Best Food for French Bulldogs: Puppy, Adult & Senior Guide (2026)

By Brandine StrandPublished October 14, 2026 · Sources cited

Sources: O’Neill et al., Canine Medicine and Genetics, 2021; Hemida et al., Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2021; Kocadağlı et al., Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 2026. The last two are observational and lab studies, not proof of cause. We explain what each one can and can’t tell you below.

Walk down any pet food aisle and every bag promises the same thing: complete nutrition, real meat, a healthier dog. For a French Bulldog, the choice deserves more thought than the marketing gives it. This is a breed that carries more than its share of skin, gut and ear problems, spends its life working a little harder to breathe and pays a real price for every extra pound.

Food won’t fix genetics. But it’s the one input you control every single day, and the research on processing, early diet and body weight points in a consistent direction. So do the integrative veterinarians we follow, from Dr. Ian Billinghurst, who started the modern raw feeding movement, to Dr. Karen Becker, Dr. Judy Morgan and Dr. Peter Dobias.

This guide covers what to feed a French Bulldog at every age, how the main food types compare, how to feed raw safely, how much to feed, the easiest upgrades if you’re on kibble today and the specific foods we’d put in our own dogs’ bowls.

🐾 Bodhi Says

Nobody has to go from kibble to a freezer full of raw patties overnight. Every step up the ladder counts, even a spoonful of sardines or a soft-boiled egg on top of tonight’s dinner. Start where you are.

What Is the Best Food for French Bulldogs?

The best food for a French Bulldog is complete and balanced for its life stage, built on animal protein and as minimally processed as your budget and household allow. Our first choice is a commercial raw diet. Gently cooked fresh, freeze-dried and air-dried foods come next. If kibble is staying for now, adding fresh whole-food toppers is the simplest upgrade.

Think of it as a ladder. Every rung is a complete diet. What changes as you climb is how much of the bowl is fresh, minimally processed food. Dr. Karen Becker describes the same idea: move one category up from extruded kibble, and if you can’t do that yet, start adding fresh food to what you already feed.

Why Food Matters More for French Bulldogs

French Bulldogs have higher odds than other dogs for 20 of 43 common disorders in UK veterinary records, and skin, gut and ear problems are what they’re most often treated for. Many of those problems are tied to inflammation, the gut and body weight, which are all things diet can influence. Food won’t cure a genetic condition, but it shapes how hard those conditions hit.

In a VetCompass study of 2,228 French Bulldogs under UK veterinary care, 72.4% had at least one recorded disorder in a single year (O’Neill et al., 2018). The most common problem groups were skin, gut and ear conditions:

Here’s where food connects to each of those:

• Skin and ears. About half of French Bulldogs in a large 2025 survey had an allergy or hypersensitivity, and owners of food-allergic Frenchies most often named grains, chicken and beef as triggers (Hinze et al., 2025). Our French Bulldog allergies guide covers how to find your dog’s triggers, and our French Bulldog health problems guide covers the rest of the list.
• The gut. Diarrhea is one of the most common reasons Frenchies see the vet. Diet shapes the gut microbiome directly, which is why we treat food as the foundation of our gut health guide.
• The spine. Most French Bulldogs carry the FGF4 retrogene linked to early disc calcification. In a 2025 Finnish study, 77 of 81 Frenchies carried at least one copy, and Frenchies with two copies had about 3.4 times the odds of severe disc calcification compared with Frenchies with one or no copies (Reunanen et al., 2025). The study only included Frenchies graded with no or severe calcification, so treat these as study figures, not breed-wide rates. Food can’t change that gene, but keeping your dog lean takes load off the spine. See our IVDD guide.
• Breathing. Extra weight makes every breath harder work for a flat-faced dog. Weight control is one of the simplest things you can do for a Frenchie with BOAS, covered in our BOAS guide.

