Best Dog Food for Bichon Frises : 15 Healthy Options + Helpful Answers to Feeding FAQs

Though the Bichon Frise is generally a healthy breed and can live 15 years or more the quality of your dog’s diet will determine his long-term health and wellness.

The best way to ensure your Bichon Frise experiences a long, healthy life is to feed them quality food. That means choosing a calorie-dense diet rich in protein and healthy fats with digestible carbohydrates and beneficial supplements.

The best dog food for Bichon Frises can be financially out of reach for some households, but there are still distinguishing features of more affordable food that Bichon owners should think about – and for good reason.

Consider This

At Dog Food FAQ we’ve gone to great lengths to analyze and review each food we recommend. In many cases we’ve even taste tested similar recipes with real dogs to ensure that the foods dogs love rise to the top.

If you’re looking for a more in-depth review of each food we’ve provided that just below. If you’re in search of additional diet and feeding related FAQs click our quick guide to find what you’re looking for!

Best Bichon Frise Dog Foods – A Closer Look

First 5 Ingredients : Turkey, Kale, Lentils, Carrots, Turkey liver

What is the healthiest food for Bichons? From our experience and analysis Ollie’s fresh Turkey w/ Blueberries recipe is the top option. We’ve been feeding our dog, Mack, this food for a couple years and couldn’t have more praise for it. He looks forward to every meal, has incredible energy, and produces firm, healthy stool. The food is slow-cooked and flash frozen to preserve all the natural flavors and nutrients.

We tried the other meat options (he loved them all), but landed on the turkey recipe for it’s texture. You’ll be just as well off with the chicken, beef, or lamb formulas so long as your Bichon doesn’t have specific sensitivities related to them.

The ordering experience is super simple and the customized meal portions based activity level, size, and neutering are also great reasons to give this food a try.

First 5 Ingredients : Venison, Lamb Meal, Garbanzo Beans, Peas, Lentils

What is the best selling food for Bichon Frises? This small breed formula from Taste of the Wild is one of the better selling, quality, dog foods on the market. We weeded out the less desirable foods to arrive at this popular option.

With the first 2 ingredients being named animal meats and the following ones being grain-free protein sources with filling properties this food is worth considering for your Bichon Frise. The price point hits the sweet spot for an affordable quality food that we confidently recommend based on our brand analysis.

Protein, fat, and fiber converted to Dry Matter Basis for easier comparison to dry dog food

First 5 Ingredients : USDA Beef, Sweet Potato, Lentils, Carrot, USDA Beef Liver

What is the best fresh food for Bichon Frises? The Farmer’s Dog Beef recipe rivals Ollie with its combination of human-grade, high protein meats and healthy vegetables with loads of great nutrients. This beef formula provides an alternative by offering USDA quality meat and a healthier fiber content contained in the sweet potatoes.

First 5 Ingredients : Lamb Heart, Lamb, Lamb Liver, Organic Squash, Organic Yams

What is the best raw food for Bichon Frise? When we looked at the various raw options available, Darwin’s Natural Selections stood out because it actually is raw! A lot of kibbles claim to have raw pieces or have a raw coating, but the reality is that when you’re searching for a raw food it needs to be minimally processed and be full of natural proteins and minerals. This food checks those boxes.

First 5 Ingredients : Chicken, Chicken Meal, Chickpeas, Tapioca, Chicken Fat

What is the best dry food for Bichon Frise? There are a lot of dry dog foods on the market, but Instinct Small Breed Chicken stands above the crowd. Its first 5 ingredients have a ton of protein and healthy fat. Not to mention there are freeze-dried raw pieces that add flavor and texture to what might normally be considered a typical bland kibble.

First 5 Ingredients : USDA Beef, Beef Heart, Beef Liver, Beef Bone, Quinoa

What is the best new food for a Bichon Frise? There’s never a shortage of new brands trying to take a bite out of the massive dog food market, but we like Sundays for good reason. Air-dried dog food isn’t usually cheap (take Ziwi Peak below for example), but Sundays has found a way to offer a super premium contender for an affordable price.

