what dog food brand is best for pitbulls
Best Dog Food For PitBulls
Finding the best dog food for pitbulls can be challenging, as they have different needs than other breeds.
Thats why weve put together this list of the best dog foods for pit bulls.
All these brands are made with ingredients specifically designed for pit bulls, so you can be sure your pet will get the nutrients and proteins they need to thrive.
Today, well give you our recommendations for the best dry dog foods, including detailed reviews describing why we made the selection.
Quick list of the best dog food for Pit Bulls:
- Best For Overall Pit Bull Health Wellness Complete Health
- Best For Pit Bull Puppies Purina ONE Smart Blend
- Best Food For Senior Pit Bulls Royal Canin
- Best For Pit bull Weight Gain Farmina Natural & Delicious
- Best For Pit Bull Weight Loss Hills Science Diet Adult
- Best Food For Allergies ACANA Singles
- Best Organic Food Castor & Pollux Organix
Best Dog Food For Pit Bulls
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The Wellness Complete Health Adult Deboned Chicken & Oatmeal Recipe Dry Dog Food recipe includes chicken, oats, barley, peas, and brown rice. The innovative combination of antioxidants, omega fatty acids, and glucosamine reduces skin inflammation and provides joint support.
Although grain-free dog food is available, not all dogs can tolerate it. So instead of feeding your pit bull a grain-free diet, which could lead to nutritional deficiencies and heart disease, give him a meal rich in grains.
This cuisine is 100 percent natural and contains probiotics, which have been shown to boost the immune system. It is created in the United States from ingredients from throughout the world and contains no artificial preservatives.
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The nutritional value of Purina ONE SmartBlend for pups differs from that of conventional adult diets.
This high-protein, protein-rich dog foods first component is chicken. In addition, it contains DHA, or Docosahexaenoic Acid, and minerals that can aid in developing your pit bulls eyesight and brain.
In addition, it contains antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals for a balanced diet. This light and digestible meal contains no fillers, so it is ideal for your dog.
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Old pit bulls may benefit from dietary modifications, especially if they are experiencing age-related issues such as arthritis, cognitive loss, or weight fluctuations.
The Royal Canin dog food blend for 8-year-old and older dogs is created for dogs weighing 57 pounds or more and offers the required high-quality proteins and fibre, as well as EPA, DHA, and antioxidants that help your dog age-related combat changes.
If your elderly dog has difficulty chewing, add warm water.
In addition, owners may wish to see their veterinarian about joint-supporting supplements, such as omega fatty acids and glucosamine/chondroitin.
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If your pit bull is not eating well, consider feeding the Farmina Natural & Delicious Prime Lamb & Blueberry Canned Dog Food. Some wet diets may include more calories and fat than dry foods.
Therefore, if your pit bull has difficulty maintaining a healthy weight, you should consult your veterinarian to establish the underlying issues.
This combination is high in protein and low in carbohydrates, with a fat percentage of 6.5%. The dish is prepared with veggies from Italy without adding water or broth for a meat-like consistency.
For safety reasons, refrigerate unused food and follow the instructions on the can.
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Having a pit bull can cause joint issues, which can be exacerbated by obesity. Additionally, being overweight can hinder the recovery of injured ligaments. Regularly monitor your pit bulls weight to prevent health and emotional issues.
Hills Science has created the Diet Adult Perfect Weight Chicken Recipe, a nutritious solution by incorporating the necessary number of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids into pet food.
In addition, they added natural elements to the food that dogs adore. As a result, over 70 percent of dogs on this diet for ten weeks have dropped weight without experiencing adverse side effects.
You should also consider your dogs portion quantity and their consumption of goodies and table scraps. When encountering severe weight-related health issues, it is imperative to consult a veterinarian.
For example, pit bulls frequently experience joint problems, including hip and elbow dysplasia. These symptoms may worsen as weight is gained.
There are numerous reasons to keep your pit bulls weight in check, some of which are listed here. Hills Science mixes all-natural ingredients to produce nutritious and healthful pet chow. The high levels of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids in the Kibble are beneficial to your dogs general health.
Check their portion size and provide them with the proper amount of Kibble. Consult your veterinarian to decide the most effective course of therapy if they are severely underweight.
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When purchasing the best dog food for a pit bull. If the pit bull may be allergic to a particular substance, it should undergo allergy testing to identify the offender. Elimination diets can assist in the diagnosis of food allergies, like the one in the ACANA Singles + Wholesome Grains Limited Ingredient Diet Lamb & Pumpkin Recipe Dry Dog Food.
