2017 RANKING & REVIEWS
TOP RANKING BEST PUPPY FOODS
Finding the Best Puppy Foods
Many people love their pets like members of the family. When you bring a new puppy into your home, it is normal to want to be sure that you are giving them the best start at a healthy life. One of the best ways to do this is to feed them the best puppy food possible.
There are so many different options available, each claiming to be the best, that it can be hard to know for sure that you have chosen the best brand. Many pet owners, no matter how seasoned they are, often ask the same questions about their puppy food:
- Are all puppy foods the same?
- Can I find organic options for my puppy?
- How much protein or fat is best?
- Is there a difference between wet and dry food?
To answer each of these questions and bring you peace of mind, the following rankings and reviews have been compiled to cover some of the best puppy foods available today. Armed with the facts, you will be able to find the best puppy food for you furry friend.
Award Emblem: Top 6 Best Puppy Foods
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AdvisoryHQ’s List of the Top 6 Best Puppy Foods
List is sorted alphabetically (click any of the puppy food brands below to go directly to the detailed review section for that food brand):
- Blue Buffalo®
- Castor & Pollux Natural Petworks
- Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance®
- Holistic Select®
- Taste of the Wild®
- Wellness®
Top 6 Best Puppy Foods | Brief Comparison & Ranking
Best Puppy Food Companies | Ranking | Brand Focus | Listed Price through Amazon.com |
| Blue Buffal0® | mysweetpuppy.net- 4.5 out of 5 stars | Wholesome ingredients | 30 pound bag for $45.99 through |
| Castor & Pollux Natural Petworks | The Dog Digest- 8 of 10Mysweetpuppy.net- 4 out of 5 stars | USDA organic certified | Five bags of 5.25 pounds for $42.99 |
| Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance® | The Dog Digest- 4 of 10mysweetpuppy.net- 4.5 out of 5 stars | Food safety and testing | 28-pound bag for $46.49 |
| Holistic Select® | The Dog Digest- 5 out of 10mysweetpuppy.net- 4.5 out of 5 stars | Works with independent and regional pet stores | 30-pound bag for $56.82 |
| Taste of the Wild® | The Dog Digest- 1 out of 10Mysweetpuppy.net- 4.5 out of 5 stars | Recreates diets of wild animals | 30-pound bag for $56.83 |
| Wellness® | The Dog Digest- 2 out of 10Mysweetpuppy.net- 4.5 out of 5 stars | Holds safety and quality standards above FDA requirements | 30-pound bag for $57.18 |
Table: Top 6 Best Puppy Foods | Above list is sorted alphabetically
Good Puppy Food vs. Adult Dog Food
Puppies have a lot of growing to do. Their bones, organs, skin, and hair will all change pretty drastically during the first year of their lives.
This means that they will need the special dog food for puppies with a different balance of certain nutrients to ensure that everything is developing properly.
Good dog food for puppies will have a much higher fat to protein ratio to give them the extra energy they need to help them grow quickly.
The best puppy food brands will also have quality ingredients with no fillers or excessive preservatives. Good puppy food is packed with nutrients, minerals, and vitamins for healthy development.
Image Source: Pixabay
Dog food for puppies cannot be exchanged for formulas designed for mature dogs. Because adult dogs are finished growing, they need lower ratios of fat to protein to help them stay a healthy weight and maintain their developed muscles.
Food for puppies will not have the right ingredients to keep an adult dog healthy and adult dog food will not help puppies grow as well.
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Different Types of Food for Puppies
Most of the best puppy food brands offer different styles and types of food for puppies with different advantages and disadvantages. Dog food for puppies can be broken down into three basic categories: wet food, dry food, and semi-moist food.
Dry types of puppy food brands are usually the most affordable, easiest to store, and the least likely to spoil. Dry varieties also offer a number of health benefits like:
- Highest protein content
- Easiest to digest
- Encourage dental health
Wet food types of food for puppies tend to be the most expensive. They also can be difficult to store and may require refrigeration. Wet puppy foods are also more difficult to digest, have low levels of protein, and are less healthy for your puppy’s teeth.
Semi-moist puppy food brands have both advantages and drawbacks. It is usually available in premeasured packets that remove any portioning guess work and make storage easy. Semi-moist foods are also very easy for puppies to digest, but they can be very expensive.
