The best food for American bulldogs

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When choosing the best food for American bulldogs it’s important to keep the breed in mind. These dogs are muscular, and that means a high protein diet that can keep up with their high energy levels.

The best dog food for an American bulldog is one that’s free of fillers and full of high-quality proteins that come from meat. In this article, we’ll help you to identify foods that are actually good for your dog so you can pass on the rest.

How do you choose a good dog food?

Choosing a good dog food requires learning to read ingredients labels and learning to avoid problem items. Manufacturers are required to list their ingredients in order of prominence in their foods.

This means that the first couple items on the list are what the food is mostly made out of. If you see corn or wheat in the first couple of spots, you are looking at a low quality food! Though preferably, the food should not contain these ingredients at all.

The first and preferably at least second spot on the ingredients list should be reserved for high-quality meat proteins. Only accept named proteins like chicken or beef and not vague ingredients like “meat product” or “poultry by-products”. These are sure signs of a low quality food.

A reputable manufacturer will not hesitate to tell you what’s in the food. Don’t just judge a food based on the pictures either. Often times bags will show pictures of healthy meats and veggies but upon further inspection you’ll find that the ingredients tell a different story.

If the advertised meat doesn’t show up until ingredient #7 in the list, then you can bet the food has almost none of this item! The manufacturer is trying to deceive you. Avoid buying their foods.

What ingredients should I avoid when shopping for a dog food?

Grains and corn

Grains and corn are often used as fillers. Grain free is best, but sometimes small amounts of things like brown rice can aide digestion. If the good does contain a grain, make sure it’s not too high up the list or you’re just feeding your dog cheap filler calories and no real meat.

Mystery Meats

All meat proteins should be very specific. If it doesn’t explicitly say beef, chicken, salmon ect. then you’re buying a low quality food. Mystery meats could literally be anything, and in most cases they are ingredients which were deemed not good enough to be consumed by humans.

Even more expensive foods may try to use these ingredients. The manufacturer is counting on you not knowing the difference so they can sell you sub-par food at premium prices.

Too many carbohydrates

While veggies are good for your pup, too many carbohydrates can be a problem. This often contributes to dogs being overweight.

Look out for potatoes, and if they’re too high up the list, then you may consider another food. It’s also important to watch out for peas, because sometimes they’re used to up the protein in a food. They shouldn’t be too high up the ingredient list.

Best Dog Food For American Bulldogs

#1 – NomNomNow

best dog food for american bulldogs

The first spot on our list of best dog food for American bulldogs goes to NomNomNow! This premium food provider offers top notch nutrition for dogs. All of their meals are made using only the best and freshest ingredients.

Everything is actually cooked fresh every week and then shipped to your house, saving you a trip to the pet store. Their foods use only human grade ingredients and none of the cast offs and junk that many other pet food manufacturers utilize.

Though the best part of NomNomNow is that their foods are very limited in ingredients. This is great news for bully owners who have dogs that frequently suffer from skin irritations. That’s because limited ingredient diets are a great for allergies.

If you’ve ever noticed your pup being constantly itchy, suffering from hot spots or even scratching until they bleed, allergies to their food are likely to blame. However, food allergies can also cause vomiting, diarrhea or constipation in dogs.

best dog food for an american bulldog

Above you can see the ingredients for one of NomNomNow’s recipes. Their Chicken Chow-Wow recipe featured the highest protein option available at 40%, and as you can see they’re very transparent about their ingredients.

This makes it super easy to plan around food sensitivities or just things you don’t want your dog to eat. This particular recipe features healthy chicken and easy to digest carbohydrates like sweet potatoes. NomNomNow doesn’t use any low quality fillers like corn or wheat like other dog food companies.

One of the best features of NomNomNow though is that all of their diet plans are customizable. You can work with a nutrition specialist who can help you to find the perfect diet for your pooch. Plus, their foods come portioned already so you always know that you’re feeding your dog the correct amount to keep them healthy.

If you’re interested in feeding your dog the very best, the click here to learn more about NomNomNow. You can also get 50% off your first order if you want to give them a trial run with that link.

#2 – Wysong Archetype

best dog food for american bulldog puppies

You’ve likely heard about the nutritional benefits of raw feeding, but many people are intimidated by the task. Formulating a proper raw diet for your dog can be difficult and it’s easy to mess up, which could cause problems for your dog.

Fortunately, Wysong has made a product that makes offering your dog the benefits of raw feeding a breeze! Not only are their diets high in quality proteins and fats, which are important for high energy breeds like the American bulldog, but they’re also starch free. There’s no corn, wheat, soy or potatoes in here, making it a great choice for pups with allergies.

