Bully Max Dog Food 2022 Review, Ratings & Recalls

If you have a dog and have spent some time searching around for dog food that has quality ingredients, then there’s a good chance that you’ve come across Bully Max before. 

That’s because it has a full 5 stars on most dog food review sites, boasts very high ratings of customer satisfaction on Amazon, and has a website full of cute pitbull photos. But, does bully max’s dog food really live up to its hype as a dog food intended for high-energy, hard-working dogs? 

To help you decide whether Bully Max is right for your dog or not, we’re breaking down the ins and outs of the brand.

We’ll also cover…

1. Is Bully Max made in the United States?
2. Has Bully Max been recalled?
3. Which flavors and recipes get our top ratings?

 

Is Bully Max Right For You?

This is everything you need to know about Bully Max. In the following sections, we’ll look at its different features so that you can make a more informed pet food choice. 

Bully Max Brand Overview

The name Bully Max itself is enough to stir up an image of what the brand is all about. According to their website, Bully Max is a made-in-the-USA line of dog food and supplements that helps dogs bulk up on muscle, feel great, and have a better athletic performance.

Therefore, their food is best suited for highly athletic and energized breeds such as the American Bully, bulldog, and German Shepard as well as for working dogs including police dogs and rescue dogs. They say that the key to their food being so good for performance and muscle building is the high protein content and supplementary vitamins.  Additionally, the brand claims to:

• Use only safe and natural ingredients
• Include specific ingredients designed to help build muscle mass
• Thoroughly reviewed by veterinarians

The idea of a dog food brand aimed at building mass was constructed by the brand’s founder, Matthew Kinneman.  He says that, as a police dog trainer, he struggled to find a dog food that gave his dogs the kind of nutrition they needed to grow stronger and healthier.

The ones he was using, while intended to boost dog performance, weren’t producing results. That’s when he decided to create a line of high-quality dog food and supplements that didn’t include all the unnecessary fillers and artificial ingredients.

Rather, he intended to make high-calorie dog food based on real food ingredients like meat and vegetables.  And, not only did he make a line of food, but he also created a line of supplements to further help build muscle, improve performance, and promote optimal recovery.

To begin with, we’re going to review the ingredients used in the Bully Max 30/20 High-Performance Dry Dog Food.  According to their website, this food is:

• Good for dogs at all life stages after 4 weeks
• Has 535 calories per cup – more than any other formula in its class
• The only meat-based formula in its class
• Contains no wheat or soy
• Contains only 100% natural ingredients

Let’s see if it lives up to its hype!

Bully Max High-Performance Ingredient Review 

To start, let’s look at the main ingredients in Bully Max’s food as well as the added vitamin supplements.  Ideally, a dog food’s first few ingredients, which are the most abundant, will have real meat, few fillers, and some vegetables and grains.

Main Ingredients in Bully Max High-Performance Super Premium Dog Food

The first 10 ingredients in the Bully Max dog food are: Chicken meal, brown rice, chicken fat (preserved with tocopherols), dried plain beet pulp, ground grain sorghum, pearled barley, brewers dried yeast, whole ground flaxseed, menhaden fish meal, egg product