Best Dog Food for Puppies of Different Sizes
Different kinds of puppies grow at different rates and need special kinds of top puppy food to help them. To find the best puppy food brand for your pet, look for something designed with their specific growth needs in mind.
Small breed puppies are defined as those that will be less than 20 pounds when they are fully-grown. The best dog food for puppies of this size will have at least a 15% fat content to help with their rapid growth rates and ensure that they have enough calories to develop in a healthy way.
Medium breed puppies will be between 20 and 50 pounds when they are fully grown. They need top puppy food with around 22% protein and 10% fat. Medium breed puppies grow at a more even rate and need good puppy foods with a balance between their fat and protein intakes.
Large breed puppies will grow to be over 50 pounds at maturity. Large puppies will often continue to grow for a very long time and need puppy food brands that will help them steadily develop. The best dog food for puppies like this will have low calcium and phosphorous levels and between 23-25% protein and 12-15% fat.
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AdvisoryHQ’s Selection Methodology
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Detailed Review – Top Ranking Best Puppy Foods
Below, please find the detailed review of each puppy food brand on our list of best puppy foods. We have highlighted some of the factors that allowed these top rated puppy foods to score so highly in our selection ranking.
Blue Buffalo® Puppy Food Brand Review
Blue Buffalo makes a number of top puppy foods to suit the needs of different customers. This puppy food brand is famous for their holistic approach to ingredients and high protein content.
Image Source: Pixabay
Products
One product that receives high puppy food ratings is the Life Protection Formula Chicken and Oatmeal Recipe for Small Breed Puppies. It was awarded 4.5 out of 5 stars by mysweetpuppy.net in their puppy food review. It contains 23% protein, 16% fat, and 4% fiber, which falls squarely into the nutrition recommendations for small breed puppies.
Benefits
This is listed as one of the best puppy food brands because of their dedication to the use of only natural ingredients and no byproducts. Each formula of this top puppy food has a unique balance of protein, fat, carbohydrates, and vitamins from high-quality ingredients that are tailored to pets with different needs.
As one of the best dog foods for puppies, they provide fiber from sources that are easy for puppies to digest, like rice and oatmeal. They also derive protein from wholesome ingredients like:
- Deboned chicken
- Lamb
- Fish
Another bonus that helps this brand perform well in puppy food reviews is their dedication to transparency. Customers can access an exhaustive Ingredient Guide online to help them understand each ingredient used for every product.
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Castor & Pollux Natural Petworks Puppy Food Brand Review
Castor and Pollux is a top rated puppy food producer that works with only organic ingredients. Puppy parents can use this brand with confidence that their food is of the highest quality and up to organic standards.
Products
Their Organix Puppy Recipe Dry Food is particularly well-received in puppy food reviews. It is listed as number 8 on the list of 10 best puppy food brands published by The Dog Digest. It was also given 4 out of 5 stars on the puppy food review published by MySweetPuppy.net.
This formula is made with organic chicken with high levels of omega 3 fatty acids to promote healthy skin. It is one of the best puppy food brands for medium breed puppies with 28% protein, 15% fat, and 3.7% fiber.
Benefits
This is one of the best dog foods for puppies in the U.S. because it is produced domestically in organically certified kitchens. It also meets the organic certification standards of the USDA and Oregon Tilth, and it is verified to contain no GMO products.
This organic certification helps make this a top rated puppy food because every ingredient is produced without the potentially harmful use of:
Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance® Puppy Food Brand Review
Natural Balance makes good dog food for puppies that focuses on food safety. They choose only select ingredients to guarantee the best possible dog food for puppies.
Customers can access online tools through their website to see how their ingredients can promote life long pet health. The company also provides online resources to help pet owners understand each safety test and the health risks that they are designed to prevent.
Products
As a whole, the brand has high puppy food ratings and is listed as number 4 on the dog digest’s puppy food reviews. More specifically, the Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets Lamb Meal & Brown Rice Large Breed Bites Dry Dog Formula scored 4.5 out of 5 stars in the mysweetpuppy.net puppy food reviews. This formula has 21% protein, 12% fat, and 4% fiber, which is ideal for the growth of large puppies.