First 5 Ingredients : Lamb Tripe, Lamb Lung, Lamb Heart, Lamb, Lamb Liver

What is the most expensive food for a Bichon Frise? Ziwi Peak air-dried dog food is like fresh food and raw food rolled up into a convenient, dry, and tasty option. There’s no need to refrigerate or freeze this meal. Surprisingly, there are a lot people who feed their dog Ziwi, though it’s most likely used more as a topper, mix-in, or healthy treat than a stand-alone meal.

First 5 Ingredients : Beef Meal, Grain Sorghum, Whole Grain Millet, Chicken Fat, Blood Meal

What is the best dog food under $2.00/lb for a Bichon Frise? Believe it or not it’s pretty difficult to find a dog food offering a named meat as its first ingredient in this price range. Quite often you’re getting fillers and by-products which aren’t nearly as good. Not only does Victor also throw healthy fat into the first five ingredients, but it’s made in the USA which is important at this price point.

Warning: Avoid anything under $1.50/lb. Yes your dog can survive on it, but through our research we couldn’t find a single recipe that had enough healthy nutritional elements to constitute a recommendation.

First 5 Ingredients : Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Canola Meal, Peas, Chicken Fat

What is the best dog food under $2.50/lb for a Bichon Frise? The more you’re willing to spend the better the food gets. We like Whole Earth Farms Small Breed option for this price point. The difference from the cheaper option above is that it has healthy fillers as opposed to lower quality grains.

First 5 Ingredients : Salmon Meal, Oatmeal, Potatoes, Whole Oats, De-Boned Salmon

What is the best dog food under $3.00/lb for a Bichon Frise? We like Go! Solutions Salmon recipe because it provides a well-balanced blend of quality ingredients that are formulated specifically to improve your Bichon’s skin and coat including omega fatty acids, prebiotics, probiotics, and anti-oxidant rich fruits.

First 5 Ingredients : Salmon, Salmon Meal, Peas, Potatoes, Canola Oil

What is the best dog food for Bichon Frises with sensitive stomach? Wellness has a great reputation for producing quality food and this recipe is no exception. Wellness Simple grain-free small breed is the way to go for tummy troubles including gas (farting), diarrhea, and throwing up. It is a limited ingredient formula which cuts down on things that may be upsetting your dogs digestive track.

First 5 Ingredients : Lamb, Lamb Meal, Peas, Lentils, Tapioca

What is the best dog food for Bichon Frises with allergies? Canidae is another great brand that deserves to be on most lists. The Pure Petite Grain-Free w/ Lamb recipe is our choice in this case. It cuts out grains which are a common cause of itching and scratching and features an alternative meat source in Lamb that is also less likely to result in skin irritation.

First 5 Ingredients : Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Grain Barley, Whole Grain Brown Rice, Whole Grain Oats

What is the best dog food for overweight Bichon Frises? If you need to put your Bichon on a diet this Nutro weight management recipe should be one of the first places you turn. We recommend looking closely at the fresh and human grade options as well, but for a kibble we like that it’s low fat and contains 3 types of quality protein sources.

Protein, fat, and fiber converted to Dry Matter Basis for easier comparison to dry dog food

First 5 Ingredients : USDA Chicken, Chicken Liver, Chicken Gizzard, Potato, Green Beans

What is the best Bichon puppy food? It’s hard not to recommend a human-grade food for a growing puppy. It’s the least you’ll ever have to pay for a fresh food since your puppy is so small and Maev offers the highest possible nutrition in a fresh/frozen format specifically designed for puppies. It’s the only fresh brand we know that has a dedicated recipe for puppies.

First 5 Ingredients : De-Boned Turkey, Potatoes, Peas, Potato Flour, Pea Flour

What is the best food senior Bichons? We like the small breed senior recipe from Now Fresh because it maintains a great amount of protein, but offers less fat than other adult options. You’re getting 3 named meats in bite-size pieces great for senior dogs who can’t crunch larger pieces because of dental issues or joint problems.

