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9 Best Dog Foods for Boston Terriers with Gas – 2024 Reviews & Top Picks

Cassidy Sutton

By Cassidy Sutton

A Boston Terrier dog standing on grass

We love our Boston Terriers more than anything in the world. They’re quirky and amusing, bringing a shimmer of light into our dull day. However, they’re also toxic stink bombs sometimes. You might find that your Boston Terrier can wake you up from slumber, wishing you had a gas mask nearby.

What in the world could cause such bad gas in a dog? Is it just a dog thing?

Believe it or not, dogs aren’t that different from humans when it comes to diet. If your dog has bad gas, the most common problem is its diet. Thankfully, a better diet is also the solution (usually).

In this post, we’re reviewing our favorite dog foods for stinky Boston Terriers. We’re discussing why we think each food is great, and why it might not be a food fit for your dog. Let’s dive in.

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A Quick Look at the Winners in 2024

Rating Image Product Details
Best Overall
Winner
The Farmer’s Dog Fresh Dog Food Subscription The Farmer’s Dog Fresh Dog Food Subscription
  • Fresh, digestible food
  • No fillers or preservatives
  • Beef liver in first five ingredients
  • Budget Buy
    Second place
    Nature’s Recipe Salmon, Sweet Potato Nature’s Recipe Salmon, Sweet Potato
  • No artificial colors or preservatives
  • No corn, wheat, or soy
  • Added pumpkin
  • Third place
    Nulo Freestyle Cod & Lentils Adult Trim Nulo Freestyle Cod & Lentils Adult Trim
  • First three ingredients are meat-based
  • No egg
  • Low-fat
  • The Honest Kitchen Whole Grain The Honest Kitchen Whole Grain
  • 14% fat content
  • EPA and DHA listed
  • Dehydrated formula
  • Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Low-Fat Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Low-Fat
  • Low fat
  • Low-calorie
  • Highly digestible proteins
  • The 9 Best Dog Foods for Boston Terriers with Gas

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

    Farmer's Dog Food Beef

    Main ingredients: Beef, sweet potato, lentils, carrot, beef liver
    Protein content: 11%
    Fat content: 8%
    Calories: 361 kcal per ½ pound

    Our first option is The Farmer’s Dog beef recipe. There are several reasons we think this is the best overall option. First, The Farmer’s Dog delivers fresh dog food straight to your door. Because the food is fresh, it’s easily digestible, reducing the risk of terrible gas. There are no fillers like corn, wheat, and soy, and absolutely no preservatives in any of their recipes.

    Their beef recipe only contains 8% fat, which is good since red meat is usually fatty. We also love that beef liver is in the first five ingredients, making it more nutritionally dense than enriched dog foods. Even so, this recipe does contain some added vitamins and minerals. However, the minerals are chelated, so they’re easily absorbed.

    Of course, no food is perfect. The Farmer’s Dog is pricier than regular store-bought kibble. But if you can, try The Farmer’s Dog and see if it helps with your Boston’s gas.

    Pros
    • Fresh, digestible food
    • No fillers or preservatives
    • Beef liver in first five ingredients
    • Chelated minerals
    Cons
    • Pricer than regular kibble

    2. Nature’s Recipe Salmon, Sweet Potato, & Pumpkin Dog Food Recipe – Budget Buy

    Nature's Recipe Grain Free Dry Dog Food

    Main ingredients: Salmon, chicken meal, sweet potatoes, tapioca starch, canola meal
    Protein content: 25%
    Fat content: 12%
    Calories: 330 kcal/cup

    Our budget friendly option is Nature’s Recipe’s Salmon, Sweet Potato, and Pumpkin Recipe. Most cheaper dog foods have by-products and fillers, but Nature’s Recipe is free of any by-products, corn, wheat, and soy. You also don’t have to worry about artificial coloring or preservatives.

    Aside from being the most affordable option on this list, we love that the recipe contains pumpkin. Pumpkin is well-known for adding bulk to runny dog stools. If your dog struggles with this on top of having gas, this recipe could be a good fit.

    Dog owners say the food smells bad, which has caused their dogs to snub their noses at it. Other owners say their dogs aren’t full enough on this diet and have to feed more, which defeats the purpose of a lower-cost food. But if you’re looking for an affordable option, we recommend trying this recipe.

