8 Best Dog Foods for American Staffordshire Terriers in 2023 – Reviews & Top Picks

The American Staffordshire Terrier is a medium-sized dog breed that will benefit from wet or dry dog food rich in lean meats. This muscular dog breed needs a well-balanced diet to meet their nutritional requirements while providing them with the necessary vitamins, minerals, and caloric content to fuel their energy and support them through their life stages.

The American Staffordshire Terrier is not particularly picky when it comes to selecting the right foods for this dog breed, however, some foods do best with this dog breed. Read on below for our in-depth reviews of some of our favorites.

A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites in 2023

The 8 Best Dog Foods for American Staffordshire Terriers

1. The Farmer’s Dog Fresh Dog Food Subscription – Best Overall

The best overall dog food for American Staffordshire Terriers is from The Farmer’s Dog. This is a subscription-based dog food service that delivers fresh dog food to your door, which means that it cannot be bought in-store or through large retailers but rather directly from the website.

The chicken recipe is our first choice of recipes for this dog breed, and it contains the highest protein content out of the other recipes from this brand. The first few ingredients include chicken, Brussels sprouts, chicken liver, broccoli, and bok-choy. All the ingredients are combined into a raw dog food with no legumes, and it contains an organic zinc compound that includes other important minerals.

The best value dog food for American Staffordshire Terriers is the Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach dry dog food. This food contains easily digestible ingredients, and it is free from corn, wheat, and soy which makes it ideal for dog breeds that are prone to food sensitivities. It contains salmon as the first ingredient, along with rice and oatmeal to increase the digestibility of the food. This food is a good option for American Staffordshire Terriers that should be on a corn and wheat-free diet, if necessary, because of food sensitivities.

This food contains a blend of omega-3 and -6 fatty acids to nourish a dog’s coat and support their joint health and mobility. The live probiotics and prebiotics help to keep your dog’s digestive system functioning properly.

Blue Buffalo Life Protection adult dry dog food is another great choice for American Staffordshire Terriers. This is a 30-pound bag of dry dog food that contains high-quality ingredients and optimal nutrition to support dogs. It features high-quality protein from the chicken as the main ingredient to support healthy muscle development and carbohydrates to keep your dog active.

It contains essential vitamins and minerals such as calcium and phosphorus to help keep your dogs’ bones and teeth healthy, with glucosamine for joint and mobility health. This food was created as a source of holistic dog food with real meat and whole grains as the main ingredients. The food is enhanced with antioxidant-rich ingredients and does not contain any corn, wheat, soy, chicken, and any by-product meals which makes it better suited for dogs with food sensitivities to these ingredients.

4. Hill’s Science Diet Puppy Food

This is a complete and balanced food for puppies which makes the Hill’s Science Diet Chicken Meal and Barley dry dog food our best option for American Staffordshire puppies. It contains a blend of high-quality fish oils that can be fed to support your dog’s eye, brain, and skeletal development from the natural DHA levels. It contains a mixture of antioxidants along with vitamin E and C to support a growing puppy’s immune system and all the ingredients are formulated without artificial colors, preservatives, and flavors.

Chicken is the main ingredient in this food and the food is manufactured in the United States to meet the strict requirements of puppy food, and even exceeds the industry’s standards for nutrition according to the manufacturing website.

Disclaimer: Grain-free diets are currently under investigation for being potentially linked to canine heart disease. 

The Acana Wild Atlantic is our Vet’s Choice of dry dog food. This food is grain-free and does not contain any added soy, wheat, corn, or tapioca if those are ingredients you want to avoid feeding your dog due to allergies or health reasons. It has a high protein content and contains four fish-based ingredients at the top of the list, such as herring, mackerel, silver hake, and redfish.

This food also includes fresh vegetables and fruits such as whole pumpkin, butternut, apples, pears, and greens that are high in fiber. The kibble is coated with freeze-dried cod to enhance the fish taste of the food and encourage fussy dogs to eat this food. The ingredients are sourced in the USA for a high-protein, natural, and grain-free dog food.

Disclaimer: Grain-free diets are currently under investigation for being potentially linked to canine heart disease. 

