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Bloodhounds are soulful and easily one of the most recognizable dog breeds. They have a sweet disposition and are part of the scent hound group. They’re typically mild-mannered but show a lot of determination when on the hunt (whether with you or exploring in the yard).
They can be quite a challenge due to slow maturity and a fierce independent streak. Though you may not be able to train your bloodhound to be off-leash except in the most secure areas, you can give your curious companion excellent nutrition that will support its muscular body and sharp mind.
In this article, Best Dog Food for Bloodhounds, we will look at the Bloodhound breed and help you pick the best dog food for each life stage.
Your Bloodhound should have dense nutrition to keep energy levels up and support strong muscle tone. Weight control is a vital part of your Bloodhound’s entire life so that they can live happily from the very beginning to the golden years.
Tasty Turkey Fare is a cooked food that balances the ease of kibble with the nutrition of a raw food diet. It uses just six high quality ingredients to create a balanced meal that will support strong muscles, bones, digestion, and skin health. It’s easier than raw food diets but packs a serious nutritional punch
Nom Nom creates recipes that are close to home-cooked meals that will act as a balance between feeding wet food and a raw food diet. So, if you’ve got extra cash, you can avail a fresh meal made from restaurant-quality components delivered right to your door.
Nom Nom uses only the freshest ingredients to make their cooked meals, meaning you could practically consume them yourself. All recipes are carefully crafted by a veterinarian using diet principles learned from years in the field. They’re proportioned and come ready to serve or refrigerate.
2. American Journey Salmon & Brown Rice Protein First Recipe
From Chewy’s in-house brand, this American Journey Salmon & Brown Rice Protein First Recipe Dry Food is a great choice if you’re looking for the best dog food with taurine. It features fresh salmon as the primary ingredient, a rich source of protein and taurine as well as omega fatty acids.
This recipe also contains menhaden fish meal for supplemental protein and digestible whole-grain carbohydrates like brown rice. This formula contains fresh fruits and vegetables to provide natural sources of essential vitamins with chelated minerals to ensure optimal nutrient absorption.
A great example of quality nutrition that won’t break your budget. It features real deboned salmon as the topmost ingredient which contains ample source of premium animal protein as well as brain-supporting Omega fatty acids.
American Journey is the house brand of known online pet products and food retailer, Chewy.com. Manufactured in the United States, American Journey products offer nutritious recipe choices ranging from grain-free to rice-mixed. All formulations are made without soy, wheat, poultry meal by-products, or any filler for a truly healthy feast.
3. Taste Of The Wild Taste Of The Wild Pacific Stream
Formulated with novel proteins including real smoked salmon, this grain-free recipe includes peas and sweet potatoes that deliver the highly-digestible energy your active pup needs, along with natural antioxidant support from real fruits and vegetables and dried chicory root for prebiotic support and healthy digestion.
Overall, this recipe is an excellent source of natural nutrition and is highly digestible thanks to the inclusion of prebiotic fibers. If this recipe doesn’t seem like the right fit, Taste of the Wild has several more to offer, including wet food recipes.
A recipe free from any grains which features novel proteins including real smoked salmon and ocean fish meals for a delicious nutrition that’s easy to digest and ideal for the pooch with food allergies or sensitivities.
A family-owned brand, Taste of the Wild is dedicated to bringing pets the complete nutrition that nature intended for them. Based on a dog’s natural diet and their DNA, the company’s pet food products lets your pet savor the same flavors their ancestors once did — that of protein-rich prey. All ingredients are natural, raised humanely, and sourced sustainably.
Pros:
Packed with vitamins, antioxidants, and fatty acids
Using chicken as its main protein source, True Acre Foods have created a reasonable dog food formula that gives quite a lot of value for money. Whilst it only contains an average amount of protein and fat at 24% and 13% respectively, this is all from animal protein sources.
This (along with the good sources of fiber present) make this a great dog food if your pooch has a weak stomach. The omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids present within the formula will also work to ensure your dog's coat and skin remain healthy and vibrant.