Bichon Frise Diet Requirements

Your Bichon Frise is not a strict carnivore, but most of his nutrition should come from animal sources like meat, poultry, and fish. Protein is the most important nutrient for any dog because it provides the building blocks of healthy protein and supports lean muscle mass. Look for a high-quality animal protein as the first ingredient in your Bichon Frise dog food because animal proteins are complete proteins – this means they contain all 10 essential amino acids your dog needs.

Healthy fat is also an important component of a good Bichon Frise dog food because it provides a concentrated source of energy as well as essential fatty acids for healthy skin and coat. Again, these should come from animal sources to ensure optimal bioavailability. Your dog doesn’t have specific needs for carbohydrates, but they can provide energy, fiber, and essential nutrients. Just make sure they are highly digestible and consider avoiding grains due to the breed’s higher risk for food allergies.

• Puppy Bichon Frise Food – As a puppy, your Bichon Frise requires a minimum of 22% crude protein and 8% crude fat. As a small breed, however, your puppy has a fast metabolism so his needs for energy will be much higher – look for something closer to the 15% to 20%+ range. Most small-breed puppy foods contain extra fat to meet the breed’s high energy needs, so that’s a good place to start.
• Adult Bichon Frise Food – Once your Bichon Frise reaches 12 months of age, you should switch him to a small-breed adult diet. He needs a minimum of 18% protein and 5% fat, though more fat is usually better since you’ll need to sustain his fast metabolism. Most adult Bichon Frise dogs need between 30 and 40 calories per pound of body weight, so you can also choose a regular adult diet if it has adequate fat content and fits in with your dog’s calorie needs.
• Senior Bichon Frise Food – When your Bichon Frise reaches 7 or 8 years of age, he starts to become a senior and his metabolism may begin to slow down. To prevent him from gaining an unhealthy amount of weight and putting extra strain on his joints, reduce the amount you feed him by a little bit or switch him over to a small-breed senior dog food recipe.

The simplest way to ensure that your Bichon Frise dog’s nutritional needs are met in every life stage is to start with a small-breed dog food. These recipes are formulated with an optimal balance of protein and fat to support lean muscle mass while also fueling your dog’s fast metabolism.

Special Dietary Considerations for Bichon Frise

The Bichon Frise has a long lifespan around 15 years which is fairly standard for breeds of his size. Unfortunately, he is prone to a number of hereditary health problems that could limit his lifespan. Most of the health problems to which the breed is prone are musculoskeletal, though these dogs may also be prone to certain eye problems and allergies.

Here is a quick list of the health problems to which the Bichon Frise may be prone:

• Allergies
• Bladder Problems
• Dental Problems
• Epilepsy
• Hemolytic Anemia
• Hip Dysplasia
• Juvenile Cataracts
• Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease
• Patellar Luxation
• Vaccination Sensitivity

Let’s take a closer look at some of these health problems.

Generally speaking, musculoskeletal issues are much more common in large breeds than in smaller dogs, but the Bichon Frise is prone to several hereditary joint problems. Hip dysplasia is characterized by a malformation of the hip joint which causes the head of the femur bone to pop in and out of place. It can lead to progressive joint damage and eventual lameness. Patellar luxation occurs when the kneecap slips out of place, causing pain and progressive damage. Legg-Calve-Perthes Disease affects the femoral head as well, leading to degeneration of the bone due to inadequate blood supply.

Another major problem among Bichon Frise dogs is dental problems. Smaller breeds are more highly prone to dental problems than larger breeds due to their anatomy. Their mouths are smaller which leads to overcrowding which can contribute to dental disease. Feeding your Bichon Frise the best high-quality dry dog food is a good way to reduce the risk because the crunchy kibble will help scrape plaque and tartar off his teeth while wet food may simply get stuck in the teeth.

