Best Food For Pitbull Puppy (2021)

Pitbull puppies are hardworking and active dogs that need a well-balanced diet to meet their growing needs.

It can be difficult to find the best food for a Pitbull puppy with all the many choices of food in the dog food market.

This article will provide you with a list of high-quality dog food for Pitbull puppy including in-depth reviews for each product.

It will also give your more information about Pitbull puppy nutrition to help you feed your puppy to become a healthy and strong dog.

Pitbull Puppy Nutritional Needs

A good puppy dog food should contain the right amounts of all the necessary nutrients to help them grow healthy and strong. These nutrients can be found in animal meats, fruits, and vegetables.

The number of calories a Pitbull puppy needs depends on their age, weight, lifestyle, and health.

To find the exact number of calories your puppy needs, find their Resting Energy Requirement (RER) and multiply it by 3 if they are less than four months old or 2 if they are more than four months old.

RER = 70 multiplied by (puppy weight in kg) ¾.

Protein

Your Pitbull puppy needs complete proteins with all the 9 amino acids to help in healthy muscle growth as well as keep the nails, skin, and fur healthy.

Proteins help your puppy recover quickly from injury and grow its skeleton or frame as well as maintain a healthy weight.

Pitbull puppies need about 22% of protein in their diet. Meat-based ingredients such as chicken, lamb, beef, and fish are good sources of protein.

Fat

Pitbull puppies need fat for their bodies to nourish cells, absorb nutrients, and keep the skin supple. Since Pitbulls are prone to skin issues, healthy amounts of fat will ensure that their coat stays shiny and nice.

Pitbull puppies need between 14% and 17% of fat in their diet. Healthy sources of fat include flaxseed oil, fish oil, and natural animal fat.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates play an important role in providing your puppy with the energy they need.

The best sources are complex carbohydrates such as oats, sweet potatoes, and legumes. You should avoid foods with simple carbs such as wheat, corn, and soy.

Pitbull puppies do well with food that has fewer amounts of carbs. They can manage with foods between 20% to 30% carb content. It is essential to check the ingredient list to know which type of carb the food has and to not overload your Pitbull pup with carbs.

Fiber

Fiber supports your puppy’s digestive system. Pitbull puppies can get their fiber from grains such as brown rice, quinoa. oats, barley, or vegetables.

If your puppy does not respond well to fibrous foods they may be intolerant. Keep checking their health after trying new sources of fiber and visit a vet if you’re unsure.

Vitamins and Minerals

The best puppy food for Pitbull should also have vitamins and minerals. A proper balance of phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium will help support bone health and growth.

Ensure that the ratio of calcium to phosphorus is 1.2 to 1. Too much of the two minerals can affect your puppy’s bone health.

Best Food For Pitbull Puppy: Quick Picks

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[Editor’s Choice]
#1. Taste of Wild Pacific Stream Puppy Dog Food
[Runner-Up]
#2. Nutro Ultra Puppy Dog Food
[Budget Friendly]
#3. Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Dog Food
[Wet Food]
#4. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Canned Dog Food
[For Sensitive Stomach & Skin Allergies]
#5. Purina Pro Plan Puppy Dog Food

1. Taste Of Wild Pacific Stream Puppy Dog Food

Best Food For Pitbull Puppy (Editor’s Choice)

The Wild Pacific formula is formulated with roasted, real meat and vegetables, fruits, and legumes specifically chosen to satisfy the nutritional needs of your Pitbull puppy.

The premium meats used in this dry food include lamb, roasted bison, venison, quail, buffalo, wild boar, turkey, smoked salmon, and duck.

The formula is also grain-free and contains sweet potatoes and legumes which are complex carbs to provide your puppy with energy all day.

These carbohydrates are rich in fiber and the proteins are highly digestible keeps your Pitbull puppy energized and full throughout the day.

The Taste of Wild Pacific has specific prebiotics and probiotics that are found in your puppy’s gut to ensure that they are getting active, live cultures that support their digestive health.