However, you will need veterinary assistance and a prescription diet or balanced home-cooked food to do this. Commercial single-ingredient diets may be beneficial for individuals with milder food allergies.
Commercial single-protein diets are an excellent option if your pit bulls symptoms are not severe and you do not know which meal is the cause.
The only protein source for this diet is lamb. Additionally, this diet excludes legumes, potatoes, and gluten. Instead, you will consume healthy grains such as oats, whole sorghum, butternut squash, and pumpkin.
These foods are beneficial to gut health and include no artificial flavours, colours, or preservatives.
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Castor & Pollux ORGANIX Organic Chicken & Oatmeal Recipe Dry Dog Food is your best bet if you want to feed your pit bull organic, premade food that is certified organic and has no artificial flavours or preservatives.
This companys primary ingredient is organic chicken combined with nutritious nutrients such as organic blueberries, sweet potatoes, and flaxseed. Additionally, this product contains oats and barley, which could aid digestion.
The proprietors of Castor & Pollux, who created the meal specifically for dogs, claim that it provides health benefits such as enhanced digestion and skin quality.
8. Orijen Multiple Choices
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While most of the dog food companies that made our list produce only a few foods we recommend, in the case of the Canadian super premium brand Orijen, every food from the large breed puppy diet to the senior diet is highly recommended.
Orijen understands the concept of biologically appropriate nutrition, and their foods are based on the latest nutritional research.
Orijen Adult features the following main ingredients: fresh deboned chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, russet potato, fresh deboned pacific salmon, herring meal, sweet potato, peas, fresh deboned lake whitefish, fresh deboned northern walleye, and chicken fat (naturally preserved with vitamin E and citric acid).
Minor ingredients include chicken liver, salmon meal, fresh deboned turkey, fresh whole eggs, fresh deboned herring, sun-cured alfalfa, salmon oil, and various vegetables, fruits, kelp, probiotics, and vitamin and mineral supplements. This formula is 40% protein and 16% fat with an omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio of 2.7:1.
The main ingredients in Orijen Regional Red formula are fresh deboned wild boar, fresh deboned lamb, lamb meal, russet potato, fresh deboned pork, peas, salmon meal, whitefish meal (made from flounder, halibut and cod caught wild from the north pacific ocean), herring meal, fresh deboned bison, fresh whole eggs, potato starch, fresh deboned salmon, alfalfa, sweet potato, fresh deboned walleye, and salmon oil (naturally preserved with vitamin E).
Minor ingredients include apples and various berries, vegetables, herbs, probiotics, and vitamins and minerals. This formula is 38% protein and 18% fat with an omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio of 3.75:1.
In the Orijen 6 Fish dog food are fresh deboned salmon, salmon meal, herring meal, russet potato, fresh deboned lake whitefish, sweet potato, peas, and salmon oil (preserved with vitamin E).
Minor ingredients include fresh deboned walleye, fresh deboned herring, sun-cured alfalfa, fresh deboned flounder, fresh deboned lake trout, dehydrated organic kelp, and various vegetables, fruits, herbs, probiotics, vitamins, and minerals. This formula is 40% protein and 18% fat with an omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio of 2.5:1, which is excellent.
Also available are Orijen Puppy, Orijen Large Breed Puppy, and Orijen Senior foods. These three formulas are of the same high quality.
Keep in mind though that you will need to feed far less of a calorie dense food with high digestibility such as Orijen, so the price difference between a super premium food and a mainstream brand isnt actually as big as it would seem.
9. Acana Best Affordable Dog Food
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We previously recommended Acana as a great option for pit bulls with allergies problems but now we want to mention the Grasslands, Pacifica, and Wild Prairie Formulas which are one of the best affordable dog food for pitbulls.
Acana and Orijen are both made by Champion Pet Foods, a family owned and operated boutique pet food manufacturer in Alberta, Canada.
Everything you read above about the quality of the ingredients in Orijen foods also applies to Acana. So whats the difference between these two brands?
Acanas Grasslands, Pacifica, and Wild Prairie formulas are also grain-free, but theyre slightly higher in carbohydrate (about 28%) and lower in protein (about 33%) than the Orijen foods.
They contain three fresh meat/fish sources as opposed to Orijens five or six and two high quality meat/fish meals instead of Orijens four. The idea behind the Acana line is to make biologically appropriate canine nutrition more affordable.
Despite the slightly lower price point, these three Acana foods are superb.
