Canidae vs Blue Buffalo Dog Food Comparison 2021

Are you on a hunt for dog food of exceptional quality? Then you’ve come to the right place because we are going to compare two companies with a well-established reputation - Canidae vs Blue Buffalo. We are on a quest to find the best feeding option in terms of the ingredient quality, nutritional value, recall history, and price.

Your canine is your heart and soul, so you want to make sure you’ve picked the best diet out of all possible variants within the established budget. So, let’s see which of these two companies will get an edge by comparing things that matter to you.

A promise given by a loving pet parent to his Airedale named Blue to provide only quality dog food lives on in every bowl of Blue Buffalo kibble. This pledge would later start an empire in the pet food industry, helping millions of dogs live happier and longer with a balanced and healthy diet.

Bill Bishop started a company in 2003 with an aim to offer a healthy alternative to pet foods that are filled with corn, wheat, soy, and other fillers for the sake of the family dog named Blue. Their pet was a sort of a hero since he had beaten cancer twice, but his third battle with lymphoma turned out to be fatal.

Understanding that nutrition had a direct impact on the destiny of their family member, Bill made a decision to get a better idea of a healthy pet diet and offer a better solution for those dog owners who do not want to have the same experience with their canines. So, Bill worked with nutritionists and vets to develop natural and healthy recipes that are delicious and beneficial for canines. That’s how Blue Buffalo was born.

In 2018, General Mills, a manufacturer of branded human-grade food, acquired Blue Buffalo.

Is Blue Buffalo better than Canidae? You’ll find an answer to this question shortly. Meanwhile, let’s dive into the investigation of some of Blue's recipes to get a better understanding of this brand. Of course, taking into account that this company offers 7 dog food brands, it would be impossible to cover all of them. But we promise to pick the most popular recipes so we could judge better what pet parents feed their canines with.

Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Lamb and Brown Rice Recipe

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If you adhere to a holistic approach in the canine’s nutrition and believe that all the ingredients in dog food should be natural, this Blue Buffalo formula with lamb and brown rice from the Life Protection series is a great option. This recipe is made of real meat combined with Menhaden fish meal, wholesome grains, and vegetables for balanced daily nutrition. It’s also enhanced with LifeSource Bits, a complex of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals to support the immune system and deliver the optimal amount of nutrients required by the specific life stage. What is more important, it’s free of by-products, corn, soy, wheat, artificial colors, and fillers.

Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe with Red Meat for Small Breeds

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Being specially formulated for small carnivores that have a good appetite for meat, this high-protein recipe with red meat from the Wilderness lineup meets the dietary needs of pets weighing around 20 pounds. This recipe is made of three meat types: lamb, beef, and venison. To enhance the protein level in this formula, the company also adds fish and beef meal and plant protein obtained from peas. If you’ve been looking for a grain-free dog food option, that’s the formula to go with. It doesn’t contain rice, oatmeal, barley, wheat, corn, or other ingredients that might be hard to digest. All in all, this is a perfect recipe to keep the energy of your small canine at a high level.

Blue Buffalo True Solutions Jolly Joints Mobility Support Formula for Adult Dogs

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If you have a large breed dog, you probably know that they tend to develop joint issues early. A special recipe by Blue Buffalo from the True Solutions series is meant to provide your canine with glucosamine and chondroitin to enhance joint health. Along with the blend of minerals and vitamins for strong bones, this formula also contains fish oil for improved mobility support. On top of that, this is a soft and mouthwatering wet recipe made of real chicken, whitefish, chicken liver with functional ingredients like rice, barley, oatmeal, flaxseed, and some more. The only questionable ingredient is carrageenan, which is considered to have a bad impact on dogs.

Blue Buffalo Pros

• Real meat or fish are always the first ingredients
• No corn, wheat, soy in any of the recipes
• Free of by-products or artificial colors
• A variety of product lines to meet different nutritional needs
• There are grain-free formulas along with grain-inclusive

Blue Buffalo Cons

• Is not as affordable as you might want it to be
• Wet recipes include carrageenan

Read our full Blue Buffalo Dog Food Review.

Canidae is a family-operated business with a manufacturing facility in the heart of Texas, in Brownwood. Their mission sounds promising - to deliver goodness to pets, people, and the planet.

Canidae started their business small with small batches of pet food delivered in trucks in 1996. Today, the brand has a state-of-the-art pet food plant and has a great focus on quality control, research, and the development of new recipes.

Canidae has nutritionally-dense recipes that have more calories per cup than other similar brands. What it means for you is that your canine will require less food to feel full, so it’s going to be a significant advantage for your family budget.

