FAQ: What do you feed your bulldog?

bullmama

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The Home of the Desert Sky Pack
I thought I would start the new forum with one of the most important questions!

What do you feed your bulldog?

Tell us your experience with food and why/how you ended up feeding what you currently do.
 

nycbullymama

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Dec 22, 2012
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b and w
Currently, he's on: Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Canine Hypoallergenic Hydrolyzed Protein Adult HP Dry Dog Food due to his severe allergies.

He's definitely doing better, but I honestly don't know if it's because of the food, or because he's also on the oral version of allergy shots too.


I'm going to leave him on this for a few more months, then try to switch to either home cooking or raw again.

This is not a food I would ever recommend without first trying the better ones out there, including raw feeding. But when all else fails, you do what you gotta do.
 

ddnene

EBN's SWEETHEART aka our little GOOB
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Jun 19, 2013
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Willow (2015) Walter (2014-22) Winston (2012-13) Wellie (2012-13) Bella (2007-13)
Walter is eating Fromm's Beef Frittata right now… we transitioned from the Fromm's Puppy Gold in the pink bag. The reason I started w/Fromm's is because of it's reputation on EBN, and Winston had a good experience w/Fromm's.
 

2BullyMama

I'm not OCD....now who moved my bulldog?
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Chelios (Frenchie), Nitschke (2004-2011) Banks (2005-2014) and Lambeau (2014-2024)
Currently feeding Fromm Pork and Peas... Banks is highly allergic to chicken and has reaction to salmon so choices are limited. She was on raw for a period of time, which is my first choice, but she suffers with colitis too, so her system could not handle it. What I like about Fromm grain free line is I can changes flavors without transition or feed one flavor for breakfast and a different one for dinner.... as long as there is no chicken or white potato(yeast issue too)
 

cali baker

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Feb 25, 2011
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Tate Rory & Finn Paddington
I currently alternate between home-made food and Wellness Core Ocean dry kibble. For the home-made, it's usually a mixture of white rice, ground meat (beef or turkey usually), some organ meat (gizzards or liver), beans, and frozen veggies (green beans usually). I'm still trying to find an ideal food for the boys. Not sure if home-cooking is the way to go for them mainly b/c Finn still has the "itchies" and Tate still has those tear stains. Finding the right food is an ongoing project but they love to eat and are pretty healthy otherwise :)
 

Vikinggirl

Norwegian Rose
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Oct 8, 2012
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Bulldozer and Blossom
Hi guys, we are currently feeding our guys Fromm's Lamb and Lentil. They started on Royal Canin from the breeder, and I knew this wasn't the best food choice due to the fillers and corn in the ingredients list. I switched them to Go Natural, as I was familiar with this food, and knew it was a good quality brand, due to feeding it to my Jack Russell. Go turned out to be too rich for Dozer, and he had bad diarrhea, and Blossom got hives, warm pink ears, itchy skin, red tummy, pink face, goopy eyes, and chin acne. I switched them back to Royal Canin, for lack of another food. That's when I started researching other foods on the Internet and found the EBN site. I read the Dog Food Ratings and switched them to Fromm's Beef Frittata. It turned out that Blossom is allergic or sensitive to chicken, salmon, corn and grains. I liked the fact that Fromm's was a high quality grain free food, and that many other members fed this brand to their bullies with good results. We fed this food to them for the past two years, and they were doing well, but then Blosssom stared showing some allergy signs again, ( not as bad as before), but she was licking her paws. It was Dozer who had never shown signs of any allergies until now, who was a mess, he was shedding like crazy, ( I was getting 2 dustpans full of hair everyday, and when I pet him, the hair was flying), his eyes were goopy, and he started licking his paws until they were soggy, and they turned colour. I switched them to Fromm's Lamb and Lentil, and they are both doing well on it so far. It's been a little over a month, so I hope they continue to tolerate it.
 

Julzz9170

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Apr 15, 2014
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Fatso, Romeo
When I found this website my boys were both eating purina one (I know, I know) and I was researching grain free diets to try to clear up their multiple skin and allergy issues..Fatso has allergies and Romeo lost a patch of hair from flank allopecia that never grew back..then I started wellness brand which didn't seem to help any issues but Romeo started having lots of loose stools..we are now on our second bag of fromms pork and peas and nothing is cured as of yet but wow they look shiny and are barely shedding..but they are pooping a lot and it's very orangey?? Anyone else have this happen? Fatso's ear allergies just started again this week but I'm pretty sure it's not food related now..but overall they look really good right now thanks to all the tricks I learned on this site!!
 

CharleisMom

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Mar 18, 2014
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Charlei
@blueberrysmom
Charlei is on the same food, as well as alergy syrum injections!
I desperatly want to get her off RC, and the poor thing just wants meaty goodness in her food!
having a heck of a time with her symptoms, so no idea when
I may beable to get her off of it :(
 

RiiSi

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Sep 30, 2011
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Sysmä
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Taisto, Kylli, Salli, Angel-Usko and Angel-Voitto
My boys eat raw food. My older boy Usko started at 7 months of age, cause he was hardly touching his kibble, no matter what brand. He could go almost for days without eating. He also has Hyperuricosuria that makes him prone to develope urate bladder stones and if the vets would have their way he would be eating RC or Hill's prescription diet with only 10% protein and wasting away. I pretty sure he would run away from home if I offered him that...He doesn't get any organs though and gets his vitamins in supplements.
My younger boy Voitto started at 8 weeks. I make a batch for 2 days that has roughly 50% meaty bones(50/50), 20%meat, 10% veggies, 10% tribe, pharynx or fat, all ground. Meats vary a lot....beef, pork, lamb, horse, deer, reindeer, turkey, chicken, otsrich, llama, gizzards, hearts, livers....It's easy here in Finland, cause everything can be bought whole or ground. 2 times a week Voitto gets a different meal with organs.

