Best Dog Food For Boxers 2022 – Top 10 Reviewed
What’s the best dog food for boxers? Boxers stay puppies for longer than most other breeds, even if they do reach their maximum growth in about 16 months.
Choosing the right food for boxers ensures these fast-growing pups see regular, healthy growth. Transitioning your boxer puppy to adult food too early can cause bone problems because many adult brands have very high protein levels that adult dogs need but will speed up growth before your boxer puppy is ready.
The right amount of important nutrients like amino acids may be a factor in a weakening of the heart muscles called dilated cardiomyopathy, which boxers have a hereditary predisposition for alongside other breeds like great Danes and Doberman pinchers.
Most importantly, boxers are affectionate and playful. To keep up the high energy level needed to be the great family and working dogs they should be, boxers need the right food. Read on for our top picks for boxer dog food that feature limited starches and fresh, whole protein sources!
Best Dog Food for Boxers 2022 – Top 10 Reviewed – Overview
Here are the top 5 picks (keep scrolling for more details and picks 6-10).
| Image | Product | Features | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
Best Overall  | ORIJEN Dog Regional Red Recipe, Ranch Raised Beef, High-Protein Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
| 10 | Check Price |
Best for Puppies  | Eukanuba Puppy Large Breed Dry Dog Food
| 9.9 | Check Price |
Best Grain-Inclusive  | Wellness CORE Wholesome Grains Dry Dog Food, Original Recipe, 24 Pound Bag
| 9.7 | Check Price |
Made for Purebreeds  | Royal Canin Boxer Adult Dry Dog Food
| 9.6 | Check Price |
Best for Digestive Health  | Taste of the Wild Prey Real Meat High Protein Angus Beef Limited Ingredient Dry Dog Food
| 9.4 | Check Price |
Best Overall
1. Orijen Regional Red Recipe Ranch-Raised Beef
For dog owners concerned about the potential risks of grain-free dog food and canine heart disease.
- Great tasting recipe from beef, wild boar and goat
- Uses only fresh and raw animal ingredients
- Grain-free option for your dog
Orijen Red has tons of high-quality protein and the veggie ingredients that have been linked with poor heart health only make up about 15% of the total ingredients.
It also uses whole-prey ingredients to give your boxer pup the nutrients it needs in the most natural way possible.
- First 5 Ingredients: Deboned beef, deboned wild boar, deboned goat, deboned lamb, lamb liver.
- Grain-Free!
- Best for adults and seniors, but fine for puppies too.
Sample Buyer Review:
“…the makers of Origen have all the right ingredients, truthful marketing, and transparency in place. In this 4-lb bag for dogs, 85% is protein from chicken, turkey, eggs, and 3 kinds of wild-caught fish. The other 15% is grain-free and NO high-glycemic fillers.
The package contains the names of local sources where these ingredients come from, unlike many companies that outsource products and processes to other countries. Further, and this is REALLY important, each bag breaks down the percentage of each protein ingredient so that you can tell how much animal protein your dog is getting.”
Best for Puppies
2. Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food
This kibble from Eukanuba has everything a young boxer needs, including DHA, a kind of omega-3 fatty acid that has been proven to make puppies easier to train – a lifesaver when it comes to high-energy boxer pups!
- Optimum levels of DHA help support your puppies brain development
- Calcium and phosphorus support bone health and muscle growth
- Made for large breed puppies up to 15 months old
The first ingredient is chicken and it contains antioxidants like vitamin E to boost your boxer’s immune system while also meeting their nutritional needs.
- First 5 Ingredients: Chicken, cornmeal, chicken by-product meal (for glucosamine & chondroitin sulfate), ground whole grain sorghum, brewers rice.
- Contains whole grain sorghum and brewers rice
- Best for boxer puppies younger than 24 months who will grow to be around fifty pounds
Sample Buyer Review:
“My dog was usually cold all winter. Not anymore. He had eye problems and gum problems. Not anymore. Then he was sleeping all the time and had a hard time getting up. Not anymore. I wouldn’t feed my dogs anything else after seeing what Eukanuba does despite the high price, so when I got a puppy there was no other choice for me.”
