Owning a blue heeler is a lot of work. They’re high energy and have an independent streak that can make them hard to train, but they also have prominent personalities and are fiercely loyal.
If you want your dog to live the longest life possible, it’s essential to feed them healthy food – just like humans need healthy food for optimal health!
What Is The Best Dog Food For A Blue Heeler?
We have shortlisted the following dog food for blue heelers. Check them out and choose accordingly!
- Holistic Select Dry Dog Food ( Best Dog Food For Australian Cattle Dog)
- Orijen Biologically Appropriate Puppy Food ( Best Dog Food For Blue Heeler Puppies)
- Instinct Wet Canned Dog Food ( Best Wet Dog Food For Blue Heeler)
- Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Dog Food ( Best Budget Dog Food For Blue Heeler)
- Orijen Dry Dog Food ( Best Dry Dog Food For Blue Heeler)
- Nulo Grain Free Dog Food ( Best Dog Food For Senior Blue Heeler)
- Taste Of The Wild Dry Dog Food ( Best Premium Dog Food For Blue Heeler)
- Go! Sensitivity + Shine LID Grain-Free Duck Recipe ( Best Dog Food For Blue Heeler With Allergies)
- Canidae PURE Grain-Free Ancestral Avian Formula Freeze-Dried Raw Coated Adult Recipe ( Best Dog Food For Blue Heeler With Sensitive Stomach)
9 Best Dog Food For Blue Heelers
Here are the dog foods for blue heeler listed below.
Holistic Select Dry Dog Food (Best Dog Food For Blue Heelers)
Holistic Select’s pea-free dry dog food promotes your pup’s overall digestive health with its naturally rich flavoring.
Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids are added along with antioxidants, glucosamine, vitamins, and taurine to lay the foundation for your pup’s healthy future.
With the addition of probiotics and prebiotics sourced from peas, this formula helps support sensitive stomachs and picky palates so all dogs can enjoy their mealtime.
Protein levels in this food are what our veterinarians recommend for pets with sensitive stomachs.
The actual meat content in our kibble delivers a taste dogs instinctively love, leading to healthy digestion and easy elimination, making good bathroom habits second nature. Rest assured you’re giving your furry friend the best of both worlds with their Everyday Essentials. It is best for the cattle dogs!
Key Features:
- 99.8% digestible with whole ingredients
- Probiotics to support digestive health
- Glucosamine for healthy joints and muscles
- Omega 3 fatty acid & antioxidant blend for a shiny coat, improved joint function, and immune system wellness.
- Healthy for your dog
- Promotes healthy skin and coat
- Better than purina pro plan
Orijen Biologically Appropriate Puppy Food
Orijen is a high-quality, biologically appropriate food developed in response to the dramatic shifts observed in canine and feline nutrition.
The recipe for Orijen is based on time-tested animal feeding studies that show a diet including fresh meat, fresh poultry, whole eggs, and animal fats, animal protein sources to keep your dog healthier.
Without added grains or cereal protein diet, our food contains 38% naturally rich protein.
It offers essential vitamins, minerals, and omega 3s and 6s. It provides 1% sugars with antioxidants, calcium, and phosphorus.
It is designed to foster healthy growth throughout your pet’s life span.
Key Features:
- Omega-3 to help with brain development
- Natural enzymes, probiotics, and prebiotics support digestion
- No artificial flavors or preservatives
- Contains nutrient-dense foods for the healthiest puppy possible
- Premium Quality ingredients that vets recommend
- High protein formula with calcium, essential vitamins, and minerals
- Source of Omega 3s for healthy skin and coat
- Maximum digestibility with less food waste
Instinct Wet Canned Dog Food
Instinct wet canned dog food is your go-to for delicious, high-quality meals that promote skin and coat health through omega fatty acids.
With 95% cage-free chicken or turkey meal, 5% veggies, fruit, and other wholesome ingredients to give your pet a good digestive system.
Free of junk additives typically found in the average diet like artificial colors or preservatives, meaning there’s no corn, potato, wheat, soy – you get the picture.
In addition to promoting skin health by including omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids for better growth.
Key Features:
- Promotes healthy skin and fur
- No artificial colors or preservatives
- Conveniently canned
- Made with 95% chicken, turkey, and chicken liver
- Free of grain, potato, corn, wheat; soy; by-product meal
- Delicious loaf includes natural omega fatty acids to promote skin health.
