Blue Freedom Dog Food: 2020 Reviews, Recalls & Coupons

Meet Blue Freedom Dog Food

Blue Freedom is a dog food brand from the company Blue Buffalo. This company positions themselves as an industry leader in the realm of healthy alternatives to dog food and their mission is to provide food that meets the unique needs of every pet and their owners.

Blue Freedom is a specialty food that is entirely grain-free for dogs who are sensitive to gluten. Blue believes that a dog’s diet should closely mimic what their ancestors ate and many years ago, dogs did not eat grains.

Over time their diets have grown and began to welcome grains, but as a result, the food ends up with a lot of filler, so Blue wants to limit that.

Blue Freedom has an excellent reputation for being a healthy grain-free option for your meat-eating canine.

In this article, we’re taking a close look into Blue Freedom to find out if this food has longevity for your pet's diet, or if it’s all hype.

Brand Quick Look

• Parent Company: Blue Pet Products, Inc. – a subsidiary of General Mills, Inc.
• Founded in: 2002
• Made in: Wilton, Connecticut
• Made by: A variety of manufacturers, CJ Foods, Ainsworth, ProPet, Triple T, and more.
• Available at: Chewy, Amazon, Petsmart, Target
• Types of Food: Dry, wet, treats
• Real Meat in First 5 Ingredients? : Yes
• Recalled in Past? : No

Behind the Brand

The story of Blue Freedom starts with their own dog Blue. The Bishop family dog suffered from cancer, and many years ago this was unheard of so they decided to take a better look into what their dog is eating and how they can help.

Upon researching pet food manufacturers and ideal diets for dogs, they discovered something shocking; they realized that most of the popular pet foods on the market contain nothing but fillers, artificial ingredients, and chemically modified preservatives.

The Bishop family set out on a mission with the help of animal nutritionists and veterinarians to create a healthy pet food company called Blue Buffalo.

Fast forward, today Blue is one of the leading pet food companies nationwide, and their reputation truly speaks for itself.

Blue Freedom Dog Food Review

Here we will take a deeper look into three different foods from the Blue Freedom line. We’ll look at things line ingredients, sourcing, and positive or negative impacts these foods could have on your pet's health.

1. Blue Freedom Grain-Free Lamb Recipe

• Overall: 4.5 out of 5
• Flavor: 5 out of 5
• Ingredients: 4.5 out of 5
• Packaging: 3 out of 5

The online community recommends Blues Grain-Free Lamb by boasting almost a full five-star rating on chewy and a four-star rating on Amazon across 190 reviews. Chewy customers say that their dogs love the flavor and it has positively impacted their pups eating habits.

Some people have even said that switching to lamb as the primary source of protein has helped their dogs’ skin and coat clear up and it has helped them have more regular bowel movements.

On Amazon, a lot of the reviews are the same, and people love the fact that their dogs love lamb and its easier on their stomach.

Some of the critical reviews have a lot to say about misleading packaging, and this is something that is relatively common across Blue Freedoms line of foods. All of the foods contain chicken and chicken meal even if they say lamb or beef. If your dog has an allergy to the chicken, you want to make sure to read carefully into the ingredients in any dog food.

For nutritional value, the food contains 22% protein, 14% fat, and 6% fiber. It has potatoes, peas, pea starch, pea protein, and tomato pomace as your carbohydrates which raises no red flags for us.

Overall, Blue’s Lamb recipe checks out as an excellent option for sensitive stomachs and picky eaters.

2. Blue Freedom Grain-Free Healthy Weight Chicken Recipe

• Overall: 4.5 out of 5
• Flavor: 5 out of 5
• Ingredients: 4.5 out of 5
• Packaging: 3 out of 5

This alternative option to the traditional food line has a fantastic reputation online with a near five-star review on both chewy and Amazon. This food brand has over 80% of five-star reviews on both websites with less than 5% one stars.

Many reviewers of this product have said that some dogs who are struggling with weight and energy need a diet that is low in protein and low in fat, but it's incredibly hard to find. They were relieved when they found Blue Freedom Healthy Weight, and they haven’t looked back since.

Some other positive reviews have stated that Blue Buffalos customer service is helpful and passionate about helping their consumers.

