Looking for dog food is a very time consuming process because there are so many options out there and all of them are claiming to be the best. However, it is not always true which is why it is necessary to know at least a little bit about your dog’s food. For owners who want good quality food, Blue Wilderness Vs Science Diet are two popular options to consider. If you also think so, do check which is the better option among the two.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
- What to Look for in a Dog Food
- What are Blue Wilderness and Science Diet
- What are the Food Variants in Blue Wilderness and Science Diet
- What are the Ingredients of Blue Wilderness and Science Diet
- How are the Quality of Blue Wilderness and Science Diet Ingredients
- How are the Nutrient in Blue Wilderness and Science Diet
- Blue Wilderness Vs Science Diet
Dog Foods
Just like us humans, our pets require a proper, balanced nutrition to strive and while in the past their feed was made of our food as well, nowadays pet foods are manufactured by large companies and this makes you wonder whether the nutrition actually makes your pets healthier or otherwise, harmful to their health. If possible, it is probably more reassuring to cook their food at home but, not all of us are going to have enough time or budget to do so.
For pet owners, especially dogs out there who are not making their food at home or just want to be convenient but still need to make sure the food we give will be safe and energize their body to grow healthily and to strive along the lifestage, here are some basic factors to consider.
- Always checking the ingredient list and looking for real food ingredients in the dog food. This is what we also do for human food because we never know what is in the composition and knowing what they use to make the food will put you at ease as well. Also, there are actually lots of ingredients used in pet foods that are not human grade and there are various terms as well to call those ingredients hence, we recommend to do a light research first, especially for new pet owners.
- Make sure the pet food has meat in it which can be from many common animals such as chicken or duck, and turkey. It is best to look for a certain animal name like chicken because it means the meat is from chicken only and avoid the word meat without clear description on what animal it is coming from because as unclear as it sounds, the ingredient can mean based on any meat. Also, make sure they are at the top as it means they are used more in the composition.
- Knowing the ingredients only is not enough because you will need to check the guaranteed analysis as well where the nutrition is presented. Here we will find information regarding the protein and fat levels in the food because here we will know whether the claim that it contains higher protein or more fat to match our dog’s lifestyle such as do they need much energy or the current life stage because young puppies need more protein.
- Another factor to consider is the AAFCO statement because while almost all dog foods are claimed to be complete and balanced, we never know exactly how it is fulfilling the standard. AAFCO is an advisory group that establishes standards, adopted and regulated by feed control in each state. The people behind this organization are said to be voluntarily individuals working within the US government.
About Blue Wilderness and Science Diet
Now when you already know what to look for in the food, it is time to see what the market has to offer because there will be tons of them and chances are you will be familiar with many already because dog food is showing on ads and campaigns which is great to help us recognize these brands at the store. For those with dogs suffering from certain health conditions, it is best to ask their vets about what food to give.
If your dog is healthy, we can give common dry or wet food for them or puppy food for small dogs and senior food for elderly canines. For first time dog owners or those who want to change their food option, it is good to see what most people are recommending and among those options, we will be talking about Blue Wilderness and Science Diet. These are popular names in the market and it is for good reason because they are made from quality ingredients.
Blue Wilderness is a brand from Blue Buffalo, similar to Life Protection that you can check in Blue Wilderness Vs Life Protection. Unlike Life Protection which is focusing on balanced nutrition to support your dog’s health through diet, Wilderness as the name suggests is focusing on the diet of their ancestors which means the ingredients used here are what canines are evolved to eat. It is boasting a high protein and fat diet based on various meat depending on which variant you choose.
As for Science Diet, this is a brand from Hill’s Pet and you must be familiar with Prescription Diet dog and cat food as they are also coming from the same company. The Science Diet is said to be formulated based on studies to match your pet’s nutrition requirement while the Prescription Diet is meant for dogs or cats with certain health concerns.
Blue Wilderness and Science Diet Food Variants
Not only brands, Blue Wilderness and Science Diet are also available in lots of different variants to match with almost every dog’s need. Starting with Blue Wilderness, there is puppy food, adult food, and senior food, with some canned wet food as well for all of these life stages. The food selection menu on their website is very helpful to let you find the perfect food in no time. As for the recipe, the brand has the grain and non-grain variant such as formulation from Chicken, Duck, Red Meat, Salmon, Bison, or Rabbit.
Similarly, Science Diet is also available in both dry and wet foods to put a variation for your canine friend. While Blue Wilderness does offer food in almost any categories, this brand seems to be focusing more on health concerns and the type of breed they are so you will find food for sensitive stomach and skin for small dogs in chicken recipe or healthy mobility for small dogs, etc. Most owners with adult, healthy medium breed dogs will choose options like dry food in chicken and barley for adult dogs.
Blue Wilderness and Science Diet Ingredients
Moving forward, as it has been mentioned above, the ingredient list is what matters when buying a dog food because it states what they are made of but, since there are so many variants in these brands, we are going to choose the popular options only. Starting with Blue Wilderness dry dog food, we are going to see their Chicken recipe and this food is made with chicken as the first ingredient. The second is chicken meal, followed by peas, pea protein, and tapioca starch.
As for the Science Diet, the food option today is their dry food for adult dogs in Chicken and Barley which means this variant will contain grain. This food is also listing chicken as the first ingredient, followed by cracked pearled barley, whole grain wheat, whole grain corn, and whole grain sorghum.
Blue Wilderness and Science Diet Ingredient Quality
Now let’s see whether these ingredients are good for your dogs. Chicken is very common and often used for the source of protein and fat in dog foods as well as a good ingredient to provide various nutrients but since they tend to contain much water, the final amount in the food can get reduced a lot, especially in dry form. Chicken meal in Blue Wilderness is made from chicken meat, instead of unused part of chicken carcass such as by-product meals. Barley is a common grain and supplies abundant fiber as well as micronutrients.
Peas in general are rich in vitamins but the recent concern about whether it can cause heart diseases is still not very clear yet, if you have the concern, we recommend to choose the grain version of the same recipe as long as the dog doesn’t have a sensitive stomach. Grain like wheat and corn are a source of energy for their carbohydrate as well as fiber to help digestion. For tapioca, it doesn’t have protein means it is safe for the sensitive stomach and often used to affect food texture.
Blue Wilderness and Science Diet Nutrient Content
The last part we want to mention here is their nutritional value of the guaranteed analysis because there are still many ingredients in Blue Wilderness and Science Diet that we don’t include. For the Blue Wilderness in Chicken recipe, this food contains 34% of crude protein, 15% crude fat, and 6% crude fiber with 0.5% omega 3, and 2.7% omega 6 while on the other hand Science Diet in Chicken and Barley recipe contains 23% crude protein, 14.7% crude fat, 2.1% crude fiber, with 0.5% omega 3, and 4.3% omega 6.
Blue Wilderness vs Science Diet
These dog foods are very well made and use common ingredients that you can find in many other brands. In comparison, the Blue Wilderness is using more meat in their food with chicken and chicken meal as the first two main ingredients while the latter combine meat and grains on the first two. Due to this, the amount of protein is also different but the fat is not far from each other.
Blue Wilderness | Life Protection |
---|---|
- Focusing on more meat ingredients | - Focusing on balance diet |
- Chicken and chicken meal (Chicken recipe) | - Chicken and Grain (Chicken and Barley recipe) |
- Higher protein | - Lower protein |
Conclusion
All in all it is best to shop for the food that fits your dog the most and between the two, we recommend Blue Wilderness because it has a higher amount of protein and is ideal for your active canine friend who needs energy for their daily activities.