Blue Buffalo Dog Food Reviews

Blue Buffalo has 10 different product lines. There are 5 lines of dry dog foods with 64 recipes, and 5 lines of canned dog foods with 73 recipes. The dry foods are ultra processed and their scores according to our evaluation criteria are considered high risk to very high risk. The canned foods are a little less processed but still have foods with scores that are considered moderate risk to high risk. Processing of dry and canned foods involves several stages of heating that causes a loss of nutrients and results in lower scores.

Blue Buffalo states that it doesn’t include wheat, corn or soy in its recipes. However, that does not mean they have low carbohydrates. In fact, most recipes include barley, oats, potatoes, peas, barley and rice. Average carbohydrates as calculated within these 10 lines ranged from 22 to 44%. Canned foods generally have lower carbohydrates but several canned lines are much higher than we’d like to see. Blue Wilderness canned had an average of 13.9% carbohydrates but many of those recipes still had carbs above 25% which is quite high for a canned food.

There are similar concerns for safety and quality of both canned and dry recipes. 

The website states that its recipes contain fruits and vegetables, but other than starches like potatoes and peas that are high on the list, the cranberries and blueberries listed are glam ingredients located so low on the list (below the salt on the ingredient list) that they provide negligible nutritional benefit. They describe their vitamins and minerals as “natural” but that is a marketing term that has no legal meaning under pet food regulatory standards. So all of these foods lose quality points for including excessive amounts of added vitamins and minerals rather than relying on the ingredients for nutrients. Many of the foods also have added amino acids, which indicates there’s less animal protein and more plant protein in the recipes.

Other quality concerns include the use of powdered cellulose, plant protein and unnamed fish oil. Cellulose is an insoluble fiber made from wood pulp and is the least expensive and least functional form of fiber. Plant-based protein sources are the least expensive substitute for quality animal protein. Using an unspecified fish is also a less expensive and lower quality  source of protein or fat. You want to see beef, salmon or chicken, not animal, fish or poultry. 

When it comes to ingredient safety, all lines include ingredients known to have high pesticide or herbicide residues, and some known to be genetically modified. These are important safety concerns, especially when they appear in the top 5 on the ingredient list, meaning they’re included in higher amounts. Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers post a significant health risk to plants, animals and soils. GMO foods have limited safety studies and they lack nutrients compared to non GMO foods. 

Other safety concerns are the use of carrageenan which has been linked to intestinal inflammation and other negative health effects. Natural flavor is used and that’s a concern as it’s often low quality animal digest or MSG. Rice is also a concern as it can contain arsenic, which is linked to chronic health issues.

Blue Buffalo doesn’t state whether fish or fish oil is from farmed or wild caught sources. Wild caught fish is more nutritious and has a better fatty acid balance providing healthy omega-3s. 

Blue Buffalo does show the minimum levels of omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids in their recipes but they do not provide the omega-6:omega-3 ratio. That’s a concern because omega-6 fats are pro-inflammatory and AAFCO allows a very high ratio of 30:1. 

The average score of Blue Buffalo foods and each sub-brand is listed below. Click on any line to view the individual foods and scores.