Blue Buffalo vs. Hill’s Science Diet: A Dog Food Showdown

Comparing Blue Buffalo vs. Science Diet for your pup’s next dog food? Perhaps you are about to bring home your long-awaited puppy addition into your family, and you are trying to decide what to feed him. Or maybe your four-legged best friend has started to turn his nose up at his kibble, and you need to find him something new?

You’ve whittled down your choices to Blue Buffalo and Science Diet, but not sure which brand to pick. In this guide, we are going to help you choose. We will walk you through the brands, recall history, the ingredients they use, and where they source them from. As well as what they offer canines at each of their life stages.

Both Science Diet and Blue Buffalo are quality brands with similar price points, so it makes sense to compare the two.  By the end of this guide, you will be able to decide which brand offers the best for you and your pooch. Let’s get started!

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Brand Histories

Finding healthy dog food to meet your pup’s needs is a big task, and it can be challenging to pick between brands. Looking at the brand behind the products can often help owners in their decision about whether the company stands for the same things as they do. Such as all-natural ingredients, no by-products, or following a whole-prey diet. So, what are these brands about?

Blue Buffalo

Blue Buffalo is a very big brand in the pet food market, and they were established back in 2003 in Connecticut by the Bishop family. To put it into perspective, in 2017, their revenue amounted to $1.275 billion in net sales across America alone.

It all began when the family’s dog, Blue, passed away from cancer in 2002. They wanted to develop nutritious pet food that would provide pets with all the nutrition they needed to be as healthy as possible.

The family brand’s slogan is to “love them like family, feed them like family.” Their website explains their story, processes, and each ingredient’s purpose. They also showcase their community work and have a direct contact number or email for customer support.

Science Diet

Science Diet is a line of pet food that is marketed by Hill’s Pet Nutrition, now part-owned by Colgate-Palmolive company. Their journey began in the 1930s when a dog owner asked a leading veterinarian to create a pet food that would resolve his dog’s kidney failure.

After his success, the veterinarian and his son began the business and created other condition-specific formulas. Since then, they have created a vast pet food business that is one of the most well-known in America. They have other lines, but Science Diet is their most popular.

Science Diet’s slogan is “Lifelong health starts with science.” They are also available on every online pet food platform and in most pet stores too. We’ve compared Science Diet a number of times to other competitors.

Recalls

When the quality or the safety of products doesn’t meet expectations, the pet food company themselves or the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) recall and withdraw the affected products. It is an important part of the decision process to look at a brand’s recall history. As well as how the company deals with it afterward.

Blue Buffalo

Blue Buffalo has had a total of 7 dog food product recalls since 2003. Using the FDA website and American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), here is a brief history of these recalls:

April 2007: This worldwide issue affected hundreds of brands, including some of Blue Buffalo’s products. Rice protein from a manufacturer that they used was contaminated with melamine. After investigation, Blue Buffalo announced they would cease trading with the blamed manufacturers, who had sourced their ingredients from China.

October 2010: Blue Buffalo voluntarily recalled some products as they were found to potentially contain higher levels of vitamin D. After 16 dogs fell ill, it was found that they had all eaten the same Blue Buffalo recipe. All the dogs affected fully recovered.

November 2015: Blue Buffalo voluntarily recalled a small batch of chew bones because routine testing showed that there was potential Salmonella contamination, but there were no reported illnesses.

May 2016: a limited batch of dry food was voluntarily recalled due to the potential for heightened moisture within the packaging, which then led to moldy products.

February 2017: some wet tinned foods were voluntarily recalled due to possible aluminum contamination. Again, there were no reported illnesses or injuries.

March 2017 (1): Blue Buffalo voluntarily recalled a small line of products due to an issue with the foil packaging. There were no reported illnesses or issues.

March 2017 (2): The FDA reported one case of a dog showing symptoms after potentially consuming excessive beef thyroid hormone levels to Blue Buffalo. They then voluntarily recalled one production lot after they discovered elevated levels of the naturally occurring hormone.

In 2014 Purina filed a claim against Blue Buffalo for false advertising. They discovered poultry by-product meal ingredients in their recipes, despite Blue Buffalo claiming never to use by-products. After investigation Blue Buffalo admitted that this was true, blaming their supplier, and they corrected the issues.

Science Diet

Science Diet’s dog foods have only had three recalls that we can find. This is excellent given the length of time that they’ve been around, as well as the multiple food lines that they carry in their lineup.

June 2014: Science Diet voluntarily recalled 62 bags of kibble because they had the potential to contain Salmonella. There were no reported issues.

January 2019: Science Diet voluntarily recalled a selection of canned dog foods due to the potential for elevated levels of vitamin D. This was blamed on supplier error. Hundreds of pets were affected.

March 2019: Science Diet expanded the January 2019 recall to other products following more vitamin D issues.