1. Grasslands features boneless lamb, lamb meal, salmon meal, herring meal, russet potato, peas, and chicken fat (naturally preserved with vitamin E) as the main ingredients. The minor ingredients are sweet potato, deboned walleye, sun-cured alfalfa, natural lamb flavor, deboned duck, whole eggs, and lots of different veggies, fruits, herbs, probiotics, and vitamin/mineral supplements.
2. Pacifica consists of 55% fish. The main ingredients are salmon meal, russet potato, peas, fresh boneless salmon, fresh boneless herring, herring meal, pumpkin, fresh boneless flounder, and salmon oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols and rosemary). Also includes a variety of seaweeds, vegetables, fruits, herbs, probiotics, and vitamins and minerals.
3. Wild Prairie is a chicken and fish formula. The main ingredients are chicken meal, russet potato, deboned chicken, deboned walleye, whitefish meal, peas, and chicken fat (naturally preserved with vitamin E). Minor ingredients include sun-cured alfalfa, chicken liver, deboned Lake Whitefish, whole eggs, salmon oil, and various veggies, fruits, herbs, probiotics, and vitamins and minerals.
All three formulas are 33% protein and 15-17% fat. The omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio is 5.5:1. These Arcana foods are suitable for all life stages. Calcium levels are appropriate for large breed puppies.
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Taste of the Wild is an all-natural human-grade line featuring wild game meats such as bison, duck, venison, and quail as part of their formulas.
All meats are hormone and antibiotic free. The inclusion of small amounts of roasted and smoked meats as taste enhancers ensures that dogs go wild over Taste of the Wild.
We also like the use of sweet potato as the main carbohydrate source.
Despite the name and the sweet taste, sweet potatoes have a lower glycemic index than regular potatoes. They are also more nutritious, providing especially high levels of valuable antioxidants.
Taste of the Wild makes three excellent grain free formulas.
High Prairie features bison, lamb meal, chicken meal, egg product, sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes, and canola oil as the main ingredients. Minor ingredients include roasted bison, roasted venison, natural flavor, tomato pomace, ocean fish meal, salt, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, plus probiotics, prebiotics, and complete vitamins and minerals.
This food is 32% protein and 18% fat with an omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio of 9.3:1, which is not great. You may want to add a couple of fish oil caps to your dogs diet when feeding this kibble.
Pacific Stream is a fish recipe thats much lower in protein and higher in carbohydrate than most grainless foods. This is done to keep the price down since salmon is expensive.
The main ingredients are salmon, ocean fish meal, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and canola oil. Other ingredients include salmon meal, smoked salmon, potato fiber, natural flavor, salt, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, plus probiotics, prebiotics, and vitamin and mineral supplements.
This food is 25% protein and 15% fat. The omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio is 8:1.
The main ingredients in Wetlands are duck, duck meal, chicken meal, egg product, sweet potatoes, peas, and chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols). Secondary ingredients include potatoes, roasted quail, roasted duck, smoked turkey, natural flavor, tomato pomace, ocean fish meal, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, plus probiotics, prebiotics, and vitamin and mineral supplements.
This food is 32% protein and 18% fat. The omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio is 6:1.
Until very recently, the ocean fish meal found in all three formulas came from a supplier who uses ethoxyquin.
The company switched to a naturally preserved fish meal source in May 2010.
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CANIDAE is another super premium brand featuring human-grade ingredients and meats raised without hormones and antibiotics. Their fish meal is now preserved with Naturox, a natural antioxidant blend.
Due to the growing demand for more species-appropriate canine nutrition, CANIDAE has created two high protein/low carbohydrate grainless formulas.
80% of the protein in CANIDAEs Grain Free Salmon and ALS foods is derived from meat or fish. The remaining 20% comes from fruit and vegetable sources.
Grain Free Salmon is 40% protein and 20% fat, making it most appropriate for active dogs. This food is less than 20% carbohydrate, which is oustanding and comparable to the Orijen formulas.
The main ingredients are salmon meal, potatoes, potato protein, ocean fish meal (made from middle ocean swimming herring and menhaden fish), and canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols). Minor ingredients include peas, tomato pomace, sun-cured alfalfa meal, lecithin, a few herbal extracts, cranberries, sunflower oil, probiotics, prebiotics, digestive enzymes, and vitamin and mineral supplements.
The omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio of this kibble is a very respectable 3.7:1.
