New Puppy? Here's how to pick a high-quality puppy food.

by Critters Online November 17, 2023

They are family, feed them like family.

Bringing home a new puppy is an exciting and heartwarming experience. As a new pet owner, one of the most critical aspects of caring for your puppy is ensuring they receive the right nutrition. Proper puppy nutrition is essential for their growth, development, and overall health. In this blog, we'll explore what you should feed your new puppy to set them on the path to a happy and healthy life.

Choose High-Quality Canadian Puppy Food

Selecting the right puppy food is paramount. Look for puppy and all life stages all breed foods. These formulas are tailored to meet the nutritional needs of growing puppies. They contain essential nutrients like protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals that support healthy development. It's important to always look at the ingredient list. You should be looking for fresh meats and whole ingredients while avoiding fillers and by-products.

Make sure that your puppies food adheres to the following criteria:

The manufacturing facility should undergo quarterly audits by the CFIA and be a part of the HACCP certified Quality Assurance program.
All ingredients must satisfy the requirements of a raw material and supplier approval program, which assesses both nutritional integrity and safety standards.
Maintain a system for traceability by retaining a sample from every batch produced, each clearly labeled with its corresponding lot number.
Additionally, the manufacturing plant should possess FSSC 22000 certification, which is a recognized GFSI standard, ensuring food safety and quality.

Avoid Fillers and Artificial Additives

When choosing puppy food, avoid brands that use excessive fillers, artificial colors, and preservatives.

Avoid any meat by-products (chicken by products, anything with word by-products attached to it etc.)
Avoid Corn Gluten Meal, Brewers Rice, Tomato Pomace, Brewers Yeast, Beet Pulp, Rye Flour, Rice Bran, Rice Flour, Potato Flour, Pea Fiber, Pea Protein, Pea Starch, Lentil Fiber (No plant protein, starch, fiber or flour concentrates - it should be whole ingredients used) etc.
We will never recommend any food with any ingredients that contain any sort of Corn, Wheat, or Soy (Soybean).
Avoid unnamed fats (Animal Fat, Poultry Fat etc.)

Look for products with whole natural and easily digestible ingredients. These foods are gentler on your puppy's developing digestive system.

Follow Feeding Guidelines

Each puppy food will have recommended feeding guidelines based on your puppy's age and weight. These guidelines are there for a reason. Overfeeding can lead to obesity, while underfeeding can hinder proper growth. Be sure to follow these recommendations and adjust as needed based on your puppy's individual requirements.

Our Recommendations

Some of our top picks for puppy foods, featuring renowned brands like Vintage, Satori, Boka, Acana, and Orijen. These brands are all natural Canadian puppy foods available across Canada and internationally.

Vintage

The Vintage way of feeding your dog occurred naturally before they were part of our households. In their natural habitat, the canine would hunt and thrive on a meat based diet in the raw form. Vintage Pet Food is packed with Butcher Shoppe fresh meat then balanced with Nutritious Whole Ingredients and Market Fresh Produce so it can be fed as a complete diet. We only blend first class ingredients from certified suppliers and inspected facilities. We make sure our premium meats are both hormone and antibiotic free which you can feel confident feeding your best friend. Our goal is to provide nutritious foods to help nourish your pet’s soul with every bowl.

Oven Fresh

Take a step closer to raw with vintage oven-fresh pet food. The unique pieces have a distinct look, aroma and flavour. After opening the bag you will notice grill marks from the oven, a fresh smell and no greasy feel; much different than conventional extruded kibble. There are no rendered fats applied to enhance flavour; your pet naturally loves Vintage since it is full of fresh meat. Try this next generation pet food, your pet will enjoy each meal as if it were a treat.

Shop Vintage Oven Fresh here.

Raw

Vintage's simple fresh frozen complete diets include:

Butcher Shoppe Canadian Meats that are Hormone & Antibiotic Free made with our tripartite-grind technique that results in a consistent fine ground bone
SuperFood Produce Veggies including Collard Greens, Broccoli, Zucchini & Carrots made with our binary-grind technique for maximum nutrient absorption
Balanced with Kelp to make Vintage a complete diet ready to feed

Shop Vintage Raw here.

All of our natural recipes have been formulated by an experienced Animal Nutritionist with following education and credentials:
• Hons BSc Animal Biology, Minor in Nutrition
• MSc in Animal Nutrition
• 10+ years experience in Formulation, Ingredient Sourcing, Product Development and Quality Assurance

Satori

Satori is the first and only Domestic Appropriate pet food on the market, made right here in Canada since 2010. Our healthy recipes have a logical philosophy which considers two important factors, the pet’s anatomy and modern lifestyle. Canines and Felines, like the wolf and wildcat, have digestive systems designed to efficiently process meat therefore our recipes are grain free and include fresh proteins! We then took it a step further by understanding that pets’ caloric needs are not the same as their wild ancestors since they do not travel 20-25km per day hunting and chasing down prey. Our pets instead have the luxury of their food being served to them and exercise through less demanding forms by enjoying regular walks or visiting the dog park. These differences are the reason we adjusted the nutrition to fit their domestic lifestyle which consists of living in houses and backyards.

Shop Satori here.

Boka

Boka is crafted with the desire to fuel your pet’s healthy way of life. Proudly produced in Canada since 2010, our recipe features high quality ingredients including Chicken Meal, Pork Meal and whole grains that provide vital nutrients in every bite. Boka supplies superior nutrition at a value that cannot be matched, found only at your trusted neighbourhood pet store.

Shop Boka here.

Acana and Orijen

We make Biologically Appropriate dog and cat foods from Fresh Regional Ingredients and we make them from start to finish in our very own award-winning kitchen. Our mission represents a new standard in pet food, designed to nourish your dog or cat completely. First, according to their natural evolution for a meat- and protein-rich diet. Second, using meats, poultry, eggs, and fish that are ranched, farmed, or fished by trusted suppliers and delivered to our kitchen fresh or raw.

Shop Acana here.

Shop Orijen here.