This chicken-based kibble contains a blend of antioxidant-rich fruits and veggies peas, carrots dried beet pulp and cranberries. It has the right balance between fiber, antioxidants and omegas any pet needs.
All of True Acre's dog foods are made with ingredients sourced from trusted farms, and without grains, wheat, corn or artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. Whilst peas are listed as one of the ingredients, it will be difficult to escape this ingredient within this price bracket.
Pros:
Affordable
Made from USA-raised chicken
Crafted with farm-grown fruits and veggies
Free of any grains, wheat, corn or artificial colors or flavors
Contains natural fibers
Cons:
Has Peas (may trigger sensitive dogs)
5. Zignature Lamb Limited Ingredient Formula
Zignature uses a premium limited ingredient recipe with no cheap fillers or artificial flavors. It’s helpful for dogs with sensitive tummies, so your Bloodhound should be in an excellent position to have better skin and digestion. Whole protein from lamb plus veggies give your Bloodhound all the building blocks for a healthy life.
This formula contains lamb from New Zealand as its key ingredient. It is combined with essential vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and antioxidants from natural sources. It has no fillers that can cause allergic reactions.
Zignature uses holistic recipes in limited ingredient formulas to help alleviate common allergies and return digestion to normal. They use only premium ingredients and test all recipes in their own kitchens, so you can be confident your pet’s health will improve.
Salmon is an excellent source of protein with plenty of fatty acids to support skin health. The recipe is grain free and contains no cheap fillers. It includes Blue Buffalo’s Lifesource bits for all the vitamins and antioxidants your Bloodhound needs to stay healthy and alert.
There’s no soy or corn, and it’s gluten and wheat free. It uses whole, quality products with none of our usual suspects with skin or other food allergies. It’s meant to mimic the ancestral diet your canine would have had before the days of human couches and apartment living.
This recipe uses their famous LifeSource bits for essential nutrients and vitamins. Deboned salmon provides an excellent source of essential fatty acids and high-quality proteins essential for your Bloodhound's high energy.
It all started with a family’s love of one unique Airedale Terrier, Blue. Now, Blue Buffalo takes the knowledge gained from searching for the best foods and brings it right to your Bloodhound’s food dish. They never use fillers or cheap ingredients and only want to bring a more natural way for your friend to have as close to the ancestral canine diet as possible.
Puppies have changing nutrition needs and should always follow vet instructions for things like portion sizes. You need to control growth carefully so that puppies don’t experience issues with their skeletons or joints later on in life.
7. Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Formula
Taste of the Wild uses a grain-free formula to prevent early allergic reactions and keep your puppy’s weight and growth under control. It uses buffalo for a complete protein source that’s unlikely to cause adverse reactions plus probiotics and vitamins for overall health and better development.
This Taste of the Wild dry dog food was created with puppies in mind. It includes real buffalo as the primary ingredient along with delicious add-ons, including bison, venison, and beef that will deliver the protein your little growing Bloodhound needs.
Made with different proteins that include bison and buffalo. This balanced puppy recipe supports the energy requirements during this important growth stage. Natural antioxidant support comes from the real fruits and veggies.
Taste of the Wild uses unique formulas to help create what your Bloodhound would have eaten thousands of years ago. They use quality ingredients with whole protein sources to help keep your puppy happy and healthy.
Nulo’s wet food is a good additive to dry kibble or as a meal by itself. It uses chicken and salmon as whole sources of protein with plenty of fatty acids to support brain health and proper growth.
This food from Nulo is specially made for puppies. This recipe is a great source of protein and also has a ton of vegetables and key nutrients. If you pup has a food allergy, there is no soy, corn or wheat used in this recipe. This recipe can be used for your puppy and also as a topper for adult dogs.
It also features excellent fiber and moisture content to help keep growth controlled and digestion healthy.
Nulo’s chicken, salmon, and lentils wet food is a great way to transition from nursing to real food. Whole fruits and veggies support the immune system and provide an excellent source of DHA, vitamins and antioxidants.
