Bulldog diet and food are a big factor in your bully health and wellness.  “Dr. Kraemer, what is the best Food and Diet for English Bulldog and French Bulldog ?”…..,  this million-dollar question is one of the most frequent questions I get asked during my English bulldog and French bulldog physical exams, it is also a popular requested Q on my “Ask Dr. K. / Q & A” webpage.

The “Best bulldog Diet” or “Best bulldog food” loaded question encapsulates a long list of variables, including ones that have little to do with your bulldog’s health and more to do with you and other bulldog owner’s lifestyles and personal dietary habits. Examples would be owners who are vegans or vegetarians and who would like their pet to be on a similar diet.

Best English Bulldog and French Bulldog Food – MUST KNOW:

Best Bulldog Food Must Know # 1 “ONE FITS ALL”:

There isn’t one superior best bulldog food that fits all English bulldogs and french bulldogs, your choice might depend on factors such as your bulldog age, food sensitivity, activity & lifestyle, medical history, and your bulldog food personal taste and preference.

Best Bulldog Diet Must Know # 2 “DUE DILIGENCE”:

When it comes to bulldog food, everyone seems to have an opinion, I recommend you do your own DD.

Best Bulldog Food Must Know #3 “MARKETING HYPE”:

It seems like every day one of the bulldog food manufacturers attempt to crown their bulldog food and bulldog diet as the “new & improved” best bulldog food of its class, the newfound “holy grail” of bulldog diet you must buy today. Those best bulldog food and diet claims add often pop up on your online search, FB page, Instagram forum, and any of the other half dozen social media platforms you might come by, most of which are paid ads vying for market share.

Disproving or proving those “Best Bulldog Food & Best Bulldog Diet” ad campaigns is a task for someone else,

my goal is to allow you to make the best fact based, educated decision on your own.

Bulldog Diet for English Bulldog and French Bulldog TIPS:

Bulldog Food Tip #1 “DO NO HARM”:

My short answer to the “Best Bulldog Food” question is rooted in my DO NO HARM oath. A good analogy is the “What is The Best Family Car” question. For most of us, the criteria for buying a family car are SAFETY & RELIABILITY over SPEED & STYLE.

It’s your children’s SAFTY & HELATHY, before the car flashy nickel-brass alloy wheels and sun-roof

Its your bulldog SAFTY & HEALTH, before the pet food flashy packing, buzz word, and ad campains.

Bulldog Diet Tip #2 ” POOR REGULATION”:

Just like bulldog supplements, pet-graded diets are loosely regulated (see Dr. Kraemer’s “The Best Supplements for Bulldogs and French Bulldog” article). Rather than providing pet owners with objective nutritional data and scientific facts, many bulldog diet and bulldog food manufacturers opt to concentrate on seductive packaging, trendy buzz words, and social media sexy campaigns.

Bulldog Food and Diet for English Bulldog and French Bulldog MYTHS Vs. FACTS

Best Bulldog Food “LABEL & PACKAGING” 

Myth Vs. Fact #1: PET FOOD MARKETING

MYTH: Bulldog food with the words “Natural”, “Organic”, “Gourmet”, “Fresh”, and “Premium”  printed on their label, are superior to others.

FACT: Those buzzwords are a play on our emotions rather than a reflection of the diet’s nutritional true value.

Myth Vs. Fact #2: PET FOOD LABEL & INGREDIENTS

MYTH: Ingredients such as protein, carbohydrates, and fat listed on your English bulldog or french bulldog food bag is the best way to evaluate the diet quality.

FACT: Ingredients are listed according to “weight as fed”. The % published provides minimal info about the ingredient’s quality. The ingredients listed are not directly correlated with the diet’s true nutritious value or the quality of the manufacturing process.
FACT: Pet bulldogs food manufacturer labeling legal requirements are minimal and often lack transparency, it’s  nearly impossible for you to select an OTC diet based on the “ingredient list”

You should not evaluate the quality of a the bulldog diet base on the “ingredient list”

Best Bulldog Diet and “GUARANTEED ANALYSIS”

Myth: Pet food guaranteed analysis is helpful in assessing digestibility, palatability, and bioavailability

FACT: Pet food guaranteed analysis does little to help to measure digestibility, palatability, and/or bioavailability

Best Bulldog Food is “GRAIN-FREE” 

Myth: Grain-free diets are carbohydrate-free. Also, grain-free bulldog food is known to eliminate food allergies and is in general much healthier.

FACT: Grain-free is NOT carbohydrate-free! The grain-Free bulldog diet just replaces one carb with another most of which are legumes loaded.
FACT: Recent findings suggest a link between English bulldog and French bulldog Grain-Free food diet and heart disease, to learn more click HERE

Best Bulldog Diet and “CARBOHYDRATES & OBESITY”

Myth: The carb’s in my bulldogs’ diet is the leading cause of obesity

FACT: It is not the carbohydrates that make your bulldog overweight but rather the calories and lack of exercise. A Calorie from Fat or Protein diet is equal to a calorie from Carb’s

The best Bulldog Diet is the “HOMEMADE BULLDOG DIET” 

Myth: Homemade diets are best because they are fresh, organic, and low fat.

FACT: Homemade diet might be beneficial but you should always consult a veterinary nutritionist

The Best Food and Diet for Bulldogs and French Bulldogs HOMEMADE DIET TIPS:

TIP 1 “CERTIFIED NUTRITIONIST”: Have a board-certified nutritionist help you formulate the meals, you can reach one here 
TIP 2 “FOOD SAFETY”: To be safe consider mixing it with one of the veterinary RX diets (prescription therapeutic diet)
TIP 3 “DIET MONITORING”: If you opted for a bulldog homemade diet, I recommend an exam and blood test every 6 months.
TIP4 “LAB ANALYSIS”: Send your recipe to an independent lab for a review and nutritional analysis.
TIP 5 “HOMEMADE TREATS” Last, even if you are feeding your bulldog regular dog food you can still add some “homemade” treats.