Best Grain-Inclusive
3. Wellness CORE Wholesome Grains
With boosted levels of taurine to promote better heart health and quality ingredients such as flaxseed, blueberries, chicken, and turkey, this Wellness CORE is perfect for dogs without a gluten or wheat allergy.
- Recipe made from 80% protein
- Powered by wholesome grains
- Delicious, savory taste your dog will love
It promotes a shiny coat of fur, lean muscle, and joint health while also adding much-needed digestible carbs from oatmeal and barley.
- First 5 Ingredients: Deboned turkey, chicken meal (for chondroitin sulfate), turkey meal (for glucosamine), oatmeal, barely
- Contains oatmeal and barley
- Best for adult boxers with no food allergies
Why we like this brand:
- No meat by-products, fillers, potatoes, legumes, or artificial preservatives
- Glucosamine, omega fatty acids, antioxidants, probiotics, and taurine for heart health
- Promotes healthy skin and coat with salmon oil and flaxseed
- Non-GMO ingredients
- Healthy, natural carbohydrate sources
Made for Purebreed Boxers
4. Royal Canin Boxer Adult Dog Food
A favorite dog food brand for boxer owners, this dog breed-specific product is tailored to give your pup a nutritious meal that will promote heart health, provide antioxidants, and maintain an ideal muscle mass.
- Specially formulated for purebred boxers
- Contains L-carnitine that helps with weight management
- Taurine helps support a healthy heart
Royal Canin has even designed kibbles to suit the flat faces and jawlines of the boxer breed.
- First five ingredients: Brown rice, brewers rice, chicken fat, chicken by-product meal, oat groats
- Contains rice, oats, and wheat gluten
- Best for boxers over 15 months
Sample Buyer Review:
“This food never gets old for my boxer. He loves it every time! He gets a little over 4 cups of food every day per the bag’s guidelines and his weight is super healthy! Highly recommend!!”
Best for Digestive Health
5. Taste of the Wild Prey Minimal Ingredient Adult Dog Food
Of all the dog food available on the High Prairie Call of the Wild product line, this Wild Prey minimal ingredient is the best grain-free dry dog food for boxers with sensitive stomachs.
- #1 ingredient is tasty real Angus beef
- Lentils is an essential superfood
- Contains sunflower oil that is rich in omega fatty acids
The Wild Prey variety aims to mimic the natural diet of boxers with additional vitamins, minerals, omega fatty acids like DHA for brain health, and omega-6 fatty acids like sunflower oil for growth and development.
- First five ingredients: beef, lentils, tomato pomace, sunflower oil, natural flavor
- Grain-Free!
- Best for boxers with sensitive stomachs or grain allergies
Sample Buyer Review:
“Cleared up negative reactions my dog had to another dog food and gave him so much energy and life! Not sure if my pup has allergies or not but he is responding so positively to this dog food I won’t bother trying any other one!
Oh and he LOVES THE FLAVOR.”
6. The Honest Kitchen Human-Grade Whole-Grain Chicken & Oat
Supplying crucial nutrients, probiotics for digestive health, antioxidants, healthy fats, and human-grade protein.
This whole-grain product from The Honest Kitchen is a great way to provide your boxer with a balanced diet without additives or ingredients like sweet potatoes, peas, and lentils that can cause heart problems in boxers.
It’s also chock-full of important vitamins like calcium, vitamin A, taurine, B6, and naturally healthy ingredients like turmeric and rosemary extract.
- First 5 ingredients: Deboned chicken, oats, barley, chicken liver, carrots
- Includes Oats and barley
- Best for intermittent or supplemental feeding for adult and senior boxers
Sample Buyer Review:
“For a while, I have been feeding my senior dogs the dehydrated Honest Kitchen food and am very happy with it. No more junky canned food! Yesterday I noticed these clusters, ordered them, and received them less than an hour ago.
I added a handful to their regular kibble and they are begging for more. They think the clusters are treats. I am so impressed with the outstanding nutritional value. My dogs are both over 10 years old and even my arthritic dog is more lively on his dehydrated Honest Kitchen diet.
They both have also lost weight. The clusters are pricey but I love my little senior gentlemen and want to keep them healthy and active. To me, it is well worth it.”