One of the perks of this brand is that Canidae uses only wholesome ingredients like farm-grown veggies (carrots, peas, potatoes), cage-free meat (chicken, beef, lamb), and hearty grains (brown rice, barley, oatmeal), so you can rest assured that your pet eats healthily.

To compare Canidae to Blue Buffalo, we’ve got to find out more about Canidae products first. This brand has developed 9 product lines and offers recipes for every dog at any life stage, size, or health condition. Let’s take a look at some of the bestsellers.

Canidae All Life Stages Dry Dog Food for Senior, Less Active Dogs

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If you have a senior dog or a less active furry companion, this recipe is a sound solution. It contains an optimal amount of proteins with diminished levels of fats and carbs to ensure the canine avoids gaining weight due to the lack of physical activity. Chicken meal is featured as the first ingredient, which means that there is no wholesome meat in this recipe. It also includes turkey and lamb meals, which come after brown rice, white rice, rice bran, peas, oatmeal, barley, and millet. It seems that there are too many plants in this formula and too few animal proteins. However, no by-products, corn, wheat, soy, or preservatives were spotted.

Canidae Real Turkey & Vegetables Recipe

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If you’d prefer a more meaty diet for your pet, consider the recipes from the CA line, like this one with turkey and veggies. This recipe starts with real turkey meat as the first ingredient to be a quality source of proteins. Then come turkey meal and chicken meal as a way of enhancing the protein level. Oatmeal and barley deliver carbohydrates to maintain energy levels. According to the website, this recipe is formulated for dogs with moderate activity and offers 30% protein, 16% fat, and 5% fiber for supporting a healthy weight and happy life. It’s also fortified with vitamins and minerals that target all dog’s body parts.

Canidae PURE Grain Free Wet Dog Food with Duck & Turkey

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Does your canine have some food intolerance? The limited ingredient wet food recipe by Canidae (Pure series) might save the day and spare your pet from an upset stomach. If your furry buddy can’t tolerate chicken, beef, lamb, or grains, this is going to be their favorite breakfast or dinner due to the lack of the common allergens and tummy irritants. This formula is made of duck and turkey meat, complemented with turkey liver and peas. Salmon oil nourishes the canine’s skin with fatty acids, ensuring a healthy look. No by-products, wheat, soy, corn, carrageenan, or other preservatives are added to the ingredient list.

Canidae Pros

• A wide selection of formulas that cover different life spans and dog sizes
• Mainly natural and healthy ingredients
• No wheat, soy, by-products, or corn
• There are grain-based and grain-free formulas to choose from

Canidae Cons

• Limited options for canines with special health conditions
• There are recipes without real meat

Read our full Canidae Dog Food Review.

All dogs are different. You canine might be crazy about beef flavor, while your neighbor’s Poodle turns her nose away from the beef recipe and literally gulps in food with chicken. So, there’s no universally perfect formula that would satisfy all dogs in the world. Luckily, dog food companies offer more than one recipe to choose from, so you’ve got to worry no more. You’ll definitely find the recipe your pet will love.

When comparing Merrick vs Blue Buffalo, we came to the conclusion that Blue Buffalo has more products to offer. Please see the chart below and keep on reading because we’ll take a closer look at the variety of dog food series both brands are marketing.

So, we have investigated the general information about both companies and even looked closer at their products, but we still have a lot of work to do. We proceed with the side by side comparison of Blue Buffalo dog food vs Canidae dog food, so let the fun begin and check the chart.

As you see from the comparison chart, Blue Buffalo is a leader by the dog food variety criterion. There are 6 product lines for you to choose from, both for dry and wet dog food categories.

• BLUE Life Protection Formula lineup includes breed- and lifestage-specific recipes with real meat and grains.
• BLUE Wilderness includes high-protein meat-rich formulas that meet the dietary needs of puppies, adult, and senior canines of different sizes.
• BLUE Basics are limited-ingredient foods with a single animal protein source suitable for pets with food allergies and sensitivities.
• BLUE Freedom comprises grain-free formulas with meat as the first ingredient.
• BLUE True Solutions series includes options for canines that require a special diet due to health conditions.
• BLUE Natural Veterinary Diet products are vet-prescribed ones that target a wide range of health issues.

Canidae offers a great assortment of goods, even though the product number is twice smaller.

