The Best Dog Food for Boxers | Reviews and Ratings of the Top Wet and Dry Brands in 2021

Boxers have very similar dietary needs to other dogs. According to scientific studies, dogs need a diet that contains about 30% protein, 63% fat, and 7% carbohydrates. This is true even across different dog breeds, including Boxers.

When choosing dog food for your Boxer, it is essential to meet these specific dietary guidelines.

Of course, there are some specific needs that Boxers have. They are more prone to developing allergies, developing heart problems, bloat, and joint issues. Many of these are linked to diet, making it even more important for dog owners to choose the perfect food for your canine.

How to Choose the Best Food for Your Boxer

As we have previously stated, Boxers need a diet that is very similar to what all canines need. Studies have found that when dogs are given complete control of their diet, they tend to choose a diet containing 30% protein, 63% fat, and 7% carbohydrates. Typically, when animals are allowed to control their diet, they eat the best nutritionally-complete diet for them, so this study is entirely accurate.

Sadly, most dog foods do not contain this makeup of macronutrients, which means most dogs are not getting the nutrition they need to thrive. Generally, you want to choose food that is high in protein and fat, while low in carbohydrates. All of the foods in our review section meet this criterion.

On top of general nutrition, Boxers also have a few specific dietary needs that need to be addressed. They are prone to some health problems that have a dietary component. By feeding a proper diet, you may be able to avoid these health problems altogether and keep your dog at a healthy weight. 

Firstly, Boxers are somewhat prone to food allergies. Any dog can develop an allergy, but Boxers tend to develop them at a higher rate. Because of this, it is essential to change their food a lot and feed them with a variety of proteins from a very young age.

Allergies typically develop after a dog eats the same food over and over again. Eventually, their body begins to lose the ability to break down this food, which makes the immune system act like it’s a foreign invader. This immune response is what causes allergies. By feeding them many different sorts of food, you avoid this problem.

Secondly, Boxers are prone to heart problems. Much of this is related to genetics, which you cannot control. However, some food ingredients support heart health, like L-carnitine, so look out for these when selecting food.

Thirdly, Boxers can develop joint problems. This is because of their genetic makeup and activity level. Foods containing chondroitin and glucosamine can support healthy joints.

Finally, Boxers are also prone to bloat, which is a deadly digestion problem. Bloat happens when gasses get stuck in a dog’s stomach and cause the stomach to twist. It is life-threatening because, eventually, the stomach will simply explode.

Many factors go into bloat. How fast your dog eats and lots of exercise after a meal can cause bloat, though no one knows the exact cause. Kibble that encourages a dog to eat slowly, puzzle feeds, and certain types of dog food can all prevent bloat.

Reviews of the Best Foods for Boxers

Macronutrients (Dry-Matter Basis):

• 37.04% Protein
• 18.52% Fat
• 14.81% Carbohydrates

Best Dog Food for Boxers with Allergies

Nom Nom Now is one of the top fresh dog food brands currently available. All of their food is entirely fresh and delivered to your door in pre-portioned bags. Their formulas are crafted by one of the few board-certified veterinary nutritionists in the country, so you can rest assured that all your adult boxer’s dietary needs will be met.

They have four different flavors in all, and each one is an excellent option for your canine. You can order a variety pack when you make your purchase to switch your dog’s food out often. This will prevent allergies from forming and is particularly important to do with Boxers, as they are prone to food allergies.

If your dog has already developed allergies, you’ll be happy to find out that each of their formulas only contains one meat source. If your dog is allergic to chicken, it is straightforward just to avoid the chicken formula and feed your dog the others instead.

While we do like all of their formulas, we reviewed their beef mash recipe in particular. This recipe contains beef as the first ingredient and contains plenty of protein to keep your pooch healthy. The macronutrient content isn’t perfect, but it is better than what you find in most commercial boxer dog foods.  This is a quality dog food.  Highly recommend. 

Recall Info: None

Best Dry Food for Boxers

Macronutrients (Dry-Matter Basis):

• 42.22% Protein
• 22.22% Fat
• 26.67% Carbohydrates

This is one of the better dry foods on the market for Boxers. It contains both turkey meal and chicken meal, which are both high-quality meat ingredients. Meal is simply meat that has been cooked-down until there is hardly any water in it – similarly to if you made soup, but just kept cooking it until there was hardly any broth left. It turns into a super-concentrated meat powder, which is more nutritionally dense than regular meat.

