Bulldog Nutrition. Feeding your Bulldog.

Recommended Food
for Bulldogs

Homemade or commercial food ?

The choice between home-prepared meals or commercial food (dry or moist) is more a matter of personal preference and schedule rather than of purely quality. Some owners still consider commercial food as a second-choice option while quality pre-packaged food really covers all of the major nutritional requirements a healthy dog has. On the other hand, home-made diets are tricky. Most people have difficulties to eat a well balanced diet themselves, so why assume this will be different when preparing their dog's meals ? The truth is, it is extremely difficult to compose a dog's meal that contains all the essential nutrients in exactly the right proportions for your dog's breed at every different stage of his life (puppy, maturity, senior).

One satisfactory solution, if you feed your dog twice daily, is to serve him/her one home-prepared meal, for example in the morning, and another, for example in the evening, consisting in high-quality dry food. This guarantees enough variation in your dog's diet, with at least once a day a balanced dry meal that exercises his teeth and gums properly, while the other meal ensures she/he receives enough variation in his food in order to not get bored. If you choose to serve your bulldog home-prepared meals, collect several recipes and bring enough variation in his/her diet to cover all the essential nutrients. You can find recipes for homemade diets in books devoted to this topic and dog magazines. Good quality commercial pet foods are usually well balanced with vitamins and minerals, but home made diets may require vitamin and mineral supplementation. As oversupplementation is as harmful as deficiencies, ask you vet for advice and stick to the recommended dose.

For the dry food part, there are a number of excellent high-quality pre-packaged dog meals on the market. Choose a brand that includes at least the following options: puppy vs. adult food and small breeds vs maxi (large) breeds (this means at least 4 different recipes according to the combinations !). The requirements for each group differ to such an extent that it is hardly possible to market one kind of food that would cover the needs of puppies and adult dogs alike, indifferently of type of breed (small, large). Finally, the composition of the food showing the ingredients ("guaranteed analysis") should be detailed on the package, including a recommended feeding guide.

Food specially designed for BULLDOGS:

A product specially formulated for bulldogs over 12 months old that promotes correct digestion and helps reduce flatulence by means of its highly digestible proteins, insoluble minerals, rice as the only starch source, fructo-oligo-saccharides, and sugar beet pulp. The special kibble shape is designed to make it easier for the bulldog to grasp and chew its food. Last but not least, the special food formula should help combat epidermal inflammation by means of its combination of vitamins and amino acids, associated with essential omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids and zinc.

Recommended Books

Royal Canin Medium Breed Bulldog
(30-lb bag)

References:
A Commonsense Guide to Feeding Your Pet published by The CVMA (Canadian Veterinary Medical Association) Pet Food Certification Committee
BARF for beginners
www.barfworld.com
Raw Meaty Bones for Dogs and Cats by Samantha J. Coe, Vetbase.co.uk
UK Raw Meaty Bones Website www.rawmeatybones.com

The Good Food Cookbook for Dogs:
50 Home-Cooked Recipes for the Health and Happiness of Your Canine Companion
(Paperback)

by Donna Twichell Roberts
More information

Dog Health & Nutrition for Dummies

by M. Christine Zink
More information:

Better Food for Dogs:
A Complete Cookbook and Nutrition Guide
(Paperback)by David Bastin

More information:

Original idea, design and development by C. Marien-de Luca. No part of bulldoginformation.com may be copied, distributed, printed or reproduced on another website without the owner's written permission. Please feel free to link from your site to any of the pages on this website in a non-frame presentation only.

Home > Articles > Everyday Care of your Bulldog > Recommended food for your Bulldog

Update June 2007:
"Royal Canin Canine Bulldog" is not affected by the recall (see Royal Canin safelist )

Please note that I am not being paid by Royal Canin to 'advertise' these products on my website. I feel I should only recommend products I have personally tested with my dogs. I have been feeding my dogs Royal Canin for years and I have found their coat, teeth and breath improved a lot since I switched to this brand. Their coats are shinier and look healthier than before. Of course, this may be due to a variety of factors such as, better overall health condition, better resistance to ailments, living conditions and hygiene, exercise, and not just the type of food they receive. I have just noticed that my bulldogs' coats were not that way when I fed them the other brands I tried before switching to Royal Canin for Bulldogs. To be complete I must also add that I do not feed my dogs a 100% dry food diet, but anything else I feed them is home-prepared, not just another brand of dry or moist food.

Note on the Pet Food Recall:

Pet food manufacturers have voluntarily recalled more than 100 brands of dog and cat food across the nation since March 16, 2007. Stephen F. Sundlof, D.V.M., Ph.D., Director of the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) says: "We encourage the public to continue to use pet food that is not subject to the recall." Source: FDA's Ongoing Pet Food Investigation and important update incriminating rice protein Contaminant Found in Second Pet Food Ingredient

Sister websites: Puginformation.org and FunnyFlatFaces.com

About Bulldoginformation.com: Sitemap | About us | Copyright | Contact

Other 'Flat Faced' Dogs: Pug | French Bulldog | Boston Terrier