Once you bring your beloved puppy home, you have made a dedication to providing the best love and care for them their whole life. As your puppy grows, their needs will change. It is not wise to feed your adult dog food to your fur baby in the early days. Your puppy has specific health requirements, and therefore, unique dietary needs.
Of course, there is no “one food fits all” when it comes to your puppy’s dinner. The puppy food you purchase will depend on your dog’s individual needs. For example, you can buy puppy food made for specific dog breeds.
To help you find the best food for your furry edition to the family, check out our comprehensive buying guide below.
Why use “puppy” food instead of regular dog food?
Compared to an adult dog, an eight-week-old puppy requires twice the amount of calories per day. Your puppy needs more fat, protein, phosphorus, and calcium in their diet if they are going to grow into a healthy animal. These nutrients must be in the correct ratio because too little or too much can create problems. Commercial foods prepare formulations specifically suited to match the requirements of a growing puppy.
Some foods specify that they are for “large breed puppies." Large breed dogs usually have a multitude of health issues. Some are bred in a way that makes them grow too quickly, putting pressure on joints and bones. Foods designed specifically for a large breed puppy adjust the phosphorus, calcium, protein, and calorie ratio to slow the puppy’s growth rate. Your puppy will grow to the same size, but slowed growth lets joints develop and stabilize.
Things to consider when buying puppy food
When looking for the best puppy food, you will save a lot of time if you shop with a basic understanding of the key features and ingredients. Continue reading to find out a bit more about what to look for in the best puppy food, as well as the things you should avoid.
Low-cost, premium, and super-premium
There are three main types of puppy food available.
- Low-cost
- Premium
- Super-premium
Although these are generic terms with no legal definition, some general characteristics apply.
Super-premium products
Super-premium foods use the highest quality ingredients. Your puppy will get everything they need with smaller portions because they tend to have the highest nutrient density. Super-premium puppy food will be easier for your puppy to digest than puppy food in the other two categories. This means that your puppy will defecate less because more of the food is used by the body.
If your puppy has a small appetite and struggles to gain a healthy amount of weight, it may be worth a visit to a veterinary clinic or specialty store to buy super-premium puppy food. This product contains more fat than the other two types of puppy food, making it more delicious to the puppy.
Premium products
Premium name brand products are not as expensive as super-premium puppy foods, but they still contain a decent level of quality ingredients. You can purchase premium name-brand products at many grocery stores. An average puppy should be happy and healthy eating these products.
Specialty brands are usually super-premium or premium quality. They typically cost more than other puppy food because they are often not made in bulk and are only distributed regionally. For this reason, specialty brands may be harder to find.
Low-cost
Low-cost store brand generic foods are sold in discount outlets or grocery stores. Cheap ingredients result in lower digestibility and less tasty food. Feeding your store-brand puppy food to your puppy will increase how much it poops. Low-cost puppy food contains fillers that are not digestible. Most of the fat in this food is indigestible. Also, M=many low-cost puppy brands are made from meats selected from animals that are diseased, dying, dead, or even decaying.
If you can afford to do so, never buy low-cost food for your puppy. It is simply not as healthy or enjoyable for your puppy.
Holistic feed
You can find holistic feed inside specialty pet stores. This food includes human-grade meats, a grain carb mix of high standards, and digestible fats. Most are steroid and hormone-free. Like other super-premium puppy foods, holistic feed requires less bulk to meet daily nutritional requirements because it is calorie-rich.
Proteins
Look for a puppy food that uses meat protein and not animal byproducts or vegetable and grain protein.
Carbohydrates
Your puppy’s food should be 42% carbohydrates and be made from rice, barley, and oats.
Fats and preservatives
Fats and preservatives should make up about 15-20% of your puppy’s food and come from chicken fats or fish oil.
Vitamins
Although you might more vitamins are better for your puppy’s health, vitamins should only make up 1% of puppy food.
Puppy food price range
For good-quality puppy food, you should budget between $38 and $60 for a 4kg bag. If you’re purchasing smaller bags, most products will cost somewhere between $1 and $9.
FAQs
Should puppies eat dry or wet food?
Wet food offers more stimulation for your puppy. Its scent is stronger and more appetizing. However, if you start giving your wet food to your puppy but want to provide it with dry food in the future, it will be challenging to convince them to eat it. One good idea is to mix dry and wet food from the beginning, and you can either transition to completely dry or completely wet in the future.
How many dog treats should I give my puppy in a day?
Treats should make up no more than 10% of your puppy’s diet. How many times a day you wish to give your puppy a treat is up to you, so long as it accounts for 10% or less of their daily calories.
If you want to give your dog some natural treats, you can provide them with a carrot, green peas, watermelon, bananas, cooked sweet potato, or broccoli.