10 Best Puppy Foods to Help Your Puppy Thrive

Choosing the best puppy food is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your growing dog. The puppy stage plays a huge role in your dog's overall health for the rest of their life, so starting off on the right paw with the best puppy food is a top priority for many dog owners.

Nutrition during the puppy stage can influence your dog’s health for life, affecting everything from bone growth and brain development to immunity and digestion.

Whether your puppy is new to your home or you are just looking to offer better nutrition to your growing pooch, food should be at the top of your new puppy checklist!

Looking for the best puppy food? We’ve got picks for every size, breed, and life stage, starting with our favourite, Acana Puppy Food. Keep reading to see which formula is right for your pup.

What is the Best Food for Puppies?

We know that every dog is different, which means that there isn't one perfect puppy food that is going to be best for all growing dogs. You need to consider breed, size, health, and lifestyle when determining what kind of puppy food is going to offer the best results and set your puppy up for a long, healthy life.

There are lots of good puppy food brands to choose from, and it can seem a little intimidating to try to find the one that works for your unique puppy. To help get you started, we put together a list of our top 10 puppy foods, as well as some great tips for understanding puppy nutrition.

Our list below includes the best grain-free puppy foods, the best Canadian puppy food, the best large breed puppy food and many more options to help you make a confident and well-informed choice about your pup's dietary needs.

To learn more about the dietary needs of growing puppies, check out What Should I Feed My Puppy.

1. Best Puppy Food Overall

If you aren't sure where to start, you are not alone. There are a ton of puppy food brands to choose from, and it can be challenging to find the right food for puppies. Different foods offer different benefits, and to help you narrow down your options, we chose one brand that we think is the best quality puppy food Canada.

Acana Puppy Food

Acana offers one of the best puppy foods in Canada. Acana Puppy Food is crafted with biologically appropriate and regionally sourced ingredients so that you can feed your puppy the natural ancestral diet that your puppy deserves.

Using fresh, never-frozen ingredients, like free-run chicken, whole grade-A eggs and wild-caught flounder, your puppy will get nutrition from wholesome, real food ingredients that taste great.

Key Benefits:

• • 70%+ animal ingredients including chicken, turkey, and fish
  • Free-run poultry and wild-caught fish
  • Infused with freeze-dried liver for taste appeal
  • DHA and EPA for brain and vision development
  • Grain-free and made in Canada

Acana Puppy is an excellent all-around choice for pet parents who want trusted ingredients and nutrition tailored to growing pups.

2. Best Grain Free Puppy Food

If you are trying to cut back or avoid grains in your puppy's diet, then you'll need to look for grain-free puppy food. These diets are perfect for managing sensitive digestion and dog food allergies. Take a look at our top pick for the best grain free puppy food.

Go! Solutions Carnivore Puppy 

Feed your puppy like a carnivore with go! Solutions Carnivore Puppy Food. This protein-rich, grain-free puppy formula helps to support lean muscle, strong bones, and optimal skin and coat health using premium ingredients.

With over 87% protein from high-quality animal ingredients, this meaty puppy food is not just nutritious. It's delicious! Essential fatty acids from fish and duck offer key nutrients that puppies need during their developmental stage.

Key benefits:

• • 87% protein from animal sources
  • Grain-free and low-glycemic
  • Added DHA and omega oils for brain and skin health
  • Probiotics for digestive support
  • Made in Canada with trusted sourcing

Go! Solutions Carnivore is a nutrient-dense choice for growing pups that need a high-protein, grain-free diet that fuels healthy development.

3. Best Grain-Friendly Food for Puppies

With the rise of grain-free pet food, it became a common misconception that grains are bad, but they aren't. There are plenty of healthy, whole grains that provide valuable nutrients for puppies. It wasn't easy, but we picked our favourite grain-inclusive puppy food.

Oven-Baked Tradition Puppy Food

Puppies need plenty of easily digestible proteins and nutrients from real, whole-food ingredients. Oven-Baked Tradition Puppy Food is a multi-beneficial puppy formula that includes wholesome ingredients like fresh chicken, barley, fish, and more.

Nutram Sound uses a unique combination of ingredients to support healthy skin and coat, good digestion, and a strong immune system. Nutram Puppy is packed with healthy omega fatty acids, EPA and DHA, to help support cognitive development during your puppy's growth stage.