Weight matters across the board. The 2021 AAHA nutrition guidelines call nutrition integral to a pet’s longevity and quality of life (Cline et al., 2021). Lean dogs live longer: in a lifetime study of 48 Labrador Retrievers, dogs fed 25% fewer calories than their littermates lived a median of about 13 years, versus 11.2 years for the dogs fed more (Kealy et al., 2002), a study run by a pet food company. For a breed with a fragile spine and a narrow airway, a lean body condition isn’t cosmetic. It’s protective.

Raw vs Fresh vs Freeze-Dried vs Kibble: How They Compare

Every type below can be complete and balanced. The difference is processing. Kibble is extruded under high heat and pressure, which damages some protein and creates heat-related compounds. Raw, gently cooked, freeze-dried and air-dried foods are far less processed. Research comparing them is still early, mostly small or observational, but it points toward less-processed food.

What a dog’s body is built for. Your Frenchie’s digestive system has a lot in common with other meat-eaters. Look in the mouth and you’ll find carnassials, the big cheek teeth near the back that slice like scissors (The Open University). The stomach is strongly acidic, usually around pH 1–2 in healthy dogs (Sagawa et al., 2009; Kook et al., 2014). From there the gut is short and simple, and a meal takes about a day to a day and a half to pass all the way through a small or medium dog (Deschamps et al., 2022). Science hasn’t set a minimum dietary carbohydrate requirement for dogs, though pregnancy is a special case (Kayser et al., 2024).

Dogs aren’t wolves, though. Most carry extra copies of AMY2B, a gene for the enzyme that breaks down starch, a change that most likely spread as dogs lived alongside early farmers (Arendt et al., 2016). So dogs can use some plant foods, but their teeth, stomach and gut are well suited to a diet built on meat, organs and bone. That’s the thinking behind BARF and why complete raw sits at the top of our ladder. It doesn’t make raw risk-free, which is why the safety section below matters.

What heat does to food. When food is cooked at high temperatures, proteins and sugars react (the Maillard reaction). That reaction locks up some of the amino acid lysine, so the dog can’t use it, and creates new compounds. In a 2014 analysis of 67 commercial pet foods, the estimated daily intake of one of those compounds, HMF, was 122 times higher for dogs than for adult humans, relative to body size (van Rooijen et al., 2014). What that means for dogs’ long-term health isn’t known yet. A 2026 study of 41 UK dog foods found kibble started with less total lysine than fresh foods, and more of what it had was blocked by heat damage (4.9% of its lysine, versus 3.2% in fresh foods), while wet foods had the highest levels of advanced glycation end products, or AGEs (Kocadağlı et al., 2026). One of its authors works for a fresh dog food company, which is worth knowing.

What happens in the dog. In a small randomized crossover trial, 23 pet dogs ate an extruded kibble and a mildly cooked, minimally processed diet for two weeks each. On the minimally processed diet, stool quality improved and the gut microbiome was more diverse (Campbell et al., 2026). One author works for the company that made the fresh diet. Earlier studies found raw-fed dogs have a different gut microbial community than dogs on commercial diets (Sandri et al., 2017; Schmidt et al., 2018). These are small, short studies. A different gut community isn’t proven to be a better one yet, and longer trials are needed.

What early diet seems to set up. The strongest long-term data come from the Finnish DogRisk surveys, which asked owners what their dogs ate as puppies and what health problems followed. These are associations from owner reports, not proof of cause, but they’re large studies:

Is Raw Food Safe for French Bulldogs?

Raw food isn’t risk-free, but most healthy Frenchies do well on it when it’s complete and balanced and you handle it like raw meat for your family. The real risk is bacteria: in FDA testing, raw pet foods were far more likely to carry Salmonella and Listeria than the dry pet foods tested. High-risk homes and dogs with weak immune systems should talk with a vet first.

We advocate for raw, and we also want you to have the full picture. Here’s the mainstream concern. In a two-year FDA study (samples bought in 2010–2012, before HPP was common), 15 of 196 raw pet food samples tested positive for Salmonella and 32 for Listeria monocytogenes, while the dry dog foods tested were negative (FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine; Nemser et al., 2014). The ASPCA also warns that bones can injure or block the gut. Those risks are why many conventional vets are wary of raw.

