# Best Food for 10 week english Bulldog



## nickjr000 (Jan 19, 2011)

My family and I are very excited about our new Puppy ( actually he's 11 weeks ) ! The breeder had him on totw wich I would of been fine with but he pooped too much about 10-14 times a day. Took him to vet he checked out fine. Switched his food over to merrick and he is way better now, going 5-6 times a day. Using puppy plate now but the calcium is high for a pup so just bought a bag of turducken. I wold like to go to a grain free food though cause i noticed he seems to be scratching a bit with this food. Didnt notice that at all before on totw. And also id like to go grain free for piece of mind cause this breed is very sensitive with allergies to grain. Problem is , all of the grain free i look at- merrick bg, acana, orijen, etc are all high in protein, over 30%. Everything i read says for a E bulldog to keep the calcium low and the protein around 24%. Anyone know of a food thats grain free in this protein range besides totw?


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## nickjr000 (Jan 19, 2011)

Would really like to try acana, orijen, merrick bg, or evo. Because they all seem to b a 5-6 star food, and have the best reviews. But like I said they are all over the 24% protein level that I was told this breed does best at. I been lookin around and alot of forums are saying the higher level is ok , just to feed less. Being the food is richer in protein, the dog doesnt need as much food. Is this right?


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Yes, definitely feed less.. Bullies are prone to being overweight as well, so keep an eye on it. You should be able to feel ribs. I like Acana for dry food, if I didn't feed raw I would feed Acana or Orijen.

Did your vet do a fecal sample? 10-14 times is a LOT of poop in a day.. I don't think my pup ever went more than 3.


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## SamWu1 (Oct 15, 2010)

nickjr000 said:


> Would really like to try acana, orijen, merrick bg, or evo. Because they all seem to b a 5-6 star food, and have the best reviews. But like I said they are all over the 24% protein level that I was told this breed does best at. I been lookin around and alot of forums are saying the higher level is ok , just to feed less. Being the food is richer in protein, the dog doesnt need as much food. Is this right?


There's absolutely nothing wrong with high protein, younger dogs thrive on it, it's the calcium levels that should be moderate. Just be sure to feed less and to hydrate because rich foods needs water to compensate.


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## nickjr000 (Jan 19, 2011)

Yea the vet did a fecal exam and it was fine , thats y i switched food. I searched many sites and someone else had the same problem with totw wetlands formula, said the dog was poopin every 2 hrs. Maybe from the salmon? As soon as i switched to 75 totw and 25 merrick the poopin was way less. Guess ill try the acana or the orijen. What formula should I try? Are these for all life stages? English bulldog puppies thrive on high protein too? Lot of people said not to give them too high of protein cause it will make them grow too quick and their hips and joints wont develop right and u will have problems later on. Or somethin close to that, like i said i dont know im just going by what i read


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## nickjr000 (Jan 19, 2011)

Lookin at acana grasslands, and evo red meat. Anyone using these?


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

You need to feed a large breed puppy low calcium and phosphorous ratios. Your dog is considered large breed, if it will grow to over 50 lbs. Acana praire and pacifica is good. Grasslands is not good for a large breed puppy. You can feed grassland at around 1 years old, after they do most of there growing. You can use any large breed puppy formula. Here's a link to grain free foods that are good for LBP's.

http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/dry-canned-dog-food/5794-grain-free-formulas-lbp.html


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## nickjr000 (Jan 19, 2011)

Great link cast, thanks!


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## nickjr000 (Jan 19, 2011)

Nice, a local store has orijen foods! Will b getting either orijen lbp or acana pacifica tonight? Anyone have any thoughts before I buy?


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## nickjr000 (Jan 19, 2011)

Ok tried out the pacifica and no good. Now Im sure that my dog just cant handle fish. I mixed in a table spoon of pacifica with a half cup of merrick for breakfast and he pooped twice after till lunch so it was questionable. Then i gave him the same for dinner. That triggered the poop machine again cause after that he pooped almost everytime we took him out. Prob about 8-9 times from lunch till he went to bed. The taste of the wild had fish also so i guess he just cant handle fish? Or do some dogs need grains in their food to poop right? Ive heard that somewhere too. So i guess Ill stick with the merrick turducken, he likes it and i feel bad switchin his food again. Anyone have thoughts on this Dry Merrick food that they could share? Anyone using it?


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

I would try Orijen Large Breed Puppy. I've always heard fantastic things about it.


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

I would try the Orijen to see how he does.
English Bulldogs are prone to skin, allergy sensitivity/issues. Having some issues right outta the gate with our Bullmastiff, like you have seen in your little guy, I would suggest you really exam all the ingredients he's getting in both food and treats. Really limit the variety and see if you can pinpoint something. I would also recommend you snoop around in the RAW section. Read some of the various post, and learn a little about this diet. It may be something to consider if you are still having issues in a few months.


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## nickjr000 (Jan 19, 2011)

I looked at orijen but tried the acana cause some say that acana is easier to switch to , then orijen. Does anyone think hes poopin so much from the fish? Or is this somethin that can happen to some dogs from the grain free? Totw and acana both fish based and he poopin way way too much. Now with the merrick puppy and turducken he poopin way less, about 6-8 times a day. Still not as few as id like but he is only 12 weeks, and he still not been on the same food for over a week.