Most fresh produce are safe and healthy for your pet, but before you start please get a list of the few unsafe/poisones ones.

The Best Food and Diet for Bulldogs and French Bulldogs “RAW DIET”

Myth: Bulldog raw diets are superior to other pet diets and are totally safe to feed

FACT: Bulldog raw diet might have benefits but also drawbacks. For bulldogs, raw diet MUST KNOW, DO & DONT, and much more click HERE

Bulldog and French Bulldog Raw Food Diet POSSIBLE BENEFITS:

• Raw diet  might be more digestible
• Raw diet might have limited ingredients which can reduce food allergy
• Raw diet might be more palatable
• Raw diet might improve elimination.
• Raw diet might appear to have more energy, better coat, and appear “healthier”

Bulldog and French Bulldog Raw Food Diet POSSIBLE DRAWBACKS:

• EXCESS: Some bulldog raw diets have a higher fat content
• DEFICIENCIES: Bulldog raw diet often has an abnormal calcium/phosphorus ratio
• BAD BACTERIA: Raw diet (non-pasteurized meals) has a higher risk of harboring and passing deadly contaminants.
• PUBLIC HEALTH: Your family is also at risk from those contaminated (more so kids and immune-suppressed adults)

Bulldog Food and Diets for Bulldogs and French Bulldogs, RAW DIET TIPS

Best Raw Food Tip # 1 “AFFCO”:

Look for an official AAFCO label. Some manufacturers posts a misleading AAFCO-like label

Best Raw Food Tip #2 “PERSONAL SAFETY”:

Always wash your hand after handling raw food

Best Raw Food #3 “KIDS SAFETY”:

Don’t let young kids or immune-suppressed adults handle raw food.

Best Raw Food #4 “IMPROVE SAFETY”:

Cook the outside of the raw food and buy freeze-dried or flash pasteurized.

For more information about best raw diet for bulldogs visit the Centers for Disease Control and Food safety   

The Best Food and Diets for Bulldogs and French Bulldogs RULE OF THUMB

Bet Bulldog Food Rule 1 “THE DO NO HARM”:

Like our family car analogy, I recommend that your bulldog diet main focus begins with Safety & Reliability

Bet Bulldog Diet Rule 2 “THE LARGE & REPUTABLE”:

The larger know food manufacturers are usually well known and well-financed. They have provided quality diets for decades, they publish peer-review scientific data with quality control transparency. They have a Ph.D., nutritionist, and scientist on their team and a few also manufacture lines of prescription diets. Thus in my commonsense playbook, they have the edge over most of the other OTC diets.

That does not mean that there are no equal or better niche diets out there, there very well might be. Unfortunately, most of us do not have the tools to screen, identify and screen for those companies.

 Thus, I usually default to our  “DO NO HARM” bulldog diet rule .

Bet Bulldog Food Rule 3 “THE RX FORMULATED DIETS”:

Because they are meant for medical conditions, Rx- Pet Diets are more carefully formulated, held to a higher standard, and have superior quality control when compared to the OTC niche boutique exotic diets. Even though they are “prescription”, a good number of veterinary prescription pet diets can be fed to your perfectly normal healthy bulldog.

Bet Bulldog Diet Rule 4 “THE POOP-TEST”:

If your bulldog’s new diet generates healthy-looking poop with less volume and less frequency than his/her previous diet, there is a good chance it is a better diet with improved nutrition digestibility and bioavailability.

Dr. Kraemer’s The Best Food and Diet for Bulldogs FINAL ADVICE 

• Adhere to the “do no harm” bulldog diet rule
• Ignore emotionally-charged pet food marketing schemes
• Stick to the pet diet nutritional facts.
• Consider staying with a reputable pet food manufacturer or even upgrading to one of their prescription diets.

Best French Bulldog and English Bulldog Food OTC & DO NO HARM

If you opt for a niche pet diet you can still take the “do no harm” initiative by doing the following:

Contact the bulldog food manufacturer and ask them the following questions (published by WSAVA):

1. CERTIFIED NUTRITIONIST: Do you have a boarded certified nutritionist? name and qualifications.
2. FORMULATION: Who Formulated your pet’s diet and what are their credentials?
3. AAFCO CERTIFIED: Are your pet’s diet tested and formulated by AAFCO standards?
4. AAFCO ANALYSIS: Does your pet’s diet meet AAFCO nutrient profiles by analysis?
5. QUALITY CONTROL: What specific quality control do you implement?
6. NUTRIENT ANALYSIS: Ask for a complete nutrient analysis of the diet
7. CALORIES: What is the caloric value per cup?
8. PEER REVIEW: What product research was done on this pet diet and is it published in a peer-review paper?

SUMMARY: pet food manufacturers should be willing to provide you with a response to those questions. If they are not able or willing to do so, be cautious and consider avoiding feeding their diet to your pet.

Best Bulldog Food AAFCO Note:

Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). It’s important to recognize that while AAFCO provides recommendations for states to consider as they update state feed laws, AAFCO does not regulate or inspect pet food. Regulations and enforcement of pet food labeling are done mostly at the state level by state feed control officials; not by AAFCO, though generally follow AAFCO recommendations.

“An Ounce Of PREVENTION Is Worth A Pound Of CURE”

*This guide was compiled courtesy of Dr. Kraemer, a “must-read” manual for any current or future bully owners