9 Best Boxer Puppy Foods Compared & Reviewed

 

Top Rated Food for Boxer Puppies List in 2023 + Buying Guide

 

If you’re on the lookout for the best puppy food for boxers yet you have little time at your disposal, this post might be of assistance. The team at Dr. Fox has examined the quality and value offered by some of the most appreciated products available for sale as well as reviews of puppy food for boxers and has concluded that the first option you should consider is the Blue Freedom Chicken. The 24-lb bag contains dry food for dogs made with deboned chicken. The formula is free of grains, glutens, and artificial preservatives, so you can be sure no unwanted accidents or reactions occur. Also, the blend includes vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals to meet your dog’s nutritional needs. In the unfortunate event that this product is unavailable, you may want to bear the Merrick Grain Free pack in mind for a reliable alternative in terms of quality.

 

 

Comparison table

 

 

 

9 Best Boxer Puppy Foods (Reviews) in 2023

 

 

Finding the best boxer puppy food means paying great attention to your pet’s nutritional needs and overall health. The food your boxer puppy gets will contribute significantly to his/her health. Therefore, to simplify your shopping process and help you find quality food for puppies, we have compiled a list of boxer puppy food reviews below.

 

 

1. Blue Buffalo Freedom Grain Free Natural Puppy Dry Dog Food

 

The first option you should consider when looking for good boxer puppy food is the Grain Free Dry Chicken Food pack from Blue Freedom. The food was created to provide pets with high-quality nutrients in a grain-free formula that uses fine ingredients enhanced with minerals and vitamins.

Your boxer puppy’s eating experience is improved thanks to the lack of grains, glutens, and artificial preservatives that might lead to unpleasant health reactions. This way, you can be sure you meet your puppy’s nutritional needs without the allergies that ingredients as the ones just mentioned might trigger.

The formula is made with deboned chicken and includes minerals and vitamins to boost your pet’s overall health. The DHA fatty acid it contains will help your puppy grow and develop healthily. The nutrients used to create this food have been processed at a lower temperature in order to prevent degradation and preserve their potency.

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2. Merrick Grain Free Dry Puppy Food Recipes

 

If you need to introduce proteins and essential nutrients in your boxer puppy’s diet to help him/her develop and grow healthily, you might want to consider the Grain Free Dry Dog Food from Merrick. Using deboned chicken as the main ingredient, this formula offers high contents of proteins needed for a healthy growth.

Moreover, the food is free of grains. This ensures easier digestibility and improved gastrointestinal health. Boosted energy is another effect since the pet will digest and absorb the nutrients better. Furthermore, this dry food does not contain corn, wheat, gluten ingredients, or soy.

The DHA the formula includes contributes to the pet’s healthy brain development and meets the growth and nutritional needs of all puppies, large and small breeds included. The Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids ensure a healthy skin and coat whereas the high levels of glucosamine and chondroitin improve hip and joint health.

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3. Royal Canin Vet Care Nutrition

 

The food your dog gets counts a lot when it comes to the way he/she develops and grows. If you want to make sure that the food your furry friend eats covers all those important nutritional requirements, you might want to consider the Dry Food pack from Royal Canin.

Royal Canin creates dog foods with probiotics to support your puppy’s immune system and digestion. This formula contains an exclusive blend of nutrients and easy-to-digest proteins which ensure greater absorption and boosted energy. This will further help the puppy maintain a balanced intestinal flora which leads to regular bowel movements.

Medium breed puppies have a short growth period and this dry food was created to meet the high energy requirements of such dogs. Plus, the calcium and phosphorus contained will help the little boxer develop healthy bones. It is ideal for medium breed puppies of up to 12 months old.

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4. Natural Balance Original Ultra Chicken

 

The food your dog eats is of utmost importance throughout his/her entire life. Great attention must be paid in the first months of your puppy’s life because that’s when you build the foundation of a strong health and great overall development. The Premium Formula from Natural Balance was created with this view in mind.

Offering an optimal balance of key nutrients and proteins, this dry food for dogs takes an entire body approach and addresses all breeds and dogs of all ages. The DHA and EPA included come from marine sources and are used to support the puppy’s brain development.

The food also contains calcium and phosphorus for strong bones and Omega-6 and Omega-3 for a healthy skin and coat. The product is formulated to support a healthy digestion and the proteins it comes with improve muscle health, which is of great importance no matter the age of the dog.