Food Ingredients

Ingredients are the biggest difference between the two brands and are usually the deciding factor for owners. They have different stances on what ingredients they use. Whatever side of the fence you sit on, both brands are popular and successful. So, let’s take a closer look at what they put into their recipes.

Blue Buffalo

Blue Buffalo only uses natural ingredients in their recipes. They promise never to use by-products and only real meats. The first ingredient on their list is always deboned meat, usually followed by another meat or meat meal.

They use typical meat sources such as Chicken, Turkey, Salmon, Beef, and Lamb. They also use other more unusual meats and fish such as Alligator, Rabbit, Quail, Sardines, and Shrimp, to name a few. This is great for fussy pooches or those with certain meat intolerances. They also have Chicken free recipes, which many brands do not offer.

Blue Buffalo has a good selection of grain-inclusive and grain-free recipes. Their grain-inclusive recipes never list any corn, wheat, or soy. Instead, they list gentle fibers such as oatmeal and brown rice. Blue Buffalo is guilty of ingredient splitting, which is a controversial ingredient listing technique to make recipes appear meatier than they might be. Unless you buy a super-premium brand, you’ll find that most brands, including Blue Buffalo and other competitors, use this technique.

In addition to the natural fruits and veggies, Blue Buffalo also includes their LifeSource Bits in every recipe. These are kibble pieces packed full of extra vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that dogs need and cannot get from meat alone.

Blue Buffalo states that all of its dog recipes are manufactured in America. Their website does not state where all of their ingredients are sourced, leading us to believe that some of their ingredients are sourced from outside the USA. This is not a great practice, but unfortunately, one that most brands use unless you opt for a super-premium brand.

Science Diet

As you already know, Science Diet claims that all of its recipes are based on science. As a result, they believe that natural dog food does not always mean the best for Fido. So, their ingredients aren’t always natural, which some consumers do not like. They commonly use artificial additives and preservatives, which can be irritating to dogs with sensitive stomachs. They also list artificial flavors, such as chicken liver flavor, instead of natural flavors. Natural preservatives and flavors are a much better way to preserve and add flavor to pet food.

Science Diet uses real meats, usually the first ingredient, but this is not always the case, unlike Blue Buffalo. They also use meat by-products, which is a very controversial ingredient that is essentially all the remaining animal carcass that is of very poor quality. This could include bones, organs, blood, and beaks. Again, their scientific research states that this is okay, but this is something that does not sit right with most owners. Many brands use these in their foods, including both Science Diet and other brands like Royal Canin.

Science Diet is a grain-inclusive line only, and there is only 1 grain-free option which is their kibble specifically designed for adult dogs with sensitive skin and stomachs. This is great for those owners who are happy to feed their pooch grain-based diets. They also use corn, wheat, and soy ingredients too.

Science Diet does not appear to use the ingredient-splitting technique. They simply list what they use, which is a lot more transparent for their consumers. Their packaging states that their products are “made in the USA with global ingredients you can trust.” Like most brands, they are unclear about what ingredients are sourced from what countries.

Do Grain-Free Dog Foods Lead to Heart Issues?

Several studies have shown that grain-free dog food is contributing to heart issues in some dogs, specifically a condition called Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM). But the research performed by the FDA found this to be a much more complex concern that may have other contributing factors as well. For this reason, it is recommended to speak with your veterinarian before transitioning your dog to a grain-free diet.

Range of Formulas

It is important that brands offer a variety of recipes because not all dogs like the same ingredients or have the same needs. This is also true of owners and their differing budgets.

Blue Buffalo

Blue Buffalo has a total of 8 product lines. They have their Life Protection Formula, Basics, Wilderness, Freedom, Carnivora, Baby Blue, True Solutions, and their Natural Veterinary Diet. All cater to different nutritional needs and owner budgets. In total, they have 98 dry kibble products across all their ranges.

Science Diet

Hill’s Pet Nutrition offers 4 product lines in total. Science Diet is one line produced by Hill’s Pet Nutrition. Overall, there are a total of 42 dry kibble formulas in the Science Diet range. To put it into perspective against Blue Buffalo, Hill’s Pet Nutrition offers 87 dry kibble products in total.

Puppy Formulas

Puppy nutrition is so important that it can shape the health of your pooch for the rest of his life, so you need to get this right.

Blue Buffalo

In total, there are 18 puppy formulas across 5 different lines – Life Protection, Basics, Freedom, Wilderness, and Carnivora. These offer puppies a choice between an all-encompassing recipe, a limited ingredient recipe, a simple grain-free recipe, and a protein-rich recipe. Their Carnivora recipe focuses on a whole-prey diet that is rich in meat, organs, and cartilage without any pea ingredients.