There are so few negative reviews that it’s difficult to gauge the accuracy of these claims, but it seems a lot of customers have issues with shipping procedures and expiration dates on products. There have also been claims of worms and maggots in food on occasion. Out of the vast amount of positive reviews, I would take those bad reviews with a grain of salt.

3. Blue Freedom Grain-Free Beef Grillers

• Overall: 4 out of 5
• Flavor: 4 out of 5
• Ingredients: 4.5 out of 5
• Packaging: 3 out of 5

This is a grilled wet beef food in gravy, and across 80+ reviews online 95% of people would recommend it to another dog owner.

Many of the reviews state that customers are satisfied with the smell, appearance, and quality of the food. They switched from other wet foods because they could not get refrigerated after opening and their dogs wouldn’t eat them.

Some of the critical reviews state that not every can is the same and sometimes you don’t get as much meat as you should. Overall, most customers think it looks like a delicious beef stew and their dogs love it.

In terms of ingredients, it contains 7.5% protein, 3.5% fat, and 1.0% fiber, so it is not an optimal source of nutrients, but it’s a hearty treat to include alongside a healthy kibble.

What are the Best Blue Freedom Dog Food Recipes?

1. Blue Buffalo Freedom Adult Chicken Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
2. Blue Buffalo Freedom Large Breed Adult Chicken Recipe Grain-Free
3. Blue Buffalo Freedom Small Breed Adult Chicken Recipe Grain-Free
4. Blue Buffalo Freedom Adult Beef Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
5. Blue Buffalo Freedom Adult Healthy Weight Chicken Recipe Grain-Free

What Types of Dog Food Does Blue Freedom Offer?

Blue Freedom offers a variety of kibble and moist food for all types of dog breeds at every stage of their life. Blues line of food contains specific formulas that are geared towards a grain-free lifestyle and weight management no matter the unique needs of your dog.

Blue says the advantage of a grain-free diet is that your dog gets their essential carbohydrates from healthier sources of carbs. Grains, corn, and soy get used as fillers, and they provide next to no nutritional value for your pup.

Instead of using grains, in Blue Freedom, you’ll find peas, potatoes, and carrots as the primary source of carbohydrates. These are excellent sources of nutritional value for brain, eye, bone, and tooth development.

Grain-Free Chicken

Puppies – Adults – Seniors – Small Breeds – Large Breeds

This chicken recipe is a great option for pet parents who want their pups to stay away from grains. It features protein-rich, deboned chicken as the first ingredients with peas, potatoes, and carrots as your carbs.

This formula helps brain and eye development as well as healthy muscle growth and strong bones. The kibble is small enough, so it works great for dogs of all sizes and helps keep their teeth clean.

Grain-Free Beef

Adults – Small Breeds – Large Breeds

The Beef recipe provides pets with a grain-free blend of kibble that helps them develop strong muscles and energy through protein and carbs they need to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The formula also contains glucosamine which promotes joint function and overall mobility as your pup ages.

Grain-Free Lamb

Adults – Large Breeds

Lamb is an easily digestible protein rich in nutrients and minerals. This formula contains deboned lamb as the first ingredient with no by-products, corn, wheat or soy.

Lamb and turkey meal help your pup build strong muscles and develop a healthy lifestyle. The food is balanced out with omega 3 and 6 fatty acids to give them a shiny coat and healthy skin as well.

Grain-Free Healthy Weight Chicken

Adults – Seniors

If you’re concerned about your dog's weight, you might want to try this formula that reduces your pups’ calories by excluding crude fat in the formula. You still get all the necessary protein and carbs from real chicken and vegetables and none of the gluten, corn, and soy you don’t want.

The Healthy Weight Chicken blend helps your dog develop lean muscles and feel satisfied longer, so they don’t feel the need to keep heading back to their bowl.

Grain-Free Moist Chicken Recipe

Puppies – Adults – Seniors – Small Breeds

First 5 Ingredients:

• Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Carrots, Peas

Grain-Free Moist Beef Recipe

Adults

First 5 Ingredients:

• Beef, Chicken, Beef Broth, Chicken Liver, Carrots

Grain-Free Moist Lamb Recipe

Adults

First 5 Ingredients:

• Lamb, Chicken, Chicken Broth, Water, Chicken Liver

Grain-Free Beef Grillers

Adults

The grillers brand dog food is a hearty meal with a bit more calories than the previous options, so it's intended for a dog that lives a highly active lifestyle. If you find your pup is unsatisfied with their regular eating routine, you could switch things up with a can of these daily.

