Score it for your dog

Best-scoring dog foods

Best-scoring dog foods for a medium puppy, moderately active, holding weight

For a medium puppy, moderately active and holding weight, the best-scoring food among the 265 dog foods BowlWise scores, all sold in Canada, is Acana Highest Protein Pacifica Recipe, a kibble, at 99 out of 100. The best-scoring of each kind: kibble, Acana Highest Protein Pacifica Recipe at 99; gently cooked, Open Farm Gently Cooked Chicken & Brown Rice at 84; air-dried, Smack Chunky Chicken at 81; freeze-dried, K9 Natural Beef & Hoki Feast Freeze-Dried Dog Food at 83. 161 of the 265 foods fit this dog. The scores are BowlWise’s own, worked out from each food’s label on October 12, 2026.

Acana Highest Protein Pacifica Recipe: On October 9, 2026 Pet Valu listed the 11.34 kg bag at $110.99 in Canadian dollars.

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Kibble

95 kibble foods fit this dog.

  1. 99 of 100
    • Balanced protein (35.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (17.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (35.0%) for this dog

  2. 2nd of 95, level with six others

    Acana Highest Protein Wild Prairie Recipe

    98 of 100
    • Balanced protein (35.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (17.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (35.0%) for this dog

    1 point under Acana Highest Protein Pacifica Recipe:

    • Nutritional quality, 24 against 25. Premium protein content (35.0%) for this dog. Excellent Omega-3 (0.9%) for this dog's joints and coat. Optimal caloric density for this dog. Balanced fat content (17.0%) for this dog. DHA is 0.2% as fed. Full points for DHA start at 0.3%.

  3. 2nd of 95, level with six others

    Acana Healthy Grains Puppy Recipe

    98 of 100
    • Balanced protein (31.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (20.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (31.0%) for this dog

  4. 2nd of 95, level with six others

    Acana Healthy Grains Sea to Farm Puppy Recipe

    98 of 100
    • Balanced protein (31.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (20.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (31.0%) for this dog

  5. 2nd of 95, level with six others

    Acana Puppy Recipe

    98 of 100
    • Balanced protein (33.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (20.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (33.0%) for this dog
  6. 98 of 100
    • Balanced protein (38.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (18.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (38.0%) for this dog

  7. 2nd of 95, level with six others

    Orijen Wild Reserve Free-Run Chicken Recipe

    98 of 100
    • Balanced protein (38.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (18.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (38.0%) for this dog

  8. 2nd of 95, level with six others

    Orijen Wild Reserve Wild-Caught Fish Recipe

    98 of 100
    • Balanced protein (40.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (16.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (40.0%) for this dog

Gently cooked

4 gently cooked foods fit this dog.

  1. 84 of 100
    • Balanced protein (9.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (4.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (9.0%) for this dog
  2. 77 of 100
    • Balanced protein (9.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (5.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (9.0%) for this dog

    7 points under Open Farm Gently Cooked Chicken & Brown Rice:

    • Nutritional quality, 13 against 20. Premium protein content (9.0%) for this dog. The label gives no omega-3 figure, so those points could not be given. The label gives no DHA figure, so those points could not be given. Calories are 6,455 kcal per kg of dry matter. For gently cooked food, full points are given between 4,500 and 5,800. Fat is 22.7% of dry matter. Full points for fat are given between 13.3% and 22.5%.
  3. 76 of 100
    • Balanced protein (10.5%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (8.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (10.5%) for this dog

    1 point under Open Farm Gently Cooked Beef & Brown Rice:

    • Life stage, 7 against 10. Formulated for this dog's puppy life stage. The label gives no calcium and phosphorus figures, so this part was given a middle score.

Air-dried

10 air-dried foods fit this dog.

  1. 81 of 100
    • Balanced protein (35.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (24.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (35.0%) for this dog

  2. 2nd of 10, level with two others

    Open Farm Harvest Chicken Air-Dried Recipe

    80 of 100
    • Balanced protein (32.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (28.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (32.0%) for this dog

    1 point under Smack Chunky Chicken:

    • Price value, 4 against 5. Good value for this dog. Price per kilogram is in the cheaper half of air-dried foods, above the cheapest quarter. Full points are given for the cheapest quarter.

  3. 2nd of 10, level with two others

    Open Farm Pollock & Lamb Air-Dried Recipe

    80 of 100
    • Balanced protein (40.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (15.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (40.0%) for this dog

  4. 2nd of 10, level with two others

    Smack Lip Smacking Lamb

    80 of 100
    • Balanced protein (40.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (29.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (40.0%) for this dog

Freeze-dried

42 freeze-dried foods fit this dog.

  1. 83 of 100
    • Balanced protein (46.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (32.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (46.0%) for this dog
  2. 82.6 of 100
    • Balanced fat (19.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (57.0%) for this dog
    • Excellent Omega-3 (1.13%) for this dog's joints and coat

    0.4 points under K9 Natural Beef & Hoki Feast Freeze-Dried Dog Food:

    • Activity and goal, 30.6 against 35. Balanced fat (19.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal. Protein is 62.0% of dry matter. For this dog, a moderately active dog holding weight, full points are given between 25% and 50%.
    • Price value, 3 against 5. Price per kilogram is in the most expensive quarter of freeze-dried foods. Full points are given for the cheapest quarter.

  3. 3rd of 42, level with another

    Primal Freeze-Dried Raw Beef Nuggets

    81 of 100
    • Balanced protein (42.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (32.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (42.0%) for this dog

    1.6 points under Primal Freeze-Dried Raw Venison Nuggets:

    • Nutritional quality, 15 against 23. Premium protein content (42.0%) for this dog. Optimal caloric density for this dog. Omega-3 is 0.44% as fed. Full points for omega-3 start at 0.8%. The label gives no DHA figure, so those points could not be given. Fat is 34.8% of dry matter. Full points for fat are given between 13.3% and 22.5%.
  4. 81 of 100
    • Balanced protein (39.0%) for this dog's moderate activity
    • Balanced fat (30.0%) supports this dog's maintenance goal
    • Premium protein content (39.0%) for this dog

Toppers

A topper is added to a meal, not fed as one, and is scored on other parts than a meal. These are not ranked against the foods above. 10 toppers fit this dog; each number is a topper’s score out of 100:

What was left out, and why

161 of the 265 foods fit this dog. The others:

  • 77 foodsMade for the adult life stage, not puppy.
  • 11 foodsMade for the senior life stage, not puppy.
  • 14 foodsKibble size not suitable for medium breed.
  • 2 foodsNot a complete diet.

A dog a little different

How to read this

These scores are BowlWise’s own, worked out from each food’s label for one kind of dog at a time. They are not veterinary advice. How a score is worked out: How we score.

Worked out on October 12, 2026.

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