1. Chicken meal: Meat meal, including chicken meal, is considered to be a high-quality source of protein.  Basically, a meat meal is a powdered version of regular meat that’s had its water removed.  High-quality versions of it can contain up to 300% more protein than regular, non-meal meat.
2. Brown rice: Brown rice is a complex carbohydrate.  Complex carbs are very sustainable energy sources for your dog. While brown rice lacks vitamins and minerals, it’s good for energy and is beneficial to have in your dog’s food.
3. Chicken fat (preserved with tocopherols): Chicken fat is a good source of linoleic acid and omega-6 fatty acids.  Tocopherol is a natural preservative made out of vitamins C and E.  It is generally considered to be safe for your dog to eat, unlike other artificial preservatives.
4. Dried plain beet pulp: Beet pulp tends to cause some controversy because it is a processed ingredient made out of sugar beets and is sometimes considered to be a sneaky filler.  However, it is very high in fiber making it a good digestive aid for your dog.
5. Ground grain sorghum: Sorghum is a gluten-free grain product that is oftentimes compared to corn.  It provides some protein, carbs, and fiber.
6. Pearled barley: Barley is similar to brown rice being a complex carb with benefits for energy.  However, it lacks any substantial nutritional value.
7. Brewers dried yeast: Another somewhat controversial ingredient in dog food is brewers yeast.  Like beet pulp, it is a processed ingredient.  However, it does contain several healthy vitamins and minerals as well as protein.
8. Whole ground flaxseed: Flaxseed is an excellent ingredient in your dog’s diet as it is very high in omega-3 fatty acids. These acids are great for dog brain, bone, and joint health.
9. Menhaden fish meal: Similar to the chicken meal, menhaden fish meal is another high-protein meat concentrate.  Not only does it have a lot of protein, but it also contains essential amino acids.
10. Egg product: Rounding out the first 10 ingredients in Bully Max is an egg product.  While it is a good protein source, it is a little confusing because the label does not specify whether or not it is a wet or dried egg which could change the quality of the ingredient.  But, regardless of whether it is a wet or dry egg, it is a great complete protein source for your dog.

Added Vitamin and Nutritional Supplements in Bully Max

In addition to the main ingredients in their dog food, Bully Max adds several extra vitamins and dog supplements to help your dog build muscle and overall improve their health and wellbeing. These are just a few of the vitamins and minerals in the food:

1. Ascorbic acid: Ascorbic acid is a form of vitamin C. Unlike humans, who should be very aware of whether or not they’re getting enough vitamin C every day, the same is not exactly true for dogs whose livers produce vitamin C on their own.  Technically, ascorbic acid is high in antioxidants which can be beneficial for dogs.  But, in the case of Bully Max, ascorbic acid is for maintaining freshness rather than vitamin supplementation.  
2. Niacin supplement: Niacin is a form of vitamin B that is essential for dogs as it helps regulate the metabolism so that energy levels are at an optimal level.
3. Vitamin E supplement: Vitamin E has several benefits for dogs including boosting their immune system, developing strong bones and muscles, and regulating blood flow.  It is another antioxidant that helps protect the body from free radical damage.
4. Vitamin D3 supplement: Just like humans, vitamin D is a very important vitamin.  It helps to regulate calcium levels to promote strong bones and joints.  However, just because some vitamin D is in your dog’s food does not mean you should give them extra supplements of it.  According to the FDA, ver-supplementation of vitamin D can be toxic for dogs and have many negative side effects.
5. Vitamin A Acetate: Vitamin A has several benefits for dogs including proper nerve and muscle function as well as good-looking coats and skin. If your dog is in the process of building muscle, vitamin A is particularly important.
6. Menhaden fish oil: Menhaden fish oil is a supplement but it’s actually one of the most abundant ingredients in Bully Max dog food after the first ten.  It’s packed with essential fatty acids.
7. D-calcium pantothenate: A form of vitamin B5, d-calcium pantothenate is very important for all dogs and especially very active ones because it helps turn food into energy.  Without this vitamin, many of the other good ingredients in the food that are intended to boost energy would go to waste.

Bully Max Dog Food Nutrient Analysis

Next, consider the nutrient analysis of Bully Max’s dog food.  How we analyze the nutrients in dog food is through a process called Guaranteed Analysis.  Guaranteed Analysis is a system put together and ensured by the AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials).