The Grain Free All Life Stages formula features chicken meal, turkey meal, fresh lamb, potatoes, peas, and chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols) as the main ingredients. The minor ingredients are lamb meal, ocean fish meal (made from herring and menhaden fish), tomato pomace, sun-cured alfalfa meal, lecithin, a few herbal extracts, cranberries, sunflower oil, probiotics, prebiotics, digestive enzymes, and vitamin/mineral supplements.
This food is 34% protein and 18% fat. The omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio is 7.4:1.
Both foods are appropriate for all life stages, and calcium levels are suitable for large breed puppies.
All CANIDAE products undergo extensive food safety audits. Every batch of food is tested for melamine, cyanuric acid, salmonella, and numerous other toxins and bacteria.
12. Wellness CORE Dry + Weight Loss Food
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Wellness is a super premium brand offering quality human-grade ingredients and hormone-free meats.
The CORE formulas are grain-free and high in species-appropriate proteins. CORE comes in three varieties: Original Recipe, Ocean Recipe, and Reduced Fat Recipe.
The latter is particularly interesting, since most dog foods formulated for overweight dogs contain abysmal ingredients.
While Wellness CORE Reduced Fat Recipe is slightly higher in fiber than the other CORE varieties, you wont find worthless fillers like rice hulls in this food. The reduced caloric value is primarily the result of using lower fat meats and less vegetable oil.
CORE Reduced Fat Recipe has the following main ingredients: deboned turkey, turkey meal, chicken meal, potatoes, dried ground potatoes, pea fiber, whitefish meal, tomato pomace, natural chicken flavor, chicken liver, and salmon oil. Other ingredients include flaxseed, various vegetables and fruits, probiotics, prebiotics, glucosamine and chondroitin, and vitamins and minerals.
This food is 33% protein and only 9% fat with an omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio of 4.4:1.
The two other CORE varieties are also recommended. CORE Original Recipe features deboned turkey, deboned chicken, turkey meal, chicken meal, potatoes, dried ground potato, tomato pomace, natural chicken flavor, and canola oil as the main ingredients. The minor ingredients are chicken liver, salmon oil, flaxseed, various vegetables and fruits, probiotics, prebiotics, glucosamine and chondroitin, and vitamins/minerals.
This food is 34% protein and 14% fat with an omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio of 4.6:1.
The main ingredients in CORE Ocean Recipe are whitefish, whitefish meal, salmon meal, menhaden fish meal, potatoes, dried ground potato, and canola oil. Secondary ingredients include pea fiber, tomato pomace, natural fish flavor, flaxseed, various vegetables and fruits, probiotics, prebiotics, glucosamine and chondroitin, and vitamins/minerals.
This food is 34% protein and 14% fat with an omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio of 2.5:1.
The glucosamine and chondroitin levels in these formulas are too low to do any good. Also, CORE foods are too high in calcium to make them suitable for pit bull puppies under 12 months of age. These are, however, fine foods for adult pit bulls.
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If your pit bull suffers from food allergies, youll probably want to feed a single meat source food, and Canine Caviar makes a formula thats tough to beat.
The main ingredient in this 100% human-grade grainless food is free-range New Zealand venison raised without hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides.
This excellent kibble even contains venison tripe, and is guaranteed to include no genetically modified ingredients (GMO). Digestibility is an outstanding 91-93%.
But what really makes this Canine Caviar formula unique is the processing method. Venison and Split Pea kibble is cooked for only six seconds, ensuring that nutrients remain largely intact!
The main ingredients in the minimally processed Venison and Split Pea formula are, as the name suggests, venison meal, split pea, and canola oil. Other ingredients include dried pumpkin, whole ground flaxseed, sun-cured alfalfa, venison tripe, dried beet pulp, coconut oil, borage oil, primrose oil, sun-cured kelp, lecithin, whole clove garlic, and several other herbs, plus vitamin and mineral supplements.
This food is 34% protein and 20% fat with the highest omega-3 levels (2.7%) of any kibble weve seen. The omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio is an amazing 1.5:1.
Better yet, the inclusion of borage oil and primrose oil means that much of the omega-6 fatty acids are in the form of gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), which is superb. The excellent fatty acid profile of this food makes it a great choice for dogs with skin conditions, allergies, or arthritis.
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Grainless kibbles are great, but theyre also expensive.
If youre looking for a lower priced, high quality dry dog food and dont mind the inclusion of some whole grains, take a look at the Adult Dog Formula from Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul.
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul uses human-grade ingredients and meats raised without hormones and antibiotics in their foods.