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## nickjr000 (Jan 19, 2011)

Worried about the orijen cause it has a lot of fish too, salmon, whitefish, anchovy oils. So if its the fish thats makin him poop, it Might b a poopin prob too?


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## Katie Chumlee and Shorty (Oct 22, 2010)

nickjr000 said:


> I looked at orijen but tried the acana cause some say that acana is easier to switch to , then orijen. Does anyone think hes poopin so much from the fish? Or is this somethin that can happen to some dogs from the grain free? Totw and acana both fish based and he poopin way way too much. Now with the merrick puppy and turducken he poopin way less, about 6-8 times a day. Still not as few as id like but he is only 12 weeks, and he still not been on the same food for over a week.


Stop stressing that puppy out. It takes longer than a week to adjust to food. Pick one you are comfortable with and stick with it for a month or two and then decide if it works for him as long as he isn't chewing his feet off, scratching his ears like crazy, or ooozing red yeast out of his paws, tail, and eyes. The poops will get better. :tsk:


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## Adam76 (Dec 24, 2010)

I agree you have to keep him on one food longer to see any results. Switching back and forth is just stressing him out.


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## nickjr000 (Jan 19, 2011)

I know they have to b on a food for a while to adjust and really see how they're gonna b on it. But he was pooping less with the switch to merrick. Then i put around a tablespoon of the acana in it and he was poopin like crazy again. So imagine if hes poopin like that on a little acana that when hes eatin only that he would b really bad. I was gonna try the geasslands acana but it was high in cal so i got the pacifica. Anyone else have any problems like this with foods that have fished based protein?


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

Another cause may be because you are overfeeding. You do not need nearly as much of grain free as you do other foods. Even the "Guide" on the back of the bag is in most cases too much food. I would stick with a bag of whatever you choose and try cutting the amount down.


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## nickjr000 (Jan 19, 2011)

Im feeding the minimum recommended on the bag. Can anyone say if it might b the fish?


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

nickjr000 said:


> Im feeding the minimum recommended on the bag. Can anyone say if it might b the fish?


The recommended minimum is often times still too much. Remember, the more food your dog eats, the more food the company sells. 

You keep asking for someone to confirm that your dog's issues are stemming from the addition of a fish based dog food. The problem is that you have not kept your dog on the same food for more than one week. So no one would be able to confirm anything at this point.

I suggest you pick a food and stick with it for at least a month (two would be better).


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## nickjr000 (Jan 19, 2011)

He was on taste of the wild for weeks before i got him and a week after i got him. Wasnt till i got him home that i knew he pooped so much. Thats y i switched in the first place.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Well, could it just be that he was getting too much food at once, are you dividing his meals into three feedings a day? A puppy that young should be fed three times a day and if you overfeed any of those times ALL puppies are going to poop too much..


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

No one here can confirm that the issues are because of the fish- in fact, it is very very likely that the fish has absolutely nothing to do with it. The animal proteins in a food are almost always not the problem.

No dogs NEEDS grains in their diet. That being said, when you're dealing with highly processed, cooked foods for dogs, that are so altered and strayed from nature, there's no telling which ingredient could be the root of the problem, and some dogs don't handle grain free foods nearly as well as you think they should. 

You need to stop stressing your puppy out with food change after food change. Pick a food you're comfortable with, fish based or not, and stick with it for at LEAST 6 weeks before changing it again. You will more than likely have less than perfect stools, or more stools at first. That's part of transitioning. By switching around every week, you're more likely to be causing digestive upset. 

You're dealing with a breed prone to an array of health issues, making diet that much more important. I would strongly consider a home prepared diet, but if that's out of the question for some reason, then grain free is the way to go.


You are also probably overfeeding. Never go by the recommendations on the bag- they are almost always way too much. More input means more output. With these better grain free foods, you feed less.


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## nickjr000 (Jan 19, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> Well, could it just be that he was getting too much food at once, are you dividing his meals into three feedings a day? A puppy that young should be fed three times a day and if you overfeed any of those times ALL puppies are going to poop too much..



Yea i been feeding him 3x a day / 3/4 cup per serving. He weighs around 15lbs. He always finishes all his food


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Thats 2 1/4 cups of food a day. I believe that if the TOTW was working well and he liked it or even the Acana, leave him on that food and cut the amount your feeding by 1/2., still split into 3 feedings a day.

My dogs are always hungary, they will eat nonstop if I let them..................


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## Bulldogger (Jan 21, 2011)

*I have two bulldogs.....*

I had one on Orijen Regional Red and the other on Acana Pacifica. With bulldogs it is really trial and error. We started out being on Natural Balance and then all of a sudden their ears and faces got all gunky. We then switched to one on Orijen and one on Wellness. The Orijen is too rich for Oliver but Deuce did great on it. Oliver did really well on Acana. We actually just started raw about 2 weeks ago, so we are seeing how this goes for a while. I think the most important with bulldogs is to stick to grain free, that is a must.


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## nickjr000 (Jan 19, 2011)

Yea he seems happy on the merrick. Im gona leave him on it for a little just cause i feel bad switchin again, Maybe in a month ill try the acana prarie, and feed him less of it cause its so much richer than merrick


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