Blue Buffalo vs Taste of the Wild

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

We are looking to switch the doodles' food soon.  They do really well Natural Balance, but Kirby is clearly bored with it.  We usually don't give in like this, but he's on a hunger strike (and we are very sure he's not sick) so we are going to cave and switch foods :)  Dexter isn't an issue because he'd eat anything.

We found a sample of Evo from a pet show and Kirby LOVED it.  However then I joined this group and started reading and saw that Evo may not be the best (due to some recall issues).  I've been reading more about Blue Buffalo and Taste of the Wild.  I want to pick a food we can find at a store near us.  Are there preferences for BB vs TotW?    Thanks :)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

EVO has been a great food, but it was recently bought out by Procter and Gamble and most of us are concerned that they will change the formula to junk.  We switched from EVO to TOTW and are very satisfied with it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

All of the TOTW formulas are grain-free. In the Blue Buffalo line, only their Wilderness formula is grain-free. A lot of us find our dogs do better on grain-free foods, and I'd be willing to bet that Kirby will like it better than the BB.

Check the feeding guidelines on the package; grain-free foods are much more nutrient dense and usually higher in calories than foods with grains, so you're going to have to adjust the amount you feed. (I hope Dexter won't be unhappy about that, lol! I assume he's going to be switching foods, too). Natural balance has a very low protein content, so both dogs should be happier with the new food. Expect some gas initially until they've adjusted.

I would recommend that you go with the TOTW. 

[Michelle and Chloe]

I recently changed Chloe's food from Natural Balance to TOTW and she loves it.  She also stopped eating her Natural Balance and I thought she was sick but she would scarf down treats so I knew it wasn't a loss of appetite.  I transitioned her from Natural Balance to TOTW over 2 weeks and she would pick out the NB kibbles and just eat the TOTW kibble.  Now, I never have a problem with her not eating.

[Carol]

I recently change Manny to TOTW and he loves it! He was getting bored with his last food so the timing couldn't be better. I switched him because our new puppy was fed TOTW by her breeder and I wanted the dogs on the same food. I feed him the salmon flavor.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Your breeder is feeding agood quality food, but she is mistaken about the protein content in grain-free foods being too high for puppies. We've had several discussions about that here, but the bottom line is that many breeders feed not only grain-free but raw diets to their puppies. When you consider that a raw diet is composed of animal proteins only, with no carbohydrates whatsoever, you can see that a diet composed of both protein and carbohydrate (in the form of potatoes, fruits and vegetables, just no cereal grains) is not too high in protein for puppies. Also, TOTW does not have as high a protein percentage as some of the other grain-frees, like Orijen.

I would be willing to bet that if you asked your breeder why too much protein is not good for puppies, she could not give you a scientifically based answer, and that this is just an old myth that she has heard.This is meaning no disrespect to your breeder, but like most other people involved in the "dog business", including vets, she is an expert in her field, not an expert in nutrition. Plus, it sounds like Bailey is a mini, and if so, her skeletal growth is pretty close to complete.

Canidae is a good food, but there is no reason not to switch your pup to TOTW if you want to switch. And I am willing to bet your dog will like it better, and you may be able to get away with eliminatiung the canned food.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Peri started out on TOTW, but the no-grains did not work well in her case.  As Karen says, the protein is less than Orijen.  Our breeder actually recommended TOTW for her puppies...

[Leslie, Dexter & Kirby]

Thanks everyone...I am going to buy a small bag of TotW to make sure our picky little setterdoodle likes it.