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Buckley Liberty Freeze-Dried Dog Food receives the Advisor’s mid-tier rating of 3.5 stars.

The Buckley Liberty product line includes the 3 freeze-dried dog foods listed below.

Each recipe includes its related AAFCO nutrient profile when available on the product’s official webpage: Growth, Maintenance, All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Use the links to compare price and package sizes of this Liberty product line at an online retailer.

• Buckley Liberty Freeze-Dried Chicken Recipe [A]
• Buckley Liberty Freeze-Dried Beef Recipe (1.5 stars) [A]
• Buckley Liberty Freeze-Dried Lamb Recipe [A]

Buckley Liberty Freeze-Dried Chicken Recipe was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

Ingredient Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is chicken. Although it is a quality item, raw chicken contains up to 73% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost, reducing the meat content to just a fraction of its original weight.

After processing, this item would probably account for a smaller part of the total content of the finished product.

The second ingredient is chicken liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The next ingredient is chicken heart. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing, heart tissue is pure muscle — all meat. It’s naturally rich in quality protein, minerals and complex B vitamins, too.

The fourth ingredient includes chicken gizzard. The gizzard is a low-fat, meaty organ found in the digestive tract of birds and assists in grinding up a consumed food. This item is considered a canine dietary delicacy.

Although they are quality items, raw organ meats contain up to 73% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost, reducing the meat content to just a fraction of its original weight.

After processing, these items would probably account for a smaller part of the total content of the finished product.

The fifth ingredient is squash. Squash is a nutritious addition high in complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber.

The sixth ingredient is chicken neck. Raw chicken neck consists of muscle meat and bone and contains optimal levels of both protein and natural calcium.

The seventh ingredient is apple, a nutrient-rich fruit that’s also high in fiber.

The next ingredient lists carrots. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the ingredient panel (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this Liberty product.

With 5 notable exceptions…

First, we find flaxseed, one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.

However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

Next, we note the inclusion of inulin, a starch-like compound made up of repeating units of carbohydrates and typically sourced from chicory root.

Not only is inulin a natural source of soluble dietary fiber, it’s also a prebiotic used to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in a dog’s digestive tract.

In addition, this recipe contains both fish oil and salmon oil. Each are naturally rich in the prized EPA and DHA type of omega-3 fatty acids. These two high quality fats boast the highest bio-availability to dogs and humans.

Depending on its level of freshness and purity, both fish oil and salmon oil should be considered commendable additions.

And lastly, this food contains chelated minerals, minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Buckley Liberty Dog Food appears to be an above-average dry product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 47%, a fat level of 38% and estimated carbohydrates of about 7%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 47% and a mean fat level of 40%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 5% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 84%.

Which means this Liberty product line contains…

Above-average protein. Above-average fat. And below-average carbs when compared to a typical dry dog food.

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the flaxseed, this looks like the profile of a dry product containing a generous amount of meat.

However, with 63% of the total calories in our example coming from fat versus just 32% from protein, some recipes may not be suitable for every animal.

Bottom line?

Buckley Liberty is a grain-free dry dog food using an abundant amount of named meats as its main source of animal protein. Unfortunately, because of its unusually high fat-to-protein ratio, this product earns only 3.5 stars.

Recommended.

Buckley Dog Food Recall History

The following list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 directly related to Buckley. If there are no recalls listed in this section, we have not yet reported any events.