[Donya]

I have been looking for a holistic food to transition maverick onto because he is STILL on purina. i really dont like it at all and have been searching for my options as far as holistic. Ive called every feed and pet store in town and compared prices...basically Canidae, solid gold and royal canin etc are VERY expensive around here...almost 60$ a bag with tax and they are at stores far from me and harder to get.

I usually buy at petsmart because of convenience and at that store my options are blue buffalo, nutrience and natural balance. I have heard good things about blue but nothing about the others. I have tried looking on the dog food analysis site but it is down and also I wanted to ask for personal experience and not just a rating...has anyone personally used or know people that have used this food? How did it work for you and your dog? It is about 45$-50$ a bag for these foods around here.

Thanks for your help!

 

[southerngirls]

do you have a feed store near you? We used to get Chicken soup which i believe was a holistic food. I have only used Blue out of the ones that you named, and it gave Reese really runny poo, so did Chicken Soup and everyother food we try. The only food that kept hers firm was Purina One. So we go with what works for her.

 

[Donya]

yup i called the feed stores and the pet stores and the prices are pretty much the same at both places...they carry some of the foods but at expensive prices or they are far away from me.

 

[Mastray]

Wish I could be of help but haven't used any of those... we feed Nutro. We use to buy at Petsmart but found it cheaper at PetSupermarket. I would love to feed them the best money can buy but financially we can't and it has to be easy to get your hands on... if not... if you run out... or if that ONE place stops selling it... then what? Ordering it off the net? That can be complicated and pricey too.

Sorry I'm not of any help.

 

[Donya]

I agree with what youre saying too. I know the canidae and timberwolf are rated better but they are much too expensive for me. Even if i ordered off the net it would be expensive with the shipping etc. I am honestly leaning towards the blue buffalo since it seems to be a good food and is one of the most reasonable priced foods around here. If not one of thes holistic foods then pedigree or purina and those ones are all thats left but ive noticed Mavs skin looking a little pink...i think it was from his harness rubbing his skin so he got a bigger one now but it may be all this corn and grain in his food. he will eat anything put in his bowl so im not worried about him liking it i know he will. I think its crazy tho going from 16$ for a large bag to 50$ but i think it will help him grow bigger and have less poops so potty training may be easier.

kind of a rant sorry.

 

[Skyboxers]

basically Canidae, solid gold and royal canin etc are VERY expensive around here...almost 60$ a bag with tax and they are at stores far from me and harder to get.

I know that Royal canine can be ordered online if that was something you wished to do, It can also be put on an auto renewal for weekly or bi weekly ordering. It is only 35 for a 35 lbs bag. I am pretty sure on the price. I will post the link below if you wish to check it out. I also know my petsmart carries royal canine in stores now also. Just some info I know it was not much help but hope it does some good.
Samantha

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... y&keepsr=1

 

[LokiMom]

I use Blue Buffalo Evoluntionary (probably spelled wrong) with Loki and he loves it. I have had nothing but good luck with it. Plus he has got nice and plump with it. I talked to the blue representive before I bought it and it has alot of calories so they will eat less of it. The evolutionary blend is like $40 at PetsMart if I remember correctly. The vet that I take Loki to also said that it has helped him alot. He defintally has more stanima than his brother and sisters since I switched his food. The Evolluntary blend is nothing but natural. It is made of the same stuff that the wild dogs eat. Very good for them. That is my input on Blue Buffalo. It did give Loki the runs but we mixed can food in with to make it easier to digest and ever since we have done that he has solid poos. It is also for all Life Stages so you don't have to worry about the whole well he is at this stage I have to change his food again.

 

[Sadiesmomma]

Donya, Sadie was on Nutrience when she was with the breeder. Just by looking at the ingredients I think its a pretty low grade food. Lots of Corn and by- products. Have you seen a food called Fromm? http://www.frommfamily.com/ It looks like its really good and its very high grade. I think they may only stock to Canada, as not many Americans I've spoken to have heard of it...maybe that's not too expensive? And sounds like Blue Buffalo is good too. Good luck

 

[FREDOSMOM]

I just started Fredo on Blue Buf. yesterday and he loves it so far and no more runny stool! My question is, it's not offered in a large breed puppy formula..is that ok?

 

[southerngirls]

Boxers dont have to have large breed puppy food, so yes it is fine It is better to go with a "all stages" or "life stages" that way you dont have to switch as they get older

 

[Donya]

they have a large breed puppy food at my petsmart in the blue buffalo but there isnt that much different between it and the reg puppy food. in fact i thought that the large breed pup food is supposed to have less protein than reg puppy food but with teh blue large breed is at 28% crude protein while the reg puppy food is only 27% crude protein....How much is too much protein?

Thanks sadies momma im goi ng to check that site out. I havent heard of it but its great to have more options.

 

[HannaBanana]

Nope, Ideally 22-26% protein is my personal guideline for protein intake in a youngster under 18 months.  Blue is a good good, and if available, then go for it.  I personally think its overpriced because its sold commercially and its the only good stuff they have.

www.petfooddirect.com  has some good stuff too - delivered to your door.

 

[Scoop]

well I agree with Hanna regarding that blue buff is good, probably the best petsmart offers.
I used to fed my boxer for a couple of months their treat bars for training since Scooby used to suffer of digestive problems. At that time I was feeding Canidae All Life Stages and didn't switch to Blue since Scooby was doing fine with it. Unfortunately Blue, since it's sold at petsmart requires manufacturers for their foods and treats and because of this, they were one of the affected brands by the rice protein additive that caused a major recall.
Here is the link on their website of when this happened: http://bluebuffalocompany.com/news/new-letter.shtml

However, Blue still is a good choice if you can't find affordable premium foods on other stores, their lamb and rice puppy formula is 26% protein, and I think they have a new orgganic formula that looks great also, I think you can feed mav blue until adulthood and later maybe switch to a great canadian food called Orijen which probably is less pricey over there than Canidae or TW organics.

If there is any Petco stores over there you should check also since here in San Diego some of the petco stores sells solid gold and wellness.

 

[Guest]

For me...Canidae is the cheapest high quality dog food out there...

I found it for $33 for a 40lb bag...

merrick is $39 for a 30 lb bag

and the rest of the stuff is up around $35 and up...

 

[LokiMom]

well I agree with Hanna regarding that blue buff is good, probably the best petsmart offers.
I used to fed my boxer for a couple of months their treat bars for training since Scooby used to suffer of digestive problems. At that time I was feeding Canidae All Life Stages and didn't switch to Blue since Scooby was doing fine with it. Unfortunately Blue, since it's sold at petsmart requires manufacturers for their foods and treats and because of this, they were one of the affected brands by the rice protein additive that caused a major recall.
Here is the link on their website of when this happened: http://bluebuffalocompany.com/news/new-letter.shtml

However, Blue still is a good choice if you can't find affordable premium foods on other stores, their lamb and rice puppy formula is 26% protein, and I think they have a new orgganic formula that looks great also, I think you can feed mav blue until adulthood and later maybe switch to a great canadian food called Orijen which probably is less pricey over there than Canidae or TW organics.

If there is any Petco stores over there you should check also since here in San Diego some of the petco stores sells solid gold and wellness.

That is what I feed Loki. I like it for the simple fact that I can feed this to him forever and a day. With the new organic one that they have which I think is Evoultionay or something like that (comes in a shiny blue bag, with wolf on it) is the one that Loki gets and he loves it. And I don't have to switch because of Life stages.