To find the best canned dog food to meet your pet’s needs, we compared dozens of dog food manufacturers. Our selection of wet dog foods features those with the best nutritional profiles and tasty ingredients for all dogs.
Our Rating of Blue Buffalo Wilderness Canned Dog Food
Blue Buffalo Wilderness is a grain-free canned dog food that relies primarily on named meats for animal protein, earning the company’s product line 4 stars. 5 stars.
Which Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipes Get Our Best Ratings?
The Advisor gives Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Dog Food its second-highest tier rating of 4 stars.
The 12 canned dog foods in the Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe product line are listed below.
When available, the AAFCO nutrient profile of each recipe is included. These profiles include Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental, or Unspecified.
For a thorough recipe and nutritional analysis, Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Chicken Dinner was chosen to represent the other products in the line.
Using a dry matter basis, the label and nutrient data below were calculated.
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient ContentProtein =
Ingredients: Chicken, chicken broth, chicken liver, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, brown rice, barley, oatmeal, guar gum, potassium chloride, salt, flaxseed, blueberries, cranberries, carrageenan, cassia gum, copper amino acid chelate, manganese amino acid chelate, sodium selenite, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), cobalt amino acid chelate, niacin
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 6.8%
| Estimated Nutrient Content | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
| Guaranteed Analysis | 9% | 6% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 39% | 27% | 26% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 30% | 51% | 20% |
The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken. The clean combination of flesh and skin that comes from chicken parts or whole carcasses is known as chicken.
The ten essential amino acids that dogs need in order to survive are naturally abundant in chicken.
The second ingredient is chicken broth. Broths are of only modest nutritional value. However, they are a typical addition component in many canned products because they give dog food flavor and moisture.
The third ingredient is chicken liver. This is named animal-sourced organ meat, which is why it is regarded as a valuable ingredient.
Carrots, which are high in dietary fiber, minerals, and beta-carotene, are the fourth component.
The fifth ingredient lists peas. Peas are a quality source of carbohydrates. And like all legumes, they’re rich in natural fiber.
However, when evaluating the meat content of this dog food, one must take into account the fact that peas contain about 25% protein.
The sixth ingredient is sweet potato. In dog food, sweet potatoes are a source of complex carbohydrates free of gluten. They are naturally rich in dietary fiber and beta carotene.
Brown rice, a complex carbohydrate that can be relatively simple to digest once cooked, is the next ingredient. But aside from its inherent energy content, rice only has a modest amount of nutritional value for dogs.
The eighth ingredient is barley. The starchy carbohydrate barley contains fiber and other beneficial nutrients. However, this cereal grain is only modestly nutritious to a dog, aside from its energy content.
Oatmeal, a whole-grain product made from coarsely ground oats, is the ninth ingredient. Oatmeal is naturally high in dietary fiber, B vitamins, and, depending on its purity level, gluten.
The list continues after this with a number of different items.
However, being realistic, ingredients this low on the list (aside from nutritional supplements) are unlikely to have an impact on how this Blue Buffalo product is rated overall.
With 4 notable exceptions…
The first ingredient in this recipe is sodium selenite, a contentious selenium mineral form. In terms of nutrition, selenium yeast appears to be a more natural source of selenium than sodium selenite.
Next, one of the top plant sources of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids is flaxseed. Flax seeds are also high in soluble fiber, provided they have first been ground into a meal.
However, when evaluating the actual meat content of this dog food, one must take into account that flaxseed contains about 19% protein.
Additionally, a gelatin-like thickening agent extracted from seaweed is called carrageenan. Even though carrageenan has been a food additive for centuries, there seems to have recently been some debate about its long-term biological safety.
The article, The Carrageenan Controversy, published in Scientific American, does a good job of addressing this topic.
Last but not least, this food includes chelated minerals, which are minerals that have chemically been joined to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.
Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Dog Food appears to be a better-than-average wet product based solely on its ingredients.
The dashboard shows a reading of 39% for dry matter protein, 27% for fat, and an estimated 26% for carbohydrates.
The brand’s average protein content is 39%, and its average fat content is 28%. All things considered, these numbers point to a 25% carbohydrate content for the entire product line.
And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 71%.
Which means this Blue Buffalo product line contains…
Near-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to other canned dog foods.
This profile resembles that of a wet product with a moderate amount of meat even after taking into account the peas’ and flaxseed’s ability to increase protein levels.
However, some recipes might not be appropriate for all animals because in our example, 51% of the total calories came from fat and only 30% from protein.
What wet dog food do vets recommend?
Although every veterinarian has a preferred brand, they will always take into account your dog’s overall health and dietary requirements before making a recommendation. Given that The Farmer’s Dog is veterinarian-formulated, it might be the best choice for you.
FAQ
Is Blue Can food good for dogs?
Additional ingredients in the Blue Homestyle Recipe for Beef with Vegetables include flaxseed, which is high in antioxidants. Antioxidants help your dog’s immune system stay healthy. With this meal, your dog will receive all of the nutrition and hydration that they require.
What is the healthiest canned dog food from the market?
- Wellness Stews Canned Dog Food.
- The Farmer’s Dog Fresh Dog Food.
- Instinct Original Wet Dog Food.
- Whole Earth Farms Canned Dog Food.
- Nature’s Recipe Dog Food Trays.
- Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipes Wet Dog Food.
- Eukanuba Canned Dog Food.
Is Blue dog food on the recall list?
Recall of Blue Buffalo Dog Food Blue Buffalo has recalled a number of its products, including the dry dog foods Blue Wilderness Chicken Flavor, Blue Life Protection Formula Natural Chicken, Blue Basics Limited Ingredient Formula Salmon, and Brown Rice Large Breed Adult.