I actually feed Wellness and I think it's a pretty good brand.

I'm not as familiar with Blue Buffalo but I get concerned when I see garlic as an ingredient. It IS very toxic fresh and cumulatively toxic when fed in trace quantities over a period of time.

Both these foods contain chicken and/or salmon meal. Meal is basically skin, meat and sometimes bones processed so that the water is removed. But not all places process the same way and that's where you have trouble.

I'd also check out Orijen. I'd feed this, but it gives Jack diarrhea because it's rich and he's got a very sensitive tummy. But I think it's literally the best out there.

What's nice about Orijen too is that the kibble pieces are quite small and because they are semi-flat disc shapes, so they would be great for a small breed like yours.

Sorry to throw in yet another option. If you choose Blue Buffalo, maybe try finding a formula without garlic.

Hope that helps!

Jack answered on 4/5/10. Helpful? / 2

My Blue Buffalo does not have chicken nor chicken flavoring, as I use other mixes since I am trying to avoid too much chicken. It does have garlic, but I feel small amounts are not a major problem and are in almost all major brand pet foods.
That said, I use both Blue Buffalo and Wellness Core in my rotations. While I am not familiar with the types you suggested, I am overall happy with the companies and their overall ingredients.

Toto, CD, RN, CGC answered on 4/5/10. Helpful? / 1

gosh, now everyone is saying blue buff has garlic in it, i thought it was such a good food. but now im worried. i feed my dogs blue buffalo. but since i just heard it has garlic in it, i'm going to recommend wellness.

♥Molly♥ answered on 4/5/10. Helpful? / 1

Between Wellness Super5Mix Small Breed and Blue Buffalo Small Breed, I prefer Wellness. It has more protein and is less grain heavy.

In general, though, I like Blue Buffalo better. Garlic has been used as a natural flea repellent for years, and dogs have lived their entire lives on foods with garlic and suffered no ill effects.

Have you considered rotating between the two? You can find more information on rotation at :

www.floridachowchowclub.com

Colt answered on 4/7/10. Helpful? / 1

Between Blue Buffalo and Wellness, the base kibble are both super high quality. However, Blue includes the Lifesource bits (I admit, it just sounded like fancy merchandising when I first investigated Blue). They are great because they are cold-formed, which is cutting edge technology for pet food. It's about time pet foods started cold forming, human companies have been doing it for years to preserve the integrity of their product.
Anyway, the Lifesource Bits contain vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants in similar levels to Wellness and other super-premium foods, however, cold forming the antioxidants and vitamins and chelating them with specific minerals increases their effectiveness by up to 70%. I also like that it has Glucosamine in it, I like to support joint health prior to having joint problems (per recommendation from my veterinarian.) It also is all made in USA with US ingredients (besides New Zealand Lamb).
Check out dogfoodscoop.com for more info. Hope I helped!

Moose answered on 4/18/10. Helpful? / 0

Blue Buffalo vs Wellness?

Both are good but I use Blue!
It has less grains than Wellness (The other people who posted didn't do their research:D)
Check out their Blue Wilderness foods. They have NO GRAINS! Amazing! Blue's other foods also have a little less grains than wellness too!
This food is cheaper too. Why would I spend more on Wellness if Blue Buffalo is just as good (better in my opinion!)

Member 997376 answered on 10/22/10. Helpful? / 0