This is actually a freeze dried raw dog food. It’s created by using non thermal preservation methods, and that makes it as convenient as feeding your dog a dry kibble but MUCH better for them. You can also re-hydrate is using water in order to give your dog the benefits of eating a wet food, adding precious liquids to their diet.

Archetype is limited in ingredients and features a “whole prey approach” to nutrition. This means that they also provide organ meats and bones in addition to whole meats. Organ meats are highly nutritious and tasty to dogs, making this food a real crowd pleaser.

If you’re interested in trying out a raw diet for your bulldog, then you can get the best deal for this food at Wysong’s website. You can also save an additional 10% if you sign up for their auto-ship program.

#3 – Bully Max High Performance Dog Food

Interested in helping your bully to gain some muscle? If you have a particularly hard working dog, then a high calorie food may be in order and Bully Max makes a product expressly for this purpose. It’s also one of the few dog foods to score a 5 star rating on Dog Food Advisor.

Their high performance dog foods clock in at 535 calories per cup, making it a great choice if you’re looking for a dry kibble food that can put weight on your dog. They also don’t use common fillers like corn, wheat or soy, meaning you’re getting only quality nutrition for your dog.

Bully Max does use chicken meal for their food though, which while not bad, is not as nutritious as whole meat chicken due to the amount of cooking required to make it. This ingredient does however have more protein since it’s highly concentrated.

Thanks to the more limited ingredient profile, many pet parents have also found that their dogs no longer suffer from skin allergies, constipation, vomiting or diarrhea when switching to this food.

This is an excellent food if you have a very high energy dog, but if your pup is older or doesn’t get as much exercise it might be too high calorie for them. Remember, this is a performance food for dogs to gain muscle and that requires great work outs.

Interested in giving Bully max a try for your high energy needs pup? Click here to see reviews and prices. It’s one of the most highly reviewed performance dog foods on the market for good reason.

#4 – Orijen Dog Food

Orijen makes a kibble food for dogs that offers a tasty combination of meats that dogs love. It’s also very high in protein, because they mix fresh dried and raw dehydrates ingredients. Dehydrated ingredients are tasty, making this a good choice for picky dogs.

They also make sure that you’re getting actual meat and not filler for your money. A 13 pound bag of Orijen dog food will contain approximately 11 pounds of meat ingredients. This makes it not only an exceptional value but also one of the best dry food for American bulldog puppies.

Orijen makes several different flavor profiles and formulas, including diets for senior dogs and puppies if you need a specialty diet. Their also one of the healthiest dry dog foods available that don’t fill their products full of fillers. Orijen uses no grains, potatoes or tapioca in their products.

While the ingredients in Orijen are great, they don’t offer any foods that use a single protein item. So, if your dog has troubles with digestion, then this could be a bad choice for them. A more limited ingredient food NomNomNow’s or Wysong’s might be more appropriate.

However, if your dog has no problems with protein sensitivities, then this is an excellent dry food to try for them. Click here to read the reviews and check the available flavors.

#5 – Halo Dog Food

halo dog food

If you’re looking for a healthy, yet affordable dry food, then Halo is a good bet. They use only human grade, whole-food ingredients in their foods, and they use only whole meats. There’s no rendered meat meals, which lose nutritional value during cooking.

While Halo is not the highest calorie option on our list, they do offer some exceptional foods. They have many different flavors, making it easy to find a food a picky dog will eat. They also have grain free diets available and specialty mixes for large breed, puppies, senior dogs, gluten free and more.

Halo’s best feature though is that their foods are very easy to digest. If your dog has issues with loose stools or upset stomach, then this food could be a good choice for them. Halo has even gone so far as to test their digestibility against other foods in a laboratory!

The ingredient profile is also very limited, making it great for skin allergies and itchiness as well. If your pup frequently suffers from constant itching, then you might try this food for them.

Halo is also surprisingly affordable and its price is on par with options you’d find at big box stores but it doesn’t skimp on quality. This makes it a great budget option that still allows you to feed your dog a quality foods. You can see the reviews and check prices here.

Tips for swapping your dog to a new food

While we believe that all of these are great choices for your dog, it’s important to remember that dogs are individuals. Even a super high-quality food might not agree with every dog’s stomach.

It’s also important to realize that swapping foods too much could actually cause intestinal distress. You should find a quality food and stick to it for best results rather just buying whatever is on sale that week.

When swapping to a new food, give your dog at least 14 days to acclimate to it.


Michelle Rei
Michelle Rei
Michelle is a pet parent turned amateur pet product researcher. After adopting a fur baby with digestive issues caused by bad pet food, she's poured hundreds of hours into research to find the best of the best to help him and other pets live happier and healthier lives.
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