- Contains vitamins minerals and antioxidants
Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Dog Food
The Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula food line was created for adult dogs’ holistic health and well-being.
With real meat as the first ingredient, hearty whole grains, garden vegetables, and fruit plus LifeSource Bits, a precise blend of nutrients that have been enriched with a Super 7 package of antioxidant-rich ingredients.
This Blue Buffalo dog food will help your furry friend live their best life while providing you peace of mind.
Key Features:
- Helps adult dogs live healthier, happier, and longer lives
- Premium ingredients to maintain your dog’s weight
- Quality food at an affordable price
- Unparalleled flavor for all dogs
- Provides more natural, high-quality ingredients to promote a happier dog
- Boosts energy levels in older pets so they can continue feeling like themselves longer
- Better than iams proactive health
Orijen Dry Dog Food
Orijen is a nutritious diet with numerous benefits- grain-free, gluten-free, and high in protein.
Orijen is made from 85% meat sources, not sourcing any other protein source (typically fruits).
Orijen also has omega 3s, which help promote healthy skin and coat for your pup! You can see the lack of grain by examining the ingredients – they are all animal-sourced.
This dog food is low in calories – having only 870 calories per kilogram and being rich in fiber which will provide smaller stools for your canine dog breed to take care of on their masters.
Orijen Grain Free dry dog food of premium quality. It contains 85% meat ingredients, the product is grain-free, gluten-free, and has Omega 6 and Omega 3 fatty acids and calcium, 18% fats, and 38% protein.
The company was established in 1987, and it forges beef flavors with turkey flavors for its products!
Key Features:
- Feed an animal-based diet
- Gently freeze-dried to preserve nutrients
- Enhanced with probiotics and prebiotics for improved digestion
- Provides high levels of antioxidants to promote a healthy immune system
Nulo Grain Free Recipe Dog Food
Nulo Dog Food is a glucosamine and chondroitin formula that helps senior dog maintain their joint health.
It includes L-Carnitine to support an older dog’s metabolism. The food is gluten-free, ensuring all working dog can enjoy this meal without stomach issues.
Nulo Grain-Free Senior Formula for Dogs has the natural high quality protein your canine companion needs as they age, along with added vitamins and minerals to help keep them healthy!
Nulo is a grain-free dog food that contains pure probiotic strains for proper digestion and calcium and phosphorus to help maintain strong bones. It also has wholesome vegetables and fruits with omega three fatty acids to support optimal immune health. With 30 % animal proteins, Nulo grain-free blue heeler dog food gives your pet all the nourishment it needs while reducing the number of cook grains harmful to their digestive health.
This hearty mix of nutrients is essential for healthy living, providing key nutrients like calcium, omega 3 fats, prebiotics, and soluble fiber from non-grain sources in each serving.
Does your aging pup need more than that?
Key Features:
- Gives your australian cattle dogs a healthy and balanced diet
- Promotes healthy living in dogs
- Aids in weight management
- Great for all types of breeds
Taste Of The Wild Dry Dog Food
Our bestselling food for dogs tastes great and provides the perfect balance of fat, carbohydrates, and protein.
Made from lamb meal as the #1 ingredient (supplying high-quality animal-based protein), this formula includes real chickpeas, peas, lentils, Carrots!
Vitamins A, E & D to help maintain healthy skin & shiny coat with a K9 strain probiotic blend.
When it’s time to up your pet’s protein value, TOTW makes a perfect first stop. It has all the necessities: omegas fats for healthy skin, stronger nails, and better-looking coats.
Key Features:
- Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids
- Grain-free, Gluten-free, High Protein
- No artificial flavors or colors
Go! Sensitivity + Shine LID Grain-Free Duck Recipe
Zero by-products: The best part about this recipe is that we use only the highest quality, human-grade cuts of duck!
Zero wheat: No light taste in these ingredients. Instead, we use potato flakes if you’re concerned with gluten or corn to give our food a light and fluffy texture. Nutritional yeast can also be used for a nutty flavor!
Zero chicken meal or chicken fat: You don’t have to worry about your dog getting too much protein from either of these sources–they are altogether absent from our recipes
Go! Sensitivity + Shine is a grain-free duck dog recipe that features prebiotic fiber for sensitivities and healthy skin and coat.
Along with Omega oils, this food will help to address your dog’s needs naturally.
With less fat than other foods on the market, you’ll be happy knowing that they’re getting plenty of flavourful nutrition at the same time (as opposed to unhealthy fillers).
