Blue Buffalo Dog Food (Recalls, Reviews, Ingredients, And More)

Blue Buffalo dog food is a product of the Blue Buffalo Company, a company founded in 2002 by Bill and Jackie Bishop.

Blue Buffalo Company is headquartered in the U.S.A at Wilton, Connecticut, and is known to manufacture dog food, cat food and pet snacks alike.

Before we get into the details of everything Blue Buffalo dog food related, here's a list of our top 5 favorite Blue Buffalo dog food options and varieties of today.

Our Top 5 Picks Of Blue Buffalo Formulas (Updated For 2019)

Top Pick: Blue Buffalo Adult - Lamb & Brown Rice
Pick #2: Blue Buffalo Grain Free Salmon Recipe
Pick #3: Blue Buffalo Freedom Adult Chicken Recipe
Pick #4: Blue Buffalo Adult Dog Turkey & Potato
Pick #5: Blue Buffalo BLUE Puppy Chicken & Brown Rice

*Note: The links in the table above, as well as several links in the remainder of the article below, will take you to over to Amazon.com where you can find out more information about the products, such as current prices and customer reviews.

Introduction To Blue Buffalo Puppy Food

One of the most important concepts Blue Buffalo always try to get across when marketing their products is their belief in completely natural dog food products.

With that being said, The Blue Buffalo Company don't always manufacture their dog food on their own.

They come up with the formulas and choose the ingredients they want to go in their dog food, and outsource the manufacturing process to a select few food production companies, such as:

• CJ Foods
• Ainsworth
• ProPet
• Triple T Foods
• Tuffy’s
• ANI/Vita-Line

Here are Blue Buffalo's dog food varieties as of this writing:

• Blue Buffalo Wilderness Dog Food
• Blue Buffalo Life Protection Dog Food
• Blue Buffalo Basics Dog Food
• Blue Buffalo Freedom Dog Food
• Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipes
• Blue Buffalo Divine Delights
• Blue Buffalo BLUE Chunky Stew
• Blue Buffalo treats for cats and dogs

Blue Buffalo Dog Food Reviews

Even though it's a very good thing to see meat in the #1 ingredient spot in any dog food, it's widely known that real meat is mostly made up of water and loses the majority of its size and weight (hence protein content as well) when cooked.

But, with that being said, real meat is directly followed by meat meal which is #2 on the ingredients list, which means that this is more than made up for because meat meal is concentrated in protein about 3 times more than real meat.

So, it evens out and your canine ends up getting all the protein they need in their diet and more.

Blue Wilderness Dog Food

Blue Buffalo has many different formulas and varieties of dog food under its belt to support dogs in different life stages and those of different sizes, but in today's article we'll be focusing on its Blue Buffalo Wilderness Grain Free Dry Dog Food product.

First off, let's have a quick look at the ingredients list this food has to offer.

Ingredients: Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Peas, Tapioca Starch, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Tomato Pomace (source of Lycopene), Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg, Potatoes, Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Alfalfa Meal, Potato Starch, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Turmeric, Oil of Rosemary, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Niacin (Vitamin B3), d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Choline Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Salt, Caramel, Potassium Chloride, Dried Yeast (source of Saccharomyces cerevisiae), Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation product, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product.

As we said in the section above, the first ingredient on the list of this dog food is de-boned chicken, which is an excellent source of protein for your pup's diet. However, it's very well known that raw chicken (just like any other raw meat) is mostly made up of water and will lose the majority of its size and weight (and protein content) after cooking.

However, this is more than offset by the presence of chicken meal and turkey meal as the #2 and #3 ingredients on the list of this dog food, as meat meal contains almost 3 times more protein than raw meat (which in this case is de-boned chicken).

Speaking about protein sources, we especially like the inclusion of dried egg, as eggs are an excellent source of protein, very easy on the digestive system of dogs to process and are full of nutrients for our little (or humongous, depends on what you have at home!) ones.

This food also includes quality sources of carbohydrates, such as peas and tapioca starch.

However, certain controversial ingredients such as tomato pomace, which some people argue is nothing but useless filler in dog food products, are included in the list of ingredients (note that not enough tomato pomace is included in this dog food to warrant any worry for negative health effects).

There's also the inclusion of potato on the ingredients list, and we would have preferred it had it been replaced by sweet-potatoes, which are much higher in quality when it comes to carbohydrate sources.

As for fat sources, this dog food has chicken fat (which is a result of chicken rendering and an excellent source for Omega-6 essential fatty acids) and flaxseed (an excellent source of Omega-3 essential fatty acids).

One last thing we'd like to comment about when it comes to the ingredient list of this dog food is the inclusion of caramel.

