Blue Buffalo is now a family title and behemoth within the dog-food world.

And in contrast to Style of the Wild, who presents a comparatively restricted set of recipes, Blue Buffalo’s lineup is huge, being comprised of 187 completely different recipes (focusing on all of the completely different life levels) in whole.

Given the dimensions of Blue Buffalo’s product lineup, we’re not going to checklist all of them. However we’ll share an inventory of their primary method traces and clarify the methods by which they differ.

• Child Blue: A puppy-focused method line, consisting of 4 completely different grain-inclusive kibbles.
• Fundamentals: A limited-ingredient line comprised of 24 recipes, together with moist and dry choices.
• Freedom: A set of 18 grain-free recipes, accessible in moist and dry varieties.
• Life Safety: The model’s main method, that includes 90 completely different recipes in dry and moist type.
• Pure Veterinary Weight loss program: A line with 14 completely different veterinarian-designed moist and dry recipes.
• True Options: A method line comprised of 14 meals designed to supply completely different well being advantages for various sorts of points, resembling weight administration, delicate stomachs, or joint ache.
• Wilderness: 67 completely different recipes, together with moist meals and dry choices, make up this method line.

It’s value noting that Blue Buffalo’s Wilderness product line is most much like Style of the Wild’s choices.

One of the crucial noteworthy options of Blue Buffalo meals is the inclusion of the model’s trademarked LifeSource Bits — antioxidant-rich little items of kibble that seem in each dry meals the model presents.

Blue Buffalo makes most of its meals in the US. The model owns two services (positioned in Joplin, Missouri and Richmond, Indiana), however additionally they contract with different US-based manufacturing vegetation to supply their meals.

A few of their meals are additionally manufactured in Thailand. The model doesn’t explicitly element which ones are, so we’ve requested them. We’ll replace this text after we obtain a response.

Recall Historical past: Style of the Wild and Blue Buffalo

Opposite to in style thought, we don’t assume the remembers ought to essentially be an enormous issue within the food-selection course of of householders.

Clearly, you don’t wish to buy meals from a model that demonstrates a sample of issuing remembers, however we don’t assume remoted remembers are dealbreakers.

Manufacturing issues occur — it’s simply a part of the industrial meals manufacturing trade. In reality, remembers of human meals occur on a regular basis.

And we imply large, title manufacturers, like Kellogg’s, Common Mills, Nabisco, and Purdue (it took roughly 8 seconds to search out these examples, and there are scads of others).

In reality, remembers exhibit that the security course of is working.

All that mentioned, remembers do hassle some homeowners, so we’ll share those we might discover:

• Diamond Pet Meals (Style of the Wild’s mother or father firm) initiated a recall in 2012 of a number of of their manufacturers for suspected Salmonella contamination.
• Blue Buffalo initiated a recall in 2017 for a few of its recipes for elevated ranges of naturally occurring beef thyroid hormone. It additionally issued remembers for 2 moist recipes, for attainable aluminum contamination and packaging issues. In addition they initiated a recall in 2016 for mildew points associated to a few of their recipes containing candy potatoes. Blue Buffalo was additionally one of many manufacturers who have been caught up within the main recall of 2007, involving melamine in canine meals.

The takeaway right here is that if model’s historical past of remembers is one thing that’s vital to your food-selection determination, you need to in all probability go together with Style of the Wild, because the model has had fewer.

Head-to-Head Comparability: Style of the Wild and Blue Buffalo

With the fundamentals out of the best way, we are able to begin evaluating Style of the Wild and Blue Buffalo in head-to-head trend.

When it comes to components, let’s take a look at the lists of main recipes from every model.

Style of the Wild’s Excessive Prairie recipe is probably going the model’s hottest.

Right here is the ingredient checklist for it:

Alternatively, one of the in style Blue Buffalo merchandise is probably going their Life Safety Rooster & Brown Rice recipe.

Listed here are the components it accommodates:

There are just a few similarities between the 2, however the variations are instantly apparent.