To ensure that the body of your Pitbull puppy is absorbing all the necessary nutrients, this dry food has chelated minerals.

This dry dog food has a perfect balance of marine-sourced omega 3 and plant-sourced omega 6 such as smoked salmon, salmon oil, and ocean fish meal to support the overall wellness of your dog making it the best dog food for a Pitbull puppy.

Pros

Helps support joints, bones, and lean muscles.
Supports coat and skin health.
Supports healthy digestion.
Enhances the immune system.
Globally and sustainably sourced ingredients.
No corn, grains, wheat, artificial flavors, and colors.

Cons

We didn’t find any.

2. Nutro Ultra Puppy Dog Food

Runner-Up

The Nutro Ultra Dry food is a perfect blend of high-quality lean proteins, whole grains, antioxidant-rich vegetables, and fruits as well as healthy oils to support your Pitbull puppy’s overall health.

The combined sources of protein are from natural, high-quality, and holistic ingredients to ensure that your puppy gets optimal levels of amino acids and enjoys the taste of the food.

This formula has three sources of lean animal protein including pasture-fed lamb, farm-raised chicken, and salmon to provide the complementary and unique amino acids your puppy needs to grow strong and big.

The targeted levels of fat and protein in this formula satisfy the energy requirements of your growing puppy. The whole grains are rich in nutrients that ensure your puppy’s gut absorbs all the necessary minerals and vitamins.

This dry food is specifically formulated for a growing Pitbull puppy up to 12 months old to meet the nutritional requirements in all the stages of growth.

To ensure that the food is safe and good in quality for your puppy, Nutro Ultra Dry food is produced in the manufacturer’s facilities.

This formula contains optimized levels of calcium, a blend of 15 superfoods, antioxidants, and real chicken as the first ingredient.

Pros

Supports the growth of lean and strong muscles.
Supports a healthy digestive system.
Supports the growth of strong bones and teeth.
Maintains a strong immune system.
Provides high energy levels for your growing puppy.

Cons

Can cause skin allergies for some puppies.
Can cause loose stool for some puppies.

3. Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Dog Food

Budget Friendly

The Nutro Natural Puppy Dry food is budget-friendly and made for puppies up to 1 year old.

The first ingredient in this dry food can either be real chicken, beef, salmon, lamb, or venison to provide a premium source of protein for your growing Pitbull puppy.

This formula also contains ingredients that are recognizable and sourced from trusted suppliers and farmers. This dry food is specifically formulated to meet the specific nutritional needs of your growing Pitbull puppy.

It contains omega 3 fatty acids, optimum calcium levels, essential antioxidants, natural fiber, chondroitin, and glucosamine.

The formula does not have any chicken by-product meal, soy protein, wheat, corn, GMOs, or artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, therefore, you can feel good feeding your Pitbull puppy this meal.

Pros

Supports eye and brain development.
Supports strong joints and bones development.
Enhances the immune system of your puppy.
Affordable.

Cons

The kibble sizes are too big for young puppies.
Cause skin allergies to some puppies.

4. Blue Buffalo Wilderness Canned Dog Food

Wet Food

Blue Buffalo Canned Dog food is packed with the delicious meat that your Pitbull puppy loves.

It features a variety of high-quality protein recipes starting with real meat such as chicken, duck, turkey, or fish to support the healthy growth of your puppy. Each serving is tasty, hearty, and savory to satisfy the wolf inside your Pitbull puppy.

This wet food is perfect for your growing Pitbull puppy because it is made using naturally gluten-free and grain-free ingredients.

Apart from the high-quality protein, this formula is packed with vegetables and fruits, then enhanced with minerals and vitamins as well as DHA.

The Blue Buffalo Wet Dog food comes in a pack of 12 cans with each measuring 12.5 ounces. You can serve this wet food to your Pitbull puppy as a special treat, on its own, or mix it with dry food.

This food is safe for your puppy’s health because it does not contain any by-product meals, wheat, corn, soy, artificial flavors, or preservatives.