Key benefits:

• • Baked slowly at low temperatures to preserve nutrients
  • Whole grains like brown rice and barley
  • Fresh chicken is the first ingredient
  • Glucosamine and chondroitin for joints
  • Prebiotics and pumpkin for digestion

Oven-Baked Tradition offers a hearty, balanced diet that suits pups who thrive on whole grains and gentle cooking methods.

4. Best Canadian Puppy Food

As Canadians, we might be a little biased, but we are partial to Canadian brands, which is why you'll find the best Canadian dog foods at Homes Alive Pets. It wasn't easy choosing the best Canadian puppy food because there are so many awesome choices, but this brand just checks all the right boxes for us.

Orijen Puppy Food 

There is a reason that Orijen is rated as one of the best puppy foods in Canada. Orijen knows that your puppy thrives on meat, which is why Orijen Puppy Food is crafted to be biologically appropriate and high in protein to help your pup build healthy muscle, support their hips and joints, and maintain a lustrous coat.

Feed your giant puppy like their wild ancestors with locally sourced fresh and raw ingredients from trusted Canadian farmers, ranchers, and fishermen. With biologically appropriate ingredients like chicken, turkey, fish, and whole eggs, you can ensure your puppy gets the right nutrition from the best puppy food Canada.

Key Benefits:

• • 85% animal ingredients including chicken, turkey, and fish
  • Whole prey ratios for natural nutrition
  • Grain-free and high in protein
  • DHA and EPA for brain and eye development
  • Made in Canada with traceable sourcing

Orijen Puppy Food is ideal for pet parents who want a premium, meat-rich formula made with Canadian care and quality.

5. Best Puppy Food for Small Breeds

When you are shopping for the best small breed puppy food, there are a couple of things to consider. Small kibble is a common trait in small-breed puppy foods, but small-breed puppies have some nutritional differences, too. Little pups need more calorie-dense diets that support common small breed problems like weight issues.

Now Fresh Small Breed Puppy Food 

Your small puppy needs a diet that looks out for his tiny but unique needs, and that's why we've chosen Now Fresh Small Breed Puppy Food as our top pick. This multi-protein formula features turkey, duck and salmon to offer superior flavour and nutrition.

Wholesome berries and nutrient-dense veggies provide real food sources of essential nutrients that tiny puppies need to grow. Prebiotics, probiotics, and L-carnitine support healthy digestion and metabolism to ensure appropriate weight and muscle development.

Key benefits:

• • Small kibble size for easy chewing
  • High in protein and calories
  • L-carnitine to support fat metabolism
  • Omegas for skin and coat health
  • No by-products or artificial preservatives

Now Fresh gives little puppies big-time nutrition with real food ingredients and a flavour they’ll love.

6. Best Large Breed Puppy Food

What's the best puppy food for large-breed dogs? Many puppy foods are marketed as one-size-fits-all, but big puppies have unique dietary needs because of their size and their longer growing period.

The best large breed puppy foods are rich in animal protein and essential fatty acids, but have a slightly different balance of calcium and phosphorus to help support gradual, healthy development.

Farmina N & D Ancestral Grain Puppy Food

Bridging the gap between nature and science, Farmina Natural & Delicious Ancestral Grain Maxi Puppy Food uses wholesome ingredients like fresh lamb and herring, whole grain, and nutrient-dense vegetables and fruits. 

Farmina puppy food is a low glycemic, high protein recipe that helps large breed puppies build muscle gradually to support their larger frame and protect their hips and joints as they grow. With fibre-rich ingredients like pumpkin, spelt, oats, and apples, this formula is not only digestion-friendly but highly palatable for picky pups, earning it the spot of the best large breed puppy food.

• • Designed specifically for large breed puppies
  • Fresh lamb and herring support lean muscle and brain development
  • Spelt, oats, and pumpkin provide digestible, low-glycemic energy
  • Fortified with joint-friendly nutrients like glucosamine and chondroitin
  • Highly palatable — even for picky eaters

Farmina’s gentle grain-inclusive formula gives large puppies everything they need to grow strong, steady, and supported from their paws to their hips.