• The Style of the Wild recipe incorporates a litany of various complete proteins and correctly labelled meat meals, whereas Blue Buffalo usually consists of just one complete protein and one meat meal of their recipes.
• Style of the Wild accommodates all the things from bison to venison to beef to lamb meal; Blue Buffalo solely consists of chicken-based proteins.
• This Style of the Wild recipe is grain-free; this Blue Buffalo recipe is grain-inclusive.
• Although each recipes include produce, Blue Buffalo’s recipe accommodates a better selection.
• The Blue Buffalo recipe lists glucosamine, however the Style of the Wild recipe doesn’t.

However to be honest, these recipes in all probability aren’t positioned to go after the identical canine buyer. For a greater head-to-head comparability, let’s take the identical Style of the Wild recipe, however this time, let’s examine it with Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain recipe.

As soon as once more, Style of the Wild Excessive Prairie:

And right here is Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe:

As soon as once more, there are variations between the 2, however they’re way more related than the unique recipes we in contrast. So, when you’re weighing these two manufacturers in opposition to one another, these are possible one of the best two recipes to think about.

The first variations listed here are the choice of proteins included (although each of those include a number of protein sources) and the presence of grains — Style of the Wild is grain-free; Blue Wilderness accommodates grains.

Nonetheless, there may be yet one more vital distinction: Style of the Wild Excessive Prairie recipe is formulated to satisfy the AAFCO pointers for grownup upkeep, whereas Blue Wilderness Rocky Mountain recipe is formulated to satisfy the rules for progress and copy (excluding progress of large-size canines).

That mainly means Style of the Wild is simply appropriate for grownup canines, however the Blue Wilderness recipe would even be acceptable for small- or medium-sized puppies (each recipes could be appropriate for senior canines as nicely).

However what about different varieties of dietary data? How do these recipes stack up?

Key Shopping for Issues: Which One Is Finest for YOUR Pup?

Once more, each of those manufacturers produce high-quality canine meals, so don’t stress about this determination an excessive amount of.

Nonetheless, we’ve damaged down a number of the key distinctions under, so as to have one of the best probability of ending up with the best choice in your furry buddy.

The takeaway? Blue Buffalo might be the higher choice for extra conditions, although Style of the Wild is nice for homeowners who need a number of or unique proteins.

Fingers-On Assessment: My Experiences with Blue Buffalo and Style of the Wild

As talked about, I’ve tried each of those pet food manufacturers with my pooches. I’ll share my common ideas and experiences, however first, enable me to introduce my gals:

That’s J.B. on the left and Willow on the precise — a Rottie and Pyr, respectively.

They’re each 8 years previous and weigh 90ish kilos or so.

Whereas they’re each candy with individuals, they don’t get together with one another. So, they stay completely separated lives (it’s robust, however we’ve employed just a few hacks for residing with canines who don’t get alongside).

Bodily, they’re each wholesome.

Principally.

They each have some gentle to average joint points, and Willow has continual ear infections. J.B. is fairly choosy however has a cast-iron intestine; Willow considers all pet food scrumptious however suffers undergo from tummy troubles at instances.

However it was Willow’s ear infections that triggered my want to experiment with different manufacturers.

Meals allergy symptoms are one of many many potential causes some canines have repeated ear points, and I hoped {that a} meals swap would clear issues up. The a number of drugs her vets have tried haven’t actually labored a lot.

Their Unique Meals: Blue Buffalo Life Safety Massive Breed Grownup

I’ve been feeding J.B. Blue Buffalo Life Safety Massive Breed Grownup since she was about 18 months previous (previous to that, I fed her the pet model of the Blue Buffalo method).

I began feeding it to Willow when my spouse and I moved in collectively.

In a nutshell, it checks all the containers I wished it to, together with all the first-tier and a lot of the second-tier standards we advocate homeowners think about when choosing the healthiest pet food.

Listed here are the three most vital questions we usually encourage homeowners think about:

1. Does the meals fulfill the AAFCO necessities in your canine’s life stage? Yup — they’re each large-breed adults.
2. Does your vet agree together with your selection? You betcha.
3. Does the meals handle any particular well being points your canine has? Sure, apart from the potential meals allergy symptoms for Willow. It accommodates probiotics and is fortified with joint-supporting components.