Nulo provides premium nutrition for puppies to grow healthy and happy. The company uses only premium quality ingredients for the building blocks for a lifetime of well-being and proper growth.
Seniors receive similar nutrition to younger Bloodhounds, but if you notice a change in weight or overall activity, your vet may recommend cutting back on food servings. It’s also helpful to have glucosamine and chondroitin to support aging joints and fatty acids to keep the mind sharp.
9. Merrick Real Chicken & Sweet Potato Senior Recipe
Merrick’s real chicken and sweet potato recipe is not only grain free but also provides plenty of protein to support your aging Bloodhound’s muscles. Sweet potato helps prevent blood sugar spikes and keep weight under control while glucosamine and chondroitin support joints. Essential fatty acids promote skin and soft tissue health while keeping the brain sharp.
This is the healthy choice for your senior Bloodhound with a weak or sensitive digestive system. The Merrick dog food recipe contains only the highest quality ingredients and is engineered to provide your Bloodhound with a complete, balanced diet, packed with nutrition.
Chicken provides a lean protein source for seniors who may not be as active as they once were. The formula has glucosamine and chondroitin to support joint health while essential fatty acids promote eye health and proper brain function.
Merrick is a smaller, US-based company that provides premium foods for a variety of pet sizes and life stages. The company tests all recipes in its own kitchens before release and works hard to deliver foods that will allow your senior to age gracefully.
10. Nutro Natural Choice Senior Lamb & Brown Rice Recipe
Nutro’s recipe uses pasture-fed lamb, a gentler meat to digest for seniors with allergies to poultry proteins, and rice for slow releasing energy all day.
Glucosamine and chondroitin provide support for aging joints while fatty acids encourage peak mental performance. Plus, there are no cheap fillers, artificial flavors, or artificial colors.
This food contains lamb as the first ingredient and Nutro always believes in keeping the list of ingredients small to make everything easier to understand for the consumer. Nutro Senior formulas have all the nutrients your dog needs to continue his active and healthy lifestyle.
This formula uses rich lamb as a source of whole protein and fat. It uses a limited ingredient formula to lessen sensitivities and help your senior Bloodhound digest food with fewer problems.
Nutro has a team of experts creating foods tailored to your pet’s life stage. They use only premium ingredients they can buy and source back to an original supplier so that each stage is accounted for and shown to be the utmost quality.
Bloodhounds also need foods that can help support skin health. With the folds in their faces and short hair, they can sometimes develop skin irritations and inflammation.
Fatty acids in well-made foods can help keep skin irritation at bay. Other vitamins and antioxidants help support the immune and digestive function, which can also affect the health of the skin and ears.
3 Common Bloodhound Health Issues a Good Food Can Help With
Bloodhounds are considered large breeds, which have specific health concerns to watch out for. Bloodhounds also have some health issues particular to the breed. Let’s look at some things you should be watching for.
Bloat – A potentially dangerous condition common to large breed, barrel-chested dogs is Bloat. This condition happens when the stomach distends and twists, causing pain and eventual death if left untreated. A quality diet helps prevent bloat by allowing you to feed smaller meals throughout the day without your bloodhound losing energy. It also helps promote proper digestion.
Hip Dysplasia – Large breed dogs are also prone to a genetic condition called Hip Dysplasia. The joint fails to form correctly and can pop more easily out of place later on in life with harsh activity or excessive weight gain. Your Bloodhound should always maintain a proper weight, which can be hard with cheap food, and should have enough protein to support muscle tone to support the joint. Glucosamine and chondroitin can also help cushion the joint and protect it from the aging process.
Ear And Skin Infections – Their coat is short, and their ears are long. This leads to a lot of infections because the ears tend to drag the ground or into their water bowl where bacteria can latch on. The short hair gives things pretty much free access to soft, warm places like ears or the folds of skin. Foods with balanced nutrition and fatty acids help keep away the worst effects if inflammation and irritation though you’ll have to spend some time making sure those areas stay clean and free of odor.
