Taste of the Wild vs Blue Buffalo: Choosing the Best

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A responsible pet owner is always on the quest for finding the best food their furry friend to munch. The best way to make this decision is often by comparing the different options that are available.

Two favorite food brands that produce healthy nutritious products are Taste of the Wild and Blue Buffalo. The following is going to be a breakdown of Taste of the Wild vs Blue Buffalo food brands.

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How Should You Compare Them?

It’s easy to say that you are going to compare two brands but how do you do this? What makes one product better than the other?

Both of these commercial food brands provide complete diets for your pets and receive rave reviews from pets and their owners. So you need to look at the small differences between the two.

Taste of the Wild vs Blue Buffalo

Before we discuss the manufacturers in detail, here are several characteristics that you should look at:

  • Quality
  • Ingredients: A well-made pet food should be made of healthy ingredients that your pet an efficiently digest, use and absorb.
  • Price
  • Types of products
  • Pets for which it is made
  • Safety of the product
  • Should be approved by AAFCO: Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) sets out rules that pets food should abide by to be healthy and balanced.
  • Nutritional content: A diet must contain the proper nutritional balance for the type, size, and age of your pet.
  • Right calorie content: Per 5 pounds of weight a cat should consume 173.3 kilocalories a day and a dog 175.8 kilocalories.
  • Is it tasty?

You should look at all these factors before choosing between Blue Buffalo or Taste of the Wild. Remember that you should never be hasty when changing your pet’s diet no matter what the new product is. Their stomachs and bodies need time to adjust and adapt so its best to slowly incorporate the food into their diet.

The following YouTube video can help you with switching your pet’s food.

taste of the wild brand

Taste of the Wild promotes their products on the basis that it provides your pet with all the nutritional content that their ancestors would have had access to in the wild. Because of this, their products contain a wide variety of nutrients from multiple sources.

One benefit of their products is that they use protein from a variety of meats including wild boar, bison, salmon and Angus beef. The sources and flavors are unique among pet products. To top it off, all of these meats are hormone and antibiotic free.

In addition to this, Taste of the Wild’s food contains vegetables, fruits, and legumes. These ingredients ensure that you can feed your natural fiber and antioxidants. Their meals also contain minerals, omega acids, and taurine. 

To keep your pet healthy, you want their food to be highly digestible. Taste of the Wild can help you with this. Their products are high in fiber and even come with probiotics and prebiotics to keep their digestive systems functioning optimally! Therefore, their foods help to support animals overall well-being.

The brand has ranges for both cat food and dog food. They even cater to pets of different ages as they have food that is suitable for kittens, adult cats, senior cats and pregnant or nursing cats. For dogs, they have products for puppies, adults, seniors and pregnant or nursing dogs.

If you have a smaller dog, there is no need to worry about them struggling to eat the kibble as Taste of the Wild has food especially for small breed dogs and for large dogs. They differ in the size of the pellets and their calorie content.

Details

You can buy each of their products in a smaller packet which is very convenient as serving sizes vary based on your dog’s size. If you have a dog like a German shepherd, they will eat more than a dog such as a Jack Russel and a bigger bag of food will work better. However, they do not have diets for specific breeds like food that is made especially for Chihuahuas. They only have options for different breed size categories.

Their products are a fantastic option for pets who have issues with allergies or extremely sensitive stomach as they do not use any grains in their recipes. Not all pets react adversely to grains. However, some pets are more susceptible.

Compared to other brands, their pet food is quite high in proteins, fats, and calories. All of these nutrients means that it works exceptionally well for active dogs or cats. These are pets who are busybodies and love running and playing throughout the day. Examples of these are working dogs like Siberian Huskies and traditional farm dogs like Rat Terriers.

So although this can be beneficial, you will want to be careful if you have a more inactive dog breed like a bulldog, to make sure that they don’t gain weight. But if you do so with care, you can feed it to even the most domesticated and tame breeds of dogs.

Although their prices are different for their various products, all of them are decently priced when compared to other brands.

Pros
  • Probiotics and Prebiotics
  • Variety of protein sources
  • Contains fruits and vegetables
  • Products for cats and dogs
  • Grain-free
  • Suitable for various breed size
  • Safe for multiple ages
Cons
  • Doesn’t have a treat range

blue buffalo brand

Blue Buffalo is an excellent alternative to Taste of the Wild. The two products in their commitment to providing quality food that focuses on keeping your pet healthy and happy. Blue Buffalo focuses on using only natural ingredients in their food formulas. Their use of this sets them apart.

The primary protein in their products come from animal sources like chicken, lamb, and turkey. The wide variety of flavors that their foods provide means that you will be able to find something that every pet will love.