Many commercial raw brands now use high-pressure processing (HPP), which uses pressure instead of heat to reduce pathogens. Dr. Katie Woodley points out three limits: HPP lowers risk but doesn’t sterilize, food can be recontaminated after processing and HPP can’t fix a poorly balanced recipe. Safe handling still matters.

When gently cooked is the better choice. The CDC lists children under 5, adults 65 or older, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems as most likely to get very sick from these germs, along with puppies and pets with weakened immune systems or other health conditions (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). If that describes anyone in your home, or your dog takes medication that suppresses the immune system (such as steroids or chemotherapy), talk with your vet before feeding raw. HPP-treated raw lowers the risk, and gently cooked fresh food avoids raw-meat handling altogether. Dr. Jean Dodds, who supports raw feeding, suggests cooked or steamed food for dogs with kidney, liver or bowel disease.

One more thing to know: in a two-part study Dr. Dodds co-authored, raw-fed dogs had higher BUN (a kidney value) and hematocrit (the share of blood made up of red cells) than kibble-fed dogs, without signs of kidney damage in most dogs tested. The authors suggested raw-fed dogs may need their own reference ranges, so tell your vet what your dog eats before bloodwork.

Best Food for French Bulldogs: Our 2026 Picks

Our top pick for most Frenchies is a complete frozen raw food such as Darwin’s or We Feed Raw (We Feed Raw is HPP-treated; Darwin’s isn’t). For gently cooked food, we like The Farmer’s Dog, Raised Right and AllProvide. For shelf-stable options, Vital Essentials freeze-dried and ZIWI Peak air-dried are our picks. Check the life stage on the label before buying for a puppy.

We checked every claim below against brand websites, retailer listings, trade press and review sites in October 2026. Every main recipe below is described as complete and balanced, but some lines, like Viva Raw’s “Pure” products, are for intermittent feeding, not complete meals. Formulas change, so read the label on the bag you buy.

Want a fresh topper rather than a full meal? Portland Pet Food Company makes human-grade, shelf-stable meals in Portland, Oregon. They’re labeled for intermittent or supplemental feeding, so we use them on top of a complete diet, not instead of one. Visit Portland Pet Food Company →

About the vet-formulated brands: Dr. Karen Becker works with Raised Right on its recipes, and AllProvide says its special diets are formulated with Dr. Judy Morgan. Dr. Katie Woodley, whose HPP points we cite in the safety section, is listed as the reviewer of We Feed Raw’s beginner’s guide. We chose and ranked these brands on our own. None of these vets has reviewed or endorsed our rankings or BestFrenchBulldog.com.

Affiliate disclosure: product links below are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, BFB earns from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend.

What to Feed a French Bulldog Puppy, Adult and Senior

Puppies need a food labeled for growth or all life stages, fed in several small meals a day. Adults need a complete diet fed to keep them lean, with proteins rotated. Seniors usually do best with plenty of high-quality protein and moisture, unless your vet has diagnosed kidney disease or another condition that changes the plan.

French Bulldog puppies

The first year is when the gut microbiome and immune tolerance are being set up, which is why the DogRisk findings on puppy diet matter so much. Feed a food that’s labeled complete and balanced for growth or for all life stages. Foods labeled only for “adult maintenance” (including many freeze-dried lines and Viva Raw’s regular recipes) aren’t designed for puppies.

In its puppy feeding guide, Hemopet, the organization Dr. Jean Dodds founded, recommends four equal meals a day for toy and small breeds through the first three months, and at least four meals a day for all puppies until about four months. Calcium balance is the big risk with homemade raw for puppies, so use a complete commercial raw food or a recipe from a professional formulator. Darwin’s itself suggests waiting until about 16 weeks to start raw, and the CDC lists puppies among the pets most likely to get sick from germs in raw food, so talk with your vet about timing. Dr. Peter Dobias, a raw feeding advocate, notes that raw diets often run short on minerals, including calcium, so balance matters. Our French Bulldog puppy feeding guide covers amounts and schedules month by month.