What concerning the second-tier standards we encourage homeowners to think about?

1. Does the model make use of a canine nutritionist? Yup — they’ve a workforce of animal nutritionists, vets, and scientists who develop the model’s recipes.
2. Does the model conduct common security checks? You guess. The model’s meals bear a six-point inspection course of.
3. Is the pet food cooked to remove pathogens? Completely — I wouldn’t even think about feeding my women uncooked proteins.
4. Is the meals made in a western nation? Sure — This Blue Buffalo recipe is cooked up within the US of A.
5. Does a complete protein seem close to the highest of the components checklist?  Yup — deboned rooster is the primary listed ingredient.
6. Does the pet food embody useful dietary supplements? Yeah, within the type of joint-supporting compounds and 5 completely different probiotic strains.
7. Does the meals embody grains? It positive does, together with brown rice, oatmeal, and barley.

The one second-tier standards it doesn’t fulfill is one not many canine meals do, anyway: A few of the components are globally sourced, moderately than being sourced from the U.S.

That’s not best, however I’m not going to lose sleep over it.

After all, it’s additionally vital that your chosen meals suits into your price range.

Blue Buffalo usually has the next value than another mainstream manufacturers, however I’m comfy with the value tag. I’d like to feed my gals a contemporary meals like Ollie or Nom Nom, however that’s simply not practical for our price range, given the amount of meals these gals want.

And there’s yet one more factor we advocate homeowners think about: Does your canine prefer it?

Your canine would need you to take pleasure in your dinner, so it’s solely honest to insist on the reverse.

As talked about, Willow isn’t choosy and seems to like this recipe. J.B. isn’t as enthusiastic, however rooster is her favourite meals and she or he appears to love this kibble sufficient. She does, nevertheless, choose across the LifeSource bits at most meals — there are nearly at all times just a few of those little kibblets left in her bowl.

To reset: I like Blue Buffalo Massive Breed Grownup, however Willow has continual ear issues, that are generally brought on by meals allergy symptoms. That’s the one purpose I even thought-about switching meals.

Selecting a New Meals: Issues I Thought About

One of many methods to assist decide in case your canine could have a meals allergy is by performing a elimination-challenge food plan.

Basically, meaning eradicating most or all widespread canine allergens out of your pup’s food plan. If the signs disappear, you then begin changing them separately. As soon as the signs return, you’ve recognized your canine’s set off.

Now, due to a number of the circumstances surrounding Willow’s signs and our day-to-day life, I wasn’t involved with a number of widespread triggers.

I wasn’t apprehensive about beef, soy, or pork. She’s gone lengthy intervals of time with none of the three, but her ear issues continued.

However I believed it may very well be rooster, milk, cheese, eggs, or wheat.

Sorry, Willow, meaning no extra pizza crusts (her favourite people-food deal with).

🙁

Ideas on the difficulty gathered, I got down to discover a appropriate substitute. A few of the circumstances I used to be most keen on satisfying included:

• I wished a meals with salmon or another fish as the first protein. They each like fish, and this might doubtlessly enable me to get extra omega-3 fatty acids into their diets (which can even assist with the ear points a bit).
• I wished it to be grain-inclusive. We don’t but know if grain-free meals trigger DCM (it could merely be a correlation), however I’m not keen on discovering out with my women. True grain allergy symptoms are uncommon in canines, anyway.
• I wished it to include probiotics and components wealthy in glucosamine and/or chondroitin. As defined, Willow has a delicate tummy they usually each have some joint points. Plus, they’re getting older (unhappy canine proprietor noises).
• I wished a mainstream model, who has the assets and market share to assist scale back the possibilities of security or distribution issues. Issues reveal themselves extra rapidly when tens of millions of different homeowners are feeding the identical meals, and I don’t have to fret as a lot concerning the dreaded out-of-stock icon displaying up on Chewy.
• And most significantly, given all the purpose I used to be contemplating a swap, I wished a meals made with out rooster, eggs, dairy, or wheat.

This may increasingly not look like a very choosy checklist, nevertheless it really whittled down my choices considerably. I used to be just about left with Canidae PURE with Healthful Grains Actual Salmon & Barley and Style of the Wild Historical Stream.

