Blue Buffalo Dog Food Recall

While I was out of town last week, and Mumble was being boarded, I had a bit of a scare about his dry food because I heard the news of a recall of Blue Buffalo brand dog food. Mumble eats the Blue Buffalo Adult Chicken dry food mixed in with his wet food every day. This was one of the "flavors" on the recall list, and since I had left his food with the boarding facility in small baggies, pre-portioned for each meal, rather than the entire bag of food, there was no way for anyone to check to see if the food was one of the specific "batches" recalled! I had to have the boarding people just stop giving him the dry food altogether, just in case. Thankfully, they were able to make up the difference in his meals by supplementing his wet food with a little bit of cooked chicken and rice (which I'm sure he thought was much better anyway).

When I got back home I was able to check the bag, and thankfully it wasn't on the recall list anyway! So I don't have to worry about Mumble getting sick from the amount that he ate out of that bag before I heard about the recall.

Blue Buffalo was able to pinpoint exactly which batches of food had been affected, and even ascertained exactly how it happened. You can read the press release on their website here. If you feed your dog one of the "flavors" on the list, the way you determine if your dog food is affected is by looking at the expiration date. Here is the list from the Blue Buffalo website:

Product	Bag Size	Best Used By Dates
BLUE Wilderness Chicken (Dog)	4.5 lb., 11 lb., 24lb.	JUL1211B, JUL1311B, JUL2611Z, JUL2711Z, JUL2811Z
BLUE Basics Salmon (Dog)	11 lb., 24 lb.	AUG2111B, AUG2211B
BLUE Large Breed Adult Chicken	30 lb.	SEP 22 11 P, SEP 23 11 P, OCT 26 11 P

The recall is due to the discovery by the company of the presence of vitamin D in the product at levels "higher than specifications." According to the Blue Buffalo website, and other information available on the web related to this recall, excessive amounts of vitamin D can be harmful to pets. The FDA indicates that 36 cases have been reported nationwide of illness related to the excessive amounts of vitamin D in the recalled food (read here for more from the FDA on this recall). Blue Buffalo's website states that it will reimburse veterinary bills associated with illness as a result of the recalled food.

I was personally very curious about this vitamin D issue. Mumble eats a pretty healthy diet - his wet food is organic, and he has various supplements added to each meal. I've been reading a lot about supplements and "natural health" for pets lately, due to the high levels of supplements Mumble has to be on. So I was really curious about how a vitamin that you would believe to be beneficial, or at least not harmful, could cause so much concern. What I read was really interesting. According to many articles, etc, including the "Natural Health Bible for Dogs and Cats" by Shawn Messioner (I love this book!), the most common cause of vitamin D toxicity is from a dog ingesting rat poison! Of course, we all know that rat poison is one of the most common causes of poisoning to pets, but I never thought about it being linked to something as benign sounding as vitamin D.

There is an interesting article I found online on this subject, written by a veterinarian. You can read it at this link. According to Dr. Huston, vitamin D toxicity causes hypercalcemia, a condition that causes a whole gambit of problems and affects the dog's internal organs. The list of possible symptoms of vitamin D toxicity in her website is much more extensive, but with some consistency, than the list on the recall information websites. (*You can also read about vitamin toxicities at the PetPlace website).

The most alarming information I found, at least as it directly relates to Mumble, is the link between fish oil supplements and vitamin D toxicity. Apparently, fish oil supplements are known to be a good source of vitamin D, but it is possible for a pet parent to "overdose" their pet by providing too much of the supplement and causing vitamin D toxicity to occur. Mumble is on a fish oil with probiotics supplement, which, after much trial and error with various other probiotics, etc, was the best thing for him in terms of helping with all of his digestive issues. The fish oil also has a positive impact on his skin allergies. So the information about fish oil and vitamin D was definitely a reminder to me about how important it is to be extra careful with giving him the right amounts. It also made me very grateful for our vet, Dr. Shane, who is excellent at natural remedies and holistic approaches to health, and carefully helps me to monitor all of Mumble's supplements and dietary needs.

Dog Food Series Part 2: The Woes of a Dog with a Sensitive Stomach

Mumble has always had both allergies and food sensitivities. From the first day I got him, he's had diarrhea off-and-on on a fairly frequent basis. In addition to the laundry list of things he just can't seem to tolerate / digest, there is the list of foods that make him itchy, sneezy, have watery eyes, or have dry skin.