Allergies are another problem for the Bichon Frise breed. Though this breed has a low-shedding coat which reduces the risk for triggering allergies in people, these dogs have a higher risk than many breeds for developing allergies themselves. One problem is that these dogs are much more sensitive to vaccinations than other breeds, so it is not uncommon for them to have an allergic reaction to a vaccine. More commonly, however, Bichon Frise dogs exhibit allergies to food ingredients like corn, wheat, and soy as well as common proteins like beef and pork. Feeding your Bichon Frise a limited ingredient diet or a grain-free diet may help reduce the risk for triggering these allergies.

Bichon Frise Feeding Chart

Life Stage	Daily Food (Cups)	Kilocalories (Daily)	Protein	Fats
Puppy	.7 – .8	272 – 311	22% – 27%	15% – 18%
Adult	.9 – 1	350 – 389	18% – 22%	15% – 18%
Senior	.7 – .8	272 – 311	18% – 22%	15% – 18%

When it comes to feeding your Bichon Frise, know that you’ll need to make some changes over the course of his life. As a puppy, your Bichon Frise needs a steady influx of calories to sustain his growth with plenty of protein to support muscle development. As such, you may want to feed your puppy three or four meals throughout the day or simply keep his food bowl full.

Once your Bichon Frise reaches his adult size, you can switch to a small-breed adult recipe. These recipes are protein-rich to support healthy muscles with higher fat content for energy. Feed your dog three meals evenly spaced throughout the day, following the feeding recommendation on the chart to determine exactly how much to feed your dog. Remember, that recommendation is for the whole day, so you’ll need to divide it by the desired number of meals.

As your Bichon Frise gets older, you may notice him slowing down. If he becomes less active, it means that he needs fewer calories, so you can either feed him a little less at each meal or switch to a senior dog food recipe. Again, refer to the feeding recommendation on the package according to his age and body weight to see how much to feed him.

Our FAQ and Bichon Frise Feeding Guide

While picking a high-quality dog food for your Bichon Frise is very important, you also need to think about how you’re going to keep it fresh and how you’ll feed your dog. Choosing a dog bowl may seem like a simple decision but there are a variety of factors to consider. First and foremost, you want it to be durable and resistant to scratches – scratches can harbor bacteria that might make your dog sick. Ceramic bowls and stainless-steel are durable and easy to clean.

In terms of keeping your dog’s food fresh, you want to limit exposure to air once the bag is opened. The best thing to do is place the entire bag in an airtight container and store it in a cool, dry location. The inside of a dog food bag is treated to keep the product fresh, so don’t just pour the food into a new container because you’ll lose those benefits.

And now, here are the answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about feeding a Bichon Frise:

How much food should I feed my Bichon?

The amount you feed your Bichon Frise varies depending on several factors. First and foremost, his age and body weight. Growing puppies need to eat more and more often than adults to fuel their growth and development while senior dogs may need to eat less to prevent obesity. Generally speaking, you should feed your dog about 1 cup of food per day, depending on the calorie content. Check the feeding recommendations on the package according to your dog’s age and body weight then divide that number by the desired number of daily meals.

How many times a day should I feed my Bichon Frise?

When your Bichon Frise is a puppy, you should feed him three to four meals per day or simply keep his food bowl full. Once he reaches his adult size, around 6 to 12 months, you can switch to an adult recipe and drop down to three meals a day. When your dog becomes a senior around 7 to 8 years, reevaluate and decide whether you need to reduce the amount you feed him or switch to a senior recipe.

What kind of food do Bichon Frise eat?

All dogs require a healthy and balanced diet made with high-quality ingredients, but the quality of those ingredients is especially important for the Bichon Frise. These dogs are prone to food allergies and sensitivities, which are more likely to be triggered by low-quality ingredients and artificial additives. Look for an all-natural dog food made with whole food ingredients like premium animal proteins, healthy animal fats, and digestible carbohydrates such as vegetables, beans, and legumes. If you can afford to feed your dog a raw, dehydrated, or freeze-dried dog food then you should! If not, choose a high-quality dry food that meets the standards previously discussed.

Are vegetables good for Bichon Frises?

