Feeding Advice for a Pitbull

American Pitbull Terriers are highly active and energetic dogs, which is why we need to feed them proportionately and with high-quality products so they grow up healthy and develop properly.

If you want to save a great deal of money on vets, bet on your dog's health. Diet is one of the basic pillars of health, so put a little of your time into finding out how to feed them.

How to Feed an American Pitbull Terrier?

Starting from the principle that dogs are carnivores, we need to look for food for our dog that contains a large amount of animal protein.

Industrial dog food, known as kibble, dog feed, croquettes or simply dog food, is often low quality and does not contain the amount of meat recommended for a Pitbull.

So we need to focus on the ingredient label and check for ourselves that its quality is suitable. Yes, we know… it can seem complicated, but trust us, it is really simple, and that's why we're explaining it briefly here.

Reading Kibble Labels

In countries such as Spain, dog food manufacturers are legally required to list their ingredients in order, from highest to lowest percentage in the composition.

That is why it is really simple to tell whether a dog kibble is good quality: we simply need to look at the ingredient label and check that the first ingredients are always meat-based (chicken or fish, either is fine).

We should avoid any dog food whose main ingredients are grains, meal or meat derivatives. We will accept ones that start with fresh or dehydrated meat.

Almost every dog kibble contains grains, and the ones that do not use an inhumane excess of legumes in their composition. Remember that the best grain is ordinary rice, not wholegrain. Avoid products containing wheat or maize; these are less nutritious grains for dogs.

Recommended Protein and Fat Levels

These levels are always a rough guide; although the ideal is for them to sit around 30% protein and 15% fat, the truth is that a little more or a little less has no negative effect either.

What should genuinely concern us is that the protein their food contains is high quality and of animal origin, since many dog kibbles also add plant-based protein… which is far lower quality.

Too much fat can cause rapid weight gain, so it is advisable not to overdo it and to keep it from exceeding 20%. Less active dogs who do not exercise daily should be given kibbles with 15% fat or less.

Remember that from seven or eight years of age we should start to consider our dog a senior, so a senior kibble is most suitable.

Feeding Pitbull Puppies and Nursing Mothers

Nursing mothers need highly nutritious, high-quality food, so they can produce enough milk to nurse all their pups without it putting their own health at risk.

That is why high-energy kibbles are most suitable for nursing mothers. Pitbull puppies, however, are a different matter altogether when it comes to eating.

A Pitbull puppy needs to be fed a kibble specific to medium-breed puppies that is also very high quality, such as NFNatcane kibble, for example.

How Much Food Should I Give My Pitbull?

It all depends on their age, weight and health. Dog food manufacturers themselves usually include tables on the suitable ration for each type of dog.

We cannot tell you to use two hundred grams a day, because every dog kibble is entirely different; some are very energy-dense while others are excessively mild.

Follow the food manufacturer's recommendations for your puppy in terms of amounts, and also use your common sense. If your puppy is gaining weight, you should reduce their daily ration a little, while if they look thin, we should increase it.

How Many Times a Day Does a Pitbull Eat?

Again, this depends a great deal on their age; puppies usually eat three or four times a day, splitting their daily amount across all their meals.

From fifteen months of age, it is usual to feed a dog three times a day, as breakfast, lunch and dinner. Although plenty of people give them only two meals because it does not fit their schedule.

Whether it is three or two meals, the right approach is always to split their daily ration across those meals. If we give our dog three meals and they start leaving one, we can automatically drop to two.

Feeding Guidelines for the American Pitbull Terrier

To avoid confusion we have preferred to put together a simple guide with the recommended feeding guidelines for each stage of their life. That way, depending on their age, we will know what they should be eating.

Zero to Fourteen Weeks

During this initial stage the puppy should be fed on the mother's milk; if that is not possible, our vet will give us special milk for dogs so we can feed them with a bottle.

Dogs cannot have cow's milk the way humans do, puppies especially, since the lactose causes intestinal upset and encourages the spread of intestinal parasites.

Fourteen Weeks to Four Months

We will start adding a little special puppy kibble to their milk feeds; since they are still too young to chew industrial food well, generally very dry, it is advisable to moisten it a little with lukewarm water.

As the weeks pass we will gradually stop giving them moistened food, until they eat only puppy kibble,

Four Months to Fourteen Months

We should carry on feeding our Pitbull puppy a kibble specific to medium or large-breed puppies.

The kibble should be very high quality, since their body is in full development; investing in quality means investing in health, which will save us on vet visits.

Fourteen Months to Eight Years

We should look for a high-quality adult dog kibble, leaving puppy kibble behind. Ideally we find a kibble they like that also contains top-quality ingredients such as fresh or dehydrated meat.

If our dog joins us for exercise, which is highly advisable, it is worth considering the option of feeding them a specific high-energy kibble.

Eight Years Onward

We need to bear in mind our dog is no longer young but a senior, and accordingly look for a senior dog kibble. These are usually milder and more moderate in calories, to prevent weight gain.

Since as a senior they should not exercise as much as when they were young, their energy demands will be lower, needing fewer calories a day. If our dog's teeth are damaged, it is advisable to use a soft kibble or wet food.

BARF Diet as Food for a Pitbull

There is no higher-quality product than fresh food, which is why BARF feeding, made up of fresh products for dogs, is without doubt the healthiest and most recommended.

There are thousands of opinions on whether it is advisable to feed a dog raw, fresh meat. And the answer is yes: the dog will be fed quality products that keep every one of their nutritional properties intact.

Is the BARF Diet Really Healthy?

It is so healthy that dogs fed a BARF diet have a glossier coat, their stools are far smaller and do not smell as much. They also have less wind (farting) and generally drink less water, since by comparison industrial food is excessively dry and causes a great deal of thirst.

The health of a dog fed a BARF diet is stronger than that of a dog fed the same food, but industrially processed and given in the form of entirely dry dog kibble.

Some of the Ingredients of the BARF Diet

There is no need to be put off by the thought of raw meat or organs such as an animal's heart or liver, since these are fresh products with high nutritional and biological value.

Soft bones such as chicken carcasses are often included in BARF diet recipes, which despite being called a "diet" is nothing of the sort, since it is not intended for weight loss.

We invite you to look up more information online about the BARF diet for dogs, since there are very thorough guides explaining how to get started step by step. BARF food is cheaper and far healthier than industrial dog food.