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Giving high-quality dog food is important for your dog’s health. You’ll find plenty of dog food options out there, so it may be difficult to pick the right food. Som when choosing food for your pet, you can consider some factors. These include brand history, ingredient quality, cost, and product safety. Also, many pet parents think dogs should eat meats, so grain-free foods are believed to be better for dogs. Canidae and Blue Buffalo are known for their high-quality and balanced food for your dog’s needs. If you have to choose between Canidae vs Blue Buffalo, which one to choose?
Two recommanded dog food from Canidae and Blue Buffalo brand.
- Overall best for all life state: CANIDAE all life stages, premium dry dog food with whole grains
- High recommended dog food from Blue Buffalo brand: Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Natural Adult Dry Dog Food
In this article, we will give you a comparison between Canidae and Blue Buffalo.
So, which one is better between these two dog foods? Before we start, let’s check out the comparison table!
Canidae vs Blue Buffalo Comparison Table
To help you decide which one is the best, here’s the comparison table for Canidae or Blue Buffalo.
| Description | Canidae | Blue Buffalo |
|---|---|---|
| Protein source | Beef, chicken, lamb, duck, bison, salmon, turkey | Chicken, lamb, rabbit, turkey, beef, duck, salmon, trout |
| Vitamin source | Vegetables | Fruits and vegetables |
| Formulas | Puppy, adult, seniors, and weight loss | Basics, life protection, freedom, wilderness, true solutions |
| Nutrition | 30.6% crude protein, 4.7% crude fiber, and 15.1% crude fat | 28.7% crude protein, 7.0% crude fiber, and 14.9% crude fat |
| Availability | Available in nearby pet stores and online | Available in nearby pet stores and online |
| Best suited for | Dogs of all life stages | Dogs with allergies and health issues |
| Recall history | One recall in the past | Some recall in the past |
About Canidae
Canidae is a pet food brand that produces food with formulated ingredients and recipes to bring out the best in pets. The brand offers food in several categories, including wet, dry, and snacks based on size and age. There are also some products with specific recipes, such as grain-free formula. This formula is specifically for dogs with sensitive stomachs.
Canidae was established in 1996 by John Gordon and Scott Whipple. It was a small, independent, family-owned business. Their dog food contains fresh produce from smaller farmers and suppliers.
In 2012, they expanded the business by opening new facilities, the Ethos Plant, in a small town of Brownwood, Texas. The plant has its own testing center to monitor the quality of each formula. Also, they test the products daily.
Unlike any other dog food manufacturers, Canidae produces smaller quantities. But, CANIDAE claims that all of their formulas are vet-formulated for dogs and exceed AAFCO standards.
The ingredients
Canidae offers plenty of nutrition in every bite, including more protein, calories, and nutrients. Besides, the brand uses good quality ingredients, from veggies, hearty grains, and premium proteins. All their formulas use real meat or fish and fresh produce. Also, their food recipes include no wheat, no corn, no soy, and no animal by-product meals.
As you can read in our comparison article between Canidae and Taste of The Wild, the company uses many of its pure and fresh ingredients from the US. These include vegetables and fruits from Texas, fresh fish from the Pacific Northwest, and bison from Wyoming. Mostly they take theirs produces from small and local farms. But, they also outsource some ingredients, like lamb meal from New Zealand and duck meal from France.
Recall history
Canidae has one product recalled in their history back in 2012 before they open a new Ethos facility. It was due to products from the supplier, Diamond Pet Foods, which had the possible presence of Salmonella. They recalled only certain dog foods that were sold in some cities, like New York, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Massachusetts.
Formulas
When we compare Canidae vs Blue Buffalo, Canidae offers more specific formulas for different needs and ages, including puppies, adults, and senior dogs. Also, they have an All Life Stages line, which is perfect if you have more than one dog.
Canidae offers several formulas, including:
- Puppy formulas
It’s the Canidae formula for puppies with nutrition for growing pups. The product has no fillers or artificial ingredients. Canidae Pure Real Chicken Puppy is one of the best dog food for bulldogs.
- Adult formulas
Another formula from Canidae is for adult dogs with grain-free ingredients and no fillers. There are no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.
- Senior formulas
When your dog begins to age, their food may need nutritional change. So, it’s important to give the right food for their needs. It’s better to give your dog a senior formula. Canidae offers a grain-free ingredient for your senior dog.
- Weight loss formulas
If your dog looks like having extra pounds, you may need to change into dog food with restrictive calories. Canidae has a weight loss formula to help your dog shed some extra weight.
Nutrition
Overall, Canidae has quite a balanced nutrition. Their products provide plenty of fat and protein that are important for dogs. Some of them are made to help your dog feel full, like Canidae Pure Grain-Free Salmon & Sweet Potato.
