[chris]

Hello again,

Recently a family member of mine had decided to adopt a Old English Bulldog. Now I’ve tried helping them a ton of the matter of what he should be fed and how to keep a healthy weight amongst so many other things. However, they can’t decide on a basis dry food for him. They apparently researched online on several sites that are about and for English Bulldogs and have read that Diamond or Blue is the best and proper food for Bulldogs. I have argued this statement only because yes they might be good foods (opinions very) However that does not mean it is the proper food for any species of dog.

I gave them several of the top 5 star brands that I am sure would probably be great far as Orijen, Acana, Natures Variety, Merrick’s, Wellness Core. Though they seem to can’t afford those type of foods, so they’re looking for more of a cheaper route to go. Especially since this is not the only dog they have. They have 5 dogs total to feed.

Also for canned food they were feeding Pedigree and Gravy Train very very cheap foods that almost made me cry inside after hearing about it. I finally got them to switch to Tractor supplys brand 4 health which is still cheap but way better then most cheap canned foods.

Any help or recommendations to let them aware of would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Susan]

Hi you have to be careful cause he’s old & what did he eat before they rescued him?? a lot of these rescue dogs eat the crappy cheap foods & when you give them a kibble like Orijen with higher protein & higher fat kibble it is too rich & goes thru them (diarrhea) so probably pick a food that’s cheaper but minus the crappy ingredients is best…like the 4Health Mature Adult the fat is 10%…..

[Pitlove]

Susan, I’m not sure Chris means he’s old. Old English Bulldogs are a breed of bulldog, and he didn’t mention an age.

Chris- Nice to see you on the forums again. Sorry you’re having a tough time getting your family to understand your points. It can be hard to break people of their opinions especially if they are the type of people that only need to be validated by one or two other perspectives. One thing you can let them know is that there is no one particular food that is “meant” for Old English Bulldogs. And if there were, those brands were certainly not be Blue or Diamond. Perhaps some people who have OEB’s have had success with those brands, but obviously as you know, it is not designed for them specifically. “Breed Specific” foods are nothing more than marketing.

What is their budget range, if you know? They might want to take a look into Fromm, since they offer a wide range of foods at different price points. Fromm Family Classics could be a good option if they are on a tight budget.
http://www.chewy.com/dog/fromm-family-classics-adult-formula/dp/32646

[chris]

Susan- As Pitlove said, I did not mean it as he is old nor was he rescued. His breed type is an Old English Bulldog, and he was adopted new born and is now 9 months old. I should of been more clear on that sorry for the confusion and thanks though for the tips!

Pitlove- That’s exactly what I tried making them understand. There is no brand of dog food out on the market specifically for any type of breed of dog. I actually never thought about Fromm as I had completely forgotten about them. I’ll have to mention that to them for sure! However, there budget is really low, they’re both retired moreless and do not have such a great income. I think that’s why they veered towards Diamond as well since it’s so cheep and sold locally as well.

I’ll mention Fromm, and I’ll also have to check where that can be purchased around here as I never seen it at any of our pet stores. Buying offline would be difficult for them as well since there not tech savvy nor know how to do so.

Thanks Pitlove and also great to hear form you again! I’ve been throwing Naturella emails once in a while since you guys last helped me. We’ve recently discussed about organic home grown pumpkins and pumpkin seeds ground up for my sparky. I’ve been giving him a teaspoon daily now and it’s been doing great.

[Pitlove]

Alright so after hearing that he is 9 months old and I assume is going to be over 50 lbs at mature weight, it’s most important as you might know, that he really needs to have been eating a large breed puppy food. More importantly one that is actually correctly formulated for a large breed. If he wasn’t fed correctly it might be too late at this point since he is almost at the mark where his body can absorb calcium correctly. However, he still can’t be fed as an adult UNLESS the adult food doesn’t exceed the 1.5:1 calcium to phophorus ratio, not yet at least. If they can swing it I would highly recommend the Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy. When I got my pitbull I didn’t know anything about LBP nutrition, thankfully he grew well. I still think it’s important to not take the chance though, as I met a lady who had a 5 mo old lab with pano. Really horrible for the dog. I believe he weighed almost 90lbs at 5 months old. At least thats what she told me.

