There is a lot of talk over whether to make homemade dog food recipes for your French Bulldog, to feed them a raw diet, whether or not to buy all organic ingredients, questions concerning AAFCO’s [Association of American Feed Control Officials] guidelines on what is healthy and in general just who to buy from and what to look for in dog food.
We aren’t here to tell you what to do. All humans are different, just like all dogs are different, one diet doesn’t work for all humans, and one way of preparing food doesn’t work for all types of dogs.
A lot of different factors draw people to try a new food, or new food preparation for their French Bulldog, especially if your dog is sick or has irritable bowel syndrome or something of the like.
Switching from store bought food might be your answer. You are probably going to get better quality food by buying and cooking it yourself.
So let’s discuss why homemade dog food might be a good fit for you and your French Bulldog
This ensures that you know where your meat is coming from and that it is fresh. When thinking about your homemade French Bulldog food recipes keep in mind that organic and grass fed animals are going to be the best quality of meat to consume; but don’t feel bad if you don’t have the means for that, it is not necessary and the fact that you care and are conscious of what your frenchie is eating is the most important!
Making your own dog food ensures that your French Bulldog isn’t consuming artificial ingredients and vitamins, such as vitamin K3, which is the artificial version of vitamin K1. Vitamins K3 can cause serious health risks. You also don’t want your French Bulldog eating meat-by-products.
Top French Bulldog Food Proteins
Meat should make up at least half of the diet of your French Bulldog, especially white meat, unless your dog is incredibly active! Bones are often fed to dogs, but just remember that some say you should not feed your French Bulldog cooked bones.
Salmon is a great meat to either add to your already made, natural store bought, dog food or to incorporate into your homemade recipe. Salmon is said to be one of the healthiest things you can add to your dog’s food, it is filled with zinc and a lot of nutrients your dog needs. Fish provides vitamin D, which is an essential part of the diet. If you are not feeding your dogs fish then the vitamin should be supplemented.
Feeding small amounts of liver daily is recommended. Beef or chicken liver would be a great ingredient to throw into your homemade dog food recipe. Generally speaking, add about one ounce of liver per pound of other animal products.
Eggs are incredibly nutritious! If your French Bulldog is about 20 pounds they can eat a whole egg a day, smaller dogs can still have eggs just not so much at one time. Throw in the eggshells too- blended of course. Eggshells provide a ton of nutrients, such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium.
Plain yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, and ricotta cheese are all healthy for your dog too! Other types of cheeses have a little too much fat in them, which is why most people prefer cottage and ricotta cheese.
So what ingredients should make up your homemade French bulldog food?
Starchy veggies are good for French Bulldogs that need help keeping some meat on their bones, but should be given in moderation to dogs that are heavier set. Starchy foods have to be cooked in order for them to be digestible.
Potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash, pumpkin, and legumes are all great options. Leafy greens are low in calories and can be fed in any quantity! However please note, too much can cause gas. Broccoli and cauliflower are good for dogs, however it is recommended that if you are feeding in large portions to cook them, as they can suppress thyroid function. Bananas, apples, berries, melon and papaya are all safe and healthy choices, but do not feed your French Bulldog grapes or raisins because that can cause kidney failure.
Grains are controversial. Some dogs can handle them, some dogs can’t. They may contribute to inflammation caused by allergies, arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease, seizures, and other problems. So proceed with caution if adding them to your homemade French Bulldog food recipe.
It is not clear if starchy veggies do the same. A lot of homemade dog food recipes call for rice, you can always nix it out if feeding your French Bulldog grains makes you nervous. Grains and starchy veggies should not make up any more than half the diet.
Supplements are another important part of any homemade dog food recipe. Calcium, fish oil, cod liver oil, plant oil, vitamin D, vitamin E, Iodine and green blends are all recommended that your French Bulldog get some of in part of his/her diet. Most of these vitamins are found in the foods that you would be feeding your dog, it’s hard to know exactly how much to give your dog and it’s hard to keep track. Feeding your French Bulldog can be viewed similarly to feeding a child. It’s important that your (human) child gets the vitamins and minerals needed, but it isn’t crucial that the child get every little vitamin and mineral in every little thing you feed them. Same goes for dogs.