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5. Tuffy’S Nutrisource Chicken And Rice Formula Breed Dry Puppy Food

 

Since the food your dog gets in the first months of life contributes significantly to the way your pet will develop and the health he/she will enjoy, you need to opt for a food that includes the essential nutrients required for a healthy development. This Chicken and Rice Formula from NutriSource might be just what you need.

Ideal for small and medium breed dogs, the dry food was formulated to meet the needs of growing puppies and provide them with optimal nutrition. It uses real chicken that will ensure your four-legged friend gets the necessary proteins to develop and maintain muscle mass and strength.

Moreover, the food contains other important ingredients and nutrients that will further help your dog enjoy a healthy skeletal development and avoid joint problems. The minerals and vitamins included further support a strong overall health. The bite-size shapes of the food will make it easy for small dogs to chew and swallow it.

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6. Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Adult Dog Food

 

Formulated with fine ingredients, high-quality meat, fruits, and vegetables, the Blue recipes were created to provide dogs of all ages with an optimal nutrition. The Life Protection formula is committed to meeting your dog’s nutritional needs while pleasing your furry friend’s palate with tasty flavors.

Based on whitefish and brown rice, this product offers the essential amino acids your dog needs every day. The whole grains used include brown rice, oats, and barley, which will further elevate your puppy’s levels of energy. The food also comes with healthy garden veggies like whole carrots and garlic.

Life Protection is free of corn, wheat, artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. The package includes instructions to help you know how much food to give to a puppy. Small breeds should have one meal per day whereas medium and large breeds two meals every day.

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7. Royal Canin Breed Health Nutrition Boxer Junior

 

Designed specifically for boxer puppies, the Breed Health Nutrition formula from Royal Canin features an exclusive kibble that will help your dog pick up and chew with ease. It includes nutrients this particular breed needs in order to develop and grow healthily.

Since the first months of a puppy’s life set the pattern and foundation for his/her future life, the formulas your furry friend gets prove to be crucial to his/her development. This Royal Canin boxer puppy food is committed to meeting your dog’s nutritional requirements by offering the right protein content for healthy muscle mass development and l-Carnitine for a good digestive system health.

The formula will help the dog maintain a balanced intestinal flora and thus improve the gastrointestinal tract. The antioxidants included will improve the puppy’s natural defenses. Plus, the food was developed to support a boxer puppy’s cellular and heart health as well.

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8. Orijen Dry Dog Food Puppy

 

Because all puppies require a protein and fat-based diet, it is crucial to introduce a variety of meats and meat formulas in your dog’s eating routine in order for him/her to develop healthily. This Puppy Formula from Orijen is biologically appropriate for puppies as it includes 85% poultry, fish, and egg and 15% vegetables, fruits, and botanicals.

The formula is ideal for small and medium breed puppies and contains 38% richly nourishing proteins and 16% carbohydrates to cater to your dog’s biological and evolutionary needs. The food contains no rendered poultry meals, 1/3 of the meats it provides coming from dehydrated turkey and chicken in order to ensure a concentrated source of protein.

2/3 of the meats used are fresh or raw. The fats your puppy gets are the fuel needed for optimal development and growth and the DHA and EPA contained will make sure your dog develops strong immune and nervous systems.

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9. Iams Proactive Health Smart Puppy Dry Dog Food

 

If you’re looking for vet recommended puppy food, you might want to check the ProActive formula from Iams. Made with real ingredients, the food includes farm-raised chicken, veggies, and whole grains to provide your dog with optimal nutrition and help him/her enjoy strong health and vitality at every stage of life.

The first ingredient is real chicken, which is a great source of proteins dogs need to develop and maintain muscle mass. The formula is further enhanced with 22 key ingredients that are found in the mother’s milk to ensure the pet gets all the essentials needed for healthy growth.

The Omega-3 DHA content promotes healthy cognition whereas the fibers, prebiotics, and beet pulp encourage a healthy digestion. The formula is enriched with antioxidants to help the puppy develop a strong immune system. Plus, the fortified minerals add to the development of strong bones.

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Our Comprehensive Buying Guide

 

The rich variety of dog foods available on the market might turn your shopping session into a real challenge when looking for the best dog food for a boxer puppy. To narrow your list, you should consider various aspects regarding your dog’s health and age. There are also some factors that will help you get one step closer to finding the food that best suits your dog’s particular needs. We have described them below.

What do boxers eat?

