Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe Dog Food Review (Canned)

Mike Sagman  Karan French

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Mike Sagman
Mike Sagman

Mike Sagman

Founder

Dr Mike Sagman is the creator of the Dog Food Advisor. He founded the website in 2008, after his unquestioning trust in commercial dog food led to the tragic death of his dog Penny.

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Karan French
Karan French

Karan French

Senior Researcher

Karan is a senior researcher at the Dog Food Advisor, working closely with our in-house pet nutritionist, Laura Ward, to give pet parents all the information they need to find the best food for their dog.

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Updated: May 1, 2024

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Laura Ward

Laura Ward

Pet Nutritionist

Laura studied BSc (Hons) Animal Science with an accreditation in Nutrition at the University of Nottingham, before working for eight years in the pet food and nutrition industry.

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Laura Ward

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Rating:
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Which Blue Buffalo Wilderness Recipes Get Our Best Ratings?

Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe canned dog food receives the Advisor’s second-highest tier rating of 4 stars.

The Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe product line includes the 3 grain-free canned dog foods listed below.

Each recipe includes its AAFCO nutrient profile when available… Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Product Rating AAFCO
Blue Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe Red Meat Dinner For Puppies 5 G
Blue Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe Red Meat Dinner for Adult Dogs 4 M
Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe Red Meat Dinner for Senior Dogs 3 M

Recipe and Label Analysis

Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe Adult Red Meat Dinner was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Label and nutrient data below are calculated using dry matter basis.


Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe Adult Red Meat Dinner

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

38.6%

Protein

29.5%

Fat

23.9%

CarbsCarbohydrates

Beef, turkey, beef broth, lamb, potatoes, pea protein, flaxseed, carrageenan, cassia gum, guar gum, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, zinc amino acid chelate, iron amino acid chelate, vitamin E supplement, copper amino acid chelate, manganese amino acid chelate, sodium selenite, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), cobalt amino acid chelate, niacin supplement (vitamin B3), calcium pantothenate (vitamin B5), vitamin A supplement, riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), biotin (vitamin B7), vitamin B12 supplement, potassium iodide, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid (vitamin B9)


Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 1.5%

Red denotes any controversial items

Estimated Nutrient Content
Method Protein Fat Carbs
Guaranteed Analysis 9% 7% NA
Dry Matter Basis 39% 30% 24%
Calorie Weighted Basis 29% 53% 18%

Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is beef. Beef is defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.1

The second ingredient is turkey. Turkey is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of turkey”.2

Both beef and turkey are naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The third ingredient is beef broth. Broths are of only modest nutritional value. Yet because they add both flavor and moisture to a dog food, they are a common component in many canned products.

The fourth ingredient is lamb, another quality addition.

The fifth ingredient includes potatoes. Potatoes can be considered a gluten-free source of digestible carbohydrates. Yet with the exception of perhaps their caloric content, potatoes are of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

The sixth ingredient is pea protein, what remains of a pea after removing the starchy part of the vegetable.

Even though it contains over 80% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.

And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

The seventh ingredient is flaxseed, one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.

However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

The eighth ingredient is carrageenan, a gelatin-like thickening agent extracted from seaweed. Although carrageenan has been used as a food additive for hundreds of years, there appears to be some recent controversy regarding its long term biological safety.

The article, The Carrageenan Controversy, published in Scientific American, does a good job of addressing this topic.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this Blue Buffalo product.

With 2 notable exceptions

First, this food includes chelated minerals, minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.

And lastly, this recipe contains sodium selenite, a controversial form of the mineral selenium. Sodium selenite appears to be nutritionally inferior to the more natural source of selenium found in selenium yeast.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe canned dog food looks like an above-average wet product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 39%, a fat level of 30% and estimated carbohydrates of about 24%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 39% and a mean fat level of 30%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 24% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 77%.

Which means this Blue Buffalo product line contains…

Near-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical canned dog food.

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the pea protein and flaxseed, this looks like the profile of a wet product containing a moderate amount of meat.

However, with 53% of the total calories in our example coming from fat versus just 29% from protein, some recipes may not be suitable for pets on a low-fat diet.

Our Rating of Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe

Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe is a grain-free canned dog food using a moderate amount of named meats as its dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4 stars.

Highly recommended.

Blue Buffalo Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Blue Buffalo through December.

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.

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Related Topics

Readers interested in Blue Buffalo wet dog food may also wish to check out these popular pages, too…

More Blue Buffalo Brand Reviews

The following Blue Buffalo dog food reviews are also posted on this website:

Sources

1: Association of American Feed Control Officials

2: Adapted by the Dog Food Advisor and based upon the official definition for chicken published by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, Official Publication, 2008 Edition

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