Best dog foods for puppies – These days, owning a dog is not only fashionable but also demanding. Unlike the rustic old ways of allowing dogs meet their nutritional requirements on their own through scavenging; a method that often results to a breed of sickly and haggardly –looking dogs, recent dog owners recognize the need for a proper and balanced nutritional diet for dogs and are consciously interested in investing in the best dog food for their pet dogs, especially Puppies.
When choosing the best dog foods, extra attention is paid to easy-to-prepare dog food brands with lesser life-threatening additives and proportional nutritional compositions depending on age-range, breed and size. Typically, dogs are energetic beings, and by their nature of being constantly agile, dog food brands with a high energy content that readily replenishes all that energy expended are often considered, along with other essential components.
This review site takes into cognisance salient factors like nutritional needs, age, pricing, packaging, and individual needs of dogs including eating habits, and so tries to provide a standard list of the 15 best dog foods for puppies currently out there.
The Best Dog Foods for Puppies:
1. WHOLE EARTH FARMS GRAIN WET FOOD
The Whole Earth Farms Grain Wet Food has “puppy recipe” boldly written on the can, a perfect indicator that this recipe is perfect for puppies of all stock, ages and sizes. The “wet” implies that it has high water content and thus a softer consistency, making it perfect for picky eaters and puppies with sensitive stomachs. This premium dog food has chicken as its main flavour and contains turkey, salmon, vegetables and fruits.
The list of ingredients includes essential nutrients like calcium carbonate, iron amino acid complex, vitamin E and B12 supplements, and so on. This recipe also contains essential oils which serve as anti-oxidants and ease both respiratory and digestive functions of your puppies.
In addition, it can be served as a whole balanced meal or as a side-piece with crunchy kibbles. The recipe also an explicit list of ingredients, guaranteed analysis, and feeding guidelines on the can. This brand is easy to serve and meets the required nutritional benchmark for growing puppies. This is one of the best dog foods for puppies but the only downside to this choice of dog food is that it is expensive, at least when compared to most dog food brands.
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2. PURINA ONE SMART BLEND NATURAL PUPPY FOOD
Purina One Smart Blend Natural puppy food is another excellent choice among the best dog foods for puppies. In terms of consistency, this healthy puppy food comes in two variants; dry and wet food. However, the wet food variant is for young adults. The dry variant comes in two base flavours; the chicken and the large-breed chicken base flavours with proteinous morsels of meat.
Both variants come in 8, 16.5, and 31.1 pounds bags. The bag comes with detailed information on the nutritional composition and benefits, and feeding guidelines and so gives all the information you need on subsequent usage.
As the name states, this dog food brand combines chicken with other growth-inducing nutrients like Docosahexaenoic acid, minerals, vitamins A and E, anti-oxidants, and Selenium. Therefore, if you are looking for a dog food brand that takes dietary needs of puppies like fur growth, strong immune system, brain development and clear vision into consideration, then the Purina one smart blend natural puppy food is your oick.
In conclusion, the Purina one smart blend natural is an averagely affordable kibble puppy food, long-lasting and a lot less messy than other food types.
3. VICTOR PURPOSE NUTRA PRO PUPPY
The Victor Purpose Nutra Pro Puppy dry dog food is a grain-formulated dog food variant made from gluten-free grains and animal protein with chicken and blood meal as its main source. At its core, this dog food contains ingredients like selenium yeast, mineral complexes, prebiotics and probiotics. This dog food is perfect for all breeds of dogs and provides sufficient energy to dogs with high-protein requirements.
Still an affordable option, this brand of dog food is ideal for picky eaters and puppies with meat-protein allergies.
4. TASTE OF THE WILD PACIFIC STREAM PUPPY
This kibble dog food brand is a good buy and get its protein base from fish, preferably smoked salmon. In general, this formula consists of smoked salmon, legumes, fruits and vegetables. The taste of the wild pacific stream puppy dog food brand comes in sizeable chunky sizes perfect for puppies and contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that your puppy needs for healthy growth and cognitive development.