This is a high-protein dry dog food that contains bison and venison as the main protein sources to support a dog’s bones and lean muscle development. It is made with a blend of essential vitamins and minerals sourced from real fruits and superfoods, along with omega fatty acids that help nourish a dog’s skin and coat.

This food is grain-free which makes it ideal for dogs with sensitivities to corn and wheat with probiotics, prebiotics, and antioxidants to support your dog’s digestion and immune system. It contains a live source of naturally occurring microorganisms from probiotics and prebiotics.

This wet dog food comes in a tub and contains chicken and egg products as the two main ingredients. It is rich in vitamins and minerals that are necessary to keep your dog healthy and has a high moisture content of around 78%. This is a natural dog food that has no gluten, corn, wheat, or soy , which makes it better for dogs who have issues digesting gluten or grains as advised by a veterinarian.

The Rachael Ray Nutrish Chicken Paw Pie wet dog food has no by-products or fillers, and the ingredients are kept simple and nutritious without the addition of artificial colors, preservatives, or flavors. If your American Staffordshire Terrier has issues with digestibility, allergies to grains and gluten, or is prone to obesity then this is a great wet food to check out. However, it does contain a potentially harmful ingredient called Menadione sodium bisulfite complex which has only been approved for poultry feed and is not a regulated ingredient in dog food.

This is a high-protein dry dog food recipe from Iams that contains real farm-raised chicken as the main ingredient that helps to encourage muscle development and maintenance in dogs with a blend of fibers and prebiotics for digestive health.

This food also contains antioxidants to support a dog’s immune function and the kibble size is small which makes it easier for small to medium-sized adult dog breeds to eat. It contains no artificial flavors and preservatives and although the kibble is in a smaller size, it will work well for the American Staffordshire Terrier.

Buyer’s Guide: Choosing the Best Dog Foods for American Staffordshire Terriers

What Should You Feed an American Staffordshire Terrier?

This dog breed should be fed high-protein dog food that is either wet, dry, or in a raw formula. This medium-sized and muscular dog breed does best on foods that have lean meats as the first and main ingredients and ingredients that will benefit their skin and gut health.

Foods that contain chicken in the ingredients list are ideal for American Staffordshire Terriers who do not have any allergies to poultry or if it is in small amounts so that it does not trigger their allergies. Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids are beneficial for this dog breed for their coat and skin health.

You can choose between raw foods (such as our best overall food, The Farmer’s Dog) which contains a balance of vitamins, minerals, and meat to keep your dog healthy, or, you can opt for the classic dry kibble-based dog foods that have a decent protein percentage and high-quality ingredients. Foods that exclude grains and gluten are better suited for dogs who have allergies and digestive issues from corn, wheat, and soy if it has been advised by your dogs’ veterinarian.

Looking for dog food recipes that do not contain many artificial ingredients such as colors, preservatives, or flavors is also something to look out for if you do not want to expose your American Staffordshire to these ingredients.

Do American Staffordshire Terriers Need a Special Diet?

Feeding your American Staffordshire Terrier a healthy and balanced diet is important for this dog breed—just like any dog. But since they are muscular and athletic dogs, they need a high number of animal-based proteins and carbohydrates to fuel their energy. Some owners of this dog breed will recommend a grain-free diet as American Staffordshire Terriers seem to be more prone to food sensitivities and allergies caused by grains, however, this needs to first be discussed with a veterinarian. All types of dog food will work for this dog breed, but raw and wet dog foods seem to be the top pick along with high-protein dry dog foods.

Conclusion

Of all the foods for American Staffordshire Terriers in this review, we have chosen five as our top picks. The first top pick is The Farmer’s Dog raw dog food because it contains simple ingredients and an easily digestible recipe. Our budget-friendly pick is the Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach dog food because it is affordable and contains a blend of fatty acids for skin and coat nourishment. The Blue Buffalo Life Protection recipe dog food contains high-quality ingredients at an affordable price, bringing it to third on our list.

There are a ton of food options for your Staffordshire Terrier, and hopefully, our reviews have helped you find the perfect choice for your pooch.

Featured Image Credit: BoJack, Shutterstock