Food:

Mumble eats two meals per day, each containing 1/2 can of Party Animal wet food (turkey and sweet potato flavor), a scoop of Blue Buffalo dry food, and the special homemade "mix" I make myself.

Wet Food: My vet is a big believer in the benefits of all wet food versus dry kibble. Early on in the process of trying to find a food that Mumble could tolerate, she recommended that he eat only "Party Animal" brand food. Party Animal is a dog food made with organic ingredients, including organic meats, veggies and fruits. Because it is organic, it doesn't include artificial preservatives and other additives that are not good for dogs with allergies and food sensitivities.

Mumble eats only the one called "Turn up da' Turkey" recipe. Initially, I rotated the turkey flavor, chicken flavor and sometimes the fish flavor, but I have found that Mumble doesn't do as well with digesting more than one protein source. I use this particular Turkey option because it has sweet potatoes, rather than carrots, as the main vegetable ingredient. Aside from the fact that Mumble doesn't digest carrots very well, sweet potatoes are known to be a "super food." Super foods are those that have substantially higher nutritional value than other foods, and I read somewhere that dogs with digestion issues (and who thereby may be "losing nutrients" through frequent bouts of diarrhea) actually absorb more nutrients if their diet includes super foods. (note: the Party Animal recipes also include another super food - blueberries).

Dry Food: For a while, Mumble was on a strict diet of only this wet food. However, over time, he still had some occasional digestive issues, and I started doing some research about commercial foods with high levels of fiber and probiotics and other digestive enzymes. I was also concerned about the cost of his wet-food-only diet, and hoping to reduce that by supplementing with a high quality dry kibble. I tried out various dry foods, only adding a little to his wet food. Nothing seemed to be OK. Many dry foods seemed to increase his itchy allergic reactions. Others made him have increased digestive problems.

Then we went to home to Georgia for Christmas, and Mumble and I were staying with my sister and brother-in-law and their two dogs. I was very stressed about the dog food situation for this trip, because Party Animal was not available in Georgia (at least anywhere near where they live). I planned on bringing some cans of wet food with me in my luggage, but knew that ultimately I'd need to supplement it with something available there.

Enter Blue Buffalo dry food. My sister has a Husky, and she had been feeding him this brand at the recommendation of a rescue group. In advance of my coming to GA, she switched her dogs to a "flavor" of this dry food that included a protein Mumble could digest, and I added that to his food while he was there. It was miraculous how well he digested it! He had the most consistently good digestion during the time we were in Georgia that he has ever had before! I was sold.

Back in CA, I started buying the same Blue Buffalo food (it was at that time the Fish flavor). Ultimately, Mumble did start to have some issues again, and it was during this time that I realized the difficulty with digesting two very different protein sources simultaneously (turkey and chicken seem ok, but turkey or chicken with fish is not, and he simply can't digest beef, venison or duck; lamb makes him itchy). So I switched him to Blue Buffalo's Chicken and Brown Rice recipe, which is in their line of "Life Protection" foods. (note: now that they have added some limited ingredient products, called "Blue Basics," I'm considering switching to Turkey and Potato).

Overall, this combo has been good, but ultimately, Mumble still has digestive woes. Recently, we went through a period where it was so bad that I had to make his food myself for a while. Since that, I have been supplementing his food with the homemade "mix" that I make every week. The mix is cooked sweet potato, canned pumpkin, cottage cheese, and a tiny bit of yogurt. (Mumble LOVES cottage cheese, that's definitely his favorite part). This may sound ridiculous, but it works!

A note about canned pumpkin: Above, I talked about sweet potato as a "super food;" my other favorite addition for dog food is canned pumpkin. Early on, I read an article that talked about using canned pumpkin for dogs that have frequent diarrhea. I was skeptical, because the traditional approach of plain rice didn't have any impact whatsoever on Mumble's digestive problems. But the pumpkin really works! I know other dog owners who add it only when their dog has an upset tummy, and they swear by it as something that will stop the diarrhea pretty much right away!

Medications:

In addition to the homemade mix, Mumble has probiotics added to his food at least once per day. He is also on a supplement prescribed by his vet called Antonex, which helps him maintain appropriate histamine levels (and thereby prevents allergy attacks), which he takes with every meal.

I hope this is helpful to any of you out there suffering through the ups and downs of dealing with doggie digestive issues. It's definitely a challenge (don't even get me started about treats), but ultimately, you can find something that will keep your dog healthy and eating well.

p.s. Always consult your vet if your dog is having chronic diarrhea or other health issues, and if you are considering adding a supplement or medication to his diet.