Adult French Bulldogs

For adults, the goals are simple: a complete diet, a lean body and variety. Rotate between three or four proteins your dog tolerates. For dogs with sensitive stomachs, Dr. Gary Richter suggests a gradual move to a new protein every three to four months. Variety may also hedge against any single food’s gaps. A 2026 systematic review, written to compare vegan and meat-based pet foods, found that 44 of 54 studies reported at least one nutrient shortfall or excess, in meat-based, raw and vegan foods alike (Mace et al., 2026). That counts studies, not products, and the review didn’t test rotation, but it’s a good reason not to rely on one formula for years.

Senior French Bulldogs

French Bulldogs have shorter lives than many breeds. In a UK study of more than 584,000 dogs, Frenchies had a median lifespan of 9.8 years, compared with 12.5 years across all dogs (McMillan et al., 2024). That makes the senior years start earlier, and makes them worth planning for.

• Keep protein high and digestible. Dr. Becker recommends more high-quality protein for older dogs, not less, along with moisture-rich fresh food in place of starchy kibble. The exception is a dog diagnosed with kidney disease. Even then, Dr. Judy Morgan focuses on lower phosphorus and more moisture rather than cutting protein early, while Dr. Dodds prefers cooked meals for these dogs. Work with your vet on the plan.
• Think warming foods. Dr. Morgan favors energetically warming foods, like chicken, lamb and venison, for old, cold dogs, a Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine idea. Food energetics hasn’t been tested in controlled trials, so use it as a gentle guide alongside your vet’s advice.
• Adjust portions, not quality. Activity usually drops with age. Trim portions to keep your dog lean, and keep the food itself as good as it was.
• Get regular bloodwork. Senior wellness checks catch kidney, liver and thyroid changes early, and tell you whether the diet needs to change.

How Much Should a French Bulldog Eat?

A typical neutered adult French Bulldog needs about 430–750 calories a day, from roughly 430–500 at 16 pounds to 660–750 at 28 pounds. Inactive or weight-prone Frenchies often need about 25% less. Start with the feeding guide on your food, then adjust every two to four weeks based on body condition. You should be able to feel your dog’s ribs easily and see a waist from above.

Veterinarians estimate calorie needs in two steps. First, the resting energy requirement (RER) is 70 × (ideal body weight in kilograms)^0.75. Then RER is multiplied by a life-stage factor: 1.4 to 1.6 for a neutered adult, and 1.0 to 1.2 for an inactive or weight-prone dog (Cline et al., 2021). Here’s what that works out to for typical Frenchie weights:

Calculated with the formula and life-stage factors in the 2021 AAHA Nutrition and Weight Management Guidelines, rounded to the nearest 10 calories. Use your dog’s ideal weight, not current weight, if they’re overweight. These are starting points, not prescriptions.

Many Frenchies are fairly inactive, so the “inactive or weight-prone” column is often closer to reality than the “typical” column. Body condition is the real test: if your dog is gaining, cut back by about 10% and check again in a few weeks.

Count every treat. AAHA recommends that a complete diet make up at least 90% of daily calories, with treats and extras at 10% or less. Fresh toppers count toward the total too, so reduce the base food a little when you add them. Our French Bulldog weight guide has a body condition chart and a weight-loss plan.

Make meals work double duty. One of our favorite habits is using part of each day’s food for training. A handful of freeze-dried nibs or bits of your dog’s raw food make perfect rewards, and they don’t add extra calories because they come out of the daily ration. For puppies, hand-feeding some meals during short training sessions builds focus and trust, and pairing food with new sights and sounds makes socialization easier. Early, positive training pays off for life with this stubborn, sensitive breed. Private lessons in the first months are worth every penny. Our French Bulldog training guide shows how, and you can find a Frenchie-savvy trainer in our trainer directory.

Fresh Toppers: The Easiest Upgrade

Fresh toppers are small amounts of real food added to your dog’s complete diet. They’re the easiest way to move up the food ladder without changing everything at once. Good options include sardines packed in water, eggs, blueberries, lightly steamed vegetables, plain pumpkin and organ meat or green tripe. Start small and count them in your dog’s daily calories.