Essentially, Guaranteed Analysis is like the food label for dog’s food and it tells us what proportion of the dog food is made up of: 

• Crude protein
• Crude fats
• Crude fiber
• Moisture

When you know these numbers and how they proportionally make up a dog’s food, you can assess whether it has enough of each nutrient to suit your dog’s needs. Here’s the Guaranteed Analysis for Bully Max’s dog food:

• 30% crude protein
• 20% crude fats
• 3.8% crude fiber
• 10% moisture

Also, while it’s not a part of the Guaranteed Analysis, carbohydrates make up around 36% of Bully Max’s dry dog food. Thanks to these nutrient numbers from the Guaranteed Analysis, we can come to a few conclusions about Bully Max’s dog food:

1. It has a solid fat-to-protein ratio of 67%
2. It has above-average amounts of proteins, fats, and carbs
3. It contains a significant amount of real meat
4. It meets the AAFCO guidelines for both “Growth and reproduction” and “Adult dog maintenance” 

For dog owners with high activity or muscular dogs, these numbers look great.

Online Reviews for Bully Max: Is It The Best Dog Food?

With all this good stuff on ingredients and nutritional profiles, are dog owners seeing positive results from feeding their dogs Bully Max?  Online ratings would say yes.  Here are the current online customer star ratings for Bully Max 30/20:

• From their website: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• From Amazon: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ½

One customer review on Bully Max’s website talks about how the food helped his dog with weight gain: “I was skeptical at first; however, as I did my research to make sure that it wasn’t going to harm my dog if I gave him Bully Max.  There weren’t any negatives that I could find.  I tried it out and my dog (Diesel) has gone from 80 to 90 lbs. In 3 months and has never looked better.  Thanks, Bully Max!  Very happy customer.” – Andrew. 

If you check out Bully Max’s website, you’ll find an entire page of product reviews. Also, other commonly-used dog food review site give Bully Max’s food a great ranking as well.  After reviewing the ingredients and nutrient profile of the dog food, most gave the brand a 5-star rating because of the “significant amount of named meat meal as its dominant source of animal protein”.

As you can see, online reviewers have responded well to the Bully Max dog food and tote its benefits for their dogs.  All this makes a pretty convincing argument for their dog food product.

Recalls on Bully Max

As of right now, there are no current recalls on any of Bully Max’s food or supplements nor have there been any in the past.  This is a fact that they boast on their website and use it to back up the claim that their food is “100% safe”.  They’ve probably been able to prevent any unsafe ingredients or recalls because of their stringent ingredient safety process.

If you want to help keep your pet safe and prevent ever feeding them a food that has been recalled, consider regularly checking up on the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Recalls and Safety Alerts page. They regularly post any potentially unsafe or recalled dog foods so you can be at peace that your dog is protected from food-related illness.

Overall Analysis of Bully Max High-Performance Dog Food

So, what are the final and overall conclusions we can come to about Bully Max’s 30/20 High-Performance Dog Food?  Well, after reviewing their ingredients, looking at online ratings, and their recall history, it looks like Bully Max is a great dog food choice for your active pet.

Overall, a few specific aspects of the food make it stand out including:

• How high in protein it is
• The quality of the protein sources
• Minimal fillers
• Online and customer ratings
• The fact that it has never had any recalls of major safety concerns

While you should definitely ask your vet what dog food brand is best for your dog and how much of it you should be feeding them, we say that you should at least consider checking out Bully Max.  Especially if your dog needs some help putting on muscle or generating extra energy for work and activity, you should look into it.

Our rating of Bully Max: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Final Thoughts

After considering the ingredients, nutrient analysis, online ratings, and safety concerns for Bully Max’s 30/20 High-Performance Dog Food, it’s safe to say that it’s a good one to go for if you have a very active dog that needs to properly fuel up and recover. 

Also, if you’re trying to give your dog an extra muscle-building boost, try giving one of Bully Max’s supplements a try such as the Gorilla Max muscle builder. It’s so important for all dogs to eat quality, nutritious food.  And, if you’ve got a very active breed of dog, it’s particularly important to ensure that what they’re eating is doing their body well and helping them live the active life that they’re meant to live.

Bonus tip: Bully Max is for active dogs but, how much activity should dogs be getting every day?  We’ve broken down exactly how much activity your dog needs to stay fit!