Blue Seal Dog Food Review

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Company Information

Blue Seal Dog Food was founded by Henry K. Webster, who actually began the H.K. Webster Company in 1868 when he rented a grist mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts. That business grew into one of the largest feed manufacturing companies in the Northeast. In 1988 that family-owned business became a subsidiary ofMuscatine Foods Corporation of Muscatine, Iowa and has since been known as Blue Seal Feed Incorporated.

Originally, the business supplied horse feed. Today, Blue Seal provides feeds for dairy cattle, beef cattle, horses, sheep, goats, llamas, pigs, deer, dogs, cats, rabbits, caged birds, wild birds, poultry, herbivore zoo animals, and fish as well as products for the lawn and garden.

The Blue Seal Feed Incorporated Headquarters is located in Londonderry, New Hampshire. It also operates nine manufacturing facilities and eleven company-owned feed stores, with four being in New Hampshire, and the rest spanning from Maine to New York.

In 1992 the company bought 5.020 acres of land, located on Buttrick Road, to be the future headquarters site for Blue Seal. The building, finished in 1994, is 25,080 square feet. The company sells its products through its stores in New Hampshire, New York, Connecticut, Vermont, and Maine; and via a network of dealers in the United States, as well as online.

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Recall And Quality Control History

Blue Seal Feeds has achieved its certification from the Safe Feed/Safe Food Certification Program, which is administered by the American Feed Industry Association. Becoming certified means the company has gone above and beyond federal requirements to ensure that the highest standards in the manufacturing and processing of their products are followed every day. It also means the company has demonstrated continuous improvements to deliver safe and wholesome feed.

In 2007, Blue Seal was having some of their canned foods (Blue Seal – The Loaf Style wet) made by Menu Foods, the company at the center of the melamine problem which had to recall so much food. Despite the fact that some of Blue Seal’s products did contain wheat gluten, which was involved in the recall, none of Blue Seal’s products, canned or dry, had to be recalled. Blue Seal was not involved in the 2007 pet food recall and we could not find that any of their pet food products have been involved in any recalls since that time. They have had an occasional recall of poultry feed, as far as we can tell, but nothing else.

Blue Seal also makes the brands By Nature and Canine Whites dog biscuits and treats.

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Product Overview

Blue Seal makes two lines of dog food and a line of treats. They make Life Stages wet and dry foods, Classics wet and dry, and treats for dogs.

Dry Foods

• Life Stages
  • Active Dog
  • Adult Dog
  • Lamb & Rice
  • Low Calorie Dog
  • Performance Dog
  • Pork & Barley
  • Puppy
  • Senior Dog

• Classics
  • Krunchies
  • Natural 26

Canned Foods

• Life Stages
  • Beef & Vegetable (Wet Formula)
  • Chicken & Vegetable (Wet Formula)
  • Lamb & Vegetable (Wet Formula)
  • Pork & Barley (Wet Formula)
  • Salmon & Ocean Fish (Wet Formula)
  • Senior Dog – Chicken & Rice (Wet Formula)

• Classics
  • Beef & Liver (Wet Formula)
  • Beef Slices (Wet Formula)
  • Chunky Chicken (Wet Formula)

Snacks

• Assorted Biscuits (Medium)
• Assorted Biscuits (Small)
• Lobster Bisque-It Biscuits (Medium)
• Original Biscuits (Mini)
• Peanut Butter Biscuits (Medium)
• Peanut Butter Biscuits (Small)
• Plain Biscuits (Large)
• Plain Biscuits (Medium)
• Plain Biscuits (Small)

 

Review of Blue Seal Life Stages Performance Dog Formula

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This food is going to turn a lot of people off right away because it has corn in it and corn gluten. However, it compares favorably to a food like Purina ProPlan Sport. So, if you feed ProPlan or if you like the ProPlan foods, you might like this food.

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First 5 Ingredients Breakdown

The first ingredient is chicken meal so it’s a named meat protein and it’s the concentrated version – meal. This is fine since chicken meal has several times as much protein in it as whole chicken. It’s had the moisture removed. It’s a good first ingredient for any food.

The second ingredient isground corn. I know. Many people will throw their hands up in despair at this point but as long as your dog doesn’t have an allergy to corn, most dogs can digest it without any problem. It’s about 50 percent digestible which is very good for a plant protein. It also provides good dietary fiber, iron, and vitamin B6, along with some other minerals. It’s come to have a bad reputation today because it’s been overused as a filler in dog foods, but we need to remember that it’s a very nutritious vegetable and dogs can digest it. In addition, it’s important to remember that this is a performance dog food. The corn delivers fast energy, as a performance dog food should. This is mostly used for dogs that are working, hunting, or nursing puppies so, theoretically, the dogs eating this food need quick energy. Sure, if your dog runs and plays a lot he could benefit from this kind of food, too.