What to Look For in a Quality Dog Food for Bloodhounds
Protein is one of the most important essentials in your Bloodhound’s food. It should come from a whole source and be the first ingredient on the list. Byproduct meals are frequently used as a cheap protein, but you’re looking for things like whole deboned chicken or salmon. Protein from these sources better supports essential muscle groups.
Whole fruits and vegetables provide essential vitamins and antioxidants that can support the immune system. They also provide crucial fiber to keep digestion under control. Together, these two systems can offer further support to the skin and soft tissues.
Supplements like fatty acids can help keep the skin and coat healthy and maintain mental processing. Glucosamine and chondroitin help the joints stay lubricated and healthy. Other considerations would be minerals for bones and teeth and probiotics for digestion.
If your Bloodhound has a lot of issues with skin and ear irritations, you may want to switch to a limited ingredient food to help alleviate any inflammation. These use a single source of protein with a few other ingredients to get your Bloodhound’s digestion and immune response back on track.
Ingredients to Avoid in Your Bloodhound’s Dog Food
Cheap fillers such as corn and soy can cause a lot of skin irritation. They’re frequent allergy offenders and often get put into foods to help bring down the cost of both production and retail. They offer no nutritional benefit and shouldn’t be listed anywhere on the dog food bag.
Other ingredients to avoid entirely would be the cheap proteins that come from by-product meals, and alternative flavors, which can encourage your Bloodhound to eat too quickly. Artificial colors can react negatively with your dog’s stomach and are only there for your benefit.
One worrying bit of news concerns foods that use potatoes, peas, and legumes as ingredients. These often substitute for grain in gluten-free foods, but they could have a link to a condition called Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy.
We aren’t entirely sure what’s going on yet, but you should talk to your vet about avoiding foods with these ingredients altogether or avoiding foods at least without them in the first two or three ingredient places.
Brands To Avoid
Of course, we’re going to call out a few brands we continue to see on the shelves despite a lack of quality ingredients and a lot of empty fillers.
Kibbles N Bits: This one uses just about every ingredient we listed to avoid. Artificial colors and flavors, cheap fillers such as corn or soy, and by-product meals. It’s not worth it because you’ll be in the vet’s office a lot.
Alpo: It’s been recalled so many times we can’t even remember. It uses cheap fillers in both its wet and dry options. Dogs might love their wet food, but we promise you won’t be happy.
Beneful by Purina: Beneful uses cheap fillers in many of their formulas and unidentified meat products in others. It may be cheap, but it won’t be an excellent long term investment.
Bloodhound Feeding Chart Feeding Chart
Bloodhounds will need dense nutrition to keep up with their energetic personalities. Your vet will give you a plan specific to your Bloodhound, but here are a few general guidelines.
Puppies: Bloodhounds are slow growers, which is a good thing. Make sure you control their growth carefully, so you don’t have problems later with bones and joints.
Adults: Adult Bloodhounds will have about four cups of food per day divided up into smaller meals. This may help prevent bloat and also give them steady energy throughout the day.
Seniors: Seniors will get roughly the same amount of food as their younger counterparts, but your vet may adjust the portion sizes to account for any weight gain and reduced activity.
Final Thoughts
Your Bloodhound is a curious, determined dog with plenty of drive when the scent suits it. Support that drive with healthy foods that support brain development and strong muscle tones without adding a bunch of empty calories that can weigh your dog down (literally).
Densely nutritious foods are excellent because you can feed smaller amounts without keeping your Bloodhound hungry all day.
Building a lifetime of nutrition helps keep your Bloodhound healthy from the puppy years to the golden ones. Establishing that pattern of health gives you the optimum time with your Bloodhound and keeps things running smoothly for an entire lifetime.
A freelance writer and huge animal advocate, with 6 dogs and 3 cats. Graduated with a medical degree and is now spending time running a shelter and rescuing animals in need. Loves a good book, travel and spend time with family and pets.
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