Pros

Supports cognitive, eye, and brain development.
Supports healthy growth of lean muscles.
Supports coat and skin health.
Supports a strong immune system.
Provides high energy for your active puppy.

Cons

It may not mix well with some dry foods.
Causes diarrhea in some puppies.

5. Purina Pro Plan Puppy Sensitive Skin & Stomach Dog Food

For Sensitive Stomach & Skin Allergies

This is the best food for a Pitbull puppy especially if they have sensitive skin and stomach. This dry food will jumpstart your puppy’s early development by providing 100% balanced and complete nutrition they need to grow healthy and strong.

The first ingredient of this formula is salmon making it high in protein and nutrition. It also has rice to make it gentle for your puppy’s sensitive stomach.

Each ingredient in this dry food is chosen specifically for a functional or nutritional purpose in your puppy’s body. The guaranteed live probiotics and natural prebiotic fiber add specific bacteria to your puppy’s intestinal tract to improve digestion.

Purina Pro Plan Dry food contains omega 6 fatty acids from sunflower oil, omega DHA from fish oil, antioxidants, phosphorus, calcium, other minerals, and vitamin A to support the overall growth and wellbeing of your Pitbull puppy.

This food contains all the nutrients that your puppy needs to thrive with no artificial colors or flavors.

Pros

Supports a healthy digestive system.
Supports healthy coat and skin.
Encourages vision and brain development.
Supports the developing immune system of your puppy.
It is a remedy for itch and redness on the skin.

Cons

Not suitable if your puppy is a picky eater.
It has a strong fish scent.

6. Taste Of The Wild High Prairie Puppy Dog Food

The Taste of the Wild Dry grain-free food will nourish your Pitbull puppy’s diet because of its high-quality and nutritious ingredients.

This dry food is formulated with roasted venison and roasted bison making it 28% protein. This grain-free formula has sweet potatoes and peas to provide digestible energy for your growing Pitbull puppy.

This dry food has natural antioxidants from real vegetables and fruits, and the dried chicory root provides prebiotic support in your puppy’s gut.

The chelated minerals enhance the absorption of nutrients to ensure that your puppy is benefiting from the balanced and complete nutrition found in this food.

This recipe has the powerful superfood trio of raspberries, blueberries, and tomatoes. The tomatoes provide vitamin C and soluble fiber to support the overall wellbeing of your puppy.

The blueberries are full of flavor and loaded with healthy carbs, vitamins E and C, manganese, and dietary fiber.

The raspberries are packed with manganese, potassium, iron, copper, magnesium, fiber, as well as antioxidants. This dry food also contains omega fatty acids, probiotics, prebiotics and does not have any wheat, grains, artificial flavors, or colors.

Pros

Supports healthy development of joints, bones, and lean muscles.
Supports coat and skin health.
Supports a healthy digestive system.
Supports a healthy immune system.
Supports dental and breath care.

Cons

Kibbles sizes are too small.
Can cause skin allergies for some puppies.

7. Eukanuba Puppy Dog Food

Your Pitbull puppy needs proper nutrition to support their growing and active bodies and grow bigger and stronger. This dry food provides balanced and complete nutrition to support your puppy’s developing mind and body.

This puppy dry food contains high-quality protein and optimized levels of phosphorus and calcium. The optimized levels of fat and carbohydrates provide high levels of energy for your puppy’s play and growth throughout the day.

In addition, the prebiotics, natural fiber, vitamin E, and DHA supports the overall wellbeing of your Pitbull puppy.

With chicken as the first ingredient, this dry food is suitable for puppies up to 12 months old who are expected to weigh between 24 and 55 pounds when they are adults.

Pros

Helps digestion.
Supports your puppy’s developing immune system.
Supports bone health and muscle growth.
Makes puppy training easier by enhancing brain development.
Supports your puppy’s hips and joints.
Provides enough energy for your puppy.

Cons

Contains corn and meat by-product.

