How do you pick the most nutritious foods for your pets without exceeding your budget?
How do you choose from the multitudes of pet foods available in the market?
Well since our favorite canines and felines can only gruff, whine or yelp, it is a tad harder making meal choices and that’s why we would love to help narrow your choices by comparing two amazing, tested, and trusted brands of food.
During the course of this article we will answer all your throbbing pet-food questions and also show you how to pick the best pet food brands for your pet.
Have you come across the popular Blue Buffalo pet food brand, or perhaps, seen the meticulously packaged Hill Science diet pet food products? If yes, how much information do you have about them?
Grab a chair as we explore and analyze the details of these two wonderful brands using the most recent nutritional and price information.
After you are done with this awesome comparison check out Blue Buffalo and Hills Science Diet here to see the different flavors and pricing.
Contents:
- 🤔 Blue Buffalo vs Hills Science Diet FAQ
- ⚖️ Blue Buffalo and Hils Science Diet Pros and Cons
- 😻 Types Of Pet Food
- 🥕 Nutritional Value Comparison
- 💰 Price Comparison
- 🤤 Ingredients and Flavors
- 🏡 About Blue Buffalo and Hills Science Diet
- 🙀 Product Safety and Recalls through History
- 🏆 Blue Buffalo Vs Hills Science Diet: And the winner goes to…
🤔 Blue Buffalo vs Hills Science Diet FAQ
What is guaranteed analysis?
The concept of guaranteed analysis on pet food products is to assure purchasers of the precise nutrient content of each consumable. Emphasized by AAFCO, guaranteed analysis by food labels must meet certain requirements such as an exact value for the minimum percentage of crude protein and fat, as well as the maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture on the basis of dry matter obtained. All of the percentages that I use in this comparison are averages of dry matter basis. Learn about dry matter basis here.
Which one has more protein?
Blue Buffalo has more protein whereas Hills Science contains adequate protein content required for the growth and development of pets
Which one is cheaper?
The Hill Science diet pet food is slightly cheaper across all meal type when compared with Blue Buffalo. whereas Blue Buffalo is still considered to be quite affordable.
Which one has more flavors?
The Blue Buffalo brand has 85 dry foods recipes, 103 wet dog foods recipes offering 50 dog treats while Hill Science diet with 32 recipes for dry food, 30 wet foods recipe and 15 dog treats trail behind.
For the feline creatures, the Blue Buffalo brand offers 40 recipes for dry cat food, 48 recipes for wet cat foods and 15 cat treats.
Hill Science offers 18 recipes for dry cat food, 39 recipes for wet cat foods and no cat treat obviously giving Blue Buffalo the higher advantage as the most flavored brand.
Which One has received more recalls?
Blue Buffalo as a brand has been recalled nine time while Hill Science diet has just five recalls. Some of these recalls were done by the brands themselves for the safety of the pets.
Check out the current prices, recipes and flavors for Blue Buffalo and Hills Science Diet
⚖️ Blue Buffalo and Hills Science Diet Pros and Cons
Blue Buffalo Pros:
Blue Buffalo Cons:
Hills Science Diet Pros:
Hills Science Diet Cons:
😻 Types Of Pet Food
Both brands have an impressive array of flavors and recipes but Blue Buffalo has a wider range of flavors with a whopping 341 flavors. Hill’s Science Diet on the other hand as a total of 134 flavors which is equally commendable. The table below provides the breakdown:
| Product | Hill’s Science Diet | Blue Buffalo |
| Dry Dog Food | 32 Recipes | 85 Recipes |
| Wet Dog Food | 30 Recipes | 103 Recipes |
| Dog Treats | 15 Treats | 50 Treats |
| Dry Cat Food | 18 Recipes | 40 Recipes |
| Wet Cat Food | 39 Recipes | 48 Recipes |
| Cat Treats | ❌ | 15 Treats |
| 😻 See all Hills Science Diet Recipes | 😻 See all Blue Buffalo Recipes |
🥕 Nutritional Value Comparison
Food types are mainly categorized using the nutritional values offered in them. Certain nutrients are required in high quantity, while others are only required in small quantities or even as micro-nutrients.
Our pets have delicate biological systems that require a reasonably balanced diet to grow, develop, and maintain a body that is immune to diseases and other health problems. For a jovial, healthy and growing pet, you have to pay keen attention to your pets’ nutritional requirements.
Most pets of same species and breed usually have same or similar nutritional requirements but every pet has their own peculiar needs as their body system functions differently as a result of varying environmental factors, genealogy, etc.