They still contain all the best natural ingredients with meat as the priority and no corn, soy, or wheat.

First 5 Ingredients:

• Beef, Beef Broth, Water, Chicken, Chicken Liver

Grain-Free Chicken Grillers

Adults

First 5 Ingredients:

• Chicken, Chicken Broth, Water, Chicken Liver, Dried Egg

Grain-Free Lamb Grillers

Adults

First 5 Ingredients:

• Lamb, Chicken Broth, Water, Chicken Liver, Chicken

Grain-Free Turkey Grillers

Adults

First 5 Ingredients:

• Turkey, Chicken Broth, Water, Chicken, Chicken Liver

Blue Freedom Recall History

While there has been recalling through the Blue Buffalo brand; there are no recalls for Blue Freedom brand dog food specifically.

Customer Reviews and Reputation

To get a feel for Blue Freedoms reputation in the online community, it helps to see real-life reviews from customers. Here are some of the most notable positive and negative reviews from approved pet owners.

Positive

Great for sensitive tummy

• My golden retriever gets pancreatitis with a lot of the commercial foods, and he is 11, so he gains weight very fast when he has too high of calorie intake. For years I cooked chicken and rice for him, and when I wanted to put him back on commercial food (because he wasn't retaining a good weight), I tried a few brands. He gets bad gas and stomach aches with others, but this one is perfect. The grain free is a huge plus, and he is not having any trouble with his stomach on this food. – Amazon Customer

My dog loved it immediately.

• He grabs a mouthful and takes it to the carpet in front of the fireplace, he then puts it on the carpet, lies next to the pile and enjoys the fire like a kid crunching candy in front of a tv. A dog's life with Blue Buffalo must be nice. – Chewy Customer

Negative

Pieces are puppy size.

• I have a 25lb dog food bin that fills to the top with a 25lb bag. So when I got this in a 25lb and put it in the container, it barely filled it. Not sure if the weight is off, but I noticed the prices are much smaller than regular adult dog food. So that could also play a factor. My dog didn’t like it because the pieces are like puppy food size rather than an adult. – Chewy Customer

Concern about Blue Buffalo

• General Mills has bought B.B. and no mention of how this will affect the product line has not been released. I’ve used BB (9- puppy to senior) for over ten years with wonderful results. Now I’m worried. – Chewy Customer

Great Food, Great Price

In the end, we’re delighted by Blue Freedom and their line of grain-free dog food options. It shows that Blue cares about its customers and wants to make sure they can provide food for every type of diet out there.

As far as we’re concerned Blue Freedom needs to continue doing what they’re doing and dispel some of the rumors and false claims people are making about the company. Maybe they could be more active on popular websites like Chewy and Amazon to address customer concerns head-on.

If you’re considering switching your pup to a grain-free diet, we believe there is no better option than Blue Freedom.

Is Blue Buffalo grain free good for dogs?

Yes. All Blue Buffalo formulas contain natural sources of taurine like protein-rich meat, which is an excellent source of taurine and the first ingredient in all Blue Buffalo formulas, and they supplement all their grain-free dry dog food with methionine, which can be converted to taurine in a dog's body.

Is Blue freedom a good dog food?

Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain Free is a dry dog food using a moderate amount of named meat meals as its main source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 3.5 stars. Those looking for a canned version in the same product line may wish to visit our review of Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain Free canned dog food. - Dog Food Advisor

Is Grain Free Dog Food Really Better?

While your dog needs carbohydrates to produce energy, too many of them can contribute to obesity, the wrong bacteria in the gut, and a lack of energy. So, if a dog food is labeled grain-free but the grains are replaced with other ingredients, it's not necessarily a healthier option for your dog.

Is Grain Free bad for dogs?

According to a warning from the Food and Drug Administration released last week, grain-free food might be giving dogs a life-threatening heart problem called dilated cardiomyopathy, or DCM. The science is still preliminary, and it's based on a potential association between diet and heart disease in fewer than 600 dogs.