Best Dog Food For Beagles

Beagles are curious, friendly, and lovable scent hounds bred for hunting rabbits and other small game. While Beagles generally lack many inherited health problems that plague other small dogs, improper nutrition can lead to some unpleasant symptoms—upset stomachs, vomiting, diarrhea, and lack of energy sometimes accompanied by dry, itchy patches of skin. To prevent these ailments, selecting the right dog food for your Beagle is essential to keep it happy and healthy.

Top Food Options For Beagles

Nutritional Requirements for Beagles

Beagles are extremely energetic with an appetite to match. If not monitored, Beagles can gain weight quickly and their health and quality of life can deteriorate. Beagles generally weigh between 20-30 pounds and need roughly 500-900 calories a day.

Due to their energetic nature, Beagles require a diet rich in protein. Fish, poultry, or whole meats should be the highest percentage ingredient in their food.Fruits, vegetables, and other healthy carbohydrates add the needed fiber to keep your Beagle’s digestive system working well.

As with any dog, it is important to ensure that their food contains proper nutrients as opposed to cheap grain and corn filler. Consumption of these fillers can lead to unpleasant allergy symptoms.To keep your Beagle’s coat shiny and well-hydrated, fatty acids found in sunflower oil, flaxseed oil, or fish oil are essential.

Because of Beagles’ tremendous appetite, it is not recommended to free-feed but rather give 2-3 separate meals per day. Typically, Beagles under one year should eat three times a day, while more mature dogs should eat twice.

As Beagles age, they tend to slow down. It is important to adjust their caloric intake accordingly to avoid unnecessary health complications brought about by obesity.

To tell if your Beagle is overweight you can perform an easy test. If you look at your dog from the top, their ribs should be visible, but not countable. If you are unable to see an indentation behind their last rib, they are likely overweight.

Orijen Original Dry Dog Food

Orijen’s Original dry food contains eighty-five percent poultry, fish, and egg ingredients, which makes it a perfect source of protein for a Beagle’s active lifestyle.

The remaining fifteen percent is made up of vegetables, fruits, and botanicals to ensure proper vitamins and minerals to keep the Beagle’s coat healthy.

This product does not contain unhealthy, although common in lower-quality food, potato and tapioca fillers that can cause allergies in some dogs. Instead, Orijen fills their food with lower-glycemic pumpkins and squash.

The added freeze-dried chicken and turkey liver makes this food irresistible to the Beagle’s sensitive noses.Orijen guarantees a minimum of 38 percent crude protein, 18 percent crude fat, 3 percent omega-6 fatty acids and 1 percent omega-3 fatty acids with a maximum 8 percent crude ash, and 5 percent crude fibers.

With 470 kcal per cup, Orijen is the densest of these five recommended Beagle dog foods.This macronutrient profile is well adapted to serve energetic dogs like the Beagle, but if your Beagle is a bit older and less active it is important to cut the quantity of this calorie-rich food.

Taste of the Wild, Canine Formula

Taste of the Wild also uses a grain-free formula that swaps unhealthy cheap grains for sweet potatoes and peas to provide sustainable, easily digestible energy for you Beagle.

The protein base is duck and other various foul. It also contains fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, blueberries and raspberries that deliver antioxidants to keep your Beagle’s heart healthy.

Taste of the Wild guarantees a minimum of 32 percent crude protein, 18 percent crude fat, 2.4 percent Omega-6 fatty acids, and 0.4 percent Omega-3 fatty acids with a maximum 4 percent crude fiber and 10 percent moisture.At 375 kcal per cup, Taste of the Wild is the fourth most dense of these five recommended brands. 

Taste of the Wild’s macronutrient profile is also well adapted for a Beagle’s active lifestyle, and its protein content can serve even the most active Beagles.

Blue Buffalo BLUE Life Protection Formula Small Breed Recipe 

Blue Buffalo’s protein base uses deboned chicken while avoiding any of the unhealthy corn, wheat, or soy ingredients. Instead, it uses wholesome whole grains such as brown rice, barley, and oatmeal.

This small breed kibble size is designed to fit the smaller Beagle jaw and promote tartar removal. Beagles are ferocious eaters and often swallow their food without chewing, so this smaller size sometimes encourages this behavior. Without proper chewing, some of the nutrients are unable to be absorbed into the Beagle’s body.

Blue Buffalo guarantees a minimum of 26 percent crude protein, 15 percent crude fat, 3 percent Omega-3 fatty acids, 0.5 percent Omega-6 fatty acids with a maximum 4 percent crude fiber and 10 percent moisture.With 383 kcals per cup, Blue Buffalo is the second most dense of these five dog food brands.

Blue Buffalo’s macronutrient profile provides slightly less protein than Orijen or Taste of the Wild, but still promotes healthy heart and coat health. This is a good option for a slightly less active Beagle.

Wellness CORE Natural Grain Free Small Breed Dry Dog Food

Wellness CORE uses turkey and chicken for its protein base, while also avoiding all grains, corn, soy, and wheat. It avoids meat byproducts and fillers that have been associated with Beagle allergies.

It includes flaxseed and salmon oil to provide essential fatty acids that promote heart health.In addition to potatoes and sweet potatoes, it adds a variety of fruits and leafy vegetables such as broccoli, parsley, blueberries, and kale to give added antioxidants.

Wellness CORE guarantees a minimum of 36 percent crude protein, 16 percent crude fat, 3 percent Omega-6 fatty acids, 0.5 percent Omega-3 fatty acids with a maximum 5 percent crude fiber, 2 percent calcium, and 10 percent moisture.

At 396 kcals per cup, Wellness CORE is the third densest of these five recommended Beagle foods.Wellness CORE’s macronutrient profile is also well suited for an active Beagle. Its 36 percent protein content ranks second among these five recommended brands.

Royal Canin Breed Health Nutrition—Beagle Adult Dry Dog Food

Unlike the other foods on this list, Royal Canin is specifically marketed toward pure bred Beagles over one year old. The shape of the kibble is designed to encourage chewing, which is something many Beagles struggle to do.

The main ingredient in this food is corn, which is usually not ideal, but it also contains a large quantity of chicken and other whole grains that provide sustained energy.This brand is often used when a Beagle is overweight. The specially designed kibble, combined with its relatively light weight, can help a Beagle reach a healthy weight.

Royal Canin guarantees a minimum of 25 percent protein and 10 percent crude fat with a maximum 5.3 percent crude fiber, and 10 percent moisture.At 283 kcals per cup, Royal Canin is the least dense of these five Beagle recommended dog foods.

Royal Canin’s macronutrient profile is perhaps the least impressive of these five brands, but it is important to note that the kibble shape does ensure chewing. This chewing allows for more of the nutrients to be absorbed, so even though it contains slightly less protein and other essential nutrients, more actually makes it into the Beagle’s body.