8. Merrick Real Texas Beef Puppy Food

The Merrick Grain-Free Puppy food is formulated with whole foods with its first ingredient being deboned beef to provide the high-quality protein that your Pitbull puppy needs.

It provides balanced and complete nutrition with 55% protein and healthy fat, and 45% of vitamins, fiber, minerals, and other healthy ingredients.

This puppy food contains DHA, chondroitin, glucosamine, omega fatty acids, sweet potatoes, blueberries, salmon oil, and organic alfalfa.

Sweet potatoes are a great source of complex carbohydrates, beta-carotene, minerals, vitamins, and starch that easily converts to sugar energy.

The blueberries are rich in Vitamin C and E, fiber, healthy carbs, and powerful antioxidants to enhance the natural defenses of your puppy.

Salmon oil contains omega 3 fatty acids, DHA, and EPA for the overall wellbeing and health of your Pitbull puppy. Organic alfalfa is a good source of fiber, calcium, carotene, and vitamins.

This puppy food is crafted at Merrick’s Hereford kitchen using real ingredients without any meat by-products, artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives.

Pros

The balanced protein and fat content help with increased energy and in maintaining optimal weight.
Helps support healthy joints and hips.
Helps support a shiny coat and healthy skin.
Helps build strong muscles and healthy metabolism.
Supports a healthy immune system.

Cons

Not suitable for picky eaters.
Causes digestive problems in some puppies.

Pitbull Puppy Feeding Schedule

Pitbull puppies need frequent feeding to keep their blood sugar levels from falling. A younger puppy has an extremely high metabolism rate meaning they need to be fed every few hours.

Older puppies need fewer calories and the intervals in which puppies go without food increase as weeks pass by. The following is a feeding schedule for your Pitbull puppy:

Puppies below four months need four meals per day, a ¼ cup each meal.

Puppies who are between four and six months need three meals, each ½ a cup per day.

Puppies above six months need to be fed two to three meals a day depending on their size and each meal is two cups.

Pitbulls & Skin Allergies

Skin reactions and allergies are most often caused by certain ingredients that your dog is allergic to. The most common ingredients that dogs have reactions to are chicken, corn, milk products, eggs, soy, and wheat.

In addition to chicken, other meats can also be the source of allergic reactions, such as lamb and even beef.

If you have seen any signs of an allergic reaction with your dog, it is a good idea to take your dog to your vet to discuss it. Your vet can also rule out any other factors that might be irritating your dog’s skin.

Signs of allergies include continual itching and biting, resulting in hot spots. Your Pitbull might also be experiencing vomiting and diarrhea.

In some dogs, the sign might be appearing darker than normal or there might be raised red patches on the belly.

Hypoallergenic Pitbull Dog Food Requirements

Good Pitbull puppy dog food for skin allergies should have easily digestible sources of starch like rice. The recipe should also preferably be grain-free, and not contain wheat, soy, or corn. These grains are known as allergy triggers in a lot of dogs.

As Pitbulls that suffer from allergies usually have sensitive stomachs, it is recommended that the formula contains pre and probiotics. This is to maintain intestinal flora which aids in digestion.

The perfect dog food will also contain all the essential vitamins and minerals necessary for maximum nutrition. Preferably the minerals will be chelated for easier absorption.

The protein source should come from a named, single-source like lamb. You don’t want to see “meat meal” in the list of ingredients. This could be ground up bits of anything and might very well cause a reaction in your dog.

With single-source protein, it is also easier to monitor the effect of the single source, and either stick to your choice or change it for another single source until you find one that agrees with your dog.

Pitbull Food Allergy Or Food Intolerance?

You’ve kinda sussed out the fact that the reason your dog isn’t happy is something to do with his food. Now you have to ask yourself, is it a food allergy or is it food intolerance?

They both have similar symptoms. So, what is the difference between an allergy and food intolerance?

Dog Food Allergy:

An allergy is a response of the immune system. The dog’s immune system somehow mistakes the nutrients in the food as enemies and launches an immune response, creating antibodies.