    Pros
    • No by-product
    • Affordable
    • No artificial colors or preservatives
    • No corn, wheat, or soy
    • Added pumpkin
    Cons
    • Bad smell
    • Doesn’t seem to be filling

    3. Nulo Freestyle Cod & Lentils Adult Trim Dog Food Recipe

    Nulo Freestyle Cod & Lentils Recipe Grain-Free Adult Trim Dry Dog Food

    Main ingredients: Deboned cod, turkey meal, salmon meal, lentils, yellow peas
    Protein content: 30%
    Fat content: 7%
    Calories: 368 kcal/cup

    Another great premium option is Nulo. Nulo specializes in high-protein pet food that’s mostly grain free. Try their cod and lentils recipe if you have a Boston Terrier with bad gas. This recipe is geared toward dogs that need to lose weight but you want to go for a low-fat diet if your dog has bad gas. Nulo’s cod and lentils recipe only has 7% fat, and the first three ingredients are meat-based, ensuring a high-protein content of around 30%.

    We also like that there’s no egg in this recipe. There’s nothing wrong with eggs, but they can lead to some silent killers.

    This brand is expensive, so expect to spend a little more money with this option. This recipe also contains lentils which can cause gas. But every dog is different, so it might not cause gas for your dog.

    Pros
    • First three ingredients are meat-based
    • No egg
    • Low-fat
    • Good for any breed size
    Cons
    • Expensive
    • Contains lentils

    4. The Honest Kitchen Whole Grain Chicken Recipe

    The Honest Kitchen Whole Grain Chicken Recipe

    Main ingredients: Dehydrated Chicken, organic barley, dehydrated potatoes, organic flaxseed, organic oats
    Protein content: 5%
    Fat content: 14%
    Calories: 485 kcal/cup

    For puppies, we recommend The Honest Kitchen’s Whole Grain Chicken recipe. The Honest Kitchen makes food without artificial flavors, preservatives, GMOs, or fillers. So, you can rest easy knowing your puppy is eating safe ingredients.

    This recipe has a fat content of 14%, more than the other options on this list. However, puppies need more fat in their diet, making it an ideal low-fat recipe for a young dog.

    This food is dehydrated, unlike most puppy foods that are cooked. But it’s still easy to serve- just add water. A large box yields 40 pounds of food, and you get high-quality, easily digestible ingredients. In this recipe, you’ll also find EPA and DHA, two fatty acids aiding brain development, immunity, and heart health.

    Unfortunately, puppies with chicken allergies won’t do well with this recipe since dehydrated chicken is the first ingredient. It’s also an expensive option. But you could use it as a meal topper to save some money while adding fresher food to your puppy’s diet.

    Pros
    • 14% fat content
    • EPA and DHA listed
    • Dehydrated formula
    • No fillers
    • No artificial flavors, preservatives, or GMOs
    Cons
    • Not good for chicken allergies
    • Pricey

    5. Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Low-Fat Formula

    Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Adult Gastrointestinal Low Fat Dry Dog Food (1)

    Main ingredients: Brewers rice, chicken by-product meal, wheat, barley, natural flavors
    Protein content: 20%
    Fat content: 5%
    Calories: 248 kcal/cup

    Another great choice for dog food is Royal Canin’s Gastrointestinal Low-Fat Formula. The first thing you might notice about this recipe is the low fat content of 5.5%. That’s the lowest fat content of any recipe on this list. In addition, this recipe contains chicken by-product meal paired with prebiotics to ensure better digestion, making this an ideal option for dogs with chicken allergies.

    Something to note about this recipe is the calorie count. Most dry dog foods range between 325–350 calories per cup. But this recipe has only 248 calories per cup, so you might have to offer your dog more food (unless your vet says otherwise).

    The biggest con about this food is the price. It’s definitely a splurge, but you must get a vet’s prescription to try this food.

    Pros
    • Low fat
    • Low-calorie
    • Highly digestible proteins
    • Contains pre-biotics for better digestion
    Cons
    • Expensive
    • Contains by-product
    • No real meat

    6. Health Extension Lite Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe

    Health Extension Lite Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food

    Main ingredients: Organic deboned chicken, chicken meal, ground brown rice, oatmeal, chicken fat
    Protein content: 24%
    Fat content: 9%
    Calories: 288 kcal/cup

    Number six on our list is Health Extension’s Lite Chicken and Brown Rice recipe. We love the affordability combined with the great ingredients in this recipe. It has a fat content of 9%, which is half of Health Extension’s original recipe. It also contains no artificial colors, preservatives, or GMOs.

    You also won’t find fillers like corn, wheat, and soy. Instead, you’ll find organic deboned chicken as its primary protein source mixed with chicken meal, rice, and oatmeal. To ensure a healthy gut, Health Extension adds species-specific probiotics in this recipe for healthy digestion and overall vitality. We recommend this food to any dog with gas issues, unless your dog has chicken allergies.