Dog Food Series Part 1: Everyone has an opinion!

There's a lot of information out there these days about what makes a good dog food versus a bad dog food. Google phrases like "good dog food" or "what should I feed by dog" and you'll come up with an overwhelming list of links, with opinions, analysis and information about all kinds of options from "raw food diets" to low end commercial dog foods and everything in between. It seems like everyone, from trainers, to vets, to random people you meet in pet stores, will have an opinion about what you should feed your pet. And some of those opinions are conflicting - one vet may swear by dry food as being the way to go while another opines that you should only use wet food. Those "random people" in the pet store often turn out to be reps from some pet food company. They'll give you tons of information about ingredients and how this food is so healthy and digestible, but ultimately they are trying to sell a product.

So how does the average dog owner comb through all of this information and decide on the food that right for her pup? It can be a difficult decision, and speaking as an owner of a dog with pretty significant digestive issues, it is a vital decision.

There are plenty of other websites out there with lengthy and informative articles about what you should look for, and even websites that have done the analysis for you. Some examples can be found at the bottom of this article. Keep in mind, just like opinions of professionals and your friends, the information contained in various websites can be contradictory!

In addition to reading up and doing your research, here are some practical tips for deciding what dog food to use:

(1) Be realistic about what is important to you. Your dog's health and well-being is likely the most important thing, or you wouldn't be doing all of this research. But let's face it, cost is a factor. While we all want what is best for our pets, most of us can't afford to simply feed our dogs the most expensive food on the market. Sit down and calculate how much you feed your dog and what it costs per day (based on the cost of one bag). You can find tools on the web to help you figure this out, based on your current dog food, and use this as a guide. There's even an iPhone app.

(2) After you've researched online about ingredients, etc, take a good look at the food you're already using and consider its overall quality.

(3) Ask your vet. Presumably you trust your vet about all kinds of things related to your pet's health, and what your pet eats is an integral part of his overall health and well-being. Don't just ask "what food do you recommend?" Your vet may be selling a specific brand directly from his/her office, and will "recommend" only that. Instead, ask for your vet's opinion about specific food choices - what you're feeding your dog now and what you are considering. If there is a specific food that your vet recommends as "the best," ask what it is about that food that makes it so. The information you take away from this can help you make an informed decision that is individually right for you and your dog.

(4) Ask other dog professionals. Do you have a trainer working with your dog, a dog walker, or a groomer that you trust? They are sure to have an opinion, not just based on what they feed their own dogs, but on the information they have from other dog owners they've worked with. This can be a good source of info about a variety of options.

(5) Rather than asking for the opinion of sales reps who hang out in large retailers of pet products on the weekends promoting their own food, go to a smaller, local pet food store and ask the opinion of the staff there. Some of these people are very knowledgeable about all of the different foods they sell, and can tell you why some are better than others in terms of quality. (Two places where I've found such useful people are Got Pet Food in Santa Monica and Collar and Leash in Pacific Palisades.)

(6) Ask your friends what they feed their dog and why. Note that not everyone is knowledgeable about dog food options, and you may have some friends still using the "grocery store brands." But if you trust your friends' opinions regarding this kind of thing, they can give you a realistic, helpful point of view based on what actually works well for their dog instead of just on research, etc.

This last tip gets straight to the point of what this series of blog posts will be about. While you can find a plethora of websites out there with an overwhelming amount of facts about ingredients, health benefits, etc, sometimes its more helpful to hear from real people with real dogs about what they choose and why. In my circle of "dog friends," none of us feed our dogs exactly the same thing, and I think this exemplifies the reality of this decision - everyone may have a strong opinion and good reasons for what they choose, but at the end of the day, there are many, many good options out there. Therefore, I've invited some of my dog owner friends to guest blog for this series. We will each discuss what we have chosen to feed our pups, why we made the choice we made, and what benefits we see of the particular food we are using. I hope you find this useful! And please feel free to also post comments!


As promised, here are some examples of informational cites:

Drs. Foster and Smith's "FAQ" about what and how much to feed your dog

Dogster's article "How to Choose a Healthy Dog Food"

PetEducation.com's article "Choosing a Dog Food"

Even WikiHow has an artile: How to Choose Healthy Dog Food

And here are some that rate / analyze specific brands of dog food:

Dog Food Scoop

Dog Food Analysis