It is a commonly known fact that having a good nutritional diet is crucial for a healthy life. This extends to your beloved furry friend as well. Dogs need their owners to treat them with love, and of course, take care of all their needs. Making sure your dog has the best possible nutrition is one way to show that you care.
Bulldogs can be fed any homemade or commercially available food blend. However, bulldog parents should know that their beloved pooches tend to have allergies along with sensitive digestive tracts, so they can only be fed food designed specifically for dogs.
In order to make sure that you feed your beloved bulldog the best possible diet, it is important to understand its nutritional demands as well as personal preferences. Only when you have a clear understanding of bulldog diet requirements, you can make informed choices about its food. You’ll be surprised at the variety of foods your bulldog can have, as well as the food it can’t!
Let’s explore bulldog nutrition!
Important components of a healthy bulldog diet
For letting your bulldog live its best life, make sure that for every pound they weigh, they are given two grams of protein. This means that if your bulldog weighs 45 pounds, it should be getting 90 grams of protein. These particular canines also require whole grain carbs, a sufficient amount of vitamins and minerals, along with plenty of omega 6 fatty acids.
Like humans, dogs need both plant and animal based proteins to strengthen their muscles and bones, along with ensuring a healthy growth of fur and nails. Healthy protein levels also help make certain that your dog’s body produces an adequate amount of hormones and antibodies that keep it safe from infections.
Fat is also needed for bulldogs to ensure a healthy fur coat, as well as sufficient energy to keep it active throughout the day. Some fatty acids such as omega 3 are excellent as they prevent canine arthritis.
There are certain minerals that should be a part of your dog’s regular diet. Minerals help keep your bulldog’s teeth and bones in good condition, while also aiding in the healing of wounds. Essential minerals include zinc, potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, iron and selenium.
Your canine bud should also have a diet that has an ample amount of vitamins. Vitamins are vital as they provide your dog with antioxidants as well as aiding in blood clotting processes that prevent excessive bleeding when wounded. English bulldogs typically need Vitamins A, C, K, E, along with folates.
What human food can bulldogs eat?
When it comes to human food for bulldogs, your canines can have the range of meat (including pork, turkey, salmon, chicken, beef, lamb) that you have for yourself, provided that they are not cooked with onions, garlic, salt or even heavily spiced. These adorable dogs also love eating peanut butter, which should be given moderately as their high fat content can cause your pooch to become overweight.
Other human food that can be eaten by canines include bread, oatmeal, shrimp, eggs, etc. A dog can also eat various fruits and vegetables such as carrots, apples, watermelons, celery, and even broccoli!
Keep in mind, that since dog digestive systems are different from those of humans, many human foods can’t be given to them. It is thus crucial that you do your research before giving your dog any human food.
What foods are bad for Bulldogs?
Though a bulldog typically eats everything you leave out for it (and even things you leave for yourself!), there are some particular things that can harm them. Thus it is important that you do your research beforehand to ensure your bulldog doesn’t eat anything that can potentially make them sick.
When it comes to protein, you should avoid giving your bulldog chicken based proteins, as most dogs of this breed have minor allergies to chicken. You can substitute chicken with lamb to ensure your pooch stays healthy.
Letting your dog have any sort of caffeine whether it’s tea or coffee, is seriously problematic, causing your bulldog to develop restlessness, heart palpitations, and even tremors in their muscles. It should also be known that though a dog can eat cheese, large amounts of cheese can increase bulldog fat and are not suitable for prolonged use as dog food.
As a dog lover, remember that as mentioned before bulldogs need food that is specifically made for dogs. No matter how adorable your dog’s eyes look as they watch you eat your food, remember that there are some human foods that can make them sick.
Examples of such harmful human foods include salt, nutmeg, grapes, raisins, chocolate, Macadamia nuts, onions, avocados, garlic, and even alcohol. Allowing your bulldog to consume these can be fatal!
Can a bulldog have fruit?
Bulldogs really like to eat a large range of different fruits, which are beneficial for their health. Giving fruits to Bulldogs is not a bad idea as fruits can provide your canine with vitamins and minerals that can help them stay healthy.
Dog-friendly fruits can help strengthen your bulldog’s immune system, aid in digestion, to enhance skin quality, and even reduce inflammation in the digestive tract.
Dogs can eat fruits such as peaches and dogs can also eat apricots, but the pits of such fruits can be deadly, so it is better to make sure that your pooch stays away from such fruits to stay safe.
It should be kept in kind while there are many fruits that can be good for your dogs there are other fruits that have harmful or even fatal effects for your dog. Moreover, individual bulldogs have preferences for particular fruits over others, so even if a fruit isn’t harmful for them, you might find that your dog doesn’t have an appetite for it.
What fruits can Bulldogs eat?
Beneficial fruits include apples, bananas, blackberries, kiwis, mangoes, blueberries, oranges, cranberries, coconuts, watermelons, pineapples, and many more.
