Unsure about Holistic dog food- Blue Buffalo

 I know about the z/d cookies, but they're expensive, and I use a *lot* of treats, so... kibble for cookies works, LOL.

Emma weighs 19 lbs, and until this week, was getting 2 1/2-3 cups a day. She's been cut back, because she's retired, now, and started to chub up. Calorie needs vary SO MUCH! It's such an individual thing, that the bag's reccomendations are almost ridiculous. It depends on the breed, the lines, the individual's metabolism, and the activity level. Also, how absorbable the food is would play a huge role, and THAT is also individual. It's all about trial and error.

 You are way over feeding your dog.  That is why she has loose stools.  She should be getting about 2.5 cups total per day.  That is the mistake most people make when they switch to a high quality food.  YOU DON'T NEED TO FEED AS MUCH.

glenmar

I have always found the feeding "recommendations" to be way high.  If I followed the feeding recommendations on ANY bag I'd seen, instead of using kcals as a guide, I'd have the worlds FATTEST gsds.

I TOTALLY agree. 

My dogs are both on BB.  My big girl is 68 pounds and gets 2 cups a day. Cruiser is about 45 pounds and gets 1 and 1/4 cups per day (still needs to lose a little weight to).  I think BB is a really great food, but at 4 cups a day, it's bound to cause some loose stools.  I would have tried cutting back on the amount of that instead of switching, personally.

I tried BB for a short period of time as my bichons itched like crazy on it.

 Best performing kibbles I've tried are PetGuard Lifespan and anything by Natura or Solid god.