Best Dog Food for Pugs — Nutrition That Matches the Breed
Pugs are food-obsessed, weight-prone, and brachycephalic. Lean, highly digestible freeze-dried raw helps manage weight and reduce the gas and digestive issues common to the breed.
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Answer a few questions about your dog and get a personalized formula recommendation — built around their breed, age, and needs.
What Pugs need most from their food
The Pug’s flat face and food drive create specific, manageable nutritional priorities:
Weight Management
Lean, nutrient-dense food (not calorie-dense filler) helps maintain a healthy weight without overfeeding.
Digestive Health & Gas
Brachycephalic anatomy means Pugs swallow air and are prone to gas. Highly digestible food reduces fermentation and digestive distress.
Skin Fold Health
Pugs are prone to skin fold dermatitis and allergies. Omega-3s and an diet with no wheat, corn or soy support skin health.
Breathing & Body Condition
Excess weight worsens brachycephalic breathing difficulty. Lean body weight is directly protective for the Pug’s airway.
Why freeze-dried raw is right for PugsPugs
Pugs are enthusiastic eaters with a strong tendency toward weight gain — and for a brachycephalic breed, excess weight is not just a health risk, it directly worsens breathing difficulty. Maintaining a lean body weight is one of the most protective things a Pug owner can do, and it starts with nutrient-dense, low-filler food fed in correct portions.
The breed’s flat-faced anatomy also means Pugs swallow more air and are prone to gas and digestive upset. Highly digestible freeze-dried raw — with proteins in their natural structure and no fermentable filler starches — reduces gas and eases digestion. The clean profile with no wheat, corn or soy also supports the skin health a fold-prone breed needs.
Formula recommendation for Pugs
Chicken Formula
Our gentlest, leanest formula — easy to portion for weight management and highly digestible to reduce the gas Pugs are prone to. Single-protein and wheat-, corn- and soy-free for skin support.
Shop Chicken Formula →Beef Formula
For healthy-weight, active Pugs needing more protein density. Feed in measured portions to maintain lean condition.
Shop Beef Formula →Make it work for your budget
What a day costs for a 16 lb Pug
with Halo Club (6 tbsp)
with Halo Club (1½ cups)
as a complete meal
- Start as a topper. Swap a quarter of the bowl for Loyal Saints and keep the rest the same — real freeze-dried raw in every meal for a quarter of the cost. One 14 oz bag then lasts about 20 days.
- Join the Halo Club. 20% off every order and free shipping on every member order.
- Buy the 14 oz bag. Same food as the 5 oz, and it costs less per day ($8.81 vs $13.62 for a complete meal).
- First order: enter code KING40 at checkout for 40% off (first orders only).
Beef or Turkey + Salmon, at the live 14 oz price. Amounts follow the bag’s feeding guide and our feeding calculator; adjust for activity and body condition. See every weight and formula →
The standard is King.
Loyal Saints was built because of one dog. King’s digestive sensitivities pushed Kristina Voltin to question the ingredients, processing and nutrition behind every bowl. She formulated a whole-food, freeze-dried raw diet from human-grade quality ingredients — food she felt confident feeding King every day. Every formula is held to that standard: would I feed this to King?
For Pugs owners navigating the same questions Kristina faced — about ingredients, about what’s really in the bag, about whether the food is actually good — Loyal Saints is the answer she built for them.
Read King’s story →What’s not in it — matters for Pugs.
For a brachycephalic breed, lean weight protects breathing. Leaving out fermentable filler starches can mean less gas, and omega-3s support the skin health Pugs need.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I help my Pug lose weight?
Feed a nutrient-dense, low-filler food in measured portions and limit high-calorie treats. Loyal Saints delivers complete nutrition without empty starch calories, making portion control effective. A healthy-weight Pug (14–18 lbs) needs about 1½–1⅔ cups of freeze-dried raw a day as a complete meal (Beef or Turkey + Salmon; 1½–1¾ cups of Chicken) — reduce slightly for weight loss and monitor body condition closely.
Why is my Pug so gassy?
Pugs swallow air due to their flat-faced anatomy, and kibble’s fermentable filler starches make it worse. Switching to highly digestible freeze-dried raw — with no filler starches — typically reduces gas significantly within 2–4 weeks as digestion improves.
Does weight affect my Pug’s breathing?
Yes, directly. Excess weight worsens the airway restriction inherent to brachycephalic breeds. Keeping a Pug lean is one of the most impactful things you can do for their breathing and overall quality of life — and it begins with proper nutrition and portion control.
How much should I feed my Pug?
A healthy-weight adult Pug (14–18 lbs) needs about 1½–1⅔ cups of freeze-dried raw a day as a complete meal (Beef or Turkey + Salmon; 1½–1¾ cups of Chicken), split into two meals. Because the food is nutrient-dense, portions are modest — monitor body condition and keep your Pug lean.
Lighter, easier-breathing, less gassy.Pugs
Lean, highly digestible, complete. Built for the Pug. Halo Club members save 20% with free shipping on every order (contiguous U.S.).
Real dogs. Real bowls.
Her Favorite Part of the Day Isn’t the Walk: Frenchie
Meat and organs first, freeze-dried raw and ready the second you open the bag. Start as a topper on your dog’s current food for about $1.74 a day with a 14 oz bag. New here? Take 40% off your first order with code KING40.
Quick answers
What is Loyal Saints dog food?
Loyal Saints is a woman-owned premium freeze-dried raw dog food: vet-formulated, meat and organs first, AAFCO complete and balanced, made with human-grade quality ingredients in an FDA-registered facility in the Midwest.
Where can I buy Loyal Saints?
At loyalsaintspets.com (Halo Club: 20% off and free shipping on every order (contiguous U.S.); KING40 takes 40% off a first order when typed at checkout), and on Amazon, Chewy and Target.
How much Loyal Saints should I feed?
Follow the amounts printed on the bag: for Beef or Turkey + Salmon, about ¾ cup a day for a 6 lb dog, 1¼ cups for 12 lb and 2 cups for 25 lb. Use about 25% of that as a topper. Ease in over 7 to 10 days.
