Merrick Grain-Free Puppy Chicken & Sweet Potato Recipe Dry Dog Food review

At a Glance

  • Top 5 Ingredients:
    1. Deboned Chicken
    2. Chicken Meal
    3. Sweet Potatoes
    4. Potatoes
    5. Salmon Meal
  • Type: Dry food
  • Lifestage: Puppy
  • Calories: 401 kcal/cup
  • Protein: 28%
  • Fat: 16%
  • Fiber: 4.5%

Merrick Grain-Free Puppy is an excellent diet that has been specifically formulated to meet the needs of growing puppies through their first year of development. One of the best dog foods for Poodle puppies, Merrick Grain-Free Puppy takes chicken as its primary ingredient, a lean protein that is easy for puppies to process and utilize effectively.

To provide proper support for joint health, this food has included glucosamine and chondroitin in its recipe. The kibble found in this diet is large enough to encourage careful chewing and swallowing as well as to prevent any choking hazards. This is our top choice among Best Dog Foods for Poodle Puppies!

Pros

  • This food is exceptionally flavorful. Puppies really enjoy the taste of this food and eat their every meal with hearty gusto.
  • Puppies that struggled with tear staining saw improvements in this problem when regularly fed Merrick Grain-Free Puppy.
  • Owners are pleased this diet is grain-free, feeling it is an excellent choice for puppies with food-related allergies.
  • The rate of growth of Poodle puppies fed this diet regularly is both appropriate and healthy.
  • The coat quality of puppies regularly fed this food was excellent. They displayed coats that were soft, healthy, lustrous, thick, and shiny.

Cons

  • A few owners indicated that they found this diet to be a little bit pricey.
  • A few puppies were uninterested in this food and would not eat it. A different Merrick puppy food may yield better results.
  • Some owners disliked that this diet is grain-free, preferring to feed their Poodle puppies a diet that includes whole grains in its recipe. Merrick does have some puppy foods that are grain-inclusive that may be an excellent choice for those puppies.
  • Some puppies struggled to achieve ideal digestion when fed this diet on an ongoing basis. Their stools were loose. This may be attributed to too rapid a dietary change, and if this is the case, the problem should resolve on its own given more time.
  • Some owners shared that they noted inconsistencies in the color of the kibble from bag to bag of this food.

Wellness Large Breed Complete Health Puppy Deboned Chicken, Brown Rice & Salmon Meal Recipe Dry Dog Food review

At a Glance

  • Top 5 Ingredients:
    1. Deboned Chicken
    2. Chicken Meal
    3. Peas
    4. Ground Brown Rice
    5. Salmon Meal
  • Type: Dry food
  • Lifestage: Puppy
  • Calories: 367 kcal/cup
  • Protein: 29%
  • Fat: 13%
  • Fiber: 5%

For one of the best dog foods for Poodle puppies available for purchase today, it’s hard to go wrong with Wellness Large Breed Complete Health Puppy. This exceptional food bases its recipe on whole chicken and chicken meal, two protein sources that are easy for puppies to digest and that are chock full of amino acids to support the development of a healthy body.

The DHA content has been enriched in this diet to ensure ample amounts of essential fatty acids to encourage coat and skin health as well the nutrients required for brain and eye development. To promote a healthy rate of bone growth, the correct proportion of calcium to phosphorus has been carefully calibrated in this powerhouse food.

Pros

  • Owners were pleased to report their puppies’ coat quality improved when fed a consistent diet of Wellness Large Breed Complete Health Puppy. Their fur was soft, shiny, and healthy.
  • Puppies displayed an improvement in their energy levels when fed this diet regularly.
  • This diet is jam-packed full of flavor, encouraging hearty eating in even the pickiest of Poodle puppies.
  • Owners shared that their puppies developed at an appropriate rate of growth when consistently fed Wellness Large Breed Complete Health Puppy.
  • The stool quality of puppies fed this diet on an ongoing basis was excellent.

Cons

  • A few owners found the kibble pieces in this diet to be a little large and hard for Poodle puppies to break down well.
  • In rare cases, some puppies never achieved proper stool consistency when fed this diet. This is likely due to a sensitivity to one of the ingredients in the food.
  • Some puppies dislike the taste of this food and will not eat it.
  • Some puppies suffered from mild gastrointestinal distress such as nausea, diarrhea, and loose stools when fed this diet. This is likely a result of too rapid a dietary change and should resolve on its own given more time.
  • Several owners reported their puppies developed itchy skin when fed this diet on an ongoing basis.

Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Formula Grain-Free Dry Dog Food review

At a Glance

  • Top 5 Ingredients:
    1. Water Buffalo
    2. Lamb Meal
    3. Sweet Potatoes
    4. Egg Product
    5. Pea Protein
  • Type: Dry food
  • Lifestage: Puppy
  • Calories: 364 kcal/cup
  • Protein: 28%
  • Fat: 17%
  • Fiber: 5%

Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy offers families the opportunity to feed their Poodle puppies top tier nutrition while remaining within a reasonable price point. This premium quality food prioritizes the use of novel proteins such as water buffalo and venison, making it well-suited to pups that have previously expressed food sensitivities.

