Blue Freedom Large Breed Puppy Grain-Free Chicken Recipe Dry Dog Food
The first five ingredients are Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Peas, Pea Starch. 2 of them are a named animal protein. We put the starch at 41.1%, above the 38.51% average across the foods we hold.
Protein runs low or starch runs high for this type of food. That does not make it unsafe, it just measures lower.
How we got to 49
Five things, one hundred points, and the reason for every one. We would rather show our working than ask you to trust a number.
26-32% dm reads typical mainstream.
Estimated, 6% ash assumed.
Count of named animal proteins.
Matched against the flag list.
Manufacturer, not recipe.
The numbers, without the water
Percentages on a bag include the water in the food, so a wet food always looks lower than a dry one. Taking the water out puts any two foods on the same footing. This one is 90% dry matter.
That is 2.6 points above average, so proportionally more of the bag is starch.
Everything on the label
Printed exactly as the manufacturer lists it, heaviest ingredient first. A dog food needs very little salt, so the 52 ingredients listed after salt are present in even smaller amounts. That is the salt divider, and it is why we only weigh the top of the list.
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Peas, Pea Starch, Tapioca Starch, Pea Protein, Dried Tomato Pomace, Dried Egg Product, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Natural Flavor, Fish Oil (source of ARA-Arachidonic Acid and DHA-Docosahexaenoic Acid), Dicalcium Phosphate, Turkey Meal, Salt*The Salt Divider. Ingredients are listed heaviest first, and a dog food needs very little salt, so everything after this point is present in an even smaller amount., Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Dried Chicory Root, Potassium Chloride, Pea Fiber, Alfalfa Nutrient Concentrate, Calcium Carbonate, preserved with Mixed Tocopherols, Vitamin E Supplement, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Garlic, L-Carnitine, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Sulfate, Vegetable Juice for color, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Blueberries, Cranberries, Barley Grass, Parsley, Turmeric, Dried Kelp, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), L-Lysine, Copper Sulfate, Biotin (Vitamin B7), Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Sulfate, Taurine, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Dried Yeast, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, Dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation extract, Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Sodium Selenite, Oil of Rosemary
What those first ingredients actually are
The top of the list is most of the food by weight, so it is worth knowing what each one is. Green marks a named animal protein.
Chicken
The clean flesh of the chicken, with or without skin, used fresh. Roughly 70% of its weight is water, most of which is driven off during…
Chicken Meal
Chicken that has been cooked, dried and ground into a concentrated meal, with most of the water and fat removed.
Potatoes
The tuber of the potato plant, cooked and used as a grain-free carbohydrate.
Peas
The seed of the pea plant, used whole, split or dried as a carbohydrate and plant protein source.
Pea Starch
The starch fraction separated out from peas after the protein and fiber are removed.
How much of this to feed
A starting point, worked out from the resting energy formula vets use and this food's own calorie density. Every dog is different, so watch their weight and adjust. Your vet's advice beats a calculator.
How it compares
Same figures, same method, put next to another recipe from Blue and the archive average.
| Metric | This recipe | Blue Natural Veterinary Diet W+U… | Archive average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Score | 49 | 66 | -- |
| Protein, water out | 28.9% | 33.3% | -- |
| Starch, water out | 41.1% | 30.0% | 38.51% |
| Named in first five | 2 of 5 | 2 of 5 | -- |
Recall history
Recalls are matched to the manufacturer, not this exact recipe. A recall on a different product still tells you something about the plant it came from.
4 in the last three years, which costs this food points. Worth reading before you buy. See the recall log
Other flavors
More from Blue, scored the same way.