Score it for your dog

Best-scoring dog foods

Best-scoring dog foods for a small puppy, calm, building muscle

For a small puppy, calm and building muscle, the best-scoring food among the 265 dog foods BowlWise scores, all sold in Canada, is Acana Puppy Small Breed Recipe, a kibble, at 97 out of 100. The best-scoring of each kind: kibble, Acana Puppy Small Breed Recipe at 97; gently cooked, Open Farm Gently Cooked Chicken & Brown Rice at 84; air-dried, Smack Prairie Harvest Pork at 84; freeze-dried, Open Farm Chicken & Salmon Freeze-Dried Raw Puppy Patties and Primal Freeze-Dried Raw Venison Nuggets at 87. 167 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 Puppy Small Breed Recipe: On March 3, 2026 Pet Valu listed the 5.99 kg bag at $58.99 in Canadian dollars.

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Kibble

101 kibble foods fit this dog.

  1. 97 of 100
    • Premium protein content (33.0%) for this dog
    • Excellent Omega-3 (1.0%) for this dog's joints and coat
    • Good DHA for this dog's brain health
  2. 96.5 of 100
    • Premium protein content (34.0%) for this dog
    • Excellent Omega-3 (1.2%) for this dog's joints and coat
    • Optimal caloric density for this dog

    0.5 points under Acana Puppy Small Breed Recipe:

    • Price value, 3.5 against 4. Price per kilogram is above the middle of kibble foods. Full points are given for the cheapest quarter.
  3. 95 of 100
    • Premium protein content (35.0%) for this dog
    • Excellent Omega-3 (1.5%) for this dog's joints and coat
    • Good DHA for this dog's brain health

    1.5 points under Open Farm Small Breed Grain-Free:

    • Format suitability, 6 against 10. Regular kibble — compatible with this dog's size. This is regular kibble. For a small dog, full points are given for small kibble.
  4. 94.5 of 100
    • High protein content (27.5%) for this dog
    • Excellent Omega-3 (1.2%) for this dog's joints and coat
    • Optimal caloric density for this dog

    0.5 points under Acana Highest Protein Pacifica Recipe:

    • Nutritional quality, 21 against 25. High protein content (27.5%) for this dog. Excellent Omega-3 (1.2%) for this dog's joints and coat. Optimal caloric density for this dog. Balanced fat content (16.0%) for this dog. Protein is 30.6% of dry matter. Full points for protein start at 33.3%. DHA is 0.15% as fed. Full points for DHA start at 0.3%.
    • Price value, 3.5 against 4. Price per kilogram is above the middle of kibble foods. Full points are given for the cheapest quarter.

  5. 5th of 101, level with seven others

    Acana Highest Protein Wild Prairie Recipe

    94 of 100
    • 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

    0.5 points under Open Farm Small Breed Ancient Grains:

    • Format suitability, 6 against 10. Regular kibble — compatible with this dog's size. This is regular kibble. For a small dog, full points are given for small kibble.

  6. 5th of 101, level with seven others

    Acana Healthy Grains Puppy Recipe

    94 of 100
    • Premium protein content (31.0%) for this dog
    • Excellent Omega-3 (1.0%) for this dog's joints and coat
    • Good DHA for this dog's brain health

  7. 5th of 101, level with seven others

    Acana Healthy Grains Sea to Farm Puppy Recipe

    94 of 100
    • Premium protein content (31.0%) for this dog
    • Excellent Omega-3 (0.8%) for this dog's joints and coat
    • Good DHA for this dog's brain health

  8. 5th of 101, level with seven others

    Acana Puppy Recipe

    94 of 100
    • Premium protein content (33.0%) for this dog
    • Excellent Omega-3 (1.0%) for this dog's joints and coat
    • Good DHA for this dog's brain health

And 4 more at the same score.

Gently cooked

4 gently cooked foods fit this dog.