It is perfect for dogs of all breeds and sizes and slightly affordable when compared to most kibble brands. This is also a favourable wet food choice because of its appealing smell, all thanks to the base protein, which is smoked salmon.
5. ROYAL CANIN SMALL PUPPY WET DOG FOOD
The Royal Canin Small Puppy Wet dog food comes in different packaging options, but for the sake of this review the 3-oz pouch X 12 only will be considered. This popular dog food brand is formulated specifically for small breed dogs during their early years and comes in an easy-to-open pouch.
This formula consists of chunks and bits in gravy, and comes loaded with nutrients that build and fortify your dog’s immunity, develops a healthy digestive system, and aids fur and teeth growth. In addition, it has a well detailed informative graph containing how to open the pack, daily feeding recommendations, and nutritional benefits boldly written in English, French, and Spanish.
Not minding the fact that this brand of dog food is affordable for a wet dog food, it is as the name implies not for every dog and its usage is age-limited. Also, the portion rationing can be a problem as a heavy eater would probably consume more than one pouch.
6. BLUE BUFFALO WILDERNESS HIGH PROTEIN DRY PUPPY FOOD
The Blue Buffalo Wilderness High Protein Dry Puppy food is one out of 5 puppy formulas from this dog food brand. This chicken and brown rice recipe is the perfect introduction your puppy needs to dog food as it is made from real chicken, grains, fruits and vegetables. It comes in three sizes of 6, 15 and 30 pounds weight capacity.
Slightly affordable, this premium small-bite kibble contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that meet the physical and cognitive growth and development requirements of all puppies no matter the size or breed.
7. WELLNESS COMPLETE HEALTH PUPPY FOOD
The Wellness Complete Health Puppy Food is premium gold. This dog food brand is exceptional for its deboned chicken, oatmeal, barley and salmon meal mix. With key ingredients like chicken, blueberries, flaxseed, and spinach, the wellness complete health puppy food is formulated with your puppy’s whole body early years dietary needs in mind, including energy gain, skin, teeth, and fur formation. In addition, it also contains extracts from yucca schidera which helps to reduce stool-odour, and taurine for the growth and development of a healthy heart.
Albeit not affordable like most brands of dry dog food, this particular small-sized kibble brand is totally worth the extra bucks and is perfect for all breeds and sizes.
8. ORIJEN PUPPY
If you are in for classy and nutritional, then Orijen puppy lives up to that 5-star expectation. Formulated with a brilliant mixture of whole animal ingredients which include chicken, turkey, fish, and eggs, this recipe is one out of the eight amazing dog food variants from Orijen. Orijen puppy food comes available in 340G, 2KG, 6KG and 11.4 KG bag sizes, and is perfect for both small and large breed dogs.
Although this puppy dog food falls under the dry dog food category, it is one of the brands most veterinary doctors would recommend for your puppies maximum growth and development. On price, it is not as affordable as other brands of dry food out there but is totally worth every penny.
9. HORIZON COMPLETE DRY DOG FOOD
The Horizon complete dry dog food is made for dogs of all sizes, ages and breeds. With base ingredients that include barley, flaxseed, chicken/chicken meal and rye, it provides optimal nutrition for your puppy’s growth. This brand is a good choice since it is non-age-specific and very affordable.
However, this brand of dog food may be budget-friendly, but it might not meet all your pup’s growth-based nutritional needs. Also, formulated with mostly whole grains and legumes, it would definitely not be a favourite for picky eaters probably because it is of its less appealing quality.
10. EUKANUBA PUPPY LARGE
Like the name implies, the Eukanuba Puppy Large is a special recipe for large breed puppies for up to 15 months. It comes laden with essential vitamins and minerals, probiotics, natural fiber, and antioxidants to meet your large breed’s whole nutritional needs. This brand of puppy kibble has chicken as its base protein and comes in three sizes-the 5lb, the 16lb, and the 33 lb.