Dried eggs are also included. Eggs contain many nutrients that dogs need to thrive and are an excellent addition to any food. The only ingredient we didn’t particularly like was the peas and pea starch. Peas are often used as a “filler” ingredient because they’re cheap. Furthermore, they are also high in protein, which raises the protein content of the food. However, they are not a complete protein, meaning they do not contain all of the amino acids necessary for your dog to thrive. They have also been linked by the FDA to specific heart problems, though they are still investigating the possible link.

However, the inclusion of peas alone isn’t enough for us to mark this food down substantially.

The macronutrient content of this food is quite good. Protein is very high and over 40%. Fat is decently high, though it could be higher. Carbohydrates are just over 26%. This isn’t high by any means, but we still would have liked it to be lower. This macronutrient content is better than most, though, which is why we still recommend this food so highly.

Recall Info: Never

Macronutrients (Dry-Matter Basis):

• 42.7% Protein
• 19.1% Fat
• 29.21% Carbohydrates

best dog food for boxers with sensitive stomachs

While this dog food wasn’t our favorite that we reviewed, it is an excellent choice in certain circumstances. This food includes a wide variety of different meats, including beef, lamb, and salmon. This large variety of protein sources means that your pooch will be less likely to develop allergies. Furthermore, both lamb and salmon are considered “novel” proteins, which means that dogs are not exposed to them very often and are less likely to be allergic to them for this reason.

If your dog has skin allergies and is not allergic to beef, this is excellent food. The inclusion of lots of proteins will prevent further allergies from developing, and that added omega fatty acids will help their skin remain healthy. There is also no grains, gluten, artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives in this food, making it even gentler on your dog’s stomach.

This food also contains glucosamine and chondroitin, which is essential for supporting your pet’s joints.

The ingredient list on this dog food is decent. It includes high-quality meat as the first three ingredients, as well as a variety of potatoes. Regular potatoes are starchy and not particularly nutritious food dogs, making them a common choice. Peas are also included a little further down the ingredient list. This vegetable has been linked to specific heart problems in dogs by the FDA. They are still investigating the link, but it might be something to keep in mind – especially since Boxers are already likely heart problems.

The macronutrient content of this food could be better. Protein is very high, but fat could be much higher. Carbohydrates are a bit too high as well. With that said, though, it is still high compared to most other dog foods currently on the market. It might not be the best, but it still provides proper nutrition for your canine.

Recall Info: Yes

Macronutrients (Dry-Matter Basis):

• 38.46% Protein
• 26.37% Fat
• 26.37% Carbohydrates

Best Dog Food for Boxers with Skin Allergies

For dogs with severe allergies to many different meat sources, this is a dog food to consider. It is made mostly of venison, which is considered a novel protein. This means that most dogs are not exposed to it very often, which means that the likelihood of them being allergic to it is very low. Dogs become allergic to things that they eat a lot. Most dog foods are made with chicken or beef, making them the most common allergens. Venison is not commonly used, making it one of the lowest. Salmon meal and herring meal are also included. These are also novel proteins.

Because this food contains three different sources of meat, the odds of your pet developing an allergy to any one of them is very low. However, all meat sources included are novel, and the odds of your pooch being allergic to them is low. Due to this, this food is a solid choice for any dog who seems to develop allergies rapidly or who is already allergic to many different foods.

The overall ingredient list for this dog food is quite good. There are many different meat sources used as the first few ingredients, as we have already discussed. Peas are included as the fourth ingredient. These are a less-than-stellar option. Peas are very high in protein and are often used to raise the overall protein content of a food. However, they aren’t a complete protein, so your dog can’t live off of them alone. They have also been linked to heart problems by the FDA, though no definite evidence has surfaced yet.

The macronutrient content of this boxer food is decent. Carbs could be a bit lower, but they are low when compared to most mainstream dog food options. Protein and fat are both high as they should be.

Recall Info: Yes

Best Wet Dog Foods for Boxers

Macronutrients (Dry-Matter Basis):

• 40.91% Protein
• 31.82% Fat
• 13.64% Carbohydrates

This is one of the best dog foods on the market, and it isn’t expensive. It includes only meat on the ingredient list, including liver, which is a very nutritious organ. If your dog has a sensitive stomach, the limited-ingredients in this dog food might settle better on their tummy and cause fewer upsets. Plus, all the meat is extremely nutritious for your canine and an excellent choice for any dog, including senior boxers. 