Toppers are where the integrative vets we follow agree most. Dr. Morgan suggests adding fresh food to any diet. Dr. Katie Kangas adds gut-friendly foods like bone broth and fermented foods such as kefir. Dr. Becker and Rodney Habib built a whole approach around “Core Longevity Toppers” in The Forever Dog, starting small and building up.

If your Frenchie has a known food allergy, choose toppers made from proteins they tolerate, and skip toppers entirely during an elimination trial. Our guide to whole-food toppers and our bone broth, eggs and sardines guide go deeper.

How to Switch Your French Bulldog to a New Food

Switch gradually over about a week, mixing more of the new food into the old food each day. The 2021 AAHA guidelines note that changing diets over four to seven days may reduce stomach upset. Go slower for dogs with a sensitive stomach, and call your vet if diarrhea lasts more than a day or two (sooner for puppies), or you see blood, vomiting or low energy.

Raw feeders don’t all agree on this. Dr. Billinghurst describes two approaches: skipping meals until the dog is hungry enough to accept the new food, or mixing growing amounts of finely minced raw into the usual food. For Frenchies, with their sensitive stomachs, we recommend the gradual route, and we never recommend fasting a puppy.

Foods and Ingredients to Avoid for French Bulldogs

Never feed grapes or raisins, xylitol, onions, garlic or chives, chocolate, coffee or caffeine, macadamia nuts, alcohol or raw yeast dough. Avoid cooked bones and rawhide chews. On labels, skip foods preserved with ethoxyquin, and choose natural preservatives like mixed tocopherols. If your dog eats something toxic, call your vet, an emergency clinic or a pet poison line now.

Toxic foods: ASPCA Animal Poison Control, (888) 426-4435. Ethoxyquin: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1375.

Our emergencies and toxins guide covers more items and what to do in an emergency.

How to Read a Dog Food Label in 5 Minutes

Check five things: the AAFCO statement for your dog’s life stage, a named animal protein at the top of the ingredient list, signs of ingredient splitting, a rough carbohydrate estimate and the preservatives and calorie content. The AAFCO statement is the most important, because it tells you whether the food is a complete diet or only a supplement.

Dry food has one more catch. Hemopet, the organization Dr. Dodds founded, notes that storage mites are common in cereal-based dry foods and thrive with humidity and poor storage, and that the main storage mite cross-reacts with house dust mite on allergy testing. If you feed kibble, buy only what you’ll finish in 30 days or less and store it sealed somewhere cool and dry. You can also freeze extra portions in airtight containers. Our label-reading guide goes deeper.

Claims We Don’t Make (and Why)

Some popular feeding claims fall apart when you go looking for the source. We’d rather tell you what we couldn’t verify than repeat it. Below are four common ones we checked and couldn’t support, along with what the evidence does say.

• “Raw-fed dogs live years longer.” We couldn’t find a peer-reviewed study showing it, and even Dr. Dobias, a strong raw advocate, notes that no long-term randomized trial on lifespan has been done. Calorie control has much stronger lifespan evidence (Kealy et al., 2002).
• “Every extra pound multiplies pressure on the discs.” We found no study behind the specific multipliers that get shared. Keep your Frenchie lean anyway.
• “Chicken is the number one allergen.” Across breeds, confirmed food allergies most often involved beef (34%), then dairy (17%) and chicken (15%) (Mueller et al., 2016). Chicken is a common suspect in Frenchies, but not every dog reacts to it.
• “Grain-free causes heart disease” or “grain-free is healthier.” Neither is established. The FDA’s investigation found a pattern in case reports, not a cause.

Where the Experts Disagree

The integrative vets we follow agree on the big picture: less processing, real food, variety and a lean dog. They differ on the details, including raw versus cooked, grains, how fast to switch, how much fish to feed and whether puppies need puppy-specific food. We think you should know where the debates are, so you can make the call with your own vet.