Also, more importantly too, make sure they are not overfeeding him. Taking in too many calories can contribute to over growth.

Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy is actually 4 stars on here and might be more readily available. Not sure if it’s within their budget. I really don’t know of a quality food thats cheaper than what I’ve mentioned.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by Pitlove.

[Susan]

Hi, Oh I thought he was an old rescue dog lol…I google to see what he looked like & I read that the Olde English Bulldog may be healthier breed of dog than many modern Bulldog breeds….

[chris]

Pitlove- Actually they started him out on puppy food, at this point I couldn’t tell you what kind of puppy food they were feeding him. After he turned 6 months they were told by the vet they could switch to adult food, but limit him to 3/4 of what the bag says to give him and add toppings to it. They’ve been giving him chicken, salmon, and veggies into his diet on a regular basis as toppings.

He is I believe at his full growth far as the vet told them as well, and weighing at nearly 40 pounds or maybe a little more as I haven’t asked in a little while. He looks very healthy I can tell you that. Perfect weight for his size as well.

I’ll mention the Fromm, but I had looked it up and the closest place that sells it is about 40 minutes from us so i’m not sure that will work out well. I’ll give Eukanuba a try as well and see where that can be bought.

Susan- Ah, yeah the Olde English Bulldogs are the original breeds, I don’t know to much about the breed, and not sure how they came about the other breeds of bulldogs we see today. Olde English Bulldogs are hard to find as well.

[Pitlove]

Alright, well if he’s only going to max out at 40lbs, then you should be ok. It still isn’t a bad idea to feed a medium size boarderlining large breed dog as though they were a large breed to minimize any risk of growth problems though.

Could you maybe order online for them? they have autoshipping, so it would take the money out of their bank account and deliver it without them having to worry about ordering it every time.

[chris]

Sorry I never got back to an update for ya. I’ve been very busy with personal issues happening. Anyways, to throw an update up I have got them to finally go with Merrick’s and accept the price. Yeah it’s sort of expensive, but it’s worth it in the end.

Like I said they were feeding the dogs Diamond food. They realized the dogs weren’t eating much if it like they should be. They also would not even touch the food unless something was added to it which obviously gives you a clue of they don’t like it! So after they had told me this I thought about it and ran over a whole container full of the Merricks for there dogs to try. She’s said the past few days they’ve been eating every bite and even when it’s dry without any toppings and so they’re going to stick with it.

Thanks for the help everyone!

[Pitlove]

Glad Merrick is working for them. It’s always a relief when you find a food a picky dog likes. I know the feeling!

[Simon P]

Hey
I have an Olde English Bulldog, he’s 14kg at 20 weeks
and I’m feeding him Orijin Puppy Kibbles. I find the
serving information a little confusing…
Should I be feeding him 260g per day or per meal and
on the cup to weight ratio he’d be on 2kg….
Is that right….?

[Simon P]

Sorry, 2kg as an adult

[haleycookie]

So your dog is about 31 lbs at 5 months. First do you know if she’ll be over 50 lbs at full size? Is you think she will be I would switch to the large breed puppy food. If you think she’ll stay under 50 lbs follow the medium sized puppy guide on orijens bag. So for a 33 lbs dog it says 2 and 1/3 cup of food a day. Feeding guidelines will normally give u per day feedings not per meal. Some ppl only feed one meal a day so that wouldn’t help some ppl. So 2 and 1/3 cup is 266 g of food a day.
As for adult, let’s say he taps out at 20 kg or 44 lbs. for the original orijen you would feed him between 1 and 1/2 to 2 and 1/4 cups depending on his activity levels. Or somewhere between 171 g and 257g.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 1 month ago by haleycookie.

[Zoe E. W]

Read the detailed tips. Thanks to Chris for shearing your tips. But I saw many English bulldogs have some problem with their regular food. Some fish food and the chicken food also may have problem with allergies. What types of food should I need to provide my English Bulldog with allergies.

[Author]

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