Best Dog Food for English Bulldogs: Top 6 Food Choices and Reviews
By Ashley Turner Last Updated June 14, 2022
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Picking out this food can be a challenge because there are dozens of different types, flavors, and brands available. However, we're going to help you by giving you a comprehensive guide to feeding your English Bulldog as well as our top six picks for high-quality dog food.
Our Top Picks for the Best Dog Foods for Your Bulldog
| Food | Best for... |
|---|---|
| Nulo Adult Grain-Free Dry Dog Food | Adults |
| Gentle Giants Natural Dog Food | Seniors |
| BLUE Freedom Grain Free Small Breed | Puppies |
| Organix Castor & Pollux Dry Dog Food | Gas |
| Hill's Science Diet Perfect Weight | Weight Loss |
| Wellness Simple Limited Ingredient | Sensitive Stomach |
| Wellness Simple Limited Ingredient | Skin Allergies |
Feeding Your English Bulldog
English Bulldogs are known for their stocky statue, solid builds, and the tendency to gain weight at a rapid pace. They're strong, muscular, and they typically weigh between 51 and 55 pounds for males and 40 to 51 pounds for females.
They're also a very energetic breed that needs more calories than other similarly built dog breeds. The total amount of calories that you feed your dog per day vary depending on your dog's size, age, and activity level but an energetic Bulldog can usually have around 1,358 calories per day.
You should ideally split this food up into several small meals instead of one or two large ones because this breed can have digestive issues and they are prone to bloating and gas. Eating smaller meals instead of large ones can help to reduce this risk.
As your Bulldog ages, their activity levels may slow down due to several reasons. This means that you may have to start reducing how much your older dog eats if you notice that they're starting to gain weight because it's very easy for Bulldogs to put weight on, but it's difficult to get it back off.
Excess weight can be a significant health problem for your dog, and it's easy to overfeed them. An overweight dog puts more stress on their joints and bones because their legs and hips have to support this excess weight as they move around. This can lead to hip dysplasia and other joint and bone problems.
English Bulldog Nutritional Requirements
You want to ensure that your English Bulldog gets a balanced meal every time they eat. This can help to promote a healthy lifestyle and healthy development throughout your dog's life.
Carbohydrate Percentage
Carbohydrates are also important in your dog's diet, but you want to ensure that your dog only gets minimal amounts because carbohydrate-rich foods can quickly lead to weight gain.
Most balanced dog foods contain around 30 percent carbohydrates with high-carbohydrate dog food having around 70 percent carbohydrates. Low carbohydrate dog foods have 5 to 15 percent carbohydrates, and this is a reasonable level for your English Bulldog to help them maintain a healthy weight.
Fat Percentage
Good quality fats and fatty acids are another important aspect of your English Bulldog's diet because their bodies can't naturally create Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. They have to get it from their foods, and one way to do this is to ensure that their food has a good fat percentage.
The United States National Academies recommends that an adult English Bulldog has a food with around five percent fat content, while an English Bulldog puppy can have a slightly higher fat content at eight percent.
The Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids are vital to have as well because this can help keep your dog's skin and coat healthy. Bulldogs are prone to having skin sensitivities and shedding a lot, so these essential fatty acids can help make them comfortable and clear up these common issues.
Fiber Percentage
It's common for your Bulldog to have gas, bloating, or loose stools, and this is especially true after they eat. Having a good amount of fiber in your dog's diet can help remedy these problems because it'll help to regulate your dog's digestive system when they eat it on a regular basis.
Ideally, your English Bulldog's food should have a fiber content of at least four percent to ensure that your dog gets enough to regulate their system. You want to combine this with easily digestible proteins to maximize the food's nutrients and the fiber's efficiency.
Protein Percentage
Your English Bulldog is extremely solid, and they have a lot of muscle mass that needs constant nutrients to grow and stay healthy. Protein's main function is to build and support muscle growth.
Ideally, your dog's food should have around 23 percent protein content from high-quality sources, and this percentage can go down slightly to around 18 percent as your dog ages. English Bulldogs are prone to hip problems, and this is why you don't want to load them with a high protein count and encourage them to bulk up more as they age because this places extra weight on their hips.
Other Important Food Ingredients
Once you've looked at the larger ingredient percentages, you want to look at the smaller micronutrients and parts of your dog's food to ensure that it has a good amount of them to give your dog a balanced diet.
- Antioxidants - These agents boost your dog's immune system and help to repair cell damage.
- Glucosamine and Chondriotin - English Bulldogs are prone to developing hip dysplasia, and these two ingredients strengthen your dog's joints and bones.
- Probiotics - Probiotics are good bacteria that help to regulate your dog's digestive system.
- Vitamins and Minerals - These ingredients can help sooth skin irritation, inflammation, and other common skin and coat problems.
Things to Avoid in Your Bulldog's Food
Just like good nutrients, there are things that you want to avoid in your dog's food because they may not agree with their digestive system.
- Artificial Flavors or Preservatives - Artificial flavors, dyes, and preservatives shouldn't be ingredients in your dog's food because they have no nutritional value for your dog.
- By-Product Meal - You want to see real meat and lean proteins as the ingredients in your dog food and not by-product meal. This ingredient is ground parts of leftover unusable animal products like their brain, intestines, feet, and the stomach.
- Fillers - Lower quality dog food usually contains a lot of filler agents to help fill in the missing areas that are left by the good ingredients in your dog's food. These fillers include things like corn and wheat grain fillers, and these can also cause allergic reactions.
