English Setters are striking dogs, likely causing quite the stir everywhere you go. They’re sweet-tempered and great sporting dogs, dedicated to the hunt and to their families.
They're a medium sized breed, but they’re active. A bored English Setter is a destructive one, which you’ve likely figured out, so you’ll need to support their drive and determination with a nutrient dense food that can keep up with their energy demands.
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Let’s take a look at what it’s going to take to keep your English Setter in top shape and happy. It’s going to require food with premium ingredients and plenty of care so you guys don’t end up in the vet’s office a lot more than you’d like.
Read on to find out which are the best dog food for English Setters.
English Setters' hair is one of the defining features of the breed, but without healthy skin, the hair can become brittle and lose luster. Essential fatty acids combined with those quality proteins help keep the skin in top shape and the fur soft and healthy.
Later in life, as your Setter becomes less active, it’s even more important to have quality nutrition built into the food. Empty fillers can rob your Setter of quality of life as weight spirals out of control, so foods with only necessary ingredients are essential to health.
English Setters need dense nutrition without empty calories to maintain active lifestyles and keep weight under control. They need food to support their sharp minds and athletic abilities, so make sure you pack food full of good things their bodies will love.
Here are our favorite foods for a healthy and happy Setter for life.
Tasty Turkey Feast is a cooked recipe using human grade ingredients with a single protein source. It’s lower in fat and should help keep your dog’s weight under control. It arrives in perfect portion sizes ready to serve and should satisfy even the pickiest of eaters.
The Tasty Turkey feast uses turkey and eggs for complete proteins and calcium with brown rice as a slow release complex carbohydrate that helps stabilize energy levels.
Ollie is a veterinarian created raw food system designed to give your pet optimum nutrition in a limited ingredient formula. Everything is created using human grade ingredients and shipped within days of getting made. It’s easy to set up your account and manage things based on your dog’s needs. If you’ve got the extra budget, it’s worth it.
Taste of the Wild is another food that supplies healthy proteins with no fillers or grains that can cause allergic reactions.
It uses buffalo and venison for a rich protein source plus slow-release carbs that won’t spike your English Setter’s blood sugar. Fruits and vegetables provide vitamins and antioxidants for immune and digestive support.
Includes a balanced set of ingredients that contains real buffalo, lamb and chicken to deliver protein and encourage muscle development. Obtained from both trusted and sustainable sources and omit cheap fillers and artificial colors, preservatives, and flavors.
Taste of the Wild uses rigorous safety standards to source ingredients and create recipes. They have only densely nutritious foods with quality protein sources and great vitamins to support overall health.
Iams ProActive’s dry dog food recipe is crafted with real chicken to offer protein and whole grain corn that deliver an important ingredient: fiber. This formulation provides a rich, fragrant flavor your pup will gulp up with ease!
This formula adds chicken fat and flaxseed to offer your little curly-haired pup the omega fatty acids that will give his skin and coat the ingredients that increase his chances for optimal health.
This recipe is packed with real chicken and comes in a smaller kibble size making it just perfect for Fido's mouth. This is also fortified with prebiotics, natural fibers and antioxidants for better system support.
The Iams company was among the first pet food manufacturers to start feeding dogs as carnivores – they were also the first to develop the kind of protein-based diet that most traditional kibbles offer today.
What Customers Like
Should satisfy picky dogs
Plenty of quality protein
Single protein source for sensitive dogs
Common Complaints
Not grain-free formula (may trigger allergic reactions)
Supports healthy digestion and reduce instances of inflammation. It is made from fresh Salmon sourced in the Northwest US and it is devoid of any allergenic ingredients, very ideal for sensitive pooches.
Zignature’s dedication to premium ingredients to support overall health and wellbeing ensures your Setter will have plenty of quality protein in limited ingredient formulas you can trust. They test every recipe first and have a history of providing densely nutritious food for all life stages.
Blue Buffalo is an excellent affordable alternative to higher-end foods without sacrificing nutrition. It features high-quality protein from a lean source that also provides plenty of fatty acids to support brain and skin health. It’s grain free and contains no empty fillers that can cause allergic reactions.
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 Setter's high energy.
Blue Buffalo began with a quest to provide the best nutrition to a single dog, Blue. That Airedale Terrier inspired an entire range of foods that offer high-quality meals at more affordable prices to keep your Brittany in top shape.
6. Weruva Dogs in the Kitchen Funk in the Trunk Chicken Breast & Pumpkin Au Jus
Weruva Dogs in the Kitchen Funk in the Trunk Canned Dog Food line provides a yummy home cooked meal in a perfectly portioned serving.