Consistently rated among the best dog foods for Poodle puppies, Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy is grain-free, making fruits and vegetables the basis of the diet’s carbohydrate content. A diet that prioritizes the use of all natural ingredients, this food formulation contains no grains, corn, wheat, fillers, artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. To ensure fluid digestive processes, this powerhouse food has been supplemented with probiotics.

Pros

  • This diet places a high emphasis on flavor. Puppies love this food and lick their bowls clean at every meal.
  • Taste of the Wild is available in many different protein bases, allowing owners the luxury of providing their puppies with variety in their daily meals without having to sacrifice any nutritional quality in the process.
  • Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy is highly affordable. Owners are pleased they can offer their puppies top tier nutrition for a reasonable price.
  • Owners feel the kibble pieces included in this food are the perfect size for Poodle puppies and are unlikely to pose a choking hazard.
  • This diet is grain-free, a fact owners of Poodle puppies with allergies love as grains can be a common allergen for some pups.

Cons

  • In some cases, some puppies are uninterested in this food and will not eat it. Thankfully, there are many other Taste of the Wild puppy foods that may be a better fit.
  • A few owners indicated they found this diet had a very unpleasant smell to it.
  • Some owners felt the kibble pieces were too small for Poodle puppies and may cause them to choke.
  • Some owners indicated that they prefer to feed a grain-inclusive diet, sharing that they felt these ingredients are crucial for good digestion in Poodle puppies.
  • A few owners shared that they felt this diet was a little on the costly side.

Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Small Breed Bites Grain-Free Chicken & Sweet Potato Formula Dry Dog Food review

At a Glance

  • Top 5 Ingredients:
    1. Chicken
    2. Chicken Meal
    3. Sweet Potatoes
    4. Cassava Flour
    5. Potatoes
  • Type: Dry food
  • Lifestage: Puppy and adult
  • Calories: 393 kcal/cup
  • Protein: 24%
  • Fat: 10%
  • Fiber: 4%

Natural Balance LID Small Breed Bites is a premium dog food that hits all the high points a Poodle needs from their food.

This diet is grain-free and contains a limited amount of carbohydrates; all of which are sourced from the highest quality sources.

A diet with limited ingredients, Natural Balance has only one protein source: whole chicken.

This focus helps to minimize the potential for skin conditions, ensuring Natural Balance L.I.D. retains a spot on the list of the best dog foods for smaller breeds with sensitive stomachs.

 

Pros

  • Owners report their dogs love the taste of this diet.
  • Small dogs seem to do well with the pieces of kibble in this food. Each morsel was crafted to be small enough to meet the needs of dogs on the smaller end of the size spectrum.
  • Dogs suffering from food-related allergies did very well when appropriately transitioned to this diet.

Cons

  • A few owners of dogs suffering from allergies noted that a switch to this diet did not improve this problem.
  • Several owners shared they felt the cost of this diet was too high for their budget.
  • In very rare cases, owners report their dogs becoming itchy after eating this food for several days. This is likely due to a sensitivity to an ingredient in the recipe.

Merrick Lil' Plates Grain-Free Real Chicken & Sweet Potato Puppy Dry Dog Food review

At a Glance

  • Top 5 Ingredients:
    1. Deboned Chicken
    2. Chicken Meal
    3. Potatoes
    4. Peas
    5. Sweet Potatoes
  • Type: Dry food
  • Lifestage: Puppy
  • Calories: 397 kcal/cup
  • Protein: 28%
  • Fat: 15%
  • Fiber: 4.5%

Merrick Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Real Chicken & Sweet Potato Puppy Dry Dog Food is the perfect formulation for small breed puppies such as the Poodle, Shih Tzu, and others. Whole, deboned chicken is the primary ingredient, a protein that is unlikely to lead to stomach distress.

This diet is free from grains and also contains no gluten, artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. To aid with digestion, both prebiotics and probiotics are included in this recipe. Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids have been enriched to ensure optimal skin and coat health.

DHA is provided to support healthy cognitive development. Merrick’s high emphasis on easily digestible ingredients ensures it a top position on the list of the best dog foods for small breed puppies with sensitive stomachs.

Pros

  • Owners report that their puppies enjoy the flavor of this Merrick puppy food offering.
  • Several owners expressed that their puppies’ weights were healthy and their growth rate normal when consistently fed Merrick Lil’ Plates Grain-Free Puppy.
  • Owners share they have seen no gastrointestinal distress in their puppies when regularly feeding them this diet.

Cons

  • A few puppies experienced some mild gastrointestinal distress when fed this food including diarrhea, loose stools, and nausea. This is most likely due to too quick a transition to the new food.
  • Some owners feel this food is a little on the costly side.