Best Canned Puppy Food Choices

Is canned puppy food a good choice for your puppy?

A simple question, with a not-so-simple answer.

There are several different things to consider before choosing a food for little Fido including his size/age/breed and the ingredients, quality and form that food takes.

Canned (aka wet) food can be a good choice for some pets.... especially young puppies, tiny breeds, older dogs, and those with certain health conditions.

Choosing Canned Puppy Food

The AAFCO (The Association of American Feed Control Officials) lay down guidelines for dog food manufacturers to follow, and one of them is that every dog or puppy food must meet some minimum levels of all the basic nutrient components (ie protein, fiber, fat & moisture).

On my Best Puppy Food Choices page (this link will open in a new window) you can see which ingredients are the ones you want to see, and the ones that you don't. It also has information on the recommendations for percentage value of each component.

Here are a few formulas that have what you're looking for......

The percentage ratios/figures on the page I mentioned above are for DRY PUPPY FOOD, but you'll need to make an adjustment for canned puppy food.

This is because it usually contains between 75% and 80% water (while dry food only contains about 10% water). So, in order to compare 'apples to apples', you want to be comparing the ingredients without the moisture.

Here's a simple way to do this:

• Find the % given for moisture and subtract it from 100. This gives you the basic 'dry weight' to start from.
  
  
• Find the % figure given on the can/bag for each component individually, and divide it by the 'dry-weight' percentage, then multiply by 100. This gives you the true % figure.

Overall puppy or dog food that is canned generally contains a higher percentage of protein than the dry variety, and a lower percentage of carbohydrates.

This makes it a not-so-great choice for large or giant breed puppies who need a below-average and strictly controlled amount of protein (a recommended maximum of around 25%) to prevent potential bone/joint problems caused by too-rapid growth.

Pros & Cons of  Wet Puppy Food

Using canned puppy food does have it's advantages. Here are a few of them:

• Tastes and smells appetizing, so your pup is more likely to 'dig in'
  
• Long shelf-life BEFORE opening
• It's softness makes it easy for young puppies, or tiny dogs, to eat
  
• Often contains less artificial preservatives as the canning process preserves the food itself

And here are some of the disadvantages:

• High moisture content means less nutrition per mouthful
  
• Short shelf-life AFTER opening, needs to be refrigerated and spoils quickly
  
• High protein levels make it poor choice for large breeds & can cause tummy upsets in some pups
  
• Results in more frequent, and looser, stools
  
• The higher price per ounce (or pound!) can make it too expensive for large-breed pups
  

Sometimes you can strike a 'happy medium' by feeding both dry puppy kibble and wet puppy food, mixed together.

If you have a 'picky eater' or a small breed puppy who needs a bit more protein, this may be a good solution. But try to stick to a ratio of 25% canned food to 75% dry, or at the most a 30:70 split.

Of course, using canned food is just one option for feeding your little one. Dry kibble is the most popular option for puppies and dogs alike.

It's very important to get the balance of nutrients right when feeding puppies so a high quality commercial food is often the easiest route to take. However, for older pups and adult dogs you can try making dog food at home, or feeding a raw diet. 

you might also like...