This luxurious, natural pet food is made from the best ingredients around the world including fresh, high-quality chicken breast and pumpkin.
As with all of Weruva’s Dogs in the Kitchen recipes, the ingredients in Funk in the Trunk maintain their natural look and recognizable texture, so what you see is exactly what your put get!
A tasty home cooked meal in an easy open can. This premium canned food is made of the finest ingredients with chicken broth and chicken leading the ingredient list.
The Weruva pet food brand is a family-owned company founded by David and Stacie Forman in 2006. Weruva dog food aims to feed pets the way we feed ourselves. This dog food is handmade and species-appropriate. Their products are made in a facility that also makes human food.
What Customers Like
Finicky eaters love this
High quality protein
Recipe free from grains, starch, MSG, gluten or carrageenan
Puppies need to grow carefully and properly. Their developing bones and hips can go through a lot of stress with rapid growth, so finding a food that’s densely nutritious without empty calories is a must.
7. Wellness CORE Puppy Chicken & Turkey Recipe
Wellness Core’s food is grain free to reduce the number of empty calories your growing puppy consumes while providing quality proteins from whole deboned chicken and turkey.
It includes naturally sourced DHA to support brain development and guaranteed levels of calcium and phosphorus for healthy bones.
Contains carefully controlled calories to help growing puppies develop at the right rate. They use holistic approach to your puppy’s nutrition – it controls growth, offers a balanced diet, and plenty of probiotic support for puppies just weaning.
Wellness’s primary responsibility is providing your puppy with the building blocks for lifelong health. They use a holistic approach and plenty of science-backed advice to create recipes that are nutrient dense and highly effective.
8. Nutro Puppy Tender Beef, Pea & Carrot Recipe Bites In Gravy
Nutro’s wet food is excellent for just weaned puppies or picky puppies who need encouragement to eat solid foods.
It offers stable proteins from beef, and although Setters aren’t precisely large breeds, this formula specifically for all sizes should help prevent your puppy from gaining too much weight too quickly.
The wholesome, healthy choice for selective English Setter puppy parents. Fortified with vitamins and minerals to promote healthy skin, shiny coat and strong bones and teeth.
Now that Nutro is more widely available, all pet owners can take advantage of its quality recipes and complete nutrition for all stages of life. Your puppy gets all the building blocks for health and well-being for a lifetime.
At this point in your Setter’s life, it’s critical to maintain optimal weight to prevent long term issues. Foods with weight control options are great, as are ones with plenty of fiber supporting digestion and fatty acids for brain health. Glucosamine and chondroitin can help keep joints cushioned and in good health to support the body.
9. Now Fresh Grain-Free Senior Weight Management Recipe
Now Fresh’s weight control formula doesn’t make you choose between weight control and senior options. It has superior nutrition that supports digestion, mental functioning, and keeps the joints healthy. It has no fillers or artificial ingredients and also includes supplements to support the heart.
Now Fresh uses a weight control formula specifically for seniors to help support their aging process. Essential fatty acids and vitamins support aging immune systems and eyes while good fiber sources keep digestion regular.
Now Fresh uses a holistic approach to the canine ancestral diet using ingredients sourced from trusted places and only premium foods. It produces excellent kibble to keep your senior’s weight under control without sacrificing any of the energy your Setter will need to stay active.
What Customers Like
Weight control formula
Heart supplements
Joint support
Common Complaints
Kibble could be hard to chew for seniors with teeth issues
10. Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Senior Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe
Blue Buffalo’s formula uses LifeSource Bits, a combination of vitamins and antioxidants that support all systems. Chicken and brown rice form the perfect combination of quality protein with complex carbohydrates, giving your Setter energy all day long. Glucosamine and chondroitin support joints while fatty acids keep minds sharp.
Blue Buffalo has long been a standard value brand that is overly enjoyed by most dogs. This formula has added vitamins and minerals to support older bones and joints and also helps to keep the metabolism and digestion working properly.
Blue, the Airedale Terrier, captured not on the heart of the family that started Blue Buffalo but inspired the entire dog food brand. The search for quality nutrition is where everything began, and now you can provide your senior Setter with the same nutrition as beloved Blue.
Setters are generally healthy, but there are a few things you’ll need to look out for as your English Setter grows and ages.
Weight Gain
English Setters gain weight really quickly, more so than many other breeds. Weight will likely be an issue for their entire lives, so a carefully controlled diet should begin in puppyhood. Avoid foods with empty calories in the form of cheap fillers such as corn or soy so that they don’t have to eat as much while still receiving quality nutrition.
