Cavapoo, Labradoodle, and Cockapoo; what do all these breeds have in common?
They all have one poodle parent, of course!
But why settle for a designer dog that’s only half-poodle when you can have the real thing?
From the joyously endearing toy poodle to the majestic standard poodle, there is a purebred poodle that’s a good fit for every household. But one things for sure.
Your curly coated canine companion will be such a fur-friend that you’ll want to keep him healthy by feeding the best dog food for poodles.
6 Best Dog Foods For Poodles
With so many foods to choose from on the market, the problem is not so much finding a best poodle food but recognizing it when you do.
To help with this conundrum let’s take a look at some of the options.
1. Royal Canin
Your delightful cuddly poodle puppy has arrived at along last and you want to get him off to a good start.
What you feed now will nourish those growing bones and teeth, and providing the building blocks of strong muscles and a good skin.
But some poodles are fussy eaters which mean the food you offer has not only to be good for them but be tasty to boot.
To get around this dilemma the clever people at Royal Canin have developed foods that are adjusted to meet the specific needs of individual breeds.
When you think about it this makes sense because the playful poodle pup has different character traits and needs to a robust Rottweiler.
So what special adaptations make this a best dog food for poodle pups?
To start with this dry food is made up of specially shaped kibble that is easy for the delicate jaws of a poodle pup to grasp and chew.
This food is also enriched with Omega 3 oils which nourish that signature wooly coat and proteins to supply the demands of constantly growing hair.
Royal Canin puppy food is also enriched with antioxidants to strengthen and conditions an immature immune system and prebiotics to encourage a healthy digestive system.
2. Nutro Wholesome Essentials
Let’s assume that big is beautiful and so your four-legger is a stately standard poodle. What is the best food for standard poodles?
Of course the same rules apply as for selecting any dog food, which is that you should look for a named meat (rather than meat meal) topping the list of ingredients as the main constituents.
Also the inclusion of some ingredients such as grain and soya are controversial as there seems to be a link between grains and dogs with more than their fair share of digestive upsets or itchy skins.
This is where Nutro dry dog food comes in because it has lamb (meat) as the first and major ingredient.
In addition the carbohydrate (or energy) is derived from health giving brown rice and appetizing chickpeas rather than cheaper bulking agents such as soy or wheat.
Consider this a best dog food for standard poodles as it contains a limited number of ingredients which are top quality.
If you are in any doubt then check out the reviews for Nutro with this diet receiving an impressive average rating of 4.8 stars from over 200 reviews.
3. Royal Canin
So that bundle of trouble has grown from a playful puppy in to an adventurous adult.
He thrived on the Royal Canin breed health nutrition for puppies, so what next?
The simple answer is to stick with a tried and trusted brand and continue with Royal Canin. The good news is they also make an adult food designed to give optimum nutrition for the grown up poodle in your life.
This best food for poodles is designed to feed to dogs over the age of 12 months.
Just like the equivalent puppy food it is enriched with Omega 3 oils so that gorgeous woolly coat never lacks luster.
This makes sense because a poodle’s curls are very different from the wiry hair of a schnauzer or smooth coat of a Labrador, so it stands to reason that they need different building block.
In addition the kibble sized and shape encourage chewing, which is beneficial to dental health and helps reduce tartar formation.
Indeed each kibble piece is designed specifically with the long muzzle and scissor bite of the poodle in mind so your pet pal gets maximum benefit from his food.
The downside of this food is that it is designed for toy and miniature poodles, as their bigger cousin the standard poodle has more bone growing to do and requires subtly different nutrition.
But this is one of the amazing things about the poodle breed – that they truly do come in all colors and sizes.
4. Nature’s Recipe
Another dry dog food with impressive ratings is Nature’s Recipe healthy skin formula.
This is a vegetarian recipe which is a boon for dog owners who prefer that their pet is not carnivorous.
Of course this means the ingredients must be top notch, in order to avoid the offensive flatulence caused by some cheaper vegetarian dog foods that ferment in the dog’s gut.
That all important protein is supplied by soya bean meal.
Whilst it avoids ingredients such as corn and wheat that are associated with digestive and skin sensitivities.
5. Instinct Raw Boost
The ethos of Nature’s Variety is to give your poodle a diet that is close to that he’d eat in the wild (i.e. mostly protein from raw meat) and avoid the grains that he wouldn’t have much access to.
This food contains a unique blend of grain-free kibble and freeze-dried meat to provide a tasty and nutritious diet for your poodle.
When reading the ingredients list the freeze-dried chicken first appears in a lowly eighth place, which means it contains more pumpkin seeds and chicken fat than it does freeze-dried chicken.
6. Hill’s Science
Hill’S Science Diet
$57.99
You want your poodle pet pal to live a long and active life, and key to this is feeding a best food for poodle dogs that are no longer in the first flush of youth.
By giving a food designed to nurture the older kidney and be gentle on the digestive system, you can make the most of your dog’s good health and help to slow down the deterioration in his organ function.
This is done by providing reduced amounts of high quality protein in the food, so the dog’s nutritional needs are met but without producing excessive amounts of natural waste products which would strain the kidney.
It also contains vital vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and antioxidants to strengthen the immune system and aid cell repair.
All of this adds up to optimal nutrition in the 7+ poodle.
Bottom Line
And finally, whether your choose a cheap and cheerful or a premium high quality food for your poodle, know that how much you feed is almost as important as what your feed.
Give too much and the overweight poodle is going to less healthy and less agile than his leaner relatives.
So if your poodle looks at you with large puppy dog eyes don your sunglasses and know that ignoring those imploring looks will do him good in the long term.
For all specialty foods click here.
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Sarah Robinson
Dr Sarah Robinson attended veterinary school at Oklahoma State University receiving a D.V.M. in 2008. Sarah’s longtime interest is to help people to better communicate with their pet companions, and in doing so, to help them to strengthen their relationships with their dogs and cats. Sarah has published numerous articles on canine feeding in pet related magazines, veterinary journals and leading natural health web sites.