• Raw or cooked?Dr. Billinghurst and Dr. Dobias put raw first. Dr. Morgan is comfortable with raw or gently cooked. Dr. Roberts’s CrockPet Diet is cooked; it doesn’t claim an AAFCO statement, so have your vet check the balance. Dr. Dodds supports raw but prefers cooked for dogs with kidney, liver or bowel disease.
• Grains and grain-freeDr. Becker considers grains unnecessary and suggests keeping starch low. Dr. Billinghurst argues grain-free kibble is worse than grain-based kibble. The FDA investigated reports of heart disease (DCM) in dogs eating certain foods, more than 90% of them grain-free and most containing peas or lentils. It says report data alone can’t establish a causal link, and in December 2022 it said it wouldn’t post further updates until there’s meaningful new science.
• How fast to switchDr. Billinghurst offers either skipping meals until the dog is hungry or a gradual mix. Dr. Dodds prefers a gradual change over 10–14 days. Dr. Dobias switches most healthy dogs off kibble quickly and goes gradually for dogs with digestive or immune problems. We recommend the gradual route for Frenchies.
• FishDr. Dobias is more cautious about fish and feeds it less often. Dr. Becker suggests sardines as a regular topper, about one per 20 pounds of body weight, kept inside the 10% treat allowance.
• Life-stage foodsDr. Becker and Dr. Morgan question “all life stages” foods, since puppies and seniors have different needs, such as phosphorus and calories. Hemopet, the organization Dr. Dodds founded, gives puppy-specific feeding schedules and calcium limits. For puppies, we still suggest a food labeled for growth or all life stages, and for seniors, a plan checked with your vet.

Your French Bulldog’s Nutrition Team

Good nutrition decisions come from a team: a conventional vet for weight checks and bloodwork, an integrative vet for the whole-food plan, a board-certified veterinary nutritionist if you cook at home or your dog has a medical condition and pet insurance so a sudden diagnosis doesn’t force decisions based on cost.

Supplements have a place too, especially omega-3s and probiotics, but they work best on top of a good diet, not instead of one. Choose them with your vet, for a clear reason. Our probiotics guide covers what to look for.