Similar to Taste of the Wild, Blue Buffalo Wilderness also uses some plants in the form of vegetables, grains, and fruits. Some of these are blueberries alfalfa and kelp.

The inclusion of all these high-quality ingredients means that you will be able to give your pet a diet that is full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Blue Buffalo’s products are exceptionally high in B and D vitamins. They even contain some probiotics for digestive support.

The food will help you to ensure that your pet grows strong and healthy bones and maintain their joint health as it is made with a variety of nutrients like Yucca Schidigera Extract. In their dried food, all of these supplements are packed into their unique Life source Bits. These Bits are the best features of Blue Buffalo’s products.

Overall, their products are made with more “extra” nutrients than those of Taste of the Wild and will keep your fur friends in tip-top shape.

Details

Like Taste of the Wild, Blue Buffalo makes food for dogs and cats. They also have products that are suitable for puppies, adult dogs, senior dogs, kittens, adult cats, and mature cats. The brand has even more options as it produces food that is suitable for toy, small, standard and large breed dogs. Similar to Taste of the Wild, they do not manufacture foods that are fit for only one specific breed but instead have products for dogs that fall into different size categories.

Their food packs enough energy and nutrients for most dogs. However, most of their products contain less fat and protein than the equivalent Taste of the Wild options. For example, Taste of the Wild’s Appalachian Valley Small Breed Canine Formula contains 32% Crude Protein and 18% Crude Fat. On the other hand, Blue Buffalo’s Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe For Toy Breed Adult Dogs is made with 26% Crude Protein and 15% Crude Fat.

Even more significantly, they don’t sell only kibble and canned food but also treats.

Both of the brands are similarly priced. However, Blue Buffalo’s products are slightly more expensive, but not enough that it doesn’t provide value for money.

Pros
  • Doesn’t contain corn, gluten or soy 
  • Focuses on natural ingredients
  • Includes Probiotics
  • Made with vitamins and minerals
  • Products for cats and dogs
  • Suitable for various breed size
  • Safe for multiple ages
  • Contains fruits and vegetables
Cons
  • Meat sources aren’t hormone on antibiotic free

Taste of the Wild vs Blue Buffalo Final Comparison

Should you choose Blue Buffalo or Taste of the Wild? Is Taste of the Wild or Blue Buffalo better?

The decision can be very tricky to make and should be base on you and your pet’s preferences and needs. Your choice is made more difficult by the fact that the brands are very similar and both have a variety of products and options to choose.

Both the manufacturers, produce food that ensures that your pet eats a balanced diet that will maintain their health and that your pet will love to eat.

Taste of the Wild vs Blue Buffalo table:

Characteristics

Taste of the Wild

Blue Buffalo

Price Category

$

$$

Pets

Foods for dogs and cats

Foods for dogs and cats

Products for ages

Kitten, adult cat, senior cat, pregnant or nursing cats.

Puppy food, adult dog, senior dog, pregnant or nursing dogs.

Kitten, adult cat, senior cat.

Puppy food, adult dog, senior dog.

Breed sizes

Small and Large

Toy, small, standard, large

Pet's activity level

Better for active pets

Better for less active pets

Types of food

Wet, Dry

Wet, Dry, Treats

Uses Hormone and Antibiotic-free Meats

Yes

No

Grain-free

Yes

No

Additional nutrients

Probiotics, prebiotic fiber, antioxidants, minerals, taurine, Omega Acids, DHA

Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, omega acids, taurine, L-carnitine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, DHA, probiotics

AAFCO Approved

Yes

Yes

Best feature

Grain-free

Lifesource bits


Our Opinion

If I had to make a choice, my favorite brand of pet food would be Taste of the Wild. One reason I would choose their products is that it offers similar value for a better price. In addition to this, their food is very well-made and contain multiple bonus nutrients.

All of Taste of the Wild’s products are grain free which can eliminate many potential problems. By leaving out these ingredients, they are fulfilling their commitment to keeping the food as close to dogs ancestral diet as possible. Because of this, it is the ideal choice for dogs that struggle with allergies or sensitive digestive systems. Its grain-free formulas give it a huge edge over other brands and their products. 

To top it all off, the meat that they use is free of antibiotics and hormones.

The manufacturer has ranges for your cat and dog, has dry food and wet food which makes it just so much more convenient to use.

In addition to all of this, their product is packed full of nutrients and therefore provides just the right amount of energy that an active dog needs. It is higher in protein, fats and overall calories that Blue Buffalo. So you should consider this if you have an energetic dog, like a Border Collie or Jack Russell and if you take your dog for daily walks or runs.

What did you think of Taste of the Wild vs Blue Buffalo? Pop your thoughts down in the comments and share the article for the benefit of all your fellow pet owners.

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