Many dog owners look at their dog’s diet needs and believe that all they need to do is buy a decent bag of dog food. That’s not the best way to go about it. Especially with a breed like a French Bulldog that is a little more susceptible to certain illnesses.
In reality, your French Bulldog, and any other dog for that matter, has a variety of dietary needs that need to be tackled, and you’ll rarely find dog food that covers every need.
Today, we’re going to go over the intricacies of the French bulldog diet and why each part of it is so crucial.
1: Get the Highest Quality Possible
First and foremost, don’t cut corners when it comes to purchasing your dog’s food whether you buy ingredients to make it yourself or use an all-in-one commercial product.
Just like your own diet, the quality of the food you feed your dog will greatly determine their overall health, energy levels, and lifespan. If you want your French Bulldog to be in your family for a long time to come, it’s well worth the extra money spent on good food.
This doesn’t mean that you need to buy them filet mignon every day, but do ensure that you’re buying high-quality food options.
2: Meat is the First Ingredient
If you’re buying a commercial product, as you most likely will the majority of time, the first ingredient on the list should be a wholesome meat product.
What we mean by wholesome is that it needs to be an identifiable cut of meat. Chicken breast, beef sirloin, beef chuck, lamb, etc. Just the regular “chicken, beef, or lamb” is often a decent indicator of quality, but you should not accept trimmings, multiple listed meats right off the bat, etc.
In most cases, that means the meat going into the food is just random ratios of organ meat, and the worst clippings that are not even suitable for hotdogs. This is common with cheaper brands.
Meat being the primary ingredient is crucial because it’s going to be the main source of your dog’s protein needs.
3: No Fillers
Avoid any food product that lists things such as oats, rice, and grains. Those might be tasty parts of your diet, but your French Bulldog doesn’t get anything out of them, and they’re just fillers that allow the manufacturer to cut corners at your dog’s expense.
It’s like buying a soup that has 3 potatoes in it, a tablespoon of broth, and then the rest is water.
4: French Bulldog Diet Fact: Salmon is The Optimal Choice
We talked about meat being important, and while the most common meats are chicken, beef, and lamb, a great protein to look for as the first ingredient is actually salmon.
It naturally contains omega-3 fatty acids that we’ll talk about later, is packed with protein, and Frenchies love it. So, if you have the option, find a salmon-based dog food that matches our other requirements.
5: Plant Protein is a Must
Your Frenchy will get most of its protein from the meat that makes up the bulk of its food, but it’s not actually a carnivore. Your dog needs plant-based proteins, as well.
Foods with high-protein plant ingredients such as fava beans are great options. They provide the various proteins that meat often doesn’t to ensure your dog is getting everything they need.
Like the meat ingredients, the plant ingredients should be top-quality, too. Everything should be up to human-grade levels of quality.
6: Omega-3 Fats
We mentioned this earlier, but omega-3 fatty acids should be in your dog’s food. If you choose salmon-based food, this is going to be easy.
Omega-3s are healthy for your dog in general, but the most notable benefit is the effect they’ll have on your dog’s coat. They’ll help keep it full, properly oiled, and healthy to help them regulate their temperature a lot more effectively.
7: No Preservatives
Preservatives aren’t good for you, and they’re not good for your dog, either. Pretty much anything that can sit around for years is going to be a bad thing to put into a living creature.
Look for natural foods that don’t have preservatives in them, and if you choose to make your dog’s food, use natural and fresh ingredients rather than canned, frozen, or otherwise preserved varieties.
8: A Small Ingredient List
We know we’ve listed a variety of ingredients, but the ingredient list should still be extremely small. If it ever feels like you’re reading a short story while you’re going through a product’s ingredients, it’s not a high-quality option.
A primary protein, supplementary plant proteins, healthy fats, and maybe water or a broth, should be the vast majority of the ingredient list.
The reason a short ingredient list is so important is because manufacturers are likely to use a lot of cost-cutting measures such as fillers, preservatives, dyes, and similar things to make their food look and sound good while actually producing cheap garbage. The longer the list, the more likely it is that, that is what has been done.
Why is Your French Bulldog’s Diet So Important?
We’ve talked a lot about ingredients today, but why is all of that so important? Well, the following points are true for all dogs, but French Bulldogs have their own set of health needs that make them even more important.
First, obesity is a major issue with French Bulldogs. If their diet strays from this, even a diet that is reasonably portioned can make them obese.
There are also health problems that are mostly avoided by proper breeding, but they can become issues if you don’t feed your dog a high-quality diet.
Beyond that, your dog is just like you. If you feed it well, it will be livelier, experience fewer health scares, and of course, live longer.
Find the Perfect French Bulldog Buddy for You at Philly Frenchie
Now that you know everything about the French bulldog diet, you’re one step closer to being completely ready
If you’re looking for French bulldogs for sale and want to add a French Bulldog to your family, or you need information on how to care for one you already love, contact Philly Frenchy today.
We have the top-of-the-line French bulldog puppies for sale that you’ll instantly fall in love with.