wide range of ingredients. It is a bit of a bummer that my pup doesn't do well on it. 

I have been giving him rice and pumpkin and a smaller amount of his old Purina One puppy food and so far, so good. I'll wait a week and then try to slowly begin switching him to Purina Pro Plan.

Kris


----------



## Callee (Dec 31, 2009)

*Blue worked for me*

We tried a lot of different dog foods and my wife and I were so tired of boiling rice and chicken every few days. We finally found a winner with the puppy lamb and brown rice formula.


----------



## jmamom (Dec 3, 2009)

Okay, I'm officially dumping the Blue buffalo. I've been on the fence about it for 1 1/2 weeks- are her stools looser, is she gassier, maybe it was the cream cheese I put in her Kong? But today after lunch (which was more than 75% BB and 25% Iams), she seems extra gassy, cranky, and pooping ALOT. And the last several days she's just not as playful as usual - I have a feeling its an upset tummy. (She just had a vet checkup Wednesday so it could be the shots too). But today I came to the revelation of - Why am I so determined to get her on the Blue Buffalo? She loves the taste of the Iams, her tummy is happy, her schedule is more predictable, and my house smells better (boy can this little pup stink!!!). So.. I'm going back to what she likes, and maybe I'll change to a more premium food somewhere down the line. Why fix what ain't broke?


----------



## Marleysma (Oct 19, 2009)

Hi everyone-just adding my 2 cents again. I posted back on 12/21 to say I was sorry to say I too have had Marley switch from BB to Pro Plan. Its been quite a few weeks now- he goes less and has less gas! At night while he napped under my feet he was always soooo smelly-not anymore.

I will watch out for the soy in the shredded blend-thanks for the tip.




























Hey- thats not Marley the big dog- Thats Tia!!!


----------



## molly babe (Dec 27, 2009)

:wavey: Hi sorry to hear he's suffering have you tried JAMES WELBELOVED i have read its one of the best foods for dogs:wavey:Good luck in your such :crossfing


----------



## Honey (Jan 20, 2010)

Honey is having runny stool. Theres no water. But half the time shes also had solid stools. She hadnt been going a lot untill tonight. Tonight shes had 3 loose stools in the last 4 hours. Im feeling really bad. I didnt switch her over slowly at all. I wanted her to gain weight so I put her on blue buffalo puppy 1/2 and 1/2 with nutro natural puppy lg breed. Id also been giving her some nutro natural puppy wet food. Now I feel like a bad dad becuase she has an upset tummy. Im gonna give her the nutro natural tommorow and see how she does. So I messed up bad and didnt even give her the lg breed formulas to top it off in hopes she would put on some pounds.

I was worried until tonight becuase it hadnt been frequent like it was tonight. I just want the best for her. She has gained some needed weight and her coat looks fabulous.


----------



## jmamom (Dec 3, 2009)

Don't beat yourself up - I went really slowly with the Blue Buffalo and it still didn't work. I couldn't even get her back to normal on the old food (Iams), I had to give her boiled hamburger and rice. I fed her only that for a couple of days and then added Pro Plan to it, very very slowly. It took a couple of weeks, but we are back on dry food (the Pro Plan - I got alot of recommendations for it) and stools are small and firm! Yay!
So, if you still have trouble with the Nutro, you might try taking Honey off it completely for a couple of days and give her hamburger or chicken with rice, just to get her tummy settled. It definately worked for me. Good luck!! I know its no fun at all!


----------



## Honey (Jan 20, 2010)

she had watery diarrhea at least every 2 hours all night. Now Im worried. Shes still eating. But not drinking to much water. Im going right now to get some unflavor pedilyte and gonna give her some rice. Im leaving for a week tommorow and my mother is taking care of her. Im really worried I wont be here to help my baby girl out. I almost don't want to leave.


----------



## jmamom (Dec 3, 2009)

aww, poor baby, josie never had it that bad. Try making little ice cubes of the pedialyte, she might eat those even if she won't drink. I don't blame you for not wanting to go, I'd feel the same way. I'm sure she'll be back on track very quickly, I know Josie turned around as soon as I took the dog food out of the equation. Good luck, and keep us updated.:crossfing


----------



## Honey (Jan 20, 2010)

Thanks for your words. I know she'll be fine. She's full of energy and I did a couple tests with her skin and according to those shes not dehydrated. She just drank a lot of water and had about 1/4 cup of the pedialyte. She also ate some rice and some dog food. I'd be really worried if she was out of it and not eating or drinking. I havent seen her go poop since about 10 this morning so thats a good sign. If she has it bad again today I will be able to take her to the vet in the morning since my flight isnt untill 4pm and I live 5 mins away from the Sonoma County Airport were flying out of.

She had also ate some of my friends diabetic dog food. Looking back that was not the best decision giving that I had already changed her diet so much. Live and learn. She should be fine. The weird thing is she really likes the blue buffalo. She literally ate around the rice and nutro a minute ago. It had been about a week on the transition and she had 1/2 loose and 1/2 firm stools. But then last night she had that bad diahrrea. 