They're not allergic to anything, but raw vegetables don't seem to agree with Voitto. He has been regurgitating lately, so about a week ago I put him on turkey only and it stopped. Now I'm adding one ingredient at the time to see what makes him regurgitate, so far nothing, but no veggies eather. Thinking back I think it started when I started mixing the veggies in to their food fresh, instead of frozen. But still I'm going all the way one by one with eliminating possible culprits to be sure.
 

Jonel

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Jun 27, 2013
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Sherman
Sherman has been through Taste of the Wild Venison and Bison and I've tried him on at least 6 other foods. Finally found Brothers Complete Allergy Venison. He is shedding 90 percent less, coat is silky, no tear stains, no licking. Take a look at the website. I was very impressed with the research on how this food was developed. Dog Food Advisor gives it 5 stars.
 

rjisaterp

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Somewhere in the Universe. Really Maryland.
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Cooper, Jewel (April 27, 2013-May 7, 2022-RIPDaddy's Girl) and (Bentley Oct 2013-Dec 2021)
Jewel and Bentley are fed Fromm Beef Frittata and Orijen Adult. We ditched the Royal Canin after reading the forum. They also receive a couple of Tbs of Greek Yogurt for dessert in the evening. We also give them coconut oil and NuVets Plus every day.
 
OP
bullmama

bullmama

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The Home of the Desert Sky Pack
  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #13
We used to feed Iams. I was under the impression that it was the best dog food, which it was back in the 1990's before it and Science Diet were purchased by P&G.

I had nothing but problems with my bulldog Sarah, and the vet put her on science diet rabbit which didn't help at all. The more I bathed her the worse she got, she was so full of yeast.

I met Linda in Oregon and she would go on and on about dog food. I pretty much ignored her awesome advice. After all, my Vet said that science diet and Iams were good foods, why would I believe her?

Fast forward several years, I started this forum. When the question came up about what do you feed your dog so many people were talking about brands I had never heard of. At the time my Molly was battling a horrible skin infection. After several weeks of antibiotics and special shampoos, she did not improve at all.

One day I was in town and decided to go check out the dog foods at Petsmart. So many different choices- I was literally overwhelmed! I found a bag of Avoderm on a clearance shelf for 50% off, it was a very expensive food so I thought okay.... I'll try it. It was only about $20 for this big bag, which was actually close to the price of the big bag of Iams so I felt it was worth trying to see what all the fuss was about!

The results were amazing. Within a day I stopped giving her antihistamine, she stopped itching completely. She was only being transitioned and just replacing a portion of the food made an amazing impact!

By the time she was fully transitioned her tear stains were gone, no more yeasty paws, no more paw licking- she was a brand new bully!

That started my obsession with dog foods. I read everything I could, and started researching different foods. I started trails of different brands, and we started the dog food ratings here on the site. Eventually I tried Fromm at the recommendation of a member here. During my research I was calling different manufactures to find out more about their foods. When I spoke with Fromm I realized this was a company who put all their money into the food and research and not into advertising. They were a smaller family owned company who really seemed as obsessed with dog food as I was. Eventually I got to know them and they started the monthly contests for us on EBN.

During our trials we tried a lot of good foods, and bad ones too! Even tried royal canin for bulldogs-- my house was so full of gas I didn't dare light the gas stove! I had to laugh at that because on the bag it stated that it reduced flatulence in bulldogs--- which I found was the worst I had ever seen!

One other good one I tried was Natures Logic.

Eventually I always went back to Fromm. They just do really well on this food. I would still like to try Acana, Orijen, and a few others, but I don't want to fix what isn't broken.

My pack still does great on the beef Fritatta. We are currently feeding beef Fritatta for breakfast and Lamb & Lentil for dinner. They are thriving on it.

Sorry for the long post, but that's my dog food story!


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BulldogMomma

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Mar 18, 2014
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King George
George is on Orijin Six Fish & it is AWESOME. He has allergies and this is the best stuff we have found for him. He also takes coconut oil every day. I may be a little biased, but his coat is gorgeous. I attribute that to his food and the coconut oil. He started on Orijin puppy formula and has moved to the six fish. It is grain free and high in protein. I love everything about this food, but the smell :bad:. George doesn't seem to mind that, though!!
 

Sharon Mitchel

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Sep 5, 2013
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Port Townsend, Washington, United States
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USA
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Charley, a 5 year old male
Charley was on Blue Buffalo fish for maybe 4 years. Bowels were becoming more loose and he started getting yeasty ears plus he really didn't like it. I switched him to Acana lamb and the Acana duck. He loves them both. We also give him coconut oil and yogurt twice daily. Bowel issues resolved, yeasty ears have not. He still has shedding problems too but not as bad. Not sure what to do now. These two formulas have been re-formulated and are not yet available in WA state. I just bought the last bag of Acana duck in our town! I have about 6 weeks to figure this out!


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