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The Best Puppy Food That Can Make All The Difference

Written by Amber Rival
Last updated: Jul 5, 2024, 02:00 PM
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highly rated puppy foods

You love puppies and have bought one as your pet. You have made a place for him to live. But you don’t know what you should feed your puppy. Many people go through this phase whenever they buy their own new puppy. People who are new in this pet world mostly find it difficult to find puppy food. You want the food to be tasty as well as filled with nutrition so that your puppy becomes a big dog as fast as possible. Puppies have different dietary requirements compared to adult dogs. They need higher levels of protein and certain vitamins and minerals. It is not okay to feed your adult dogs and your puppy the same food. It means you have to remain careful of what you are putting into your puppy’s mouth. For your ease, we have created a list of premier puppy foods for your canine.

View all contents
  • Puppy Food: Buying Guide
    • 1 Important Puppy Food Considerations
    • 2 Important Nutritional Aspects
    • 3 What are different types of puppy food?
    • 4 Puppy Food Price Range
  • People Also Asked
  • Contributors

Our Top Picks for the Best Puppy Food of 2024

  • Purina ONE Puppy Food: Best Overall (shop now)
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  • Hill's Science Diet Puppy Food: Runner Up (shop now)
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  • Iams Puppy Food: Honorable Mention (shop now)
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  • Royal Canin Puppy Food: Also Consider (shop now)
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  • Blue Buffalo Puppy Food: (shop now)
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  • WAG Puppy Food: (shop now)
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  • Wellness Puppy Food: (shop now)
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Purina ONE Puppy Food

Best Overall
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The weight of one bag is 31.1 lb. Chicken is one of the main ingredients in this Purina ONE large breed puppy food recipe. Their high-protein puppy food supports the growing muscles of large breed puppies as well. Natural sources of glucosamine in this Purina ONE puppy food help support the growing joints of the puppy. Purina ONE food is veterinarian recommended.

Pros
  • Supports growing muscles of the puppy
  • Puppies become healthy in 28 days
Cons
  • Some customers said that the food was contaminated and not healthy

Hill’s Science Diet Puppy Food

Runner Up
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This dry puppy food supports the developmental needs of puppies in a small kibble and delicious chicken flavor. This dry food for small-breed puppies provides DHA from fish oil for healthy brain & eye development. It uses a balanced set of minerals to promote strong bones and strong teeth. Moreover, it is made in the USA with global ingredients you can trust.

Pros
  • Helps in making bones and teeth strong
  • Builds lean muscle of puppy
  • Supports the brain and eye development of the puppy
Cons
  • Some customers claimed that their dog started to have runny stools after having this food

Iams Puppy Food

Honorable Mention
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The 1st ingredient of this food is real, farm-raised chicken. It promotes healthy cognition with omega-3 DHA for smarter, more trainable puppies. It is made with 22 key nutrients like those found in mother’s milk. It is recommended by veterinarians. The specially formulated dry puppy food meets the specific wellness and nutritional needs of puppies.

Pros
  • High-quality animal protein is used in this product
  • Aids in promoting the growth of muscles
Cons
  • A customer complained that his puppy got diarrhea for 3 days after eating this food

Royal Canin Puppy Food

Also Consider
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Royal Canin Bulldog Puppy dry dog food is designed to meet the nutritional needs of purebred Bulldogs 8 weeks to 15 months old. It helps to protect your puppy’s developing immune system and natural defenses with an exclusive complex of antioxidants, including vitamin E. It supports digestion and intestinal flora through high-quality proteins and prebiotics–which also helps with gas and stool quality. 

Pros
  • Supports digestion and intestinal flora
  • Helps with gas and stool quality
Cons
  • Some customers claimed that their puppies got skin infections with this food

Blue Buffalo Puppy Food

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Blue Buffalo foods always feature real meat as the first ingredient. It contains high-quality protein from real chicken and helps your dog build and maintain healthy muscles. It supports the cognitive function and retinal health of the puppy. A precise blend of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals supports the immune system health of puppies.

Pros
  • Builds and maintains healthy muscles
  • Supports the immune system
Cons
  • Some dogs became sick after having this food

WAG Puppy Food

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It contains nutritious vegetables like lentils and peas that provide vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. It is made in California, USA, at a family-owned facility with trusted, high-quality sources from around the world. The recipes are formulated with the help of veterinarians and pet nutritionists.