Taste
Canidae products are nutritionally rich with many different meat meals, which stimulate flavor and eating satisfaction.
Best for
Canidae emphasis the food formulation for dogs of all life stages. It’s best for active dogs in their prime lives. But, dogs with poor digestion, stomach sensitivities, and allergies have limited choices. It’s because the significant grains in their formulas can’t accommodate dogs with health issues.
Where to buy
Both Canidae and Blue Buffalo dog foods are available at pet food stores near you and online stores.
About Blue Buffalo
Blue Buffalo is one of the dog food premium brands that offer formulas for different dogs based on age and size. There are options for the puppy, adult, and senior age. Blue Buffalo was started by Jackie and Bill Bishop in 2003.
They started the company after their dog experienced a health problem. With the motto ‘Love them like family, feed them like family, they want to provide dog food with the natural ingredients to boost the dog’s immune system.
Ingredients
Since it was started, Blue Buffalo uses high-quality natural ingredients with real meat first and no poultry by-product meals. Besides, their products don’t contain any ingredients that trigger dog allergies, like wheat, corn, or soy.
Blue Buffalo includes main ingredients, such as chicken, lamb, rabbit, turkey, duck, beef, salmon, and trout as a protein source. Also, they add a variety of fruits, vegetables, probiotics, dry tomato pomace, and enzymes. Recognizable fats like chicken fat as a source of fatty acids are also included. What’s more, Blue Buffalo offers several flavors in their dog food. This is one of the reasons why it’s one of the best even when we compare Blue Buffalo to Royal Canin or even Blue Buffalo to Purina Pro Plan.
Recall history
Both Canidae and Blue Buffalo have a recall history. Blue Buffalo product line has been recalled several times from 2007 until 2017. One of the recalls happened in 2010. It was when Michigan State University researchers found several dogs that were fed Blue Buffalo Wilderness Chicken Recipe had a high level of vitamin D in their blood. However, the company’s action to recall the product shows that they care about pets.
Formulas
Blue Buffalo offers their products in dry kibble, canned form, and treats. There are five different formulas for Blue Buffalo dog food products. Their different formulas include:
- Basics
For dogs with allergies or food sensitiveness, the company has a Blue Buffalo Basics line. The ingredients consist of simple protein like turkey, lamb, salmon, and duck. Also, the formula includes potatoes. Chicken is not included because it’s thought to trigger food sensitivities.
- Life Protection
Blue Buffalo Life Protection has meat-first recipes for the main formula. It also includes brown rice. These recipes are good for enhancing a dog’s immune system, muscle development, and health. You’ll find wet and dry options for dogs of all ages and sizes. The life protection formula is recommended for gassy dogs and small puppies.
- Freedom
Blue Buffalo also has a Freedom line, dog food with grain-free, chicken, and lamb recipes for dogs of all ages. This line is available in dry food, which is recommended for dogs of all sizes. There’s also wet food that is suitable for smaller dogs and toy breeds.
- Wilderness
The Blue Buffalo Wilderness products are rich in meat protein. Also, they’re grain-free, which accommodates dogs of all ages and sizes. The ingredients include chicken, salmon, and duck. It’s available in wet and dry food.
- True Solutions
For dogs having health issues or diseases, Blue Buffalo has True Solutions. This formula is available in wet and dry form. Some formulas focus on adult dogs and senior dogs. Also, they have some options focus on skincare, weight loss, digestive care, and mobility.
Nutrition
Blue Buffalo products provide balanced nutrition, including fat, calories from carbohydrates, and protein. But, Blue Buffalo dog food’s fat and protein levels are not high as Canidae’s.
Taste
Blue Buffaloe products mainly have chicken and chicken meals that provide flavorful poultry proteins. However, many dogs don’t enjoy the flavor of Blue Buffalo LifeSource Bits with antioxidants.
Best for
Blue Buffalo products with grain-free ingredients make them an ideal choice for dogs with allergies. Also, the calorie-dense and nutrient are good for adults that have moderate to high activities.
Where to buy
You can get Blue Buffalo dog foods at the nearest pet food stores and online stores. See some of our top picks from Blue Buffalo here.
Conclusion
In general, both Canidae and Blue Buffalo are recommended since both brands offer everything your dog needs. However, Canidae provides better ingredient quality and higher protein and fat. On the other hand, Blue Buffalo offers more varied selections that are best suited for dogs with poor digestion, allergies, or stomach and skin problems. In terms of company track records, Canidae is better since it has been recalled only once in the past. We hope this comparison helps you to get some insight into Canidae vs Blue Buffalo.