Key Features:
- All natural and organic
- No by-products, no corn, soy, or wheat
- Palatable for sensitive tummies
- Sustainably sourced ingredients
- Free from gluten, grain, and potatoes to help reduce pet sensitivities
- Highly digestible for sensitive tummies
- Grain free diet and it is best food for herding dog.
Canidae PURE Grain-Free Ancestral Avian Formula Freeze-Dried Raw Coated Adult Recipe
Priced per lb, the Canidae Pure Grain-Free Ancestral Avian Formula provides your canine with a balanced and complete diet when everything else is eliminated from what you are feeding them.
This formula contains 3.4 pounds of 7 regionally sourced fish ingredients, including salmon, mackerel, whitefish, pollock, and tuna that require no corn or soy to be listed in the name.
They also do not contain any artificial colors and flavors, ensuring you get nothing but nutrient-dense food for your dog! In addition, this product contains high-quality proteins.
Natural, wholesome, and pure. That’s what Canidae is all about. This recipe takes pride in delivering a healthy balance of meat proteins (including fish), antioxidants from fruits and vegetables like omega-3 fatty acids for skin & coat health with added prebiotics to support digestive health…and the list goes on.
PURE Grain-Free Ancestral Avian Formula delivers natural whole food nutrition for your adult dog that will make you feel good about what you’re feeding them. The HealthPLUS Solutions probiotics have been proven safe by EFSA – European Food Safety Authority. Being pet parents, this is going to be your best choice.
Key Features:
- Ideal for dogs with nut or shellfish allergies
- Provides essential vitamins and minerals for your dog’s health
- Combats food sensitivities
- Gives a high quality, 100% natural diet without any GMO foods
- For pet owners who are seeking a grain-free, AAFCO approved protein and nutrient-rich diet
- Helps reduce pet allergies
- Eliminate food boredom or uncertainty about what ingredients your pet is getting
- Increases activity level.
Related:
Buying Guide To Buying Dog Food For Blue Heeler
What To Look For In Dog Food For Blue Heeler?
Joint Support
Dogs need to have excellent joint health. Healthy joints will make sure your pup can stay active and playful during their growing years.
Any sort of joint deformity can cause a Blue Heeler to live a life of discomfort. Joint pathologies like arthritis or hip or elbow dysplasia severely debilitate the movement of a dog.
In hip dysplasia, the hip joint does not develop well. It leads to joint dislocation as the head of the femur does fail to stay in place inside the socket of the hip bone.
Likewise, arthritis erodes the surface of the joints. It is commonly found in dogs, and it is more common in adult dogs because it occurs with age. Since the natural, frictionless movement of the joint is lost, a dog finds it hard to use its joints and move easily.
Hence, you must look for food that has plenty of chondroitin and glucosamine in it. These two substances are what promote the health of cartilage. These are present on the surface of a joint.
These cartilages work as a cushion in joint movement and dramatically reduce friction. Feeding your Blue Heeler, a diet that has an abundance of these substances, will enable your canine friend to have healthy joints for a long time.
Healthy Fats
If you have had dogs before, you may already know how important are those essential fats for your dog’s coat, particularly your Blue Heeler’s fur. Also, know more about the yogurt cultures.
Healthy fats become a natural store in your pet’s body to supply them with energy.
Secondly, healthy fats like Omega-3 contribute to the beautiful fur your dog has. Similarly, omega-3 also has proven effects on the skin.
It works as an anti-inflammatory agent and wards off all inflammation in the body and skin. In other words, it is a good supplement for dogs who are injured. Dogs with an injury can heal early thanks to the anti-inflammatory properties of omega-3.
On the other hand, if you need your Blue Heeler to gain a few pounds, healthy fats will always be the right option. You can add more treats and extra meals during their day to supply more calories.
If you are looking for safe foods that have sufficient fat content in them, then you can consider feeding your dog various oils.
Oils like liver oil, cod oil, or fish oil have incredible health benefits and give you a good number of calories to rely on for energy and weight gain.
Good Proteins
Protein and fat are easily one of the top-most crucial nutrients your Blue Heeler needs to stay fit and healthy. There is not just one thing in their body that requires protein. There is a myriad of complex metabolism going on in a dog’s body that requires protein.
As a result, protein aids in hair, nails, muscles, tendons, ligaments health. Muscles are entirely made of protein. So if your dog is protein deficient, you can well imagine what may happen to their bodies. They would be left with nothing but bony masses and pokes against their skin.
