Health

Puppy Nutrition Perfected: Find the Best Puppy Food

The best puppy food starts a young dog’s life off on the right paw and sets them up for a long, healthy, and happy life. But what is the best puppy food? What makes it the best? If you can’t afford the best puppy dog food, is it safe to mix it with another type of food?

Here’s everything you need to know about the best puppy food on the market.

What Is the Best Puppy Food for Overall Wellbeing?

The best puppy food for overall wellbeing is a nutritionally balanced raw diet, and there are studies to back up that claim:

•A new study suggests that puppies fed a raw diet grow up to be less likely to have ear infections than kibble-fed puppies.
•This study and this study show that puppies fed a non-processed meat-based diet (raw dog food) were much less likely to develop digestive problems as adults compared to kibble-fed puppies.
•This study shows that puppies fed at least a 20% raw diet were less likely than puppies fed only kibble to develop skin allergies as adults.

However, it’s important to note that homemade raw diets may not be nutritionally complete and balanced. We Feed Raw offers nutritionally complete recipes that meet AAFCO requirements for dogs of all life stages, including the growth of large-breed puppies. We also use a cold-pressure process to inactivate any potential pathogens, making our food safe even for sensitive puppy tummies.

Nutritional Requirements for Optimal Puppy Growth

Puppies need much more fat and protein in their diet than adult dogs, but they have NO nutritional requirements for carbohydrates. Did you know that kibble averages 30-60% carbs? Not only are carbs unnecessary for puppies to grow properly, but they may also contribute to obesity, so you should strive to feed your puppy a low-carb diet.

We Feed Raw is rich in protein and fat and is approved by AAFCO to meet the nutritional requirements for dogs of all life stages, including the growth of large-breed puppies.

Understanding Raw Diets

What is raw dog food, and what makes it the best puppy dog food?

A raw diet mimics what dogs would eat in the wild (and what feral dogs and wolves eat). A prey model raw diet (like We Feed Raw) contains about 80% muscle meat (with associated fat and connective tissue), 10% bone, and 10% organ meat (at least half of which should be secreting organs). We Feed Raw combines all this (plus added vitamins and minerals) in easy-to-feed frozen patties delivered directly to you (with free shipping).

When you choose We Feed Raw for your puppy, you never have to worry about making sure your puppy is getting all the nutrients they need in all the right ratios, because we’ve taken care of that for you.

We also use a cold-pressure process to neutralize any potentially harmful pathogens, making our food safe for even the youngest puppies.

Pros and Cons of Raw Food for Your Puppy's Diet

While we (and the PhD Animal Nutritionist with 40 years of experience who formulated our recipes) believe that our patties make the best puppy food available, it’s important to note that some vets have concerns about raw feeding, so let’s discuss the pros and cons of raw food for puppies.

Pros of Raw Food for Puppies

Studies have shown that puppies who eat a raw diet grow up to be less likely to suffer from:

Puppies fed a raw diet also tend to have:

•Healthier teeth
•Appropriate growth rates
•Stronger immune systems
•More mealtime excitement
•Softer, healthier skin and coat
•Smaller, firmer, less-frequent stools

Cons of Raw Food for Puppies

Veterinarians tend to have two main concerns when they hear that dogs are on a raw diet: that it’s unbalanced and that it could make the dog or the family sick.

While it’s true that DIY raw diets may have these problems, We Feed Raw has addressed BOTH issues.

All 6 of our recipes are complete and balanced for dogs of all life stages, including the growth of large-breed puppies (dogs that weigh 70 pounds or more as adults), and we use a cold-pressure process to inactivate any possible pathogens. Our food is as safe to feed as (if not even safer than) any kibble you’ll find in the store.

Grain-Free and Specialized Diets for Puppies

Dogs don’t benefit from eating grains, despite the confusion raised by the FDA’s Grain Free Diet Alert in 2019. However, kibble that’s contrived to be grain-free often contains species-inappropriate ingredients such as legumes, lentils, peas, and potatoes, which may be linked to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

Raw dog food is naturally grain-free, so it contains no unnecessary carbs and also no potentially harmful and inappropriate ingredients.

Since raw dog food is naturally limited-ingredient, it’s also perfect for puppies with food allergies or intolerances. Our recipes include meat, organs, and bones from only one or two animals per recipe plus a vitamin and mineral pre-mix, which makes it easy to avoid your puppy’s food allergy triggers.

Hybrid Diet: Combining the Best of Both Worlds

If you can’t afford to feed your puppy a fully raw diet, then adding at least some raw to a premium kibble or lightly cooked brand still provides your puppy with many of the benefits of a raw diet at less of the cost. Adding even 25% raw to your puppy’s meals can significantly improve their health and overall well-being.

The Best Puppy Food: Start Them Right on Raw

If you’re ready to start your puppy’s raw journey, click here to take our quiz and start your pup’s customized meal plan today. If you have any questions, feel free to email hello@wefeedraw.com. We love helping our customers feed their dogs the best!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the best puppy food for my new pet?

The best puppy food is raw dog food, especially one that’s nutritionally complete and balanced as well as pathogen-free, like We Feed Raw. Don’t DIY your puppy’s diet and risk giving them malnutrition or other health problems.

What are the best puppy foods on the market?

The best puppy foods are those that are high in protein and fat and low in carbohydrates. We Feed Raw is an excellent food that helps puppies build a strong immune system and (hopefully) avoid or minimize allergies, ear infections, and digestive issues in adulthood.

What is the best puppy food to promote healthy growth?

The best puppy food to promote healthy growth is We Feed Raw. Our food is nutritionally complete and balanced for dogs of all life stages, including the growth of large-breed puppies, and we check in on your puppy about once a month to ensure they’re growing at the proper pace for their breed.