Furthermore, the product pack comes with helpful feeding and serving suggestions. It can also serve as a balanced meal or served alongside other Eukanuba puppy foods. With regards to the price and nutritional value, this brand is a good choice.
11. IAMS PROACTIVE HEALTH SMART PUPPY
While affordable and economical, the Iams Proactive Health Smart Puppy Dry dog food meets particular individual needs of puppies between the ages of 1 to 12 months. Produced with no synthetic additives and preservatives, this kibble food contains real ingredients like real chicken, anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals. It comes in varying flavours based on breed, with variants for small, medium and large breed, and varying packages of 3.3, 6, 7, 12.5, 15, 30, and 30.6 weight packages.
This dog food brand is a wise choice as it is formulated with the growth and development requirements of the puppy in mind.
12. MERRICK GRAIN-FREE WET PUPPY PLATE
The Merrick Grain-Free Wet Puppy Plate brand gets its main constituent protein from chicken or beef, depending on the recipe. For the sake of this review, the Merrick grain-free wet puppy plate chicken recipe only will be considered. This recipe consists of deboned chicken, fruits and vegetables (apples, peas, carrots and sweet peas) all steeped in a tangy gravy.
On a lighter note, this brand of dog food appears palatable enough for even human consumption, with its chunky fresh pieces of fruits and vegetables. For a canned wet dog food, this particular dog food brand is very affordable.
13. SOLID GOLD LOVE AT FIRST BARK CANNED PUPPY FOOD
Solid Gold Love at First Bark canned puppy food comes in two varieties, the variant with beef as its base protein, and the other variant with chicken as its base protein. Both come in the same can with slight distinguishing features. However, only the chicken variant will be considered in this review.
This variant comes in a pack of six cans. This recipe has chunks of chicken, chicken liver, potato and apple as its main ingredients, along with a sticky gravy, all formulated with nutritional natural and easily-digested ingredients and probiotics to help your puppy’s overall growth all through the first year, with strong emphasis on healthy fur growth and cognitive development.
In addition, this brand of canned puppy food is affordable and is perfect for all puppy breeds. This recipe is slightly better than the beef variant and so will be a perfect choice.
14. CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL CANNED PUPPY FOOD
The Chicken Soup for the Soul canned puppy food boast of a unique blend of turkey, chicken, chicken broth/liver, duck, fish oil, oatmeal, carrots, flaxseed, whole grain brown rice, salmon, vitamins and minerals, definitely all the protein and more of everything your puppy needs. This brand comes in a paste form with no addition of soy, corn, wheat, or artificial additives.
This recipe is a modest buy and is perfect for all breeds and sizes. However, if you are considering specific nutritional needs for your puppy, the brand might not be a perfect choice.
15. NUTRO ULTRA DRY PUPPY FOOD
As the name, the Nutro Ultra dry puppy food comes packed with premium natural ingredients including farm-reared chicken, chicken meal/fat potato, split peas and brown rice. This kibble recipe is formulated specifically to meet your puppy’s nutritional and performative needs.
For a dry dog food brand, the Nutro Ultra dry puppy food is an average option (in terms of price and nutritional benefits) and is meant only for small and medium breed puppies.
Conclusion
Canned dog food brands although expensive are favourite options for most dog owners, not only because they come in ready-to-serve forms but also because most of them are packed with essentially needed nutrients, are healthier and are well-liked by almost all dog breeds due to their savoury taste and appetizing appearance.
Most of these canned dog food brand have their nutritional information on the can and reading the information on the can is the surest way to know if that particular brand is perfect for your dog or not.
Also, kibble brands are not all entirely bad. On serving suggestions, you might consider integrating both the dry and wet puppy food into your puppy feeding timetable. It is advised you consult a veterinarian before doing this though. This consultation will ensure your puppy’s feeding guideline is balanced.