Dogs also need protein for regular hormone productions. The basic units of proteins called amino acids are the main ingredient in the production of hormones.
Hormones are chemicals that regulate several functions around the body. Without hormones, adequate growth and health of your Blue Heeler are impossible.
If you want to add sufficient amounts of proteins to your canine’s diet, they can feed them meals based on high protein sources. These may include beef, chicken, venison, lamb, duck, and turkey.
However, just make sure your dog is not allergic to this meat and likes these flavors for them to eat their meals.
Vitamins And Minerals
Vitamins and minerals are equally imperative to a complete diet and the health of your Blue Heeler. Every essential vitamin-like the B complex series with other crucial vitamins like vitamin A, C, E, and D, is necessary for your dog to develop properly.
Minerals like iron, potassium, sodium and many others are another great deal when it comes to maintaining your poodle’s physical fitness.
These vitamins and minerals have a lot to contribute. Without these, your dog may live a distressing and uncomfortable life.
Things from maintaining skin health, eyesight, calcium in bones, gum health, adequate oxygen supply via the blood are imperative to carry our normal body functions.
Meets AAFCO Nutritional Requirements For A Balanced And Complete Food
Association Of American Feed Control Officials, AAFCO is a regulatory body. They have come up with diet rules and restrictions for cats and dogs. After years of extensive research, they have released some guidelines to help pet owners feed their pets adequate and nutritious food.
Some brands are AAFCO approved, and some are not. Brands that are approved are better because the nutritional requirement of your dog in those brands will be enough to keep your pet healthy immune system.
In other words, you don’t have to worry about what is good for your dog and not. With the help of these guidelines, you will know what your Blue Heeler’s diet should consist of.
AAFCO allows a certain amount of nutrients that every dog should eat. The amount and portion size also depend on the age and the breed of your dog.
Most often, there are no significant differences between the diets of different dog breeds. The association also informs you of the maximum amount of nutrients your dog should need.
Therefore, if you feed your dog AAFCO approved food, chances are that your little guy will live a healthy, prosperous life.
Foods To Avoid Feeding Your Blue Heeler
Blue Heelers are not the sensitive type. They are the breed that does not worry their owners every other day regarding their diet or health.
However, there are always some exceptions, and we can’t overlook any ingredient if your Blue Heeler is allergic to it.
Just to be on the safe side, there are a couple of ingredients that are particularly not favorable for your poodle to eat. Such ingredients are mostly meat by-products.
Nothing harms a dog more than cheap fillers, and cheap meat by-products added to increase the weight of a dry food bag.
It would be best if you were careful when choosing the brand for your dog. The list mentioned above is all of high quality and does not contain inappropriate ingredients for your Blue Heeler.
On the other hand, ingredients like wheat, soy, corn are prime culprits and should not be fed to your Blue Heeler. You also need to avoid meals that have artificial flavoring or ingredients added to them.
Foods That Harm Dogs
Any food that your Blue Heeler can’t withstand is bad for them.
It means if your dog is allergic, gets severe diarrhea when they eat it, or does not like a new flavor you introduced to them, then it is all foods that are not good enough for you, Blue Heeler.
In addition to this, you have to be super cautious when you feed your dogs something they have never eaten before. Blue Heelers do not tolerate even a good number of human food.
Everyday foods like chocolates, raisins, nuts, grapes, onions, garlic, and several other foods that are good for humans, are toxic for dogs. So make sure you do your research before proceeding to feed your dog new foods. You can also speak to your vet about this.
It is important because some dogs can cause serious side effects. It can lead your dog to a vet in an emergency or may even be fatal.
We also have a wide range of dog food reviews and facts where you can check if an ingredient is good for your blue heeler puppy food or not.
Harmful Vegetables
Feeding vegetables to your dog may sound healthy, but the truth is different.
Several vegetables are not suitable for your Blue Heeler to eat. Even though humans consume most vegetables without an issue, it is the opposite for your dog if you give them a particular vegetable.
There are tolerable vegetables out there. However, most vegetables are toxic for a dog. These vegetables can bring about severe reactions. Others cause some distress nonetheless.
Such hazardous vegetables include celery, spinach, bell peppers, beans, lettuce, sweet potatoes are to name a few. Whereas, one should keep in mind that these vegetables are not themselves toxic.
The chemicals that are sprayed on these vegetables are what the actual culprit is. Fruits and vegetables come with copious amounts of pesticides on them. It is this pesticide that causes harm.