While the amounts of caramel found here are really low and not enough to make a negative health impact on canines, we would have preferred had caramel not been used as an ingredient, due to the controversy surrounding it as a natural coloring agent.

Even though this natural coloring agent is FDA-approved, its only use is to add a golden-brown color to your dog's food, and it doesn't really matter (from your pup's point of view) what color their food is.

Check out this video to learn more about Blue Wilderness!

Blue Buffalo Dog Food Recalls

Before we discuss Blue Buffalo's history with recalls, please note that we are always actively monitoring for any future possible recalls that Blue Buffalo dog food encounters.

We've piled up a list for you to check out below that lists all the past recalls Blue Buffalo dog food has been involved in so far.

2007

Blue Buffalo dog food encountered its first ever recall back in 2007, where the Blue Buffalo Health Bars Baked With Apples & Yogurt Dog Treats were recalled because of "ingredient mishandling".

All of the following Blue Buffalo products were recalled as well for the potential of Melamine presence:

• Blue Buffalo BLUE dog food cans
• Blue Buffalo BLUE Spa Select cat food cans
• Blue Buffalo BLUE dog treats
• Blue Buffalo Spa Select Kitten dry food

2010

In October of 2010, Blue Buffalo dog food was accused of making a whole host of dogs across the U.S. ill.

Some sick dogs that had all been fed Blue Buffalo food had some tests carried out on them at the Michigan State University, where it was discovered that all their systems had excessive vitamin D levels.

It was later confirmed that 3 recipes from Blue Buffalo dog food had very excessive amounts of vitamin D in them, which were:

• BLUE Wilderness Chicken flavor dry dog food
• Blue Basics Limited Ingredient Formula Salmon and Potato Recipe dry dog food
• Blue Life Protection Formula Natural Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Large Breed Adult dog food

All dog food bags from the aforementioned recipes/formulas were recalled at that time.

2015

In November of 2015, Blue Buffalo recalled some of their "2 oz. pouches of Blue Kitty Yums Tasty Chicken Recipe cat treats" products because some of these products were believed to contain certain levels of propylene glycol, which the FDA clearly labels as unacceptable when it comes to cat treats. (This may not be related to dogs, we know, but we thought we should throw this out there for anyone looking for the recall history of the Blue Buffalo Company).

A few weeks later, Blue Buffalo recalled one specific lot of their "Cub Size Wilderness Wild Chews Bones" because of potential Salmonella contamination.

2017

In March of 2017, Blue Buffalo recalled some of their 12.5 oz cans of "BLUE Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe Red Meat Dinner Wet Food for Adult Dogs" products because some of these products were believed to contain certain elevated levels of naturally occurring beef thyroid hormones.

The FDA stated that "dogs ingesting high levels of beef thyroid hormones may exhibit symptoms such as increased thirst and urination, weight loss, increased heart rate and restlessness. These symptoms may resolve when the use of the impacted food is discontinued. However, with prolonged consumption these symptoms may increase in severity and may include vomiting, diarrhea, and rapid or difficulty breathing. Should these symptoms occur, contact your veterinarian immediately."

Where Can I Buy Blue Buffalo Dog Food?

If you're adamant on getting Blue Buffalo food for your Fido, there are a number of places both online and offline you can visit that sell this brand.

Take a look at this store locator that's found on Blue Buffalo's website, where you can either search for an offline store where you can physically visit and get a Blue Buffalo dog food bag, or an online retailer that'll ship the bag right to where you're at.

Or, you can have a look at the currently available Blue Buffalo dog food formula options and varieties over at Amazon.com.

The following list covers the top 5 Blue Buffalo dog food formulas and varieties that we rate highest today.

Top 5 Blue Buffalo Dog Food Formulas Of Today (Updated For 2019)

Top Pick: Blue Buffalo Adult - Lamb & Brown Rice
Pick #2: Blue Buffalo Grain Free Salmon Recipe
Pick #3: Blue Buffalo Freedom Adult Chicken Recipe
Pick #4: Blue Buffalo Adult Dog Turkey & Potato
Pick #5: Blue Buffalo BLUE Puppy Chicken & Brown Rice

Conclusion

All in all, Blue Buffalo dog food is a choice that a large percentage of dog owners trust and are very happy with, obviously because they're seeing good results when it comes to their furry buddies.

Aside from the recall issues Blue Buffalo has been involved in over the years (and the fears they raised at that time), you'll rarely hear about someone claiming that their dog got really sick after eating Blue Buffalo dog food.

The most seems to be some reports about allergic reactions here and there, which are mainly a result of dogs with sensitive stomachs that should have a special diet designed just for them and the existence of a few grains and certain types of proteins that are found in limited quantity in some of Blue Buffalo's dog food options.