Frequently Asked Questions About Feeding French Bulldogs

Sources

Research and guidelines

• O’Neill DG, Baral L, Church DB, Brodbelt DC, Packer RMA. Demography and disorders of the French Bulldog population under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2013. Canine Genetics and Epidemiology. 2018;5:3. doi:10.1186/s40575-018-0057-9
• O’Neill DG, Packer RMA, Francis P, Church DB, Brodbelt DC, Pegram C. French Bulldogs differ to other dogs in the UK in propensity for many common disorders: a VetCompass study. Canine Medicine and Genetics. 2021;8:13. doi:10.1186/s40575-021-00112-3
• Hinze MAG, Meyer KOH, Heilmann RM, Müller U. Health status and disease prevalences in French bulldogs in Germany: insights from a survey-based study. Companion Animal Health and Genetics. 2025;12:9. doi:10.1186/s40575-025-00149-8
• Reunanen VLJ, Jokinen TS, Lilja-Maula L, et al. Allelic frequency of 12-FGF4RG and the association between the genotype with number of calcified intervertebral discs visible on radiographs in Coton de Tuléar and French Bulldog breeds. BMC Veterinary Research. 2025;21:140. doi:10.1186/s12917-025-04573-7
• Mueller RS, Olivry T, Prélaud P. Critically appraised topic on adverse food reactions of companion animals (2): common food allergen sources in dogs and cats. BMC Veterinary Research. 2016;12:9. doi:10.1186/s12917-016-0633-8
• McMillan KM, Bielby J, Williams CL, et al. Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports. 2024;14:531. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-50458-w
• Hemida MBM, Salin S, Vuori KA, et al. Puppyhood diet as a factor in the development of owner-reported allergy/atopy skin signs in adult dogs in Finland. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. 2021;35(5):2374–2383. doi:10.1111/jvim.16211
• Vuori KA, Hemida M, Moore R, et al. The effect of puppyhood and adolescent diet on the incidence of chronic enteropathy in dogs later in life. Scientific Reports. 2023;13:1830. doi:10.1038/s41598-023-27866-z
• Kocadağlı T, et al. A comparative analysis of Maillard-derived α-dicarbonyl compounds and advanced glycation end products in fresh, wet, kibble, and freeze-dried dog foods. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition. 2026. doi:10.1111/jpn.70053
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• Sandri M, Dal Monego S, Conte G, Sgorlon S, Stefanon B. Raw meat based diet influences faecal microbiome and end products of fermentation in healthy dogs. BMC Veterinary Research. 2017;13:65. doi:10.1186/s12917-017-0981-z
• Schmidt M, Unterer S, Suchodolski JS, et al. The fecal microbiome and metabolome differs between dogs fed Bones and Raw Food (BARF) diets and dogs fed commercial diets. PLOS ONE. 2018;13(8):e0201279. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0201279
• The Open University. Studying mammals: Meat eaters, section 2.2. OpenLearn. open.edu
• Sagawa K, Li F, Liese R, Sutton SC. Fed and fasted gastric pH and gastric residence time in conscious beagle dogs. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 2009;98(7):2494–2500. doi:10.1002/jps.21602
• Kook PH, Kempf J, Ruetten M, Reusch CE. Wireless ambulatory esophageal pH monitoring in dogs with clinical signs interpreted as gastroesophageal reflux. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. 2014;28(6):1716–1723. doi:10.1111/jvim.12461
• Deschamps C, Humbert D, Zentek J, et al. From Chihuahua to Saint-Bernard: how did digestion and microbiota evolve with dog sizes. International Journal of Biological Sciences. 2022;18(13):5086–5102. doi:10.7150/ijbs.72770
• Kayser E, Finet SE, de Godoy MRC. The role of carbohydrates in canine and feline nutrition. Animal Frontiers. 2024;14(3):28–37. doi:10.1093/af/vfae017
• Arendt M, Cairns KM, Ballard JWO, Savolainen P, Axelsson E. Diet adaptation in dog reflects spread of prehistoric agriculture. Heredity. 2016;117:301–306. doi:10.1038/hdy.2016.48
• Groat EF, Williams NJ, Pinchbeck G, Warner B, Simpson A, Schmidt VM. UK dogs eating raw meat diets have higher risk of Salmonella and antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli faecal carriage. Journal of Small Animal Practice. 2022;63(6):435–441. doi:10.1111/jsap.13488
• Nemser SM, Doran T, Grabenstein M, et al. Investigation of Listeria, Salmonella, and toxigenic Escherichia coli in various pet foods. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease. 2014;11(9):706–709. doi:10.1089/fpd.2014.1748
• Mace JL, Nicholles B, Knight A. How Nutritionally Sound Is Commercially Available Vegan Pet Food Relative to Meat-Based Pet Food? A Systematic Review. Animals. 2026;16(14):2232. doi:10.3390/ani16142232
• Kealy RD, Lawler DF, Ballam JM, et al. Effects of diet restriction on life span and age-related changes in dogs. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 2002;220(9):1315–1320. Summary: Penn Today
• Cline MG, Burns KM, Coe JB, et al. 2021 AAHA Nutrition and Weight Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association. 2021;57(4):153–178. doi:10.5326/JAAHA-MS-7232
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Veterinary Medicine. Get the Facts! Raw Pet Food Diets can be Dangerous to You and Your Pet. fda.gov
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Investigation into Potential Link between Certain Diets and Canine Dilated Cardiomyopathy (update of December 23, 2022). fda.gov
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pet Food Safety (page last reviewed January 30, 2025). cdc.gov
• Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). Reading Labels. aafco.org
• ASPCA Animal Poison Control. People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets. aspca.org
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1375 concerning the denial of authorisation of ethoxyquin as a feed additive. eur-lex.europa.eu

