Which Is The Best Puppy Food For My Pup?

Not all puppies are created equal (in physical size anyway!) and there's a HUGE variation in size between the smallest, and largest dog breeds.
Because of this, and because big dogs and small dogs mature at entirely different rates, your puppy has his own individual nutritional needs.
Most of the best puppy food choices are designed to meet these very specific demands, and are formulated with small, medium, or large sized puppies in mind.

A puppy of a mid-sized breed will have more moderate needs than his extra big or extra small counterparts.
This is what you need to know.....

• Medium sized breeds - A puppy who's going to mature to somewhere between 20 and 50lbs would be considered a 'middle sized' dog breed, and these pups won't have the special needs that extra-small, or extra-large, puppies do. The best puppy food for them will contain an approx. 22 - 25% protein and 8 - 10% fat .
• Small/toy breeds - Small breeds (pretty much any dog that will mature to be under 20lbs) usually have a high metabolic rate, but tiny tummies! This means that they need to eat more often than larger breeds as they can only ingest so much at one sitting.

They need a food with more calories and fat than a large breed pup. A small breed pup needs almost twice as many calories per pound, per day, than a large breed pup of the same age. The best puppy food for small breed puppies should have a minimum of 15% fat.
Tiny breed pups also tend to get dehydrated more quickly, so adding a little premium quality canned puppy food (which has a much higher water content than dry puppy kibble) is a good idea if you have a 'little tyke'!

• Large/giant breeds - These big puppies grow at a phenomenal rate, and they have very special nutritional needs. Too much protein, or too high levels of particular minerals can cause bone/joint problems.

For a large breed puppy the best puppy food will have somewhere around 23 - 25% protein, and between 12 and 15% fat. Calcium should be no more than 1.5%

As well as having individual formulas, the best puppy food choices that have been designed for different sized breeds will have pieces that are the appropriate size too!

The small breed puppy food will have tiny pieces that are easy for these little guys to chew, swallow and digest. The large breed puppy foods have bigger pieces so that your big boy (or girl) won't inhale, or choke on them.
Although deciding which are the best puppy food choices for your little one can take time and effort, it's most definitely worth it!
Making sure your puppy gets a premium puppy food with the the right balance of nutrition for his size/breed, not only keeps him happy and healthy in the short term - but can have a real impact on the quality, and length of his life.
Here's an example of the best puppy food for small, medium, and large-breed puppies... one for each. They're just a few of the many premium puppy foods available