This food does include meat from many different sources, including turkey, chicken, and duck. Most of these proteins are generally rare, so, likely, your dog hasn’t been exposed to them very much. The only possible exception to this is chicken, which is in the vast majority of dog foods. The inclusion of many different types of meat will decrease the chances of your dog developing an allergy to any of them. Of course, if your dog is already allergic to any of the ingredients, this is not a suitable option for your canine.

The macronutrient content of this food is quite decent as well. Protein is very high because of the large amount of meat content. Fat is also high since venison is a fattier meat. Carbohydrates are quite low at under 20%, which we consider a significant level – especially compared to many of the commercial dog foods currently available.

Recall Info: Yes

Macronutrients (Dry-Matter Basis):

• 54.55% Protein
• 22.73% Fat
• 9.09% Carbohydrates

Crave is newer on the pet food scene, but most of their foods are very high-quality. This beef-flavored wet food is particularly good. Protein is extremely high and is one of the highest we’ve seen on the market. Fat is also very high, with carbohydrates extremely low. This makes it an excellent food choice for particularly any dog.

The ingredient list is also quite good. It includes plenty of meat, including nutritious organ meat. It does include beef and chicken as the two primary meat sources. While this won’t be a problem for most dogs, it might create difficulties for dogs with allergies.

Recall Info: None, but they are a newer brand

Macronutrients (Dry-Matter Basis):

• 45.45% Protein
• 40.91% Fat
• 0% Carbohydrates

Blue Buffalo is a trendy brand. However, we typically do not recommend them for several reasons. First, they have had many recalls since the company was founded. While some recalls are to be expected, their number is particularly high. Furthermore, they tend to have decently serious recalls as well.

Recalls can happen for any number of reasons. Sometimes, it is something as harmless as the amount of meat or vegetables being slightly off or a printing error on the ingredient list. However, Blue Buffalo tends to have life-threatening recalls, like the inclusion of mold on the food or very high levels of lead. These are more serious than just misspelling a word on the ingredient list.

However, this dog food might be useful for boxers in some cases, so we decided to include it.

The ingredient list is pretty decent. Beef and chicken are included as the first two ingredients. These are high-quality sources of protein, but may be problematic for dogs with allergies. They are the two most common protein sources in any dog food, which means that dogs tend to eat a lot of them. This can lead to allergies and is one of the reasons many dogs have problems eating chicken and beef.  Boxers tend to get allergies more often than other dogs, so it is something to keep in mind if they’ve eaten a lot of beef or chicken previously.

Besides that small point, this ingredient list is fantastic.

The macronutrient content of this food is also excellent. Carbohydrates are extremely low, while protein and fat are quite high.

Recall Info: Several

Best Dog Food for Boxer Puppies

Macronutrients (Dry-Matter Basis):

• 40.91% Protein
• 22.73% Fat
• 22.73% Carbohydrates

If you have a puppy, you must provide them with proper nutrients, so they develop normally. Nutritional deficiencies during the puppy years can lead to health problems later in life. Luckily, this puppy food has you covered during the early life stage. It contains meat from a variety of sources, including turkey, salmon, and cod. This prevents puppies from developing allergies to their foods. Furthermore, all of these meats are excellent sources of nutrition for your growing puppy.

The macronutrient content of this dog food is also stellar. Protein is very high at just over 41%, providing plenty of muscle-building nutrients for your pooch. Fat and carbohydrates are both around 20%. This is a decent amount of fat, though the carbohydrates could be a bit low. This food is far better than many of the other options on the market. 

Recall Info: None

Why You Should Trust Us

I’ve been a dog owner my whole life. We have reviewed hundreds of different dog foods over the years, so we have an expert view of what the market currently offers. All of our reviews are based on scientific evidence, not marketing campaigns or ads. We carefully stay up to date on the latest research so that we can recommend only the best to you and your pets. 

Before making it into any article, each dog food has to pass a rigorous review process that involves more than just surface-level information. We calculate all of our own macronutrient data. While we pay attention to the ingredient list, we also consider macronutrient ratios and recall frequency. Additionally, we speak to the dog food brands, vets, and dog trainers to make sure our recommendations are the most healthy options for your dog.

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