    Pros
    • No artificial colors, preservatives, or GMOs
    • Low fat
    • Low-calorie
    • Probiotics for gut health
    Cons
    • Not good for chicken allergies

    7. Diamond Natural’s Small Breed Chicken & Rice Formula

    Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Chicken & Rice Formula Dry Dog Food

    Main ingredients: Chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearl barley, ground white rice, grain sorghum
    Protein content: 27%
    Fat content: 16%
    Calories: 418 kcal/cup

    Number seven on our list is Diamond Natural’s Chicken and Rice recipe. We like this recipe for a few reasons. First, there’s no corn, wheat, or soy listed as filler. The first two ingredients are meat-based, with chicken being the main protein source. Pumpkin is further down the ingredient list to help reduce any gassiness. You’ll also notice probiotics and prebiotics for added gut health and improved digestion.

    Although we like this recipe, there are a few things we don’t like. Obviously, this recipe isn’t good for dogs with chicken allergies. But it’s also not suitable for inactive breeds. Unless you exercise your Boston Terrier regularly, the high-calorie count could cause weight gain in your dog.

    On top of that, the fat content is high, and it contains eggs, two contributors to bad gas. Even so, many owners report improvement in their dogs’ overall digestion.

    Pros
    • Probiotics and prebiotics for gut health
    • Added pumpkin
    • Good for sensitive stomachs
    Cons
    • Not good for allergies
    • High-calorie
    • High fat content
    • Contains egg

    8. Nutro Natural Choice Adult Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food

    NUTRO Natural Choice Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe Adult Dry Dog Food

    Main ingredients: Chicken, brewer’s rice, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, whole grain barley
    Protein content: 22%
    Fat content: 14%
    Calories: 343 kcal/cup

    Nutro Natural Choice Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe is next. This food contains no corn, wheat, soy, or GMOs. It’s also made in the US, a huge bonus for dog owners wanting dog food made within the country.

    The protein, fat, and calorie content in the recipe are average. What stands out the most about this recipe is the natural fiber and mix of vegetables. For the price, there’s a good amount of vegetable sources, including tomato, kale, and spinach. You’ll also find pumpkin, a good source of fiber.

    Unfortunately, a few owners recently reported their dogs snubbing their noses at the kibble, even after years of eating the brand. It’s possible they had a recent formula change, so it’s something to consider.

    Pros
    • Non-GMO ingredients
    • No corn, wheat, or soy
    • Made in the US
    • Good mix of veggies
    • Contains pumpkin
    Cons
    • Change in formula

    9. Freshpet Dog Food Nature’s Fresh Chicken Loaf

    Freshpet Dog Food Nature's Fresh Chicken

    Main ingredients: Chicken, carrots, pea protein, eggs, natural flavors
    Protein content: 17%
    Fat content: 10%
    Calories: 261 kcal/cup

    Freshpet’s Chicken Loaf is our last option. This food is another refrigerated option full of highly digestible fresh ingredients, but it’s significantly cheaper than The Farmer’s Dog. It’s evident upon opening the package that the food is packed with fresh chicken, carrots, and vitamins and minerals. There are no preservatives, GMOs, or fillers. It’s a great way to offer your dog fresher food without spending too much on high-quality dog food.

    This food is grain-free, which can be a good thing or a bad thing. Sometimes grain-free diets cause gas because of the lentils and legumes, but you don’t need to worry about that with this recipe. This recipe does contain eggs, so keep that in mind.

    Because it’s low-calorie, you’ll have to buy this food more often. Unlike The Farmer’s Dog, there’s no delivery option unless you order through Chewy. But using the food as a meal topper will stretch your dollar and prevent you from making too many trips to the pet store.

    Pros
    • Low fat
    • Low calorie
    • No fillers or preservatives
    • Grain-free
    Cons
    • Needs refrigeration
    • Slicing the food can be annoying
    • Contains egg

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    Buyer’s Guide: How to Pick the Best Dog Foods for Boston Terriers with Gas

    What Causes Gas in a Dog?

    The biggest cause of gas in a dog is the diet. This could be a sudden change in diet, a specific ingredient, or eating spoiled food. In most cases, gas comes from a dog’s inability to digest food properly.

    Poorly digested foods cause a build-up of fermentation in the gut, thus causing gas.

    Typical foods that cause gas include:
    • Soy
    • Spicy foods
    • Peas
    • Dairy
    • High-fat diets
    • Beans
    • Artificial ingredients
    • Low-quality ingredients

    Each dog reacts to ingredients differently, but these are foods or food elements you usually want to avoid if your dog is gassy.

    It’s also possible for your dog to swallow air when it eats, causing excessive gas later. This often occurs with short-nosed dogs like Boston Terriers, Pugs, Shih Tzus, and Lhasa Apsos. But any dog can eat too quickly and swallow air in the process.