As recommended by AAFCO, food labels must provide guaranteed percentages of crude protein and crude fat, and maximum percentages of crude fiber and moisture.
Let compare both brands based on their nutritional value
| Product (Dry Dog food) | Hill Science | Blue Buffalo |
| Crude Protein | 24.5% | 28.5% |
| Crude Fat | 14.8% | 15.0% |
| Crude Fiber | 4.3% | 7.1% |
| Product (Wet Dog food) | ||
| Crude Protein | 25.8% | 40.3% |
| Crude Fat | 17.1% | 25.0% |
| Crude Fiber | 3.3% | 7.6% |
| Product (Dry Cat food) | Hill Science | Blue Buffalo |
| Crude Protein | 35.2% | 37.0% |
| Crude Fat | 18.5% | 16.3% |
| Crude Fiber | 5.8% | 6.4% |
| Product (Wet Cat food) | ||
| Crude Protein | 38.5% | 45.2% |
| Crude Fat | 22.0% | 24.3% |
| Crude Fiber | 4.4% | 8.3% |
| 🥕 See more Hills Science Diet Info | 🥕 See more Blue Buffalo info |
Blue Buffalo dry dog offers 28.5% protein against Hill Science diet dry dog that offers 24.5%. For wet dog foods, Blue Buffalo provides about 40.3% protein while Hill Science diet contains 25.8%.
Blue Buffalo dry cat offers 37.0% protein against Hill Science diet dry cat that offers 35.2%. For wet cat foods, Blue Buffalo provides about 45.2% protein while Hill Science diet contains 35.5%
Protein
Why do our cats and dogs need protein in their diet? Does higher protein percentage signify a better pet food product?
Protein is the main macronutrient which supplies the essential amino acids required to sustain life, especially in dogs and cats. Protein can be gotten from different source, either plant or animal origin.
Every pet diet must contain protein at minimum or maximum requirement, because each pet needs a certain amount to live healthily.
Different pet food brands usually have different protein percentages; however, it’s important to check out their different recommended feeding amounts so as not to under feed or over feed your pet with protein.
Fat Content
Every balanced diet must contain fat, in fact, a minimum of 10% fat must be guaranteed by every pet diet.
Is fat so important? Its common say that fat is quite unhealthy, but this doesn’t speak for pets.
Fat is essential for the proper growth and development of our pets. It provides energy and control water loss through the skin of your pets. Fats also aid in the absorption of some vitamin as well as the maintenance of a shiny and healthy skin coat in dogs and cat. Fat gives taste as well as flavor to every pet food.
Fiber Content
Just because our pet can chew on almost everything doesn’t mean it is healthy for them. Many times, our pets encounter problems of indigestion resulting from the foods, treats or particles of things they ingest especially while playing or out for a walk.
Fibers are components that assist digestion in the small intestine till the food particles are pushed into the large intestine where it is acted upon by bacteria present. It is an important requirement of the digestive system. It also maintains optimum levels of good bacteria and promotes the proper functioning of the gut.
There is really no significant difference between the crude fiber content of both brands.
Water (Moisture)
No healthy diet is complete without the presence of water. The moisture content of every pet food influences the percentage of other ingredients as well as the protein, carbohydrate and fat content.
Water is essential for the proper functioning of the body and it helps in eliminating body wastes. To regulate the body temperature, transport nutrients throughout the body as well as prevent dehydration, our pet need water in varying amounts inevitably.
Some amount of water can be found in wet and dry pet food, however, pets always require additional amount of water to meet up with their body requirement.
💰 Price Comparison
| Price per pound | Hill Science | Blue Buffalo |
| Dry Dog food | $1.99 | $2.62 |
| Wet Dog food | $3.24 | $4.29 |
| Dry Cat food | $2.90 | $3.86 |
| Wet Cat food | $4.73 | $5.48 |
| 💰 See the best Hills Science Diet prices | 💰 See the best Blue Buffalo Prices |
So where is the best place to purchase these brands? Good question! Overall, chewy.com has the cheapest prices.
They also offer free shipping for orders above $25 which saves you a good chunk of change and makes your pet food ordering process automatic. Overall, this has saved me a ton of time.
🤤 Ingredients and Flavors
Blue Buffalo
Blue Buffalo has an assortment of ingredients that they make up into recipes, treats and formulas. Some include Deboned chicken, chicken meal, brown Rice, barley, and oatmeal, peas, flaxseed, potatoes and sweet potatoes, carrots, kelp, spinach, pumpkin, and barley grass, blueberries, cranberries, blackberries, apples, pomegranate, menhaden fish Meal, chicken fat, dried egg, and fish oil, vitamin E, iron, zinc among others.
