Blue Buffalo false advertizing

[Liz P]

BB has also had recalls due to overall quality issues (ex: too much vit D).

[JohnLloydJones]

...And I think the Scots also cooked seaweed and it's pretty healthy.

 

Not that I am aware of. Maybe you are thinking of bara lawr, a Welsh dish?

[rushdoggie]

BB has also had recalls due to overall quality issues (ex: too much vit D).

 

Right which would be on par with the melamine issue.

[borasaurus]

Certainly, there is garbage food. I wouldn't feed generic grocery store kibble to my dog, or any of that soft-moist stuff (remember Gaines-Burgers?) or anything so brightly colored that it looked like an Andy Warhol painting of dog food. But I think it is safe to say that for some people, their pet food choice is dictated by snob appeal and food fads. And that there are enough people like that to support a growing demand for "boutique" pet food. Whether the food is really any better (or worse) for their dogs is open to debate - which is, I guess, what we're doing. =)

 

Off-topic, but living in SoCal, there are sooooo many bougie dog food stores, it's ridiculous. I think we recently got a place that does these cooked meals for dogs and they're priced astronomically to the tune of being healthy and all-natural. Honestly, I could home cook the same food for way less .

[geonni banner]

Off-topic, but living in SoCal, there are sooooo many bougie dog food stores, it's ridiculous. I think we recently got a place that does these cooked meals for dogs and they're priced astronomically to the tune of being healthy and all-natural. Honestly, I could home cook the same food for way less .

Same here, in the SF Bay area.

[Mark Billadeau]

I actually don't fault pet food manufacturer's for having melamine in their product.

 

Melamine tests exactly the same as protein; it was added by those producing (or repackaging) the raw protein powders to fool the tests (which it did) and increase their profits. Most producers do not work directly with those who make their raw ingredients (Pet food manufacturer X does not buy live animals from farmer John, fish from skipper Jim, corn from farmer George, potatoes from farmer .....). This makes it difficult for them to audit the sources of their raw ingredients, much like you cannot go look at the farm that produced the beef in the package from the grocery store. The pet food manufacturer should audit their suppliers (who may or may not be buying from farmers) but they will not be able to audit their suppliers' supplier (the likely place where melamine was introduced).

 

For me the real issue was how each pet food manufacturer handled the reports of illnesses from their food and how quickly they acted to recall their products.

[JohnLloydJones]

Melamine tests exactly the same as protein;

 

Ah, there's the problem in a nutshell.

 

What we really want to know is the available protein content (i.e. how much my dog can digest)

What the bag tells us is total protein (i.e. total regardless of whether a dog is capable of digesting it)

What the bag doesn't (usually) tell us is that the printed value is actually an estimate based on the measured Nitrogen content.

 

Melamine has nitrogen, but is not a protein. Assuming that the supplier is honest without periodic tests was the problem.

[Mark Billadeau]

Since there wasn't a test for melamine, periodic tests wouldn't reveal anything other then the presence of nitrogen; and there isn't a lab test for honesty.

 

 

My point of the melamine discussion was that I don't feel this is the same type of manufacturing issue as much of an ingredient (like vitamin D) added during food manufacturing.

[GentleLake]

What the bag tells us is total protein (i.e. total regardless of whether a dog is capable of digesting it)

 

It also doesn't tell us whether or not it's complete protein.

 

There are many vegetable sources of protein, but few of them are complete proteins, i.e. containing adequat4e proportions of the essential amino acids. Adding protein from sources like peas and potatoes without including a complementary amino acid sources is misleading. It boosts the numbers but doesn't provide good nutrition.

[simba]

Unless you combine rice with those peas, I suppose.

 

I don't tend to trust dog food with (probably harmless) colours because it makes me worry about whether the manufacturer's more focused on what seems good to the human rather than what's necessary or shown to work. I feel the same way about organic, holistic, or foods that have low-plausibility supplements like glucosamine. Marketing plays a huge role in all this.

 

Edit: though on the topic of mostly-vegetable-matter dog food, I've recently found dog chews which are basically corn starch, flour, and soybeans. They are cheap as chips, and more importantly my sensitive dog can eat them without having diarrhoea everywhere, like she does for beef bones or chews that have chicken/beef/lamb in them.

[GentleLake]

Unless you combine rice with those peas, I suppose.

 

That's the point. They don't.

 

Peas and potatoes are usually used in the grain free foods. And the ones that use grains get a bit of a misleading protein boost, too, but don't usually pair them with the legumes that would make that protein useful

[Rockslide]

Ok... I need to add my 2 cents. Ellie is almost 1 year old and I believed that Blue Buffalo was the 'good stuff' - and thats what I had been feeding her. After noticing her very loose stools I started wondering - and then after reading and researching I no longer beleive BB is 'the good stuff'. In fact I'm starting to lean towards the opinion all of the large dog food manufacturers have only one thing on their mind - profit and keeping share holders happy. Purchasing low grade ingredients from countries like China do not indicate to me that the big dog food companies have our pets best health interest in mind.

 

I'm now going to attempt to make my dogs food - and see how she does. After searching and reading it's obvious to me that vets don't agree on what a dog should eat - nor do owners - nor do any experts as 'every dog is different'. With that in mind I intend on using my best judgement, common sense - and watch my dog closely. Ellie is not a farm dog - but I keep her as active as I can. I work from home and she and I spend every day together - she gets a lot of attention and exercise - and since I care for her so much I'm ready to go the extra mile to prepare a month's worth of food at a time for her - so that I really do know what she's eating and not relying on the ingredients of a big company that could care less about my dog. If anyone has a recipe they use to create their own home made dog food - especailly for an active Border Collie - please share it with me.

[gcv-border]

Yes, your attitude (I will feed my dog a 'quality diet' [and the definition of that changes by owner] that my dog does well on) is generally espoused by the members here.

 

The guy who started BB saw a niche in the market that he felt could be exploited, and his work history was in marketing - so he decided to start BB.He did not start BB because he had a passion for making 'quality' dog food - despite what their marketing says.

[borasaurus]

If anyone has a recipe they use to create their own home made dog food - especailly for an active Border Collie - please share it with me.

 

When I made food for Kieran, I would do 2 lbs of ground turkey, a lb of pureed vegetables, and about a cup of either brown rice or oats. I also added in turmeric, a little salt (daily intake depends on the weight), and about 6 cups of water or so, if I recall correctly (it depends on the consistency you want).

 

I boiled the turkey and grains in the water with the salt for about half an hour. Then, I mixed in the pureed vegetables, and let simmer on low heat for a couple minutes. Then I'd put in the turmeric. I took it off the heat, and once it cooled, I'd separate it into little bags so I could store it in the fridge or freezer. That was enough for about two weeks, but you could adjust it to your needs. Kieran's vet also said to get him a multivitamin to add to his meals. I topped it with some ground eggshell, a tablespoon of plain yogurt, and every so often, an egg. Kieran is small, so he doesn't need a ton of food. I just watched to see if his weight remained steady.

 

You could use whatever meat. I started with turkey just to ease Kieran into it. He did very very well on it. I think the biggest improvement was his gas. He has mean gas. It completely went away while he was on this diet. I want to switch him back to it soon, but maybe after I finish moving and all that jazz. I think I wrote the whole thing out somewhere more cleanly. I can go look for it or type up a new one for you if you want.

 

You can also try raw feeding. I did it for a couple months, but Kieran's stools would not stabilize so I had to stop. He loved it, though.