Remember that though your dog can technically have a fruit safely don’t mean that it wants to. As a bulldog parent it is important that you factor in your dog’s personal preferences before giving it a fruit to eat.
What vegetables can bulldogs eat?
Like fruits, giving your bulldog moderate amounts of vegetables can help build its immunity, while also helping it in its digestive processes. There are numerous veggies that you can slip in dog food to improve its taste, while also giving your dog some important minerals and vitamins.
Vegetables that pair well with dog food include asparagus, broccoli, carrots, kale, mushrooms, green beans, parsley, and even pumpkins. Remember to lightly boil or steam harder vegetables like asparagus and broccoli to make it easier for even your English bulldog to consume.
Additionally, we have found that bulldogs also like it when their dog food has been diced into smaller pieces, which makes their chewing taste much easier.
Nutrition requirements for a bulldog puppy
An adult dog will have a different nutritional requirement than a bulldog puppy. As a bulldog puppy tends to grow faster than an adult of its breed, it will need three high quality meals per day.
To support the speedy growth of your bulldog puppy, make sure that you give it ample protein to allow healthy joint, bone, and muscle growth. Some bulldog puppies also require extra carbohydrates for quick energy. You should ideally have a veterinarian doctor look at your diet plan for your bulldog puppy to ensure it gets what food it needs in the right amounts.
Some owners tend to overfeed their puppies, which causes a lot of problems once the puppies become adult dogs, such as developing diabetes conditions etc.
Flatulence in an English bulldog
An English bulldog is not very different from an American bulldog. An English bulldog is known to have a wider head than its American counterpart. Since bulldogs have large heads and mouths, they tend to ingest more air than other breeds, which makes them more prone to develop flatulence.
As an English bulldog has a wider head than average bulldogs, they are considered to be more prone than the rest of their breed to develop flatulence. To counter flatulence, feed your American or English bulldog with small kibbles to make them eat more slowly.
Additionally you should avoid giving your English bulldog table scraps, soybeans, milk products, peas, beans, or any kind of spicy or fatty food to avoid flatulence.
Some more common allergens for bulldogs
It helps to know some common things that your beloved bulldog will probably be allergic to. As mentioned previously, chocolate is a toxin for all canines, but there are other toxins and allergens that, as a pet owner, you should be wary of.
Common allergens specific for the bulldog breed include wild mushrooms, avocado, corn, and rhubarb. Food items such as grapes and raisins can have a deadly impact by causing your bulldog’s kidneys to deteriorate.
Commercial Vs Homemade bulldog food
Store bought dog food is convenient, and available readily at your nearest supermarket. There are many choices available in dry and wet options, depending on your bulldog’s preference. However, it helps to ‘shake things up’ for your dog by giving it home prepared dog food every now and then. Homemade dog food is great as it can help you understand and cater to your dog’s nutritional needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many times a day should I feed my bulldog?
Bulldogs are brachycephalic, which means that they have short muzzles, with crowded teeth. This means that they find it harder to chew and swallow their food, thus taking longer to do so. Many dog owners tend to split their bulldog’s meals, feeding them two to four times per day.
Are grain free dog food options good food for bulldog?
No. As grain based dog food are high in carbohydrates, many people think that going grain free will help prevent their bulldog from getting obese. This was proved wrong by a study by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The study said that grain free dog food was not necessarily healthier than grain based bulldog food, as the former usually contains unhealthy substitutes.
It is important for dog lovers to know that grain-free diets usually cause dogs to develop life-threatening heart conditions like dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).
What happens if I give my dog too much protein?
Giving any dog food with high protein levels, or feeding a dog with excessive protein would cause obesity. This is because excess protein in a dog is stored as fat. Fat bulldogs often become hindered by their weight and leave them unable to practice a healthy active lifestyle.
Is the bulldog breed prone to obesity?
Bulldogs tend to be one of those breeds prone to obesity. This is due to the fact that they are generally seen as chubby dogs, thus many owners tend to overfeed them. Moreover due to breathing problems, bulldogs are generally not inclined towards strenuous exercise, which makes it harder for them to shed the extra pounds.
It is helpful to know that the healthy weight for an adult male bulldog falls between 23 to 25 kilograms. Similarly, the average weight for a healthy female bulldog is between 18 to 23 kilograms.
Conclusion
Having a dog means that you should give it the best care you possibly can, which includes making sure that your beloved canine has high-quality dog food that fulfills all of its nutritional requirements.
Though you can easily feed bulldogs with human food like meats, fruits and vegetables, there are still plenty of human foods that can’t be used as dog food. Remember that this is because humans and their delightful dog friends have different digestive tracts which each have their own specific requirements that need to be fulfilled.
Bulldog diets have a temperamental digestive tract, where imbalanced amounts of nutrients can have harmful effects ranging from obesity to hip dysplasia for your pooch.
To ensure your dog has a long and healthy life, it is essential that you give its diet the attention it needs. What can be a better way to show your precious bulldog that you love it?