7. Best Sustainable Puppy Food

Wanting the best for your puppy and wanting the best for our planet don't have to be mutually exclusive. As we shift our focus to more sustainable practices, we are finding more and more ways to responsibly source and craft pet food. Here is our best sustainable puppy food.

Open Farm Ancient Grain Puppy Food

Open Farm Ancient Grain Puppy Food offers maximum nutrition in ethically sourced and responsibly made formulas that you can feel good about. Using certified humane chicken, ocean-caught whitefish, and responsibility-sourced whole grains and fresh fruit and vegetables, this puppy food offers maximum nutrition to your growing pup.

Growing puppies need a diet rich in animal protein, and Open Farm delivers. 90% of the protein in this kibble comes from humanely raised animal ingredients to help develop healthy muscle for your growing pooch.

Key benefits:

• • 90% protein from animal ingredients
  • Ethically sourced meat and sustainable fish
  • Ancient grains like quinoa and brown rice
  • Salmon oil and coconut oil for skin and brain health
  • 100% traceable ingredients

Open Farm makes it easy to feed your puppy responsibly with nutrient-rich recipes and transparency you can trust.

8. Best Wet Puppy Food

We talk a lot about kibble, but we can't forget about the many nutritious, moisture-rich wet puppy food choices. Canned puppy food is loaded with moisture that helps to improve digestion and nutrient absorption. Plus, picky puppies can't resist the taste of our best wet puppy food! 

Nutrience SubZero Canned Puppy Food 

Nutrience SubZero High Protein Canned Puppy Food is a tasty puppy pate loaded with meaty and easily digestible proteins, like chicken, turkey, fish and whole eggs. Fresh harvest vegetables like pumpkin, squash, and carrots add nutritious fibre to support your puppy's developing digestion. 

This canned puppy food offers natural food sources of key nutrients from ingredients like fish oils, chicory root, and peppermint leaf to support total puppy health. This complete and balanced puppy food is great as a sole diet or can be combined with dry puppy food, like Nutrience Subzero Puppy Food.

Key benefits:

• • Soft texture and rich flavour entice picky puppies
  • High in moisture for improved digestion and hydration
  • Made with real meats and fresh harvest vegetables
  • Omega-rich oils support coat and brain health
  • Great as a full diet or mixed with dry food

Nutrience SubZero wet food is the perfect mealtime boost or standalone option for growing puppies with big appetites and little teeth.

9. Best Freeze Dried Puppy Food

Raw puppy food is one of the healthiest and most natural ways to feed your puppy, but it doesn't offer the same conveniences as kibble. Check out the best freeze dried puppy food to offer your pooch the nutrition of raw in an easy-to-feed and store format.

This style of diet is high in protein, low in carbs, and loaded with meaty flavour that even the pickiest pups will love. 

Primal Freeze-Dried Raw Pronto Puppy Recipe

Your puppy deserves the best, and that means feeding them a diet specially crafted to meet the unique dietary needs of a growing puppy. Primal Freeze Dried Pronto Puppy Food uses 84% real meat, organs, and bones to provide a meat-rich and nutrient-dense diet that supports growth and development in puppies up to a year old. 

Certified organic produce supplies your puppy with natural and highly digestible sources of key nutrients for healthy growth and strong bones. The simple scoop and serve format makes feeding as easy as feeding kibble.

Key benefits:

• • 85%+ meat, bone, and organs for raw nutrition
  • Freeze-dried for convenience with no synthetic preservatives
  • Complete and balanced for growing puppies
  • Added probiotics, fish oil, and vitamins for immune support
  • Scoop-and-serve format rehydrates in minutes

Primal Pronto Puppy Food makes it easy to feed a raw, quality, whole food diet without sacrificing convenience or safety.

10. Best Raw Puppy Food

The more natural your puppy's food is, the more nutrition they can get from it, and you can't get more natural than raw. Raw dog food lets you feed your pooch the way their wild ancestors ate; In the way their bodies were designed to eat. To help support the unique needs of puppies, try starting with a specialized raw puppy food to ensure they get the nutrient balance they need to grow and thrive.

Iron Will Raw Pet Food Puppylicious

This Canadian-made raw pet food company specializes in crafting species-appropriate raw meals that nourish your pet naturally, from the inside out. Iron Will takes pride in their premium and regionally sourced ingredients to provide complete and balanced raw diets, like Iron Will Puppylicious.