• The Canidae Sustain series contains recipes made with responsibly sourced proteins and farm-grown vegetables and fruit.
• Canidae CA brand is made of protein-rich foods for every dog, small or big, young or senior.
• There are all-breed and all-life-stages formulas under the brand Canidae for All-Life-Stages that would do great for households with multiple canines.
• Canidae PURE Premium Grain-Free formulas offer balanced limited-ingredient nutrition for pets with food sensitivities.
• You can also find Canidae Grain-Free PURE Petite, limited-ingredient meals specially formulated for small canines.
• If your pet tolerates grains, limited ingredient recipes with wholesome grains are also available in the Canidae PURE lineup.
• Canidae Grain-Free PURE Ancestral Diet products are made of 5-7 meat or fish ingredients accompanied with farm-grown vegetables to mimic the diet of the dog’s ancestors.
• Canidae Under the Sun includes premium-quality recipes without grains and potatoes with single animal proteins combined with a bounty of fruit and vegetables.
• And finally, Canidae’s signature dog food comes in a variety of flavors for healthy dogs with real meat and functional ingredients.

When comparing Blue Buffalo vs Canidae, there’s no getting around the fact that the nutritional value of the recipe you’re going to buy for your pet is crucial. So, let’s see the general nutritional breakdown of the products by these two brands. Please note that these are average figures. The percentages might vary dramatically depending on the recipe or the product line of every brand.

So, according to the nutritional analysis that we carried out, it looks like Blue Buffalo is a winner again, though the difference in the nutrition profiles is minimal. Both companies offer protein-rich product series that contain more animal proteins and fats than average dog food. There are also series with single animal protein sources and product lines that include different types of meats like Canidae Pure vs Blue Buffalo Wilderness.

Of course, you are more concerned about the quality of the nutrients in the foods of these two brands. We should admit that it all depends on the recipe, and you should pay special attention to the ingredient list because both companies have awesome formulas with 80% of animal proteins, and the ones packed with plant-based proteins derived from peas and flaxseeds with a small proportion of meat.

Both companies offer an ocean of flavors to choose from, so it’s hard to define a leader here. Canidae and Blue Buffalo use a variety of meat and fish types to provide pets with diversity in their diet. You can find chicken, turkey, lamb, beef, bison, salmon, venison, pork, duck, trout, and other meaty ingredients. There are also grain-free and grain-based recipes as well as formulas packed with a variety of veggies and fruit.

But we’ve got to define a winner in this Canidae dog food vs Blue Buffalo battle anyway, so let’s tame our inquiring mind with a closer look at the ingredient composition.

All Canidae recipes rely on real meat and meat meal as the core ingredients. There are several plant-based formulas that make an exception, but they are also made based on quality ingredients like peas, barley, oatmeal, wholesome rice, and some veggies. The company doesn’t add any by-products, cheap fillers, artificial colors, or flavors. Only three recipes include controversial ingredients like white rice or caramel color, but on a massive scale, that’s not a big deal. You can always check the ingredient label before making a purchase to avoid these undesirable ingredients. None of the potentially harmful ingredients that are linked to severe diseases are found in Canidae dog food.

Blue Buffalo also uses high-quality ingredients and has real meat or meat meal as the first ingredient. This brand also doesn’t add corn, wheat, soy, or by-products to their formulas but sometimes adds garlic, caramel color, dried tomato pomace, canola oil, which are controversial ingredients. Wet recipes might include carrageenan, which is linked to inflammations in the digestive tract and even cancer.

As you see from the chart below, both Canidae and Blue Buffalo are within the same price range. Their food costs more than average budget-friendly options with fillers, but when you understand that you pay for quality and invest in your dog’s health, you justify every cent.

In general, the price for Canidae and Blue Buffalo food might vary depending on the product series. For example, Canidae Life Stages dry dog food for puppies, adults & seniors compared to Blue Buffalo salmon from the Wilderness series will cost $64 per 44-lb. bag and $54 for 24-lb. bag correspondingly, while other less nutrient-dense options will be available at $50 per 30-lb. bag.

According to FDA reports, Canidae was involved in one recall in May 2012 due to the potential salmonella infection.

Blue Buffalo had far more recalls, which started in April 2007 with a huge recall of cat and dog food due to the melamine contamination resulting from the use of ingredients from China. In October 2010, some packages of kibble were recalled because of potentially increased levels of vitamin D. Two recalls were issued in November 2015 for the reason of salmonella infection and low amounts of propylene glycol. Then in May 2016, one recipe of Blue Buffalo kibble was recalled due to the possible mold. Two more recalls took place in February 2017 as a result of aluminum contamination and some defects with the packaging. And finally, the last registered recall in March 2017 occurred because of elevated levels of naturally occurring beef thyroid hormone.

There’s no way you can go wrong with either of these foods. Both Canidae and Blue Buffalo offer decent high-quality recipes packed with essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. There are formulas that meet the needs of different dogs, small or large, puppies or mature pets, as well as those furry friends that are facing some health issues and have to stick to a special diet. So what dog food is better, Canidae or Blue Buffalo is completely the choice of yours.