The first thing to ask yourself when going for dog food shopping is related to the food a particular breed needs. Boxers require a varied diet in order for their nutritional needs to be satisfied. A common diet includes meat, especially white meat because it is easy to digest. Therefore, look for foods that are based on chicken, turkey, and fish.

Pair the meat your dog gets with fruits, vegetables, and fats. Because every dog is different, it is best to check with your vet before building your boxer puppy’s diet plan. However, no matter if you go for home cooked food, raw food, or commercial formulas, it must cover your dog’s daily nutritional needs.

 

How to choose quality dog food

If you opt for commercial foods for your boxer puppy, you need to make sure you read and interpret the ingredient labels correctly. All foods should have such a label that displays the ingredients by weight. The first ingredients listed represent the majority of the food. Since dogs are carnivores, you should look for foods that have meat as the first ingredient.

Pay attention to ingredient splitting. This means that one ingredient is broken up and listed separately. For instance, you will find rice and rice bran as two different ingredients but they are both rice, which doesn’t mean that, if listed separately, they come in a smaller quantity. A food label that reads “chicken meal, rice, and rice bran” might actually include more rice than meat.

 

Meat ingredients

Dog food labels list meat in three different ways. You will find foods that include meat, meat by-products, and meat meal. Try to avoid foods that come with by-products because such meats are very low-quality ingredients. They include bits of meat that are left over after that particular animal has been processed for human foods.

Meat meal is the best term to look for when it comes to products to avoid. It is what remains after water is removed. Plus, make sure you go for a food that specifies the animal the meat comes from. You should see chicken meat and not poultry or meat meal. If you don’t see clear information regarding the type of meat used, it is highly likely that you’re dealing with low-quality meat.

 

Quantity, protein, and fat requirements

Boxers usually need 800-1600 calories per day but that amount changes depending on the dog’s health and age. However, boxer puppies eat more regularly than older dogs and need 55 calories or so per pound of body weight.

Since boxers are muscular and lean, they call for a diet rich in proteins. Typically, a boxer should have a diet that contains at least 30% protein. Fats are crucial when it comes to a dog’s eating routine. You need to make sure that the fats your puppy gets come from a healthy source since boxers are predisposed to developing heart diseases. A great option is fish fat as it will provide the energy your dog needs without any heart risk.

 

Carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins

Many canine diets include more fats and proteins and fewer carbs, if not 0. If the carbohydrates come from a vegetable source, though, and are a small part of the dog’s diet, they can be a good addition. Avoid foods with lots of added grain, though, because they cause a lot of allergies in boxers.

Dogs, just like all animals, need minerals and vitamins in order to support their overall health. Since it is dry dog food the one we’re talking about, you must make sure the formula you go for includes vitamins and minerals. They are essentials when it comes to keeping your puppy’s teeth, bones, and eyesight healthy, just to name a few.

What to avoid

Unfortunately, there are many dog foods that contain fillers that provide your dog with little to 0 nutritional value. Make sure you avoid formulas that include corn, soy, or wheat because these are ingredients that cause allergies in dogs. Boxers are prone to many allergies, so these foods should be out of your options.

Also, eliminate foods that contain BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin because they are carcinogens. Ethoxyquin is commonly found in fish, so if a formula is based on fish but does not specify that the fish is ethoxyquin free, it should be avoided.

Plus, try to choose foods that contain no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Go for formulas that are as natural as possible. Even if your budget allows you to buy only cheap food for boxer puppies, try to stay away from such ingredients.

 

Dog food and digestion

The market is generous in dog formulas and even if that might help you with changing puppy food regularly, it might be confusing to find the formula that best suits a boxer puppy’s needs. Another thing to help you filter all those options is the digestive support the food offers.

Go for dog food with probiotics to help your dog digest the formula with ease and absorb its nutrients. If you choose a food that contains no fibers, prebiotics, and probiotics, make sure you complete your dog’s diet with dog probiotic supplements to promote a healthy digestive system.

If you’ve found this buying guide helpful, you might want to check our other posts on dog digestive enzymes to make sure your dog enjoys a healthy digestion, probiotics for dogs with allergies to keep a balanced intestinal flora or dog food containers for the formulas you buy.

 

How to Care for a Boxer Puppy

 

While they have a large and intimidating stature as adults, Boxer puppies are some of the cutest and playful dog breeds out there. Of course, everybody is able to recognize a Boxer nowadays – they just can’t pass by unnoticed.