To take traditional raw food to another level, Puppylicious is fortified with fish oil, kelp, L-carnitine, and a mix of key vitamins and minerals to ensure your puppy is getting the nutrients they need to grow strong and healthy.

Key benefits:

• • Balanced raw formula tailored to puppy growth
  • Fortified with kelp, fish oil, and L-carnitine
  • No fillers, preservatives, or synthetic binders
  • Easy-to-serve 1 lb pouches
  • Made in Canada with regionally sourced ingredients

Iron Will Puppylicious gives your puppy all the benefits of a raw diet, with added nutrients for brain, bone, and immune health during their most important life stage.

Puppy Food Red Flags

Choosing the right puppy food means weeding through a lot of fancy marketing and advertisements to narrow your options to only the diets that are wholesome, natural, and appropriate for your unique puppy. A great way to approach this is to look for some of the top red flags in puppy food and avoid them.

Here are a few things to keep an eye out for that could indicate that your puppy's food may not be appropriate for their life stage:

• • Adult Dog Food - Foods that are labelled as adult dog food are not formulated to meet the needs of growing puppies. This includes weight management and senior dog foods. These may not offer the calories or nutrient density to support growth. 
  • Vegetarian Puppy Food - Though some dogs do well on plant-based dog foods, it's not appropriate for puppies. Some nutrients that puppies need, like DHA and Taurine, are difficult to find in the right quantities from plant ingredients. Fresh, named animal proteins are a must for complete and balanced puppy food.
  • Limited Ingredient Diets - These solution-based diets can help adult dogs identify sensitivities, but often aren't the ideal option for growing pups. Puppies need a variety of proteins and nutrients from real food ingredients to thrive, not synthetic additives used to boost an incomplete diet.
  • Low Protein - Puppies of all sizes need protein to grow healthy muscle and bone. Low protein diets may result in your puppy being underweight and could lead to poor hip and joint health when they're older.

These are a few things to avoid when choosing puppy food, but there are plenty more red flags to keep top of mind when shopping for any dog food.

Check out 24 Bad Dog Food Ingredients to help you avoid choosing food that doesn't nourish your pooch.

Best Puppy Food FAQs

Do puppies need puppy food?

You don't need to feed a puppy-specific diet, but you do need to feed a diet that is suitable for growing puppies. This means that you should look for either puppy food or an all-life-stage diet made from real food ingredients. 

What should I look for in a puppy food?

Choose a diet with high-quality animal protein, DHA for brain development, and a balance of fat, carbs, and essential nutrients. Avoid fillers and low-protein recipes.

Should I feed my 8-week-old puppy dry or wet food?

Both dry and wet puppy food are suitable at 8 weeks. Kibble helps with teething and jaw strength, while wet food adds moisture and is easier to chew. Many pet parents feed a mix.

How much puppy food should I feed?

Feeding amounts vary by breed, age, and food type. Always follow the brand’s feeding guide and adjust based on your puppy’s growth and activity. For help, try our Dog Food Calorie Calculator to find your pup’s daily calorie needs.

Should I feed dry kibble, wet food, or both?

Both kibble and canned puppy foods have benefits, but puppies will thrive on a combination of both. This gives you the dense nutrition and convenience of kibble with the high moisture content of wet.

How often should I feed my puppy?

Puppies may need more frequent meals, especially smaller breeds and those under 6 months old. 3-4 smaller meals per day may be needed to keep up with their caloric needs and growth.

When should I switch to adult dog food?

Most puppies can safely transition to adult formulas between 12 and 14 months, but your dog's size and breed can be a factor. Larger dogs grow for longer. Some breeds may need to stay on a puppy formula for up to 24 months.

The Right Puppy Food Makes a Difference

As a pet parent of a goofy but lovable puppy, you want the best for your little fluff, and that starts with their diet. Nutrition is the foundation of their health, and the food you feed them can have a great impact on not just their puppy stage but the rest of their life. 

Their food affects more than just their short growth and development phase. An appropriate, natural, and high-quality puppy diet can have long-term health benefits that can save you money and heartache as your pet ages. 

We picked our top puppy foods to help you find the right diet for your growing pup, but there are so many more choices. Shop our full selection of puppy foods from Homes Alive Pets. We ship our pet food Canada-wide right to your door!