7. Rachel Ray Nutrish Just 6 Limited Ingredient Dog Food
Another dog food brand that emphasizes a few high-quality ingredients over tons of processed ones.
Nutrish is great for adult boxers and boxers in later life stages who want to maintain steady body weight and avoid bloat or the health issues commonly associated with starchy ingredients like potatoes, lentils, and peas.
The fat content is derived from complete lamb meal and chicken fat rather than the processed by-products you might find with other brands.
- First 5 ingredients: lamb meal, brown rice, ground rice, dried plain beet pulp, chicken fat.
- Includes rice
- Best for adult and senior boxers who can’t have corn, wheat, dairy, gluten, soy, egg, or beef ingredients
Sample Buyer Review:
“My boxer had liver damage and was having seizures & red blotchy breakouts. The vet couldn’t say whether the condition was due to allergies or something else.
I did some research, took him off all prescription flea medicine because I read that it can cause seizures and liver damage when combined with heartworm preventative, gave him milk thistle & switched to this food because it was reasonably priced for a limited ingredient food.
After a few months, his liver tests came back normal and the vet said not to change a thing I was doing for him, so I’m sticking with this food for as long as they make it. Both my dogs love it too.”
8. Acana Whole Grains Red Meat Recipe
If you’re looking for a protein-rich mix that has whole-prey cartilage, whole grains, and added nutrients, this Acana product is for you.
Active dogs will benefit from the beef, pork, and grass-fed lamb in this flavor, or you can opt for the fish flavor to add EPA from fish meal and fish oil to your boxer’s diet.
- First 5 ingredients: deboned beef, deboned pork, beef meal, oatmeal, whole sorghum
- Includes oatmeal, sorghum, millet, and whole oats
- Best for boxers at all life stages who need additional L-carnitine and other protein-based nutrients from their diet
Sample Buyer Review:
“This is high-quality food for dogs and I’d recommend it for any dog owner. Ever since I started my boxer on this diet, he’s been so happy and full of life. It has seemed to help with his little leg problem, he’s running faster than ever.
This is an amazing, organic brand and my dog will be eating this recipe for the rest of his days. Thank you, Acana for producing a recipe that has improved my dog’s health.”
9. Instinct Be Natural Whole Grain Chicken Flavor
This product may not make an ideal puppy food, but the raw ingredients do have tons of nutrients for adult and senior boxers.
The ingredients are never cooked to preserve their natural health benefits and provide dogs with the strong flavors and aromatics needed to boost their appetite and keep them munching on these kibbles for a long time without getting bored.
- First 5 ingredients: chicken, chicken meal, oatmeal, brown rice, barley
- Includes oatmeal, brown rice, and barley
- Best for adult and senior boxers who need tons of nutrients and no processed ingredients
Sample Buyer Review:
“My veterinarian said early canine heart disease can result from lack of an amino acid called Taurine. There’s a lot of interesting information about this, which has me questioning whether or not I should keep my dogs on a strict grain-free food diet and since my dogs tolerate grains just fine I’m opting in for grains.
It wasn’t easy to find non-grain-free dog food!! So far this one fits us great, my dogs love it and I feel better after doing research.”
10. Addiction Grain-Free Venison
A perfect choice for boxers who have grain allergies or other dietary concerns, this dry dog food uses venison rather than other common protein sources like beef.
Containing probiotics, prebiotics, and added vitamins and minerals, this kibble is rich in plants alongside high-quality protein.
- First 5 ingredients: venison meal, dried potatoes, chicken fat, natural flavors, dried egg
- Grain-Free!
- Best for adult and senior boxers that have grain allergies
Sample Buyer Review:
“Fabulous! My dogs love this stuff. We tried a sample at a charity event and my dogs have been begging for Addiction ever since. We have high-quality, grain-free kibble on a daily basis. I sprinkle some of the Addiction in with the regular kibble every couple of days as a treat. They love it – and they still eat their other kibble.”
Final Thoughts:
Boxers are a fairly large dog breed that grows quickly but may retain their puppy attitude for as many as 24 months. Choose one of these 10 best dog food brands to give your boxer the nutrients it needs to stay healthy and the energy it needs to fuel its winning personality and highly active lifestyle.