- Gluten - Gluten is another common ingredient in a lot of dog food, and gluten has little to no nutritional value for your dog. It's a grain by-product, and it is what is left when most of the nutrients are stripped away.
- Low-Quality Fats - A low-quality fat is designed to make your dog's food taste good, but they have little to no nutritional value for your dog. These fats include tallow and lard.
Our Top 6 Picks for the Best Dog Foods for English Bulldogs
Best for Adults - Nulo Adult Grain Free Dry Dog Food
This adult dog food comes in three different flavors and three different sizes so you can easily customize your order to suit your dog's tastes and needs. It contains a grain-free formula that least out most allergens, and it excludes corn, soy, wheat gluten, artificial colors, flavors, and additives, as well as chicken and egg proteins.
Your Bulldog will enjoy a meat protein-rich food that has a low carb blend with Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids for healthy cell growth and repair along with a shiny coat and healthy skin. It is made in the United States follow strict quality control measures to ensure that you get high-quality food.
Pet parents who bought this dog food liked that it was a special blend of low carb but protein-rich food with a healthy dose of essential fatty acids. They didn't like that this food had a strong fishy smell or the price.
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Best for Seniors - Gentle Giants Natural Dog Food
This healthy senior dog food comes in five different size options along with the option to get a free dog toy when you order a specific size. It is designed to have all of the essential vitamins and nutrients that your dog needs throughout their lives in bite-sized kibble pieces that are easy for your dog to eat.
This food is GMO-free, and it contains a healthy and nutritious mix of apples, cranberries, blueberries, tomato-vegetable pomace, carrots, beets, celery, watercress, lettuce, and spinach. It's designed to be dry to the touch without a greasy residue, and you can add warm water to soften it up for your dog, and it won't expand.
Pet parents who bought this dog food liked that it had a very healthy mix of non-GMO ingredients to support their dog's bone and muscle health. They didn't like that this food isn't as readily available as other dog food brands and it can cause soft stools.
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Best for Puppies - BLUE Freedom Grain Free Food for Puppies
BLUE Freedom dog food comes in eight different varieties including puppy-specific food and three different size options so you can choose what suits your dog's needs. Real meat from a lean protein source is the first ingredient followed by chicken meal and vegetables.
Your dog will get LifeSource Bits, and these pieces have an exclusive blend of antioxidants, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals to support healthy growth and bone development. This food is also formulated with no corn, soy, wheat, by-products, artificial colors, preservatives, or flavoring for a healthy and nutritious formula.
Pet parents who bought this puppy food liked that it came packed with antioxidants and LifeSouce Bits to support their dog's brain development and their healthy growth. They didn't like that this food could be too harsh for sensitive stomachs and cause loose stools when they transitioned them over to it.
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Best for Gas - Organix Castor & Pollux Dry Dog Food
This dog food features a gentle organic formula that is gentle for sensitive stomachs and it is formulated with probiotics to aid in the digestion process and prevent gas. The first ingredient is a real meat from a lean protein source, and it is packed with Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids for a healthy skin and coat.
Your dog will enjoy organic coconut oil, flaxseed, and blueberries as well as no grains, wheat, or soy for a healthier formula. This dog food is cooked and formulated in an organically-certified kitchen, so you know that it's held to very high-quality standards.
Pet parents who bought this organic dog food liked that it had a broad range of healthy ingredients that were specially designed to help with proper digestion and to ease gas discomfort. They didn't like that the price seems to keep climbing while the bags are getting smaller, so they have to buy more to keep up with their dogs.
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Best for Weight Loss - Hill's Science Diet Perfect Weight for Healthy Weight
If your dog is slowing down and less active, neutered, or prone to gaining weight like English Bulldogs do, this dog food is specially formulated to help them safely lose weight and maintain a healthy weight when they reach it. It's made in the United States to strict quality control standards.
Your dog will enjoy a healthy blend of real chicken, vitamins C and E, and antioxidants to boost their immune system and reduce any inflammation that they may have, both inside and out. It contains no artificial flavoring, preservatives, or colors and this allows your dog to eat it without fear of adverse side effects.
Pet parents who bought Hill's Science Diet dog food liked that over 70% of the dogs who ate it lost a healthy amount of weight in a safe and efficient manner. They didn't like that this food could be too harsh on very sensitive stomachs or that it can cause runny stools.
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Best for Sensitive Stomachs and Allergies - Wellness Simple Limited Ingredient Dog Food
This natural dog food comes in four different sizes and six flavor options that is formulated with easily digestible proteins that are gentle on your dog's stomach. It contains very few ingredients so there are less things for your dog to react to or to cause digestive upset.
There is no gluten, fillers, wheat, or artificial additives, and the protein source comes from a single lean type of meat. This food is made in the United States, and it comes backed by a Wellness Guarantee so you can order it and make sure that it works for your dog without an issue.
Pet parents who bought this food liked that it had fewer ingredients to keep track of and that it contains easily digestible proteins that are gentle on your dog's stomach. They didn't like that it can cause anal gland issues when the dog eats it because this can lead to an unpleasant odor.
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What is the Best Dog Food for English Bulldogs?
Our pick for the best food choice for your English Bulldog is Nulo Adult Grain-Free Dry Dog Food. This food contains a grain-free formula that comes packed with protein, low carbohydrate levels, and high fatty acid counts. It's held to very strict standards, and it's designed to help your dog's digestion.
This dog food is also a grain-free blend that excludes chicken and egg proteins as well in an attempt to minimize the risk of an allergic reaction. Finally, it is formulated to give your English Bulldog all of the nutrition they need to stay happy and healthy.