Benefits
This is one of the best puppy food companies because of their focus on safety. Every batch is tested at their ISO 17025 Accredited Laboratory to ensure it is as safe for your canine friend as possible. Nine separate safety tests are done to ensure that food is free from:
- Aflatoxin
- Cyanuric acid
- Don
- Shiga toxin producing E. coli
- Fumonisin
- Melamine
- Ochratoxin
- Salmonella SPP
- Zearalenone
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Holistic Select® Puppy Food Brand Review
Holistic Select is one of the best puppy food makers because of their use of natural ingredients to support digestive health. This is one of the best dog foods for puppies because it is easy to digest and absorb.
Image Source: Pixabay
This brand only offers their dog food for puppies and other products through regional chains and independent pet stores.
This allows them to partner with retailers to provide staff members with additional knowledge about nutrition and the details of Holistic Select products. This makes the brand slightly more difficult to access than others, but it offers a higher level of customer service.
Products
The Large & Giant Breed Puppy Health Lamb Meal & Oatmeal Recipe is a top rated puppy food that performed highly in the mysweetpuppy.net puppy food review and was awarded 4.5 out of 5 stars. The brand as a whole is listed as number 5 on the dog digest’s puppy food reviews of top brands.
This formula is one of the best dog foods for puppies because it includes glucosamine and L-carnitine to encourage healthy weight and prevent specific large breed issues like hip dysplasia. It also has 23% protein, 12% fat, and 3.5% fiber, to help large puppies grow properly.
Benefits
One of the largest benefits that earns Holistic Select high puppy food ratings is their focus on digestive health. This brand includes ingredients specifically designed to improve digestion, like:
Taste of the Wild® Puppy Food Brand Review
Taste of the Wild produces some of the best dog food for puppies based on grain-free formulas. This is a good puppy food option that involves a mix of meats and probiotics designed to mimic balanced diets that animals would find in the wild.
Products
This brand has high puppy food ratings and is listed as the number 1 choice in the Dog Digest puppy food reviews. High Prairie Puppy Formula with Roasted Bison & Roasted Venison dry food was given 4.5 out of 5 stars by mysweetpuppy.net. It is a great choice for medium breed puppies and has a whopping 28% protein, 17% fat, and 5% fiber.
Benefits
This is a high-quality option for good dog food for puppies that focuses on the link between your pet and their wild ancestors. They include ingredients like bison, roasted venison, and quail that can all be accessed through an online glossary for detailed, individual explanation.
Wellness® Puppy Food Brand Review
Wellness is one of the best puppy food companies for food safety. According to their website, they exceed quality requirements imposed by the FDA and strive to take the same precautions with their pet food that are standard for human food.
Products
Wellness Complete Health Just for Puppy formula is ranked as the 2nd best option for the best dog food for puppies by the Dog Digest puppy food review. This recipe is an excellent choice for small breed puppies that packs in 28% protein, 18% fat, and 4% fiber. It was given a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars by mysweetpuppy.net and is a great choice for grain-free puppy food.
Benefits
This brand offers good dog food for puppies to promote complete health. It includes active probiotics to improve digestion and omega 3 and 6 fatty acids for good cellular health.
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Conclusion — Top 6 Best Puppy Foods
Using the best puppy food possible can help your dog grow and enjoy many healthy years. The best option will fit the individual needs of your puppy and help them grow properly.
To find the best puppy food brands, keep in mind the highlights from our comparison:
- Blue Buffalo® focuses on wholesome ingredients that are easy to digest
- Castor & Pollux Natural Petworks is USDA organic certified
- Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance® has a high focus on food safety
- Holistic Select® is only sold through regional chains and independent pet stores
- Taste of the Wild® is based on the diets of wild animals
- Wellness® strives to exceed FDA standards
Though some foods on this list will work better for your puppy than others, each holds their product to high standards. One option may have a better balance of nutrients, while another is comparable but fits better into your budget.
The best puppy food brand for you and your dog will always be the one that fills your individual needs the most completely.
AdvisoryHQ (AHQ) Disclaimer: Reasonable efforts have been made by AdvisoryHQ to present accurate information, however all info is presented without warranty. Review AdvisoryHQ’s Terms for details. Also review each firm’s site for the most updated data, rates and info. Note: Firms and products, including the one(s) reviewed above, may be AdvisoryHQ's affiliates. Click to view AdvisoryHQ's advertiser disclosures.