I’m positive both would have been a good selection, however the Canidae choice was a great bit costlier and it didn’t have as many probiotic strains. So, I went with Style of the Wild.

Experimenting with a New Meals: Style of the Wild Historical Stream

As soon as I’d made my selection and acquired the brand new meals, I did what you need to at all times do when switching meals: I made the change step by step.

Sudden meals adjustments can result in ruined carpets, if ya catch my drift. And I didn’t need both lady (particularly poor Willow) having tummy pains or problematic poops.

So, I began by eradicating about 25% of their previous meals and changing it with the brand new meals. A few days later, we have been at a 50-50 combine, and some days after that, we have been feeding the women about 75% new meals. After per week, they have been solely getting the brand new meals.

Making the Change: Blue Buffalo to Style of the Wild

Earlier than going additional, let’s take a minute to have a look at each kibbles.

As you’ll be able to see, they’re fairly related in dimension, however Style of the Wild (on the left) is comprised of round kibblets, whereas Blue Buffalo (on the precise) options vaguely triangle-shapped kibblets. You too can see the small, darkish kibblets within the Blue Buffalo — these are the trademarked LifeSource Bits.

So, how did it go after we modified their meals?

Nicely, Willow made the swap and by no means appeared again.

She devoured it up simply as greedily as she did her previous meals, and her abdomen appeared to take the change in stride. If something, she could digest the Style of the Wild recipe barely higher than the Blue Buffalo recipe.

Sadly, J.B. didn’t share this view.

She actually didn’t appear to love it, and easily refused to eat it on a number of events. It nearly appeared like she was actually choking it down, as she coughed up just a few unchewed kibblets after consuming a number of instances.

Finally, I discovered that the one solution to get her to eat it was to sprinkle a not-insignificant quantity of cheese on prime. However even once I did this, she’d hardly ever end her complete breakfast or dinner.

Sigh.

I’ll say that they each appeared to digest it nicely (when J.B. would really chew it up earlier than swallowing it), and each women had completely regular poops all through the experiment.

I didn’t discover any apparent variations of their joint well being over the course of the trial, nor any variations in issues like power degree or coat well being. I didn’t discover any weight achieve, both, although I didn’t really weigh them.

My Particular Case: Style of the Wild vs Blue Buffalo

So, the meals is working for Wi, however not Jabbs. However what about Willow’s ears? Did it really assist?

As a matter of truth, her ears have appeared to get higher.

Earlier than making the swap, Willow would flap her ears loads, furiously scratch them along with her paws, and sometimes run exterior to rub them on the bottom. She’d even cry when doing this stuff, which was simply heartbreaking for the remainder of the household.

However two months after making the swap, she’s nearly fully freed from ear points!

That’s been an enormous aid for us, and strongly means that she does have an allergy to one of many components I suspected was the perpetrator. And since it seems to be working for her in most different respects, I might go forward and make this her everlasting meals.

Besides…

The brand new meals simply does not work for J.B.

She doesn’t just like the style, and I can’t maintain giving her a metric butt-ton of cheese on a regular basis (although I suppose I might use a great topper or simply some moist meals). I additionally want her to begin harfing up kibblets on the sofa.

So, what am I gonna do?

Actually, I believe I’m going to (step by step) swap Willow again to Blue Buffalo as an experiment.

Lemme ‘splain.

We didn’t simply swap her meals; we additionally stopped giving her any individuals meals containing eggs, wheat, dairy, or rooster.

Any of these issues could also be her allergic set off, however the one one addressed by the meals was the rooster. So, if I swap her again to a meals with rooster, I ought to have the ability to inform whether or not or not that was the set off.

If her ears keep problem-free, then the issue was possible eggs, dairy, or wheat. And because of this we are able to proceed to feed her Blue Buffalo. We’ll simply need to maintain eliminating the problematic individuals meals from her food plan.

Blue Buffalo vs Style of the Wild: FAQ

Nonetheless have lingering questions on these two canine meals? We’ll attempt to assist under, by sharing a number of the commonest issues homeowners wish to know.