However, in order to get your little puppy to grow into a strong and fierce – not actually – Boxer, you need to take care of the pet properly. This means giving the pup just the food he or she needs and introducing your furry companion to the wonders of the world.

That’s why, in the following paragraphs, we will tell you how to take care for a Boxer puppy, along with some tips and tricks that can make you and your dog happier. Without further ado, let’s begin!

Bringing your pup home

First of all, it’s worth mentioning that the puppy you are going to buy or adopt should be at least 8 weeks old. It is strongly advised that the puppies stay with and are fed by their mother until they are eight weeks old — and in some areas, it might also be illegal to own a younger puppy.

As you bring the puppy into his or her new home, everything should be planned ahead carefully. They require a calm and friendly atmosphere, and this excludes all of your relatives’ petting, kissing, and smothering. While we may be familiar with dogs and puppies in general, for your Boxer puppy, this is just the start of something new. So keep your voice warm and treat the pup gently until your pet gets accustomed to your house and family members.

Getting the pup used to everything also means showing him around. Just walk with the pet through your house and teach the animal where the meals are going to be served, where he or she is going to sleep, and where he or she can get water from. You’ll want your puppy to be a little independent, so that your Fido knows the way around the new home.

Moreover, as the Boxer is just a little fragile pup, you should always be careful where you are stepping – and you should inform the other people living in your house to do so, as well. While accidental most of the times, stepping on a puppy could cause trauma which can, in the end, be fatal. Until he is one year old, you should be extremely aware of where your pup is hiding.

 

Keeping his or her belly full and the smile wide

Naturally, the first thing we are going to talk about when it comes to the health of your Boxer puppy is the food you are going to feed him or her. Feeding your dog the proper puppy food for Boxers will ensure a steady and natural growth. When he or she is around 8 weeks old – probably the time when you are going to adopt or buy the puppy -, solid food is something the pooch should already be accustomed to.

At this time you should also set up a feeding schedule for your puppy. This means around three or four meals a day. You should avoid free feeding him or her as a routine will make your dog a better behaved one. When it comes to specific meals, it’s clear that most of the food that you are going to feed to your puppy has to have meat in it.

You also have the possibility to choose between commercial and homemade food. While feeding the puppy with commercial food may prove itself quite time-saving, this may contain fillers, with zero calories and nutrients that don’t benefit your dog at all. However, choosing to cook for your puppy, a thing that is very rewarding, comes with some advice you should follow.

If homemade, the meal should include meat in a percentage of at least 40% and vegetables in at least 30%. Real meat should be used, such as white breast chicken, turkey, lamb, and veggies that can be raw or steamed – potatoes, sweet peas, carrots, broccoli.

Furthermore, pasta is a great food to feed your Boxer puppy, because it has nutrients that can provide him or her with energy and health. Fruits, as well as a vitamin and mineral supplement, should be added to his or her diet to ensure that the puppy gets the most out of everything.

Comfort fit for a King or Queen

A lot of toys – these are the keywords you are looking for. A boxer puppy needs many toys, the necessary space to play with them, and of course, lots of love. You can never go wrong with a puppy if love is supplied on a daily basis.

In addition, you should properly contribute to the emotional growth of the puppy, as well – not only to his belly’s growth. You’ll need plenty of patience because these puppies are very playful and active; they will bounce, jump, run, sprint, and do almost everything you’d expect an energy-infused puppy to do.

Don’t raise your voice when he or she is just a puppy – and clearly don’t hit the little dog. By doing so you will get a pet that’s going to be afraid of you. Be positive!

 

Vaccinations and Health

As soon or even before taking your puppy home, you should get the animal to a veterinarian that will perform a full check on him or her and also plan the following required vaccinations. This is crucial to your puppy’s health because you’ll be provided with the Heartworm prevention medication that’s required for your dog.

There are also some things that should make you take the puppy to the vet as soon as possible. For example, excessive discharge from the eyes that – should always be bright and clear – is a sign that something is wrong. Discharge from the ears and nose should also prompt you to take him to the veterinarian.

When it comes to breathing, it should be always easy and very clear. Coughing, forced breathing or wheezing mean that you should take your puppy to the vet as soon as possible in order to avoid any serious health issues.

 

This is how you basically take care of a Boxer puppy. Provide him or her with all the required facilities, such as proper food and plenty of toys – never forget the toys -, as well as with lots of love, and you will soon have a strong Boxer cuddling with you in your arms.