The Best Dog Food for Active Dogs

Active and playful dogs are lovely to have. These bouncy furry balls of fun will keep owners delighted for years. If you have children, energetic dogs are excellent because the kids can play with the dog, and they can tire each other out!

While these pets are perfect, it can be tough to find the best dog food for active dogs. The food is seemingly too lean or too filled with filler calories that won't help your dog be more youthful.

Fortunately, there is good news: it is possible to find excellent dog food for your active pup. Here's what you need to know about the best dog food for active dogs!

Is There a Best Food for Active Dogs?

Let's first start with this post's question: what is the best food for active dogs?

The answer is that there isn't one singular best dog food for energy. Every dog is different. Larger dogs have different dietary requirements than smaller ones. Similarly, kibbles that work for one dog might not be so popular with another. Perhaps your dog loves the taste of food X, and the other dog loves the taste of food Y!

Is there a singular best food for humans? No. The same goes for your pup.

What there are, however, are guidelines for quality dog foods that any vet would be happy to recommend. Any dog food that possesses specific characteristics is likely going to be one that will work for your active dog!

Much like humans, dogs that exercise a lot burn more calories. For most dogs, obesity is a problem, but hyperenergetic dogs can face being underweight without the right nutritional support.

The best active dog foods whether it's frozen or natural have digestible carbohydrates like whole grains and sweet potatoes. They should also have plenty of vitamins and minerals for a healthy balance. And, the food you buy should be slightly higher in calories than the average dog food.

If it's sounding like finding the best dog food for active dogs requires some research, that's because it does. Having an energetic dog doesn't make feeding easy!

With that said, though, there are some standouts in this category.

Best Dog Food for Energy: The Top 5 List

If you're looking for foods that will provide your pet with lots of energy, there are five you'll probably want to consider.

1. Purina Pro Plan Sport Performance 30/20 Formula: Made from chicken and rice, this food has essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and glucosamine added for peak performance. This mixture is one of the best active dog foods around.
2. Taste of the Wild High Prairie: Containing buffalo meat, this formula also adds vitamins and antioxidants to enhance energy and keep your dog feeling healthy and strong.
3. Dr. Tim's Active Dog Pursuit Formula: Considering this formula has "active dog" within it, it's reasonable to assume that this is a quality active dog food. Made from chicken meal, this food has 86% animal protein and plenty of additives to support energy and digestive health.
4. VICTOR Performance Formula: Although this food sounds like it could be a product for your car, it's one of the best active dog foods available. This formula contains beef, chicken, and pork meals and contains 81% meat protein. It adds glucosamine and chondroitin for joint health and includes many vitamins as well.
5. Eukanuba 30/20 Sport: Like the Purina Pro Plan above, this formula contains a minimum of 30% protein and 20% fat to provide an optimal nutrient ratio for activity. It has plenty of additives, like glucosamine and fibers, to promote joint and digestive health.

These are some of the best dog foods for active dogs on the market. However, please note that this list is by no means exhaustive. You'll need to experiment a bit to see what your dog likes, doesn't like, and what makes them have lots of energy!

Best and Healthy Dog Food: Is There a Healthiest Dog Food?

It's worth noting that food intended for performance is naturally going to be healthier than food without that intent. For example, we know that health food stores sell plenty of quality foods for exercise and sport. McDonald's doesn't advertise its food as getting people ready to run a 10K. Similarly, when you're buying one of the foods above, you can have confidence that it will also be healthy for your pup.

However, with that said, if you want to supplement your dog's diet, consider giving them supplements like salmon oil (always consult with a vet first!) or providing lean proteins to eat. These will help keep your dog as active as possible!

Best Dog Food for Active Dogs: Lean, Nutritious, and Packed with Energy!

Active dogs need a different diet than couch potatoes. If you have a highly energetic dog, consider getting one of the foods on this list. You're looking for something high in protein, high in fat, high in nutritious additives, and low in fillers, carbs, and other things that don't help with activity levels.

Of course, your pup will let you know if the food is working for them. An active dog will eat quite a bit, so monitoring that it is, indeed, eating and its activity levels are high is a good sign that the food is working well for your canine friend!

What is the best puppy food?

There isn't one food that is singularly best for all puppies. Large-breed puppies will have different dietary requirements than small-breed. Similarly, a puppy with allergies will need something completely different. However, puppy food should be higher in calories, formulated for your dog's breed size, easy for your dog to eat, and high in nutrition.

What is the best dog food brand?

There's no brand of dog food that is unequivocally better than all the others. Some brands regularly receive top ratings, like Taste of the Wild, Wellness Complete, or Blue Buffalo. However, one brand isn't necessarily superior to the other - they're all excellent, and as long as your dog is happy and healthy eating the food, that's all that matters!

What should I feed my dog?

A lot of people make feeding dogs a little more complicated than it needs to be. It is OK to feed them kibbles alone. However, if you want to add some variety to your dog's life, you can add cooked meat, fish, vegetables, and rice.