You should also know that some vegetables are naturally hazardous. They are made of compounds that are not appropriate for dogs. Hence, you should avoid them in most instances.
Common Health Issues Of Blue Heeler And How Diet Can Help Them?
Blue Heelers are a unique breed. That does not mean their nutritional requirement or their pathologies are any different from other breeds.
You need to note down what your dog is facing. What problems occur when they feed or if they have any genetic disorders.
These diseases are found in other breeds, too, and a vet can easily treat them, which is why you don’t need to worry.
However, you should be aware of what possible pathologies a Blue Heeler may suffer from.
Some of them include:
Thyroid Problems
Blue Heelers often suffer from hypothyroidism. It means that a gland called the thyroid, present in the neck, does not produce enough hormones for the normal development of the dog’s body.
They are treated with pills that synthetically increase the hormone in the body.
Hip Dysplasia
As mentioned above, hip dysplasia is a congenital pathology. The head of the femur falls out of the hip bone socket, and it makes it hard for a dog to walk. Brown rice
The most definitive treatment for it is surgery.
Cataract
A cataract is where the lens crystallizes, and dogs can’t see through it. This is the most common reason why dogs become blind unless treated with surgery to remove the cataract.
Stones In Bladder Or Kidneys
Blue Heelers are highly prone to develop bladder or kidney stones. They may show signs of straining while urinating, blood in urine, or pain at the sight of kidneys.
Stones can pass through urine or be removed with the help of laser or minor surgery.
Deafness
Blue Heelers are known for their inherited deafness. This breed often turns out to be deaf, and most owners realize this after they notice that their pooch does not respond well to them.
A vet may run a couple of tests to confirm what is wrong, and depending on what the pathology is, your dog will be treated accordingly.
FAQs
How Often Should I Feed My Blue Heeler?
The response to this question largely depends on the size and age of your dog. Other important factors to consider are how active your dog is and how fast its metabolism is.
Young Blue Heelers need a good amount of food and maybe multiple meals a day. It is because young dogs need a lot of calories when growing up. All their calories get rapidly metabolized into producing their bones, muscles, hair, and, of course, most calories go into them being so proactive!
On the other hand, adult dogs need limited meals per day only to maintain their health. Since they are not proactive like the young ones, they do not need those extra calories, and neither do they need to get fat.
Talking of being fat, if you think your dog is underweight or overweight, you need to regulate their food intake and portion sizes accordingly. You need to cut down on extra meals and treats for dogs who are obese.
Obesity is unhealthy for your Blue Heeler. It leads to multiple health problems that you can easily prevent in your dog.
And feed more treats and fatty meals to your dogs if you think they are underweight or their bones are poking against their skin.
Are Blue Heelers Aggressive?
Wonder why Blue Heelers are known as ‘heelers’?
Blue Heelers are known to bite a lot, and the site they bite the most is a person’s heel; hence, ‘Heeler.’
This breed is the most aggressive out of all the dog breeds out there. They control and dominate in their nature, which is why they do not like being dominated by other breeds and when something goes against their will. For instance, when a person likes leaves, they prevent them from leaving and bite them on their heels.
Similarly, if you adopted a dog from a pet shelter and you suspect that they were previously ill-treated, then you can anticipate that they will be aggressive by nature. They might even lash at someone.
Therefore, if your Blue Heeler is adequately trained, they are one of the most loyal dog breeds ever.
Just keep in check the factors that annoys a Blue Heeler. Something like loud noise annoys them, and they tend to get jealous if they are not the center of your attention.
Is A Blue Heeler A Good Apartment Dog?
It is not necessary that Blue Heelers can’t adapt to living in an apartment. However, Blue Heelers are super active all the time, and they like running around the place.
For this reason, most dog owners would take their Blue Heelers to an open area that has a lot of space for them to run around.
We can guess that Blue Heelers might not want to live in an apartment, but again, you never know because every dog is different. If you treat them right, Blue Heelers may never demand something more from you.
Conclusion
You are a great pet parent if you want to learn more about the best dog foods for blue heelers. We have done all of the heavy lifting and research so that you can get the most out of your time with this adorable pup! The perfect food should be nutritious and tasty enough for their taste buds while not causing digestive issues or allergies. Since we took care of finding these top 10 choices, you need to find which one meets your needs best. Hopefully, our article helped guide you toward what will work well for both your furry friend and yourself! What’s been working well for feeding yours?
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