Popular Flavors
- Duck and Potato
- Chicken and trout flaked entree
- Moist chicken and salmon recipe
- Chicken and turkey
Hills Science Diet
Hill science has an array of carefully selected ingredients for their recipes, some include chicken, water, beef, pork, fish, wheat flour, whole grain sorghum, glycerine, dried tomato pomace, pork plasma, iron dioxide, powder cellulose, corn gluten meal, brewer’s rice, pea protein, caramel, wheat gluten, whole grain corn, caramel color, liver and more
Popular Flavor
- Liver and chicken entree
- Chicken meal, Barley and Brown rice
- Chicken and rice recipe
Check out the current Blue Buffalo and Hills Science Diet recipes here
🏡 About Blue Buffalo and Hills Science Diet
Blue Buffalo Information
The Blue Buffalo brand was founded by Bill Bishop with his next of kin Billy and Chris in 2002 after the family dog popularly known as “BLUE” was stricken with with cancer. This prompted the need for a reform in food composition and ingredients. With the aid of the family nutritionist and veterinarian the family was able to pull off whole meal which had all the necessary ingredients required by pets for their daily functions
The name “buffalo” was added much later to signify a period where animals moved freely in the Great Plains, eating only natural food. Blue Buffalo dog food does not contain by-product meals, wheat, corn, or soy proteins, nor artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives.
Hills Science Diet Information
The founder of Science Diet, Mark L. Morris, made a discovery that led to the production of the pet food brand in Feb 1934. The progression in the development of specific health formulas for pets was prompted by the health concerns of a German shepherd suffering from a kidney disease. This led to the production of other pet foods formulated to tackle the maladies that may come with different life stages under the brand name of Science diet.
The Hill’s Science Diet brand, as well as Hill’s Prescription Diet formula, steadily gained market share, hitting an all time high in 2008 at 10.7% of dog food distribution, but by 2011 the sales rate had dropped to 9.4% with shifts in the preferences of various pet owners toward pet foods marketed as “natural” and consumer tags of Science Diet as using “artificial” additives.
🙀 Product Safety and Recalls through History
Companies make scheduled recalls on products that may have a foreseen defect or safety issues. The importance of a recall is to conduct further safety tests in order to effect changes to
Hills Science Diet Recalls
This brand has only been recalled once.
- Jan. 31st, 2019 – elevated levels of Vitamin D
Blue Buffalo Recalls
This brand has been recalled nine times.
- Nov. 25th, 2015 – Salmonella
- Nov. 6th, 2015 – Presence of Propylene Glycol
- May 31st, 2016 – Mold
- March 18th, 2017- elevated beef thyroid hormone
- Feb. 14th, 2017 – presence of aluminum
- March 3rd, 2017 – Foil Seal Packaging Problem
- Oct. 8th, 2010 – toxic levels of vitamin D
- April 19th, 2007 – Melamine
- April 26th, 2007 – Melamine
🏆 Blue Buffalo Vs Hills Science Diet: And the winner goes to…
It has been a tough call for both brands, but it’s safe to award Blue Buffalo the winner as it has dominated in protein content, fiber and fat content whereas Hill Science Diet stands out as the cheaper brand.
Blue Buffalo obviously has a lot more flavors for both dog and cat foods although with more recalls than Hill Science Diet which offers less flavors.
However, both are great brands and offer great nutritional values for pets.
- 🥇 Check out the best prices for Blue Buffalo here
- 🥈 Check out the best prices for Hills Science Diet here
| If you want | Then you should choose |
| Higher levels of protein | Blue Buffalo |
| A cost effective option | Hills Science Diet |
| A wider variety of flavors and ingredients | Blue buffalo |
| Safety, based on number of recalls | Hills Science Diet |
| A balanced diet for all age levels | both |
Thank you! This was great to compare these two side by side. Just got home from the vet who recommended two certain dry foods. Seeking information to determine what’s best for a kitten with ongoing diarrhea despite diet change, tests and meds.
Thanks much for this article. My 2 cats have been on Science diet Id dry cat food for years. One cat has a nub tail and gets constipated, requiring an enema several times a year for most of his adult life. After his last bout with it he won’t eat the science diet so I switched to Blue Buffalo mature dry grain free and he loves it! Im hoping the higher protein and fiber and fat will help him.