Our product review for today features an awesome weight-loss dog food, the Blue Buffalo High Protein Grain Free Adult Dry Dog Food made by Blue Buffalo.
Blue Buffalo is one of the leading brands in pet food manufacturing. Starting out as a research center that looks into cancer, this company is named after the owners’ late pooch who died of cancer.
They found out (a father and his two sons) from their vet that their pooch (Blue) had cancer because of what she had been eating over time. Apparently, a lot of dog food out there that are produced with synthetic and chemicalized materials cause cancer.
That is why the owners of this company reverted to an all-natural diet when making their dog food. A natural dog food diet ensures that your dog only takes in what is necessary for him.
Table of Contents
What Type Of Dog Can Use The Blue Buffalo High Protein Grain Free Adult Dry Dog Food?
Any type of adult dog. You don’t want to give this to puppies as growing pups require a whole different set of nutrients.
Both small breeds and big breeds can take this food comfortably. This is because this dry dog food is cut into small pieces that make it easy for the small dogs to chew on.
This is made of chicken so a whole lot of dogs love it. However, if your dog belongs to the minority of dogs who are allergic to chicken, do not buy this.
If your dog has a history of medical conditions or is currently showing symptoms of any, please take permission from your vet before feeding him this.
What Are The Main Ingredients Of The Blue Buffalo High Protein Grain Free Adult Dry Dog Food?
Because this is “nature’s evolutionary diet”, the main ingredients are meats. Deboned chicken, chicken meal and fish meal.
But there are also other things placed in this food to make sure that it caters for all your dog’s dietary needs.
However, we’ll be discussing the main ingredients below:
1. Chicken
Chicken is the most popular poultry in the world, and for good reason. It tastes really good. Yes, it has a lot of health benefits and great nutrients but if that’s all we wanted in food, we would be eating medicine.
Chicken tastes really good and that is why both humans and dogs alike, love it so much. Just check the queue at the closest KFC to you, lol.
However, we know that you wouldn’t buy dog food simply because it tastes good. Food needs to taste good but it also has to be beneficial to the health of the consumer.
With that in mind, we bring you a list of why chicken is good for your dog.
Why Is Chicken Good For Dogs?
i. It Is A Natural Source Of High-Quality Protein
Chicken is a great source of high-quality animal protein. Proteins are contained in the cells of your dog. This in turn means that for growth and development to occur, those cells need to be fed more protein.
Aside from growth and development, protein found in chicken helps to boost your dog’s immune system. Now, if your dog’s immune system is weak, he will be susceptible to a lot of diseases and infections.
However, with the boost gotten from high-quality protein, your dog’s immune system will be rock solid. Which means that it will readily fight off little diseases like “common cold”, and so on.
Finally, if your dog is trying to lose weight, his diet has to be low in fat and low in carbs. This in turn means that it has to be high in protein. And that is just what chicken brings to the table.
ii. Fats And Oil
Just like we’ve said earlier, fats are more advised in a weight-loss diet than carbs. This is simply because fats bring a whole lot more to the table than just energy.
Yes, an overweight dog is a result of excessive intake of fats but that doesn’t mean that fats are a bad thing. If taken in small portions, fats can do wonders to the body of your dog.
Do you envy the healthy, shiny looking skin and fur of that dog at the park? Well, his skin is like that because he takes in fats.
For your dog to have that shiny looking and healthy skin, there needs to be a balance of omega 3 and 6 fatty acids in his body. Chicken provides this healthy balance that you need.
This balance also ensures that there isn’t excess fat in your dog which would be detrimental to his weight-loss journey.
These fatty acids also carry huge benefits for the heart and cardiovascular muscles. They also help to lower the cholesterol level in the blood. This helps in the prevention of various heart diseases.
2. Chicken Meal
Aside having actual chicken meat, this food also has chicken meal as one of its main ingredients.
What Is Chicken Meal?
Chicken meal is basically dry rendered chicken. It is made from the combination of chicken skin or flesh and chicken bone (not necessarily)(source).
It is gotten from the carcasses of chicken. However, it is devoid of the carcass’s feathers, feet, heads and insides. Basically, it is called a meal because it has been grounded and therefore reduced in size.
What Is The Difference Between Chicken And Chicken Meal?
We know you might be asking. The basic difference between the both of them is that chicken, as used in dog food, is simply ground chicken while chicken meal is ground chicken that has been de-moisturized. This may or may not include the bone but is typically skin and flesh.
Chicken contains 70% water, 18% protein and 5% fat. Chicken meal has been dried so the moisture content has been reduced to 10%. This increases the protein content to 65% and fat level to 12%.
Chicken meal is found in a lot of dog food because it is a lot healthier. However, because this is weight-loss dog food, chicken meal is put in small quantities because of its high percentage of fats.
3. Fish Meal
Just like chicken meal, fish meal is simply de-moisturized fish. This also means that it contains a lot more protein as well as other nutrients.
While it is obviously better to feed your dog a whole fish rather than a rendered one, it is also important to note that this isn’t the whole meal but just an ingredient.
If the whole meal was made of fish meal, it wouldn’t be very healthy. However, because this is found in little quantities inside a chicken meal, it serves as an additional source of protein.
This is a high-protein low-fat, weight-loss diet. So you can understand why having chicken, as well as chicken meal and fish meal as sources of protein, are being mentioned.