The AAFCO provides nutrition requirements that dog food brands must meet, but it is said that those requirements are the very minimal for your dog to survive. Your goal with feeding a homemade diet to your frenchie is to find a balance of meeting the minimal requirements to keeping your French Bulldog alive and to over feeding and giving too much of these vitamins and minerals.
Understanding the ingredients of your French bulldog’s food items is a must for the dog lovers or dog owners.
Whenever you feed the dog with different kinds of food items, you should always read the label and understand the contents about the dog feed types that are being used in such commercial preparations.
You should understand the ingredients while buying food for your dog and also know what to look for. Feed items include dry and fresh food. The fresh dog food that is prepared in homes generally consists of ingredients like freshly cut chicken pieces in addition to the cranberry juices, blue-green algae, etc.
If you come across any different kinds of preservatives and if the dog develops all of a sudden signs pertaining to the food allergy, suspect the unwanted ingredient in the feed items given. Similarly, understand about the moisture status.
If the food item is having more moisture, then the French bulldog may prefer this as well.
Beet pulp, pasta, Soy bean oil, wheat middling’s, calcium carbonate, magnesium oxide, copper sulphate, iron sulphate, zinc oxide, choline chloride, etc. are often the ingredients in case of vegetarian based diet items offered to the pet animals like French bulldogs.
Raw egg, chicken, beef, mutton, fish, quail etc. are often the preferred ingredients in case of dog diets that are prepared on the basis of the non-vegetarian items. Taurine is one of the essential ingredients for the dog’s nutrition. Likewise, in the case of dogs feed with frozen fish items, the vitamin called thiamine needs to be supplemented as an ingredient.
Many premium type of French bulldog food preparations contain essential fatty acids, carbohydrates with adequate fiber contents, vitamins like A, D, E and B complex vitamins.
Furthermore, minerals like zinc, is an essential ingredient for skin health status and calcium, which is an essential ingredient for bone growth, tonicity of muscles. They should be enriched in these food items.
However, the cost of those food preparations are comparatively more expensive than the food preparations with general ingredients. Though it may be better for your French bulldog’s health.
Vitamin and mineral supplements are the most important components in your French bulldog feeding. If there is a balance in the vitamin and mineral supplements, then the animal will have a healthy life and hence, the immunity is not compromised in an unwanted way. This simply means that there the dog will be more disease resistance against various diseases.
Pet owners should know that vitamins A, D, E, and K are the fat-soluble vitamins and others are water soluble vitamins. Vitamins like thiamine, pyridoxine and cyanocobalamin are important for the functions of nervous system. Deficiency of vitamin A leads to night blindness and skin lesions and deficiency of vitamin D leads to the softening and weakening of the bones.
These problems are many a time encountered by the French bulldog owners. Among these, vitamin A toxicities may occur if you feed them in excessive amounts, like vitamin D. Hence, give emphasis on this while you are using these vitamins in the dogs. Cod liver oil from selected fishes has more vitamin A in them and are universally good feed for dogs.
All French bulldogs may not need supplements of minerals or vitamins to live well for the moment, but it is important for their future. If they become sick or aged or very young without proper feeding, supplementations are required for the upkeep of health status in them. However, one has to follow the instructions of veterinarian in this regard.
If the dogs are fed with fish in frozen conditions, then they may be suffering constantly from vitamin B1 deficiency and hence, such dogs need to be given specifically B1. Careless supplementations of minerals may lead to diseases and hence, veterinarians always need to be consulted on the supplementation of minerals or vitamins.
Minerals like calcium, magnesium, zinc, manganese, iron, copper etc. are given more emphasis in addition to sodium and potassium. Zinc is related to skin health and potassium is related to the muscle health and calcium with phosphorus is related to the bone health.
However, if you feed your French bulldog with chicken, mutton or beef along with required vegetables, artificial supplementation of mineral or vitamin tablets may be highly reduced but supplements need to be thought of when you are not able to maintain a balanced nutrition as this happens with most of the dogs, due to multifaceted causes.