One of the most important things a pet lover can do to help their puppy live their best life is starting them off on the right paw with a diet that meets their unique needs.
Balancing the necessary amounts of protein, calories, and nutrients in their food is critical, and that’s why recipes specifically crafted for puppies are a great choice. They take all the guessing and questions out of the process and provide balanced nutrition, so your puppy gets the best nourishment from their meals.
What Makes Puppy Recipes Different from Adult Food?
With many ACANA™ recipes, you may notice the packaging states that the food is suitable for All Life Stages. And while ACANATM recipes offer nutritious and delicious food for dogs, our puppy recipes are specially crafted to give your puppy all they need to be healthy as they grow.
One of the benefits of puppy specific recipes is their higher calorie content. Puppies have more energy at this stage in their life, as they’re often bounding around and learning about themselves and the world around them. This requires a great deal of energy, as does the growing and changing their bodies are going through. In addition to the higher calories, puppy-specific food also includes tailored protein, omega-rich fats, and mineral content that caters to muscle, bone and brain development. Starting your puppy on these critical nutrients early will help them once they reach adulthood.
Whereas adult food is all about maintaining a particular weight and body size, puppies need extra support while they grow into their adult size and weight. This is why it’s a good idea to feed your dog different recipes at different life stages. For example, adult food may not have enough calories or the ideal balance of nutrients for puppies, and if you feed adult dogs puppy food, the higher fat and calorie content might cause them to gain weight.
How Much Should I Feed My Puppy?
Every puppy is different—some can’t seem to get enough food, while others require a little coaxing. ACANATM puppy recipes are made with a focus on palatability and flavor, which encourages the puppies to eat so they can get the balanced nutrition they need. The high animal content present in ACANATM recipes is usually very appealing to puppies, and we also add a flavor-enhancing freeze-dried coating to give them a little extra motivation.
When it comes to how much to feed your puppy, following the feeding guide on all ACANATM puppy recipes makes the process simple and clear. Pet lovers just need to find the breed of their dog (or a close approximation) as well as their dog’s current weight, and then feed the corresponding amount.
NOTE: You may notice that the amount you feed your puppy goes up only to a certain weight, and then goes down again. This isn’t a mistake! At a certain point, as your puppy approaches their ideal adult body weight, their growth will slow down, requiring less food, helping to ensure they don’t become overweight.
If you have a large breed puppy, they may be an exception to these rules since they grow over a longer period of time. If you’re curious about breed-specific feeding recommendations, we have another blog HERE that gets into large breed puppies and how the right diet helps them be their best.
What Kind of ACANA Puppy Food is Available ?
There are numerous ACANATM puppy recipe options available for pet lovers:
- ACANA™ Puppy Recipe, which is available in both Canada and the US.
- Wholesome Grains Puppy Recipe and Wholesome Grains Puppy Sea & Farm Recipe, which are available in the US.
- Healthy Grains Puppy Recipe and Healthy Grains Sea & Farm Recipe, which is available in Canada.
All feature our same dedication to food crafted with protein-rich animal ingredients like wild-caught salmon and free-run1 chicken and turkey. In addition to a balanced blend of protein, fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals that help support your puppy’s brain development, digestive health, and muscle and bone development, puppy kibble is smaller, which is better suited for growing mouths.
For wet food, there’s also ACANA PREMIUM PÂTÉ™ Puppy Recipe in Bone Broth. This delicious option also features high levels of animal ingredients and includes fruit and vegetables. Made in a savory bone broth base for flavor and nutrition, you can feed it on its own or use it as a topper on ACANATM puppy kibble. It also adds much-needed hydration to your puppy’s diet.
Feeding your puppy food crafted with their unique nutrition needs in mind means that not only are they getting all they need from a balanced nutritional standpoint, but you’re taking an important step in helping to ensure they’ll have a happy and healthy life by your side once they reach adulthood.
1 Our free-run chickens and turkeys are not housed in cages and are able to move in a barn without outdoor access.