Though your Bichon Frise is primarily a carnivore, his body has the ability to digest some plant foods including fresh vegetables. Vegetables are a grain-free source of carbohydrates for dogs and they are rich in dietary fiber to support healthy digestion. They act as a natural source for key vitamins and minerals in dog food but can also be a healthy snack. Here are some of the best vegetables for dogs:

• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Cucumber
• Green beans
• Peas
• Pumpkin
• Spinach
• Sweet potato
• Zucchini

Before feeding your dog fresh vegetables as a snack, make sure they are properly washed to remove any traces of pesticides. You should also be careful to feed very small amounts at first until you see how well your dog tolerates them. Like any snack, veggies should make up no more than 10% your dog’s diet.

Why is my Bichon so itchy?

Bichons can develop allergies or irritations from a variety of sources and for a variety of reasons. Environmental allergens like pollen, dust, and mold may be to blame. They could also be reacting to parasite (flea, tick, or mite), a skin infection, or dry skin. In other cases their food may be to blame as certain ingredients can cause itching and irritation.

What foods are Bichons allergic to?

Food allergies in Bichon Frises can develop at any age and may be caused by a variety of ingredients, such as beef, dairy, wheat, soy, and chicken. Symptoms of food allergies can include itching, digestive upset, and recurrent ear infections.

Do Bichons need grain-free dog food?

Whether or not your Bichon Frise needs a grain-free diet is determined by his body. Generally speaking, this breed has a higher risk for food allergies and sensitivities which are frequently triggered by grains.

If your dog has recurrent ear infections and skin problems, it is a good indication that he’s probably suffering from a food allergy or sensitivity. Try switching to a grain-free diet to see if his problem resolves.

If, after 10 to 12 weeks, nothing has changed then you may want to talk to your veterinarian.

Are Bichons picky eaters?

Bichon Frises are not generally considered to be picky eaters. In fact, they tend to have a good appetite and enjoy their food. However, as with any dog, there may be individual Bichon Frises that are picky eaters or have specific dietary requirements.

How many times a day should a Bichon Frise eat?

The frequency and amount of food that a Bichon Frise should eat will depend on their age, weight, activity level, and overall health. In general, adult Bichon Frises should eat 2-3 small meals per day, while puppies may require more frequent feeding to support their growth and development.

Bichon Frise Dog Food – Recap

Ranking	Dog Food
The Healthiest	Ollie Fresh Turkey Dish w/ Blueberries
Best Selling	Taste of the Wild Small Breed Appalachian Valley w/ Venison & Garbanzo Beans
Best Fresh	The Farmer’s Dog Human Grade Beef w/ Sweet Potato
Best Raw	Darwin’s Natural Selections Lamb
Best Dry	Instinct Raw Boost Small Breed Real Chicken w/ Freeze-Dried Raw Pieces
Best New Brand	Sundays Food for Dogs Air Dried USDA Beef
Most Expensive	Ziwi Peak Grain-Free Air-Dried Tripe & Lamb
Best Under $2.00/lb	Victor Purpose Performance Beef Dog Food (Made in the USA)
Best Under $2.50/lb	Whole Earth Farms Small Breed Chicken & Turkey
Best Under $3.00/lb	Go! Solutions Salmon w/ Grain Skin + Coat Care
Best for Sensitive Stomach	Wellness Simple Limited Ingredient Diet Grain-Free Small Breed Salmon & Potato
Best for Allergies	CANIDAE PURE Petite Small Breed Grain-Free w/ Salmon
Best for Weight Control	Nutro Ultra Small Breed Weight Management Chicken, Lamb & Salmon
Best for Bichon Frise Puppies	Maev Raw, Fresh-Frozen Chicken Puppy Food
Best for Senior Bichons	Now Fresh Senior Small Breed Turkey, Salmon & Duck

To keep your Bichon Frise happy and healthy, feed him the highest quality dog food you can consistently afford.

It should be rich in animal protein to support lean muscle mass with plenty of healthy fats for energy and skin/coat support.

Look for digestible carbohydrates that won’t trigger allergies or sensitivities and check for beneficial supplements like probiotics for digestion and glucosamine and chondroitin for joint support.