BLUE WILDERNESS CANNED DOG FOOD Review

With a score of 6.1, this is considered a moderate risk dog food. It’s Blue Buffalo’s second highest scoring line with 24 recipes that average 44% protein and 13.9% carbohydrate as calculated on a dry matter basis (for comparison with dry foods). 

These recipes have the lowest average carbohydrates of all Blue Buffalo foods and don’t lose quality points for carbs. Blue Buffalo states that they don’t include corn, wheat or soy, and even offer grain-free options. However, they do include peas and potatoes in the Blue Wilderness Wet recipes, so they aren’t starch- or carb-free. 

These recipes include added vitamins and minerals. It’s preferred that vitamins and minerals come from whole food sources that include the full spectrum of cofactors, which makes them safe and bioavailable. While a couple of added vitamins and minerals are acceptable, five or more implies the food is of poor nutritional value. 

Another quality concern is the use of an unnamed fish oil. Unnamed protein sources are of much lower quality, especially meals, which are typically from rendered waste. You want to see beef, salmon or chicken, not animal, fish or poultry.  

Sunflower oil is a highly processed seed oil that’s used, and it can be inflammatory. 

Canned dog foods are highly processed so they lose points for safety. There are several stages of heating in the processing of canned foods. This causes major losses in some active enzymes, vitamins, amino acids and phytonutrients.  

Additional safety concerns are for the use of ingredients like peas, oatmeal, barley and potatoes that are known to contain higher pesticide/herbicide residues. Some of these are also found in the top 5 ingredients. Potatoes are a known GMO ingredient. 

Natural flavor is also used. This is often animal digest or MSG, both low quality ingredients with limited safety studies. Rice is also an ingredient of concern as it contains arsenic which is linked to chronic health issues. Carrageenan is used as a thickener. It’s been linked to intestinal inflammation and other negative health effects.  

It’s also worth noting that this line contains sodium selenite as a source of selenium. Dogs need selenium, and it’s usually added in very small amounts. However some research suggests that sodium selenite may be associated with potential toxicity, so selenium yeast is the preferred form of this mineral.

There is also ingredient splitting in these recipes. That’s the practice of splitting ingredients into subcategories to make them appear lower on the list. This can also move more desirable protein ingredients higher. 

Wild salmon is listed in one of the recipes but it’s not stated whether other fish or fish oil is from farmed or wild caught fish. Wild caught fish is more nutritious and has a better fatty acid balance providing healthy omega-3s.

Finally, Blue Buffalo doesn’t provide the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. This is important to know since diets rich in omega-6 fats can cause chronic inflammation and disease, and AAFCO allows a very high ratio of 30:1.