  1. 84 of 100
    • Premium protein content (9.0%) for this dog
    • Optimal caloric density for this dog
    • Balanced fat content (4.0%) for this dog
  2. 83.5 of 100
    • Premium protein content (10.0%) for this dog
    • Optimal caloric density for this dog
    • Formulated for this dog's puppy life stage

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

    • Nutritional quality, 15 against 20. Premium protein content (10.0%) for this dog. Optimal caloric density for this dog. Omega-3 is 0.3% as fed. Full points for omega-3 start at 0.8%. DHA is 0.08% as fed. Full points for DHA start at 0.3%. Fat is 35.4% of dry matter. Full points for fat are given between 13.3% and 22.5%.
  3. 77 of 100
    • Premium protein content (9.0%) for this dog
    • Formulated for this dog's puppy life stage
    • Optimal calcium-phosphorus ratio for this dog's growing bones

    6.5 points under Open Farm Gently Cooked Puppy:

    • Nutritional quality, 13 against 15. 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%.
    • Life stage, 10 against 12.5. Formulated for this dog's puppy life stage. Optimal calcium-phosphorus ratio for this dog's growing bones. The label gives no DHA figure, so those points could not be given.
    • Formulation integrity, 9 against 10. Fresh meat as primary ingredient for this dog. No controversial ingredients — clean nutrition for this dog. The label names 1 main protein. Full points for variety are given for 3 or more. No formulator with a veterinary nutrition credential or a doctorate in nutrition is on file for this food. No feeding trial is on file for this food.
    • Price value, 4 against 5. Good value for this dog. Price per kilogram is in the cheaper half of gently cooked foods, above the cheapest quarter. Full points are given for the cheapest quarter.

Air-dried

10 air-dried foods fit this dog.

  1. 84 of 100
    • Premium protein content (48.0%) for this dog
    • Optimal caloric density for this dog
    • Formulated for this dog's puppy life stage
  2. 81 of 100
    • Premium protein content (35.0%) for this dog
    • Optimal caloric density for this dog
    • Formulated for this dog's puppy life stage

    3 points under Smack Prairie Harvest Pork:

    • Nutritional quality, 15 against 18. Premium protein content (35.0%) for this dog. Optimal caloric density 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. Fat is 25.8% of dry matter. Full points for fat are given between 13.3% and 22.5%.

  3. 3rd of 10, level with two others

    Open Farm Harvest Chicken Air-Dried Recipe

    80 of 100
    • Premium protein content (32.0%) for this dog
    • Optimal caloric density for this dog
    • Formulated for this dog's puppy life stage

    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.

  4. 3rd of 10, level with two others

    Open Farm Pollock & Lamb Air-Dried Recipe

    80 of 100
    • Premium protein content (40.0%) for this dog
    • Balanced fat content (15.0%) for this dog
    • Formulated for this dog's puppy life stage

  5. 3rd of 10, level with two others

    Smack Lip Smacking Lamb

    80 of 100
    • Premium protein content (40.0%) for this dog
    • Optimal caloric density for this dog
    • Formulated for this dog's puppy life stage

Freeze-dried

42 freeze-dried foods fit this dog.

  1. 87 of 100
    • Premium protein content (42.0%) for this dog
    • Optimal caloric density for this dog
    • Formulated for this dog's puppy life stage

  2. 1st of 42, level with another

    Primal Freeze-Dried Raw Venison Nuggets

    87 of 100
    • Premium protein content (57.0%) for this dog
    • Excellent Omega-3 (1.13%) for this dog's joints and coat
    • Optimal caloric density for this dog
  3. 86.5 of 100
    • Premium protein content (42.0%) for this dog
    • Optimal caloric density for this dog
    • Formulated for this dog's puppy life stage

    0.5 points under Primal Freeze-Dried Raw Venison Nuggets:

    • Nutritional quality, 17 against 23. Premium protein content (42.0%) for this dog. Optimal caloric density for this dog. Omega-3 is 0.75% as fed. Full points for omega-3 start at 0.8%. DHA is 0.1% as fed. Full points for DHA start at 0.3%. Fat is 38.7% of dry matter. Full points for fat are given between 13.3% and 22.5%.

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

167 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.
  • 7 foodsKibble too large for small breed.
  • 2 foodsNot a complete diet.
  • 1 foodScored under 50, so it is not offered.

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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