Integrative veterinarians cited

• Dr. Ian Billinghurst. Interview: the father of the raw dog food diet. DJANGO, 2022. djangobrand.com. Dr Ian Billinghurst (pioneer of BARF) speaks on raw feeding and pet health, Pet Food Reviews, April 2025. petfoodreviews.com.au. Give Your Dog a Bone, 1993.
• Dr. Karen Shaw Becker. Species-appropriate, Real Food for Dogs and Cats. drkarenbecker.com. Dogs’ Bodies Change as They Age, so Should Their Food. Bark & Whiskers. Are Pet Parents Falling for This ‘Healthy’ Food? Bark & Whiskers. Can You Feed Sardines to Your Pet? Bark & Whiskers. Guest on Naturally Healthy Pets EP 85 with Dr. Judy Morgan, August 2026. drjudyu.com
• Dr. Karen Shaw Becker and Rodney Habib. The Forever Dog, 2021. Interview with AARP, October 2021. aarp.org
• Dr. Judy Morgan. Choosing the Right Pet Food, 2019. drjudymorgan.com. How to Help Your Dog & Cat Live Longer With Real Food, High Performance Longevity podcast, 2026. outliyr.com. Feeding Senior Dogs (video). YouTube. Old, Cold Pets, 2019. drjudymorgan.com
• Dr. Peter Dobias. Raw Diet for Dogs: What 5 New Studies Reveal About Health and Longevity. peterdobias.com. What Is the Correct Ratio of Calcium and Phosphorus for Dogs? peterdobias.com. How to Transition Dogs from Kibble to Raw Food. peterdobias.com
• Dr. Gary Richter. Dr. Gary Richter Discusses Whole-Food Nutrition of Our Pets. Life Extension Magazine, July 2022. lifeextension.com
• Dr. Katie Woodley. HPP Raw Pet Food Safety: Myths, Science, and Brands, 2026. thenaturalpetdoctor.com
• Dr. Jean Dodds and Hemopet (Storage Mites and Feeding Puppies carry a Hemopet byline). Raw Diets and Bloodwork Results; Reduce Inflammation, Improve Detoxification, and Promote Repair; Storage Mites in Kibble Pet Food; Feeding Puppies from Puppyhood to Adulthood; The Use and Abuse of Probiotics. hemopet.org
• Dr. Katie Kangas. How to Support Your Dog or Cat’s Gut Health. Animal Wellness, October 2023. animalwellnessmagazine.com. Breaking Down Bone Broth, Challenging Pet Health podcast transcript, July 2026. buzzsprout.com
• Dr. Ruth Roberts. The Original CrockPet Diet. drruthroberts.com
• Raised Right. raisedrightpets.com and Raised Right Pets: human-grade pet food with a purpose. Petfood Industry. Starch level: Dog Food Advisor carbohydrate estimate, checked October 2026.
• Darwin’s Natural Pet Products. FAQ (all life stages, recipes, veterinary nutritionist panel), Why Darwin’s (no HPP; sourcing, testing and cold chain) and feeding support page (start raw at about 16 weeks). Checked October 2026.
• We Feed Raw. Is your food complete and balanced?, HPP Process and A Beginner’s Guide to Raw Dog Food, updated May 2026. Checked October 2026.
• Viva Raw. Raw recipes for dogs (complete and balanced for adult dogs), Puppy recipe (growth) and Pure. Checked October 2026.
• The Farmer’s Dog. Why The Farmer’s Dog Is Great for All Life Stages, updated September 2026.
• ZIWI. Air-Dried Tripe & Lamb Recipe for Dogs. Checked October 2026.
• AllProvide. About AllProvide and Gently cooked dog food. Starch level: Dog Food Advisor carbohydrate estimate, checked October 2026.
• Smallbatch Pets. Lightly Cooked Beef Sliders (AAFCO statement).
• Portland Pet Food Company. Tuxedo’s Chicken & Yams (feeding statement).
• Vital Essentials. Freeze-Dried Duck Mini Nibs and Freeze-Dried Rabbit Mini Nibs. Ingredients and life stage from retailer listings: Chewy (duck) and Jeffers (rabbit). Checked October 2026.

Affiliate disclosure: some product links in this guide are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, BFB earns from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Veterinarians are cited for their published work; their inclusion doesn’t mean they’ve reviewed or endorsed BestFrenchBulldog.com. This guide is educational and doesn’t replace veterinary care. Talk with your veterinarian before changing the diet of a dog with a health condition.