Pros
  • Contains 35% protein to keep the puppy strong
  • The product adheres to stringent food safety
Cons
  • Some customers say that the peas present in this food provide no benefits to dogs

Wellness Puppy Food

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It contains no meat by-products, fillers, or artificial preservatives. It has DHA from salmon oil which supports brain development, antioxidants that support strong immune systems, balanced nutrients which promote optimal energy, and omega fatty acids, which ensure healthy skin and coat. Wellness offers a full range of foods to support your dog’s specific needs.

Pros
  • Supports healthy growth of puppies
  • Ensures healthy skin and coat of the puppy
Cons
  • Some customers said that their puppy got severe digestive issues with this food

Puppy Food: Buying Guide

Buying the best puppy food can be a tedious task. You have to check a lot of reviews to place an order for that specific product. Furthermore, you need to be careful about the ingredients as you don’t want your puppy to become ill after having a certain type of food. One also wants to know how much money he should spend on puppy food. To ease the task for you, we have created a buyer’s guide where all your queries related to the best puppy foods will be cleared, and you will be able to buy the best puppy food after reading this.

Important Puppy Food Considerations

Price

While buying the puppy food, you should check what its price is. And then check its ingredients. This will give you an idea of whether the product is serving as much as it is charging you. The economical puppy foods are more widely used as the product has to be purchased one after the other.

Doesn’t contain artificial preservatives

The food should not contain any artificial preservatives. The artificial ingredients are harmful to your puppy. So, you should make sure that the puppy food doesn’t contain any artificial preservatives. This will ensure the good health of the puppy.

Uses a balanced set of minerals

The food should contain a balanced set of minerals. It should be a mix of fatty acids, minerals, and antioxidants. These ensure the healthy growth of your puppy.

Important Nutritional Aspects

Meets the nutritional needs

The food should be formulated so that it should meet your dog’s nutritional needs. The puppies need protein, fat, calcium, and digestible carbohydrates. Protein requirements for growing puppies are highest. The product should provide all these nutrients to the puppy in an accurate form.

Supports healthy growth

It should support the healthy growth of puppies. Humans, as well as animals, need food for growth. If the diet is not healthy, then they won’t grow in the right manner. The product should be filled with nutrition so that the puppy grows into a big beast in no time.

Safe for sensitive dogs

Many puppies have weak digestion, and after eating a new brand of food, they contract digestive diseases. The puppy food should be easy on the stomach and should aid indigestion. While giving food that helps in digestion, the owner will be satisfied that his dog is eating safe food.

What are different types of puppy food?

Kibble/Dry puppy food

Dry food is the most economical type of commercial dog food. Many owners choose it for their dogs because many people cannot spend a lot of money on their dog food. It also lasts for a long time and does not need to be refrigerated. This is another reason why it is widely used and given to puppies. Dry food can also help to keep your dog’s teeth healthy since chewing crunchy dry food helps to reduce tartar buildup. When choosing a specific dry food, you should read the ingredients carefully and choose a brand that uses wholesome food as its primary ingredient.

Canned puppy food

Most dogs love canned or wet food due to its long shelf life and also because it is easy to find at any supermarket. The only con of this food is that it is not cheap. For some owners, it’s definitely worth the expense, but not every brand of commercially canned food provides the protein that your pup needs. Also, most canned food is about 75 percent water. The higher the water content, the less nutrient content, so the more food your dog must consume to get the nutritional value his body needs. If you decide to feed your dog canned food, it is best to go with a labeled “100% nutritionally complete” as you don’t want your puppy to have food that doesn’t have any nutrition or less nutrition he needs.

Semi-moist puppy food

Commercial dog foods shaped like pork chops, burgers, or other meaty foods are called semi-moist foods. These kinds of foods are the least nutritional of all dog foods. They contain many preservatives, artificial flavors, and colorings. They can be given to your dog as an occasional treat, but they should not be considered a diet in themselves. This is so because semi-moist foods provide less protein and fat to your dog, which can halt his growth.

Puppy Food Price Range

The best puppy foods can vary widely in price range from $15 to $95 or even more.

Expensive

If you will head to high-end brands, they charge more for the nutritional value they put in the food. The expensive puppy food is available at 95$-47$.

Mid-range

Mid-range puppy food is available between 40$-29$.

Cheap

Cheap puppy food can be bought for 27$-15$.

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