The top ingredients in the Adult Dog Formula are chicken, turkey, chicken meal, ocean fish meal, cracked pearled barley, whole grain brown rice, oatmeal, millet, white rice, and chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols). Minor ingredients include potatoes, egg product, tomato pomace, duck, salmon, flaxseed, various fruits and veggies, kelp, probiotics, prebiotics, and the usual vitamin and mineral supplements.
This food is 24% protein and 14% fat with an omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio of 5.5:1. Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul also makes a good large breed puppy formula.
This brand is made by Diamond Pet Foods, a company that has used ethoxyquin-preserved fish meal in the past, but switched to natural antioxidant preservation in May 2010.
Kibble bags with an expiration date of May 15, 2011 or later are said to be ethoxyquin-free.
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This food is another superb Canadian food made by a small company in their own processing plant using fresh, human-grade ingredients.
Horizon Legacy Grain Free is available as an Adult Formula and a Puppy Formula. Based on the ancestral canine diet, both formulas are high in protein, moderate in fat, and low in carbohydrate.
What makes these foods different from most other grainless kibbles is that they contain no potatoes, making them a great choice for dogs who dont do well with potato products in their diet.
The main ingredients in Horizon Legacy Grain Free Adult Formula are fresh chicken meat, chicken meal, salmon meal, turkey meal, pea starch concentrate, green split peas, and chicken fat. Also includes whole eggs, salmon oil, and lots of herbs, vegetables, fruits, and probiotics.
Surf & Turf by Fromm Four Star Nutritionals is a high quality, human-grade salmon and duck food made without grain. Its main ingredients are salmon, duck meal, potatoes, pea flour, sweet potatoes, duck, and chicken fat. Meats are hormone and antibiotic free, and the fish meal the company uses is guaranteed not to be preserved with ethoxyquin. Surf & Turf is made in Fromms own USDA-inspected plant in Wisconsin.
16. EVO and Natura Pet Products
EVO, a high protein/high fat/low carbohydrate line of human-grade grainless dog foods made by Natura Pet Products, would be right behind Orijen on our recommended list if it wasnt for two issues.
The first is that the high calcium content in these foods makes EVO unsuitable for puppies under the age of twelve months.
The second, far bigger issue is that Natura Pet Products (makers of EVO, Innova, California Natural, HealthWise, and Karma Organic brandsall high quality natural dog foods made with human-grade ingredients) has just been sold to Procter & Gamble.
Given what happened to Iams and Eukanuba after they were acquired by P&G, people feeding Natura products are justifiably concerned.
Many people believe that its only a matter of time before P&G begins cutting corners in an effort to reduce costs and maximize profits. The worst is that these changes may not be immediately apparent.
Heres the thing: The term human-grade has no legal meaning.
It really comes down to the credibility of the manufacturer whether we believe them when they tell us that the ingredients they use are fit for human consumption, or that their fish meal isnt preserved with ethoxyquin, or that they dont import anything from China.
Even more alarming is the fact that pet food manufacturers have six months to update their product labels after changing the foods formulation. With Procter & Gamble now in charge of all Natura brands, its up to you to decide if these are foods you still feel comfortable feeding your pit bull.
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Best Dog Food For PitBulls Evaluation Criteria
In a previous article, we discussed how to choose a quality commercial dog food for your pit bull.
But now we are going to disscus in general how to choose the best dog food for pit bulls.
In order to be selected for our list of the best kibbles for your pet, dog foods must meet the following criteria:
Ingredients must be human-grade
In the case of meat meals, which are obviously not intended for human consumption, the meals should be rendered from high quality, healthy animal tissues, not from meats rejected for human consumption.
Foods must be meat-based, not grain-based
Some carbohydrates are unavoidable in dry dog food or the kibble pieces would not retain their shape, but since dogs are carnivores, were looking for foods that are mostly meat.
Ideally, 70% of the foods protein should come from high quality animal sources, not plant sources.
No cheap filler ingredients
Foods must not contain cheap filler ingredients such as brewers rice, peanut hulls, soybean mill, wheat middlings, corn bran, etc. that are waste products of the human food industry and provide little or no nutritional value.
Preserved Natural With No Carcinogenic
Foods must be preserved naturally and not contain carcinogenic chemical preservatives such as BHT, BHA, and ethoxyquin.
If the food contains any type of fish mealwhich is required by law to be preserved with ethoxyquin unless the supplier has a special permit allowing them to use a different preservativethe dog food manufacturer must have stipulated that their fish meal supplier has such a permit and that the fish meal used in the food is ethoxyquin free and preserved with natural antioxidants.
This is important because dog food companies are not required to list ethoxyquin on the label unless they have added it themselves.
