OT: English Bulldog diet

[Seinfeld]

I have a male bulldog that's about to turn 4 later this month, and according to our vet, I've kept him in good shape at a very lean 60 lb. Anyway, I was telling our vet that he shed a good bit, and he told me that aside from not brushing enough, a lot of that has to do with the food you're giving them. I've been giving him adult pedigree for years and he said that while it's not a terrible food, it's mostly corn and grains that a bulldog can't digest. He recommended ones like Science Diet and Canidae, but he said to pay close attention since bulldogs tend to have more skin/allergy reactions than a lot of other breeds.

So with all that said, I was wondering what some of you current or former bulldog owners have fed your dogs that worked well. I'm planning on trying something new this weekend and slowly mixing it in to his diet. He doesn't do well with sudden changes.

 

[GloryDawg]

bd

 

[msuJD164]

Eukanuba lamb and rice, but the real secret: everyday since he was about 6 months, he has a vanilla creme filled cookie in the morning, and one right before bed. Vet says he is healthiest english bulldog he has ever seen.

 

[Cohendawg]

It can be hard to find if you don't have a Petco or Petsmart nearby. But I've been feeding my bulldog this stuff for over 2 years now and love it. He still sheds but not nearly as bad as when he was on royal canin or eukanuba.

He still licked his paws quite a bit on the chicken and rice dogfood so I switched him to the wilderness blend which has no grains at all. And none of blue buffalo's foods have any corn, corn meal, animal byproducts (think chicken beaks and legs). Since I switched to the wilderness blend my dog hardly ever throws up anymore and his paw licking has decreased a ton. The wilderness blend is the closest thing to a raw diet you can do without actually doing a raw diet.

http://bluebuffalo.com/do...-comparison/test-results

 

[EmoryBellard]

You can get it on amazon.com also. I'm sure it's a little pricier than stores, but you get free shipping. If you are used to buying Purina, etc, get ready for some sticker shock, but your dog will thank you for it.

 

[disappointeddawg]

My Bulldog turns 9 this month. He has always eaten Eukanuba and has been very healthy for a bulldog. No issues other than his front teeth haven't been doing well the last couple years. I attribute this to the fact that they are always exposed to air.

He does shed a lot but I also don't brush him as often as I probably should. He probably gets a once-a-week "brushing" with one of those expensive-as-hell metal-toothed things they sell at Petsmart.

My fiance feeds her rescue mutt (6 yrs) Purina Pro Plan Lamb and Rice. She also seems to do well but does shed a lot too. She switched her to Blue Buffalo and the dog didn't seem to like it as much and it's expensive as hell so she switched back.

I think you get what you pay for and can't go wrong with Science Diet, Eukanuba, Blue Buffalo, etc. Not all dogs are the same and some will do better than others on different brands. Just go with the best you can afford. I know a guy that feeds his dog Ol'Roy and whatever road kill they find and they seem to do pretty good. I'm not suggesting that but I wouldn't lose any sleep over which of the top-tier brands to go with.

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

Mine is turning four soon and I also use the blue buffalo wilderness. He use to be on royal canin and natures choice (petsmart version of bb). Bb hasn't help any on the shedding or paw licking but he doesn't run you out of the room when he rips one now. I fed him purina the first year and a half I had him and he got hot spots about twice a year. Since he's been on bb he hasn't had the first one. Now if I could find something that kept him from drooling a gallon of slobber a day...

 

[Uncle Ruckus]

That's what I give him and my American Bulldog for treats. It's very healthy and he thinks its a filet mignon. He'll pretty much eat anything I drop on the floor though but he won't touch a pretzel. Anyone else's hate pretzels

 

[Roy Munson.sixpack]

whole raw onions. I know you arent supposed to feed them onions, but he loved the things. I accidentaly dropped a whole peeled one and before I could get to the floor he had already taken half of it out and took off with the rest. Nothing ever happened to him, so we kept giving them to him every now and then.

As for the pretzel, is he allergic to wheat? Might be why. Some pretzels use wheat flour. Belle, current bully we have, is allergic to wheat.

 

[disappointeddawg]

Mine is named Smoot as well. He won't eat anything that isn't meat or dairy. Sometimes he'll chew up a carrot only to leave a nice pile of slobbery diced up orangeness for me to clean up.

 

[SuspectZero]

are the only two good options in my opinion. I use both and my dogs love it. Do a google search on dog food scores. DO NOT feed them Science Diet.

 

[jb1020]

Holy hell, I don't care what it cost. I'll pay anything to keep my 9 year old bulldog to stop licking his paws.

Ive always used Iams but recently switched to pedigree and I can't tell a difference. He's always been pretty healthy. The only issue I've ever had with him is a skin issue he gets in the heat of the summer. Damn near all of his hair will fall out. Our vet says its just some sort of fungal reaction that flares up in the summer. Any one else dealt with that?

 

[SuspectZero]

But it could be another allergy like grass or pollen. My female constantly licks her paws so we recently switched from Blue Buffalo to Canidae (a limited ingrediant food that we order online) to try to rule out whatever food allergy it may be. Next thing to do is an allergy test. My male dog doesn't have the allergy and he doesn't lick his foot. You should also add the fish oil to their food because it helps with the skin and coat. It comes in pill form or liquid and my dogs have very good coats.

 

[slickdawg]

been eating it well for several years now

 

[Eureka Dog]

of your money's going through your dog, ending up in your back yard, giving you something else to do before you go buy more dog food.

I made the change to the higher $ dog food (with little or no corn/fillers) about a decade ago. I never regretted it... as it applies to my wallet and my dogs. They ate less, became healthier, and my backyard ceased to look and smell like a feedlot.

 

[jb1020]

Do you feed your dog less if you make the switch?