4. LifeSource Bits
If you’re familiar with Blue Buffalo, we’re sure that you would’ve come across this ingredient a lot of times. LifeSource Bits is Blue Buffalo’s secret ingredient that comes with most of their products.
It is a combination of essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. All these are selected and vetted by vets and animal nutritionists.
They support the immune system, help your dog with all your dog’s life stage requirements and helps maintain a healthy oxidative balance.
How Much Does The Blue Buffalo High Protein Grain Free Adult Dry Dog Food Weigh?
This food comes in three different sizes:
- Small bag- 4.5lbs.
- Medium bag- 11lbs.
- Large bag- 24lbs.
Obviously, the bigger the bag, the more expensive it would be. However, in the long run, a bigger bag is a lot more economical. That’s if you need a big bag.
If it’s your first time buying from this brand, we advise that you purchase a smaller bag. This would help you judge for yourself whether they’re the brand for you or not.
Also, buy a small bag if you have a small dog or a big dog that’s on a small kibble diet. Whatever it is, make sure that none of the kibble goes to waste.
You also have to take note that once this bag is opened, it cannot be closed. That means if you’re buying a bigger bag, you should have a dog storage bin at hand.
Pros Of The Blue Buffalo High Protein Grain Free Adult Dry Dog Food
1. It Is “Nature’s Evolutionary Diet”
The biggest reason to love this food is the fact that it is nature’s evolutionary diet. This means that it was made with your pup’s canine ancestry in mind.
A lot of kibbles made today are so “domesticated” that most dogs don’t enjoy them. Have you ever been away from home for so long that you start missing food from your home place? That’s exactly how our dogs feel sometimes.
This is the same reason some dog parents resorted to feeding their dogs’ raw diets. If you do not love that idea, or simply don’t have time to buy every raw meal, this food is something close to raw.
2. Things Not Present
The other huge pro to this food is the list of the many things not included to make it.
- No carbs.
- No animal by-products.
- Not even a single artificial flavor or preservative.
Cons
One problem a lot of customers found with this is that their dogs simply would not eat their LifeSource Bits. They said that the dogs eat them and just spit them all over the house.
Blue Buffalo presents its LifeSource bits as a source of extra vitamins and minerals. That’s why a lot of customers who bought this are concerned that their dog isn’t keeping it in.
Could it be the taste? Who knows?
Alternative Options To The Blue Buffalo High Protein Grain Free Adult Dry Dog Food
Wet Dog Food Alternative
Blue Buffalo High Protein Natural Adult Wet Dog Food —
If your dog does not like dry dog food, this is a great alternative. It is almost the same as the product in review because it does not feature carbs as it’s main ingredients. It is also a high protein “nature’s evolutionary diet”.
The only difference between both is that this is made with both turkey and chicken unlike the dry food that’s made with just chicken. We also think that this mix of turkey and chicken is to help it taste better.
If you have enough cash, you can pick up both to spice things up for your dog.
Diet Alternative Containing Carbs
Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Natural Adult Dry Dog Food —
If your vet has advised that a little carbs should be added to your dog’s diet then you should get this. It features a life protection formula so you can rest assured that your pet’s weight is in the right hands, or kibble.
The carbs in this meal is gotten from brown rice which is way healthier than white rice. Also, brown rice is easily digestible by your pup, unlike a lot of other grains out there.
Dog Treats
Blue Wilderness Grain Free Biscuits Dog Treats —
Are you looking for some treats instead? Get the Blue Wilderness Grain Free Biscuits Dog Treats. Unlike a lot of other treats out there, this are some healthy biscuits.
After a long day of hard-work and exercise, your dog sure deserves a treat. But you’re worried, won’t that just bring back all the calories he just lost? Well, we assure you that this won’t.
Quick Comparison Table
Blue Buffalo High Protein Grain Free Adult Dry Dog Food
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Blue Buffalo High Protein Natural Adult Wet Dog Food
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Blu Buffalo Life Protection Formula Natural Adult Dry Dog Food
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Blue Wilderness Grain Free Biscuits Dog Treats
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| Main ingredients | Chicken | Turkey and chicken | Chicken and brown rice | Duck |
| Packaging | 4.5lbs, 11lbs and 24lbs bags | 5.5oz can, 12.5oz can | 4lbs, 6lbs, 15lbs, 24lbs bags | 8 oz, 10oz, 24oz, 8oz(X6), 10oz(X6) bags |
| Dog food type | Dry dog food | Wet dog food | Dry dog food | Dog treat |
What Do People Think About The Blue Buffalo High Protein Grain Free Adult Dry Dog Food?
Well, a lot of people love the fact that that it makes their dogs feel more in touch with nature. Most dog parents love to engage their dogs in similar activities to what they would’ve done in the wild, things like hunting, playing fetch, and so on.
They do this because they do not want their pups to lose touch with nature. This meal only brings your dog that one step closer to feeling one with nature.
Our Take
It’s a lovely brand, it’s a lovely product. If you’re a first-time buyer, try with a smaller bag and we’re sure you’ll grow to love this brand just like we have.
Just like we always say, visit your vet before choosing dog food for your pup. This is even more important if your dog has a history of medical conditions.
Excited about this product?