The most common reaction is itchy, dry skin and excessive licking or scratching.

However, a food allergy can also cause vomiting and diarrhea. If your Pitbull has a true allergy to dairy, for example, this would involve an immune response.

Dog Food Intolerance:

Food intolerance will also cause vomiting and diarrhea, but this is merely an indication of digestive distress. Let’s use dairy as an example again. Lots of dogs find it difficult to digest lactose, which is a sugar found in milk.

If your Pitbull has a food intolerance to dairy, he might also exhibit signs of diarrhea and vomiting, similar to that shown by a dog that has a food allergy.

Intolerance is when the dog finds it difficult to digest a specific ingredient and doesn’t involve an immune response.

Wet Food vs Dry Food For Pitbull Puppies

Wet food has quality ingredients and high moisture and tends to be higher in proteins than dry food. They also give a tasty treat that some dogs prefer.

However, wet food spoils more quickly than kibble and does not have teeth cleaning benefits. Some Pitbull owners mix wet food with dry food.

Dry food is a good source of nutritional punch with decreased worries about food getting spoilt. Dry food keeps your puppy’s gums and teeth healthy.

Whether you are feeding your puppy dry food or wet food, ensure that the brand is reputable and is specifically designed for puppies.

What To Do If My Pitbull Puppy Does Not Want To Eat

There are several reasons for your puppy not to eat their food including the following:

Stress;
Digestive infection;
Pain;
Organ disease or dysfunction;
Respiratory infection;
Dental issues.

What to do when your puppy is not eating:

If you are feeding them dry food, try introducing wet food.
Try to add small amounts of warmed low sodium chicken broth to their food.
Finally, take your puppy for veterinary evaluation if everything else doesn’t work or your puppy looks sick.

What To Do If My Pitbull Puppy Has A Sensitive Stomach And Skin

A sensitive stomach is an episode of diarrhea or flatulence. The various causes of a sensitive stomach include inheritance from their parents, change of diet, food overindulgence, motion sickness, bacterial infection, and worms.

Your puppy’s diet can also trigger itchy skin which you can notice through excessive scratching, hair loss, or dry skin.

The following are the ways to help sensitive stomach in puppies:

Analyze your puppy’s diet to know if you need to change their food;
Stick to natural treats;
Use grain-free food;
Introduce a supplement to support their digestive system following the vet’s recommendation.

Can You Free Feed A Pitbull Puppy?

The practice of making food available to the dog all the time is called free feeding. Some owners ensure that the bowl is never empty while others give the puppy’s full ration of food at the start of the day.

Some keep adding food when it looks low, and the dog can eat at any time he chooses. Owners do this because of convenience, and some believe that constant feeding prevents dogs from food guarding.

Free feeding is not recommended because of the following reasons:

Your dog will eat all day which causes weight gain;
They can eat after exercise which is not good for their health;
They will develop poor eating habits.

Switching From Pitbull Puppy Food To Adult Food

Pitbull’s reach their adult weight and height between 12 and 18 months and they need to be transitioned from puppy food to adult food.

Pitbull dogs grow continually until they are two to three years old, and it is not good to keep feeding them puppy food for long.

When you keep your puppy too long on puppy food, they are at risk of obesity because puppy food is high in calories. It is good to transition your puppy slowly for several days by increasing the amount of adult food and phase out the puppy food.

Therefore, start by giving your puppy a quarter of the adult food with three-quarters of the puppy food, then half puppy food and half adult, and finally, give your puppy a full adult meal.

Final Words

Though all the above products are great for your Pitbull puppy, the Taste of Wild Pacific Stream Puppy Formula Grain-Free Dry Dog Food stands out as our Editor’s Choice.

This puppy food contains a complete and balanced blend of all the necessary ingredients your Pitbull puppy needs for their overall health and well-being.

Hopefully, this article has given you all the information you need to find the best nutrition for your puppy and know the right amounts to feed them so that they can grow to become strong and healthy adults.