Do you all think its the Blue Buffalo or something else (like trash, or that diabetic food she had the night before) 

Im so confused and just want the best for this sweet little dog...


----------



## jmamom (Dec 3, 2009)

I can only tell you my experience: Josie was on Iams puppy food when we brought her home at 10 weeks. We gave her all different kinds of treats, kong stuffing, cheese - never any problems. I decided to switch her food about 3 weeks later when I learned a little bit about nutrition and picked the Blue Buffalo after seeing a couple of articles that recommended it. I started with 1/4 BB, 3/4 Iams and slowly increased it over a week and a half, when I was at 1/2 BB, 1/2 Iams. Then the loose stools started and within a day it was runny. She never had diarrhea, just loose, but after reading about others trouble with BB on this board, I decided to cut my losses before it got really bad. I went back to 100% Iams, but still no improvement (but no worse either). So I went to hamburger and rice for 2 days, and started adding the Pro Plan (some others on the board seem to be using it, and I haven't been steered wrong yet!). It took me about 2 weeks, but we are on all dry food now. I went really slow with the transition, I did not want a repeat problem. Her tummy has settled and poop is good again. yay!
I felt so guilty for causing her such tummy upset. I look back now, and can tell she wasn't feeling well. She was unusually quiet and lazy, I just thought she was tired or settling down, but she probably felt sick. Sometimes you try too hard, I guess! Better than not trying hard enough.


----------



## Honey (Jan 20, 2010)

well the good news now is she hasnt gone poop since 11 am and now its 4. She doesnt really like the rice. I think she got into something she shouldn't have yesterday cuz shes been eating the BB all day with no problems. We'll see, my timing on leaving the country is bad. Shes drinking a lot of water and pedalyte.


----------



## 2Retrievers222 (Sep 5, 2007)

might want to read up on proplan

people on here have had dogs die because of proplan

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-ratings/purina-pro-plan-dog-food-dry/


----------



## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

2Retrievers222 said:


> might want to read up on proplan
> 
> people on here have had dogs die because of proplan
> 
> http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-ratings/purina-pro-plan-dog-food-dry/


Oh please. Dogs have died on the super "high quality" foods too, I'm sure of it. My Carmella was on Iams for the first 10 years of her almost 15 year life, and I'm positive that a lot of people think Iams is the pits.

Flora too had major issues while in BB, but once I switched her over to Purina Pro Plan Sensitive formula (although at that point I think I could have switched her over to corn husks and she would have been better off) she was fine. She now has around 2 well formed stools a day, which is SO much better than the 4 liquidy nasty stools she would have on BB.

Each dog is different. If you know that the BB isn't working, then save yourself the struggle of going to the vet over and over again (like I did) and switch your dog back to whatever you were feeding him previously


----------



## Rhapsody in Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

With three Goldens, I do everything I can to make sure their eating areas are clean. We wash their bowls after every meal. I hose off the wood chips they go potty in. I am vigilant about watching what they come across on the ground. 

Our dogs have eaten Blue Buffalo for well over a year and there have been no problems. Their coats look great and they are not overweight. I am pleased with it. For us, it works. The last thing I want is three sick dogs. So I am proactive when it comes to storage of their food, where they eat, their bowls, and the area they go potty in. 

We are all trying to do the best we can. I went with Blue Buffalo based on the recommendation of someone I believe knows alot about nutrition. I have seen the results. I haven't thought much about it since we started feeding them Blue Buffalo - if there was a problem, I guess I would. 

I believe the answer is to find the food that works and stick with the plan. Whenever I read a post that says something like, "well maybe it was this other food he ate or got ahold of . . . ." - geesh, that makes me wonder if the stomach problems are from all the other stuff they are offered or get into during the day. Reminds me of a training class where an "assistant" to the instructor, who was no older than my youngest daughter, supplemented my healthy kibble, with a kong that had a glob of peanut butter on it. It made me sick just looking at it. I wondered - where did that kong come from, where has this been stored, how old is it, what is in this . . . . and that was at a training facility. I tried to be polite and didn't say anything - but I didn't let him have the globbed kong. 

Their diet is serious business - we are killing our dogs not with the brands we buy, but with all the other stuff we give them.

And on that note - I'll say good night dear Golden lovers : )


----------



## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

Lol, dogs lick their butts... I'm sure a dirty kong wouldn't faze them one bit. :


----------



## Adriennelane (Feb 13, 2008)

My dogs are both on Blue Buffalo, and yes you have to transition slowly or there will be a lot of mess. However, they both adjusted and are doing great on it. They have healthy, shiny coats, smell great, and are just great. Lucy actually likes eating her food now. Dory hasn't had anything else except for the Science Diet we transitioned her from when we adopted her. You just have to transition slowly and be patient.


----------