Their selection offers both grain-free and grain-inclusive recipes, and they cater their foods to small-breed puppies and large-breed puppies as well. Across the lines, there are a variety of meat options. There are even options suitable for giant breed puppies.

Science Diet

Science Diet offers a total of 6 puppy kibbles. They have 2 options for large breeds, 1 option for toy dogs, and 1 for small breed dogs. They have a standard recipe and 1 that specifically has no wheat, corn, or soy for those sensitive pups.

As we have already mentioned, there are no grain-free options as Science Diet does not offer this. However, they cover every breed size, which many other brands fail to do.

Winner

Both brands cover every breed size, which is fantastic. However, Science Diet only offers 2 flavor options. 5 of these are Chicken, and 1 is Lamb, and unfortunately, the Lamb kibble still lists Chicken and egg ingredients. So, there are not any options for those puppies who either need a grain-free diet or who are allergic to Chicken ingredients. So, Blue Buffalo wins this puppy round.

Adult Formulas

Typically from the ages of 1 year to 7 years, most dogs are considered to be in the adult stage. The adult diet should be well-balanced.

Blue Buffalo

Across their 8 different lines of food, Blue Buffalo offers a total of 73 adult kibbles.

There are 13 options for toy and small breeds and 15 options for large breeds, all with different formulas and flavors. In addition, there are 2 small bite options that are specifically designed for those dogs who need smaller and easy-to-chew kibble pieces.

Blue Buffalo also offers a variety of healthy weight products for different breed sizes. There are grain-inclusive and grain-free options, as well as different meat proteins and flavors. Chicken and poultry-free recipes are also available for dogs who need an alternative formula.

Science Diet

Science Diet offers a total of 28 adult kibbles. They list options for each breed size, including toy and large size. Science Diet also uses Chicken and Lamb as their primary protein source. They also have grain-inclusive options that do not use wheat, corn, or soy for every breed size too.

They also have kibbles that target specific conditions, such as oral care, healthy mobility, weight management, joint care, or for those digestive sensitivities.

Winner

We do not like that Science Diet does not offer grain-free options for those who need it or that they only use Chicken and Lamb. But we do like that they offer a wide range of kibbles that cater to specific health issues without the need for a Veterinary prescription which Blue Buffalo does not. We say that Science Diet just tips the variety scales in this round.

Senior Formulas

Dogs typically enter their senior years from the age of 7 to 9. Your senior pooch will need a well-balanced diet that offers less fat, less energy, and extra vitamins and minerals for his immune system. He will also need a higher glucosamine and chondroitin content to support his aging joints.

Blue Buffalo

Blue Buffalo offers just 7 senior kibbles across their Life Protection, Freedom, Basics Limited, and Wilderness product lines. These include grain-inclusive and grain-free options. As well as an option for both small and large breeds.

Blue Buffalo offers an average glucosamine and chondroitin content across the board. With the exception of the large breed option, where they offer a much higher content which is important for large breeds.

Science Diet

Science Diet offers 5 senior kibbles, 1 of which is specifically designed for small senior seniors aged 11+ years. They have one option for large breeds.

Science Diet does not list glucosamine or chondroitin content on its website for most of its senior products. This is strange as this is an important nutritional detail for seniors, so this isn’t comparable.

Winner

Blue Buffalo offers options for all senior sizes, as well as grain-free and grain-inclusive options. They are also transparent with their glucosamine content, unlike Science Diet, so we have to crown Blue Buffalo the winner in this round.

Wet Foods

Wet foods are a great option for those dogs who like juicy food with extra flavor on top of their dry kibbles. So, let’s see what each brand offers.

Blue Buffalo

Blue Buffalo offers a total of 101 wet foods. All dog sizes are catered for, as are the different life stages. They also provide grain-inclusive and grain-free options, so there is something here for every dog and owner.

Science Diet

Science Diet offers 16 wet food options. There are formulas for every life stage, but again there are no grain-free options or many flavor choices.

Winner

Blue Buffalo has many options and caters to every size and life stage. They also offer grain-inclusive and grain-free options, so Blue Buffalo wins the wet food competition.

Final Thoughts

It is difficult to compare these two as we have with other brands as Blue Buffalo is the brand with several formula lines, and Science Diet is one formula line from within a brand. However, our readers have asked us to compare, so we have delivered.

This comparison comes down to whether you prefer an all-natural diet or if you prefer a diet that is fortified with artificial ingredients that are potentially shown to benefit dogs.

If you are looking for a grain-inclusive diet and are comfortable with the use of by-products, then Science Diet offers a great selection catering to all life stages and breed sizes.

If you prefer an all-natural brand that offers much more variety, or you are seeking grain-free options, then Blue Buffalo is the winning team for you and your pooch. This choice comes down to personal preference, but now you know everything you need to know to make an informed decision.