The third ingredient is chicken fat preserved with a form of vitamin E. This is a good named source of animal fat that is naturally preserved. Very good.

Next we have corn gluten meal as the fourth ingredient and, honestly, this is usually added to up the protein percentage, so that’s not so good.

Additional Ingredients Of Interest

The next three ingredients are carbs: ground barley, ground oats, and rice bran. These three ingredients provide slower burning carbs so they won’t spike your dog’s blood sugar as much as the corn does. They help him feel full. They also provide some good minerals and are good sources of dietary fiber.

Ground beet pulp is another good source of dietary fiber. Some people don’t like it but it’s actually a very good ingredient. It’s insoluble fiber and it’s very good for the colon. Ground flaxseed is a good source of fiber and minerals. It’s also a good source of omega-3 fatty acid. The only drawback with flaxseed is if you’re a dog breeder. It’s been linked to problems with conception and breeding so you should be careful feeding foods that contain flaxseed and flaxseed oil. Fish meal is an excellent protein source as well as providing more omega-3 fatty acid. It’s also a good source of taurine for the heart.

The food has both vitamin E and sources of vitamin C for natural preservatives, which is good. And it has DL-Methionine which is used to reduce the pH of the urine so it won’t burn the grass when your dog urinates. You can also notice that the food uses chelated minerals which means the minerals are attached to amino acids which makes them easier for your dog to absorb them when he eats. That’s often found in better dog foods.

The food also has some sweet potatoes which are a good carb and fiber full of vitamins and minerals; and blueberries which are a good antioxidant. Finally, it contains dried chicory root which is a good pre-biotic to help your dog digest the food.

Quality Of Ingredients

The quality of the ingredients looks very good and this food compares very favorably to a food like ProPlan Sport. This food does contain ground corn and corn gluten which obviously increase the amount of protein in the food, but if your dog doesn’t have a problem with corn, this shouldn’t be a problem. Otherwise, the food uses a good named protein, good named fat, no by-products or digests, no artificial color, sweeteners, or preservatives. It’s a very nice food if you need a high protein food for energy and you don’t mind the corn.

Special Concerns

The ground corn and corn gluten will increase the protein percentage and the calories in this food. This is not necessarily harmful to your dog but you should be aware that all of the protein in the food isn’t coming from the chicken meal. Remember, this is a performance food and the ingredients are designed as such.

Guaranteed Analysis

• Crude Protein (min) ……….. 30%
• Crude Fat (min) ……………… 20%
• Crude Fiber (max) ……………. 4%
• Moisture (max) …………….. 10%
• Calcium (min) ……………. 1.65%
• Phosphorus (min) ………….. 1.0%
• Copper (min) ………….. 20 mg/kg
• Manganese (min) ……. 70 mg/kg
• Zinc (min) ……………. 180 mg/kg
• Vitamin A (min) …. 11,000 IU/kg
• Vitamin E (min) ……… 220 IU/kg
• Taurine (min)* …………….. 0.03%
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids (min)* …. 0.32%
• Omega-6 Fatty Acids (min)* …… 4.0%

*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.

Calorie Content Metabolizable Energy (ME): 475 kcal/cup

Blue Seal Performance Dog Formula is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for all life stages.

Analysis Breakdown

Blue Seal Life Stages Performance Dog Formula provides 30 percent crude protein (Minimum), which is well above the government’s recommendations (18 percent for adult dogs). Some of this protein is coming from the ground corn and the corn gluten in the food but the chicken meal (and the fish meal) is undoubtedly providing a great deal of the protein. The 20 percent fat in Blue Seal Life Stages Performance Dog Formula is also well above the government’s recommendations (9 to 15 percent for an adult dog) but the fat is from chicken fat, a good source of fat that is naturally preserved; and from the ground flaxseed. Good sources of fat are good for your dog, especially in a performance dog food.

Company Reputation

Blue Seal appears to have an outstanding reputation and good manufacturing practices. They have not been subject to any pet food recalls that we could find. They have been in business for over 100 years and seem to be well-respected in their community.

Bottomline

Blue Seal Life Stages Performance Dog Formula appears to be a very good quality food for anyone who doesn’t object to feeding corn. The other ingredients in the food are very good. If you need a performance dog food, this one compares very well to Purina ProPlan’s foods.

Blue Seal Dog Food has earned our 4.5 paw rating.

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