[alan93]

So I first started noticed I was having trouble finding it in stores and then found out they were stopping it to change the formula.
I did try a newer one I got from Rural King with the brown rice in it that had different labeling and she would not eat it. Even after blending the transition.
I bought a few bags of the old one and hope it lasts for the remainder of her days.
Anybody have an issue with them adding brown rice and oatmeal and potatoes to the food?

Here is the new and old , left to right.

 

[Sunje]

So I first started noticed I was having trouble finding it in stores and then found out they were stopping it to change the formula.
I did try a newer one I got from Rural King with the brown rice in it that had different labeling and she would not eat it. Even after blending the transition.
I bought a few bags of the old one and hope it lasts for the remainder of her days.
Anybody have an issue with them adding brown rice and oatmeal and potatoes to the food?

Here is the new and old , left to right.
View attachment 157219

It looks like they have gotten rid of the peas and switched to grain-in. Since it came to light a few years ago that pea products were causing DCM in some large breed dogs, grain-free foods have lost their favor. You can see w/ the old bag, after the 2 chicken ingredients, there are 3 pea ingredients, all separated--peas, pea protein, pea starch, and the next line down is pea fiber. When companies separate all the forms of the same type of food (in this case peas), this is called ingredient splitting and is a way to make it look like there's not as much of this cheap protein in the food than there really is. When you add all that up, you'd probably end up as peas as the main ingredient in the old food--not chicken (esp. since whole chicken is very high in water and when processed down would actually drop way down on the ingredient list). Oatmeal, barley and rice are not bad grains to have if your dog isn't allergic to them. Frankly I think the new food is a step up.

If you have Facebook, look at the page "No Peas For Me". There is a lot of great info on food/legume-related DCM, what ingredients are in dog foods, what you want to see, and how to find foods that are better choices. Although if she is a senior and doing well on the grain-free food and she likes it, then your choice to buy enough to keep her on that is probably the best way to go.

 

[alan93]

Thanks I couldn't tell if this was supposed to be a beneficial change or an inflationary cost cutting tactic.

 

[dobebug]

Anybody have an issue with them adding brown rice and oatmeal and potatoes to the food?

I don't have a problem with brown rice, although I do know that some dogs really will reject food that has brown rice (rather than white rice--which is easier for a dog to digest) or oats--in a any form but potatoes are basically just a filler and some dogs have problems digesting them and they don't provide much nutrition.

And I learned about legumes in general--long ago when lamb and a variety of legumes (peas, lentils, etc) hit the market in the 60's I think and were very popular because they were (at that time) sort of a novel ingredient mix and supposed to deal with allergies.

Turned out my Dobermans didn't do well on any food that had lamb as the basic meat protein and also didn't do very well on anything that had legumes instead of grain in it.

There have been other things that have made me cringe about some of the Blue Buffalo food changes--just lately there has been a new ad running about the 20% more meat in the product. Higher levels of protein can be a disaster for growing puppies. I kind of stick with the "moderation in all things" theory of feeding.

But I don't feed Blue Buffalo--and pretty much have always fed Eukanuba or Purina Pro Plan.

And the prescription diets by Royal Canin, Purina and Hills (not the Science Diet line) have been top notch when I've had a dog who specifically needed a true prescription diet.

dobebug

 

[sissl]

just lately there has been a new ad running about the 20% more meat in the product.

Agree, poor sell. Not beneficial to seniors. Do senior blood panel test at vet; if clear then look for ingredients of preference for your dog.

Blue was easiest for me to find on regular errands, but it turned my 14yr dog’s stool loose, so I switched him back to Nutro senior (he isn’t a doberman).

Recently my vet suggested Rx Science Diet Kidney & Mobility because his kidney numbers are declining and he’s arthritic. Basic stuff for his age. I tried comparing for anything like Nutro, Blue, Purina, something possibly cheaper. They all have much higher protein % than this kidney diet (and I was comparing the senior dog foods - WAY more protein than this kidney friendly diet). Then again my dog is a real geriatric, not just senior. But I think for any elder dogs, why would you want generally high protein. I don’t get it. Mine old chum started craving more fresh vegetables a few years ago. I dropped a red beet on the floor, he took it, refused to give it up, devoured the whole thing like it was a steak. Vet said he probably needed more fiber; tuber veggies - great. So he was on “senior” diet and some fresh veggies from about age 9-13, until recent failure switching to Blue, then not switching easily back to Nutro. Now on kidney diet.