Hip Dysplasia
Setters are just as prone to hip dysplasia as other types of athletic dogs. The hip doesn’t fit together well, and while you may not notice at first, heavy activity or weight gain can cause pain and possible dislocation. Maintaining a healthy weight is an excellent first step as well as providing foods with sources of glucosamine and chondroitin which help protect the joints.
Hypothyroidism
Another genetic condition that can cause lifelong issues, hypothyroidism can be managed well through medication and diet. Dogs with this condition can go on to live happy, full lives, so make sure your food is quality. Foods that help with weight control are great ideas as well as ones that improve digestion to help support medication.
What to Look For in a Quality Dog Food for English Setters
Quality protein should always be the first on the ingredient list, especially from single sources of protein. Protein builds strong muscles and coat while helping maintain energy levels. Combine that protein with a complex carbohydrate and your Setter can feel full and energized all day even with smaller meals.
Fruits and veggies are another vital part of the recipe because these give your setter vitamins and antioxidants to support the immune system and digestive health. They also provide prebiotics and minerals. Supplementing with essential fatty acids and you’ve got the building blocks for healthy systems all around.
Setters benefit from calcium and phosphorus for strong bones plus glucosamine and chondroitin to support joint health. Make sure you keep weight under control to avoid stressing the bone frame.
If your setter has constant problems with itchy skin and ears, it may be helpful to switch to a limited ingredient formula to help ease digestive issues and inflammation. Healthy skin starts in the gut, and ultra-sensitive dogs may not be able to handle proteins from multiple sources and a bunch of supplements.
Ingredients to Avoid in Your English Setter’s Dog Food
Cheap fillers are the worst offenders with weight gain and allergic reactions. Ingredients like corn and soy are often in budget foods, but they have no business anywhere in your dog food recipe. If you see them anywhere in the ingredient list, skip that food.
Artificial flavors encourage your Setter to overeat or to eat too quickly which may cause bloat. Artificial colors are there so that you believe the food is healthier and more appetizing. Skip them in your food choices.
By-product meals are sources of cheap proteins, but it’s impossible to tell what exactly is in them because they use all parts of the meat, including poor quality pieces. Go for foods with whole proteins and skip the cheap by-product meals.
Potatoes, peas, and legumes are often substituted for other ingredients to make foods grain or gluten-free, but a worrying link has been established between these ingredients and Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy, or an enlarged heart. Talk to your vet about avoiding those ingredients or avoid foods with them listed in the first two or three spots just to be safe.
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Brands To Avoid
We see these brands all the time on shelves, but they don’t offer much regarding nutrition. Most of them only give your wallet a boost, which you’ll likely pay back later when your dog is at the vet all the time. We recommend avoiding these brands.
Pedigree: Pedigree is famous and recognizable, but it uses mostly cheap fillers to fill your dog’s tummy. They also use artificial colors and flavors plus meat by-product meals, so don’t let the bright yellow bag fool you.
Kibbles N Bits: Another very famous brand, Kibbles N Bits also uses exclusively cheap ingredients full of fillers and artificial colors and flavors. Do yourself and your dog a favor and look elsewhere for dinner.
Alpo: Despite the healthy dog on the front, Alpo has been recalled a lot for both canned and dried foods. The company uses cheap ingredients with plenty of corn and soy for fillers, so don’t fall for the advertising.
English Setter Feeding Chart
They have higher calorie needs because of activity, but this should be monitored closely because they also gain weight quickly. Follow your vet’s instructions for your individual setter, but here’s an idea of what to expect.
Puppies: Puppies need to grow carefully so as not to stress their developing bones. Make sure your food is nutritious and prepare for your vet to change feeding recommendations several times during your Setter’s development.
Adults: Adults will generally receive two to four cups of food per day divided into smaller meals. It depends on your Setter’s weight and the recommendations from your Vet plus portion sizing for the specific food.
Seniors: Seniors get similar nutrition, but your vet may reduce portion sizes to help keep weight gain under control. Check with your vet for portion sizing and watch your English Setter carefully for signs of weight gain or slowed activity levels.
Final Thoughts
Your English Setter deserves a lifetime of fun and love, so make sure the food you choose has all the building blocks for great health from the puppy years to the senior years. Setters gain weight quickly, so monitor their activity levels closely to help you make better decisions about their food.
Understanding their nutritional needs is critical. They’ll require a lot of calories to keep up with an active lifestyle but can gain weight in an instant if the balance is tipped. Otherwise, they’re a loving, supportive dog breed with plenty of life to give, so providing them with food you can trust should keep them happy for a lifetime.
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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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