    Boston Terrier
    Image credit: skeeze, Shutterstock

    What to Look for in Your Dog’s Food

    Now, let’s talk about how to choose your dog’s food. You can apply what we’re about to discuss to almost any diet, but we’re specifically talking about how you can improve your dog’s overall digestion, so keep that in mind as you read.

    High-Quality Protein

    Dogs can live without meat but thrive on a diet rich in animal protein and vegetables. When choosing your dog’s food, try to pick a food with meat or a meat meal in the first two ingredients.

    If you want to improve your dog’s diet further, you can try a food or meal topper containing organ meat. Animal organs contain essential vitamins and minerals, eliminating the need for as many enriched minerals. Organ meat includes the heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, and spleen.

    Probiotics

    The gut plays a crucial role in maintaining the overall health of your body, and probiotics can help improve its function. Probiotics are live microorganisms that help balance the gut microbiome and improve overall immunity.

    There are several probiotics on the market. What you want to look for is dog food with a species-specific probiotic, such as:

    • Lactobacillus plantarum
    • Lactobacillus subtilis
    • Lactobacillus acidophilus
    • Enterococcus faecium
    • Bifidobacterium animalis 

    You can offer more than one probiotic to your dog. Many dog foods with probiotics list most, if not all, of these probiotics in their recipes.

    Amino Acids and Fatty Acids

    Amino acids are the building blocks of life. Without them, we can’t survive. They play crucial roles in building muscle, developing hormones, and helping neurotransmitters. You can find amino acids in several protein sources, including animal and plant sources. But they’re abundant in high-quality animal-based sources like white fish, poultry, and lean beef.

    On the other hand, Fatty acids are found in fats like fish, fish oil, and vegetable oils. They also play important roles in the body, like helping the heart, preventing cancer, developing the brain and vision, preventing and treating arthritis, and so on.

    Many dog foods add amino acids and fatty acids to their formulas. Some don’t have to if one of the primary ingredients is fish. Both options are fine. In any case, it’s good to know where amino and fatty acids come from, so keep an eye out for the ingredient label on your dog’s food.

    Chelated Minerals

    Commercial dog foods usually have to enrich their foods with nutrients to meet nutritional standards. However, adding minerals to your dog’s food isn’t enough. What you want to look for are chelated minerals. Chelated minerals are bound to chelating agents or organic compounds such as amino acids to help the body absorb these minerals. In other words, your dog will have difficulty absorbing the nutrients if the minerals aren’t chelated.

    You can identify chelated minerals by their name on the ingredients label:
    • Zinc proteinate
    • Copper chelate
    • Iron glycinate

    The downside to chelated minerals is that it increases dog food costs, so not every dog owner can choose a food with chelated minerals. Either way, chelated minerals probably aren’t what’s causing your Boston’s terrible gas. But it’s good to keep it in mind when shopping for dog food.

    Low Fat

    Fat is necessary for providing energy and is typically highly digestible. But too much fat can actually slow down your dog’s digestion, allowing food to sit in the colon and ferment. Lower-quality dog foods tend to have more fat than higher-quality dog foods, but this isn’t always the case.

    Ideally, you want dog food that offers between 10%–15% fat on a dry-matter basis. However, if your dog is feeling gassy, it’s best to stay around the 10% mark (and maybe lower if your dog’s gas is terrible.)

    Grain-Free vs. Grain-Inclusive

    Corn, wheat, and soy are controversial ingredients, especially concerning pet food. Many pet owners avoid these ingredients at all costs, and some owners don’t mind it in their pet’s food.

    But why are these ingredients so controversial? Well, corn, wheat, and soy are usually processed GMO crops. These ingredients can provide some nutrition, but they’re often used as primary ingredients in lower-quality dog foods when they should be used as secondary ingredients. High-quality meat and vegetables should be in the first five ingredients.

    Some dogs can be allergic to these ingredients as well.

    Soy is a big contributor to gas and is often paired with corn and wheat. If your dog struggles with gas, it’s best to avoid these ingredients because of the soy.

    hepper-dog-paw-divider 5

    Conclusion

    Let’s do a quick review of our favorite choices.

    Our number one option is The Farmer’s Dog beef recipe. This recipe is low-fat, fresh, highly digestible, and contains organ meat for maximum nutrition. But if you need a cheaper option, we like Nature’s Recipe’s salmon, sweet potato, and pumpkin recipe. It’s affordable, low-fat, and contains pumpkin as a good source of fiber.


    Featured Image Credit: Lenka N, Shutterstock

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