Your puppy is between 3 and 12 months old, a stage in which more happens than in any other period of life: bones grow, muscles form, the immune system learns to tell what is harmless from what isn't, and the brain develops at a pace it will never reach again afterwards. What you feed during this phase has consequences that reach into adulthood. This guide shows you, factually and with evidence, what your puppy really needs.
Not sure which food suits your puppy?
To the food finder →Why puppy food is not just normal dog food
A puppy between 2 and around 12 months old is not a small adult dog. Its body works in a completely different mode: it grows daily, its skeleton isn't yet fully mineralised, its digestive system is more sensitive than in adulthood, and its immune system is in the middle of a critical learning phase. Normal adult food doesn't meet this need, not because it's poor quality, but because it's formulated for a different body.
As a complete food, puppy food must meet specific minimum levels of protein, calcium, phosphorus, omega-3 fatty acids and micronutrients under the FEDIAF guidelines (the European standard for pet nutrition), levels that go beyond those required for adults. A food without the label "suitable for puppies" or "for all life stages" is simply not adequately declared for your puppy.
The most important basic rule: Feed your puppy (2 to around 12 months) exclusively with a complete food that's explicitly labelled for puppies or all life stages. No adult food, not even temporarily.
A puppy's energy needs, very different from an adult dog's
Relative to their body weight, puppies use noticeably more energy than fully grown dogs. The reason: growth costs energy. At the same time, a puppy's stomach is smaller, it can't eat a lot in one go, but still needs enough spread across the day. That means: several small meals, not one big one.
As a rule of thumb for feeding frequency:
- 3 to 5 months: 3 to 4 meals a day
- 5 to 8 months: 3 meals a day
- 8 to 12 months: 2 to 3 meals a day
The energy density of the food plays a particular role for puppies: too little energy holds back growth, too much energy leads to excessively rapid growth, which is a known problem especially for large breeds, because the skeleton then can't keep up with the weight. The manufacturer's guideline on the packaging is your starting point, but you should always keep an eye on body condition: ribs slightly palpable but not visible, active and playful without lethargy.
Pay particular attention with large breeds: For large and very large breeds (over 30 kg adult weight), excessively rapid growth caused by too much energy is a well-known risk factor for joint problems. The rule here is: better a little less than too much. Growth should proceed evenly, not as quickly as possible.
The most important nutrients for puppies
The growth phase places specific demands on the composition of the food. These nutrients are particularly critical for puppies:
Protein, more and higher quality than for adults
Puppies need more protein than adult dogs, for building muscle, organs, enzymes and antibodies. What matters isn't just the amount, but the biological value: animal protein provides all the essential amino acids a dog can't produce itself. A clearly declared meat protein is far preferable to a vague collective term such as "animal by-products".
Calcium and phosphorus, in the right ratio
Calcium is essential for building bone. But both too little and too much calcium can cause skeletal development disorders in puppies. The ratio of calcium to phosphorus needs to be right, and a good complete puppy food regulates this automatically. So please don't give any additional calcium supplements without veterinary advice.
DHA (omega-3), for brain and eyesight
DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is an omega-3 fatty acid that's particularly important for the development of the brain and eyesight in the first months of life. Fish oil or salmon as ingredients in puppy food are a natural source. Studies show that puppies with enough DHA in their diet achieve better results in training and learning tasks.
Micronutrients, fully declared
Vitamins D, E, A, zinc, manganese and other trace elements are especially relevant during growth. Under the FEDIAF standard, a complete food must contain and declare these in sufficient amounts. If you give additional supplements without veterinary advice, you risk oversupply, vitamin D and calcium in particular can cause harm in excessive amounts.
Why the meat content matters especially for puppies
Dogs are specialised for animal protein, their digestive system makes particularly good use of meat. This applies even more to puppies, because the increased protein requirement of growth is met most efficiently through animal meat. Plant-based protein sources do provide protein, but not the same amino acid profile.
There's something to bear in mind about meat content: a food with "70% fresh meat" can contain less usable protein than one with "40% dried protein", because fresh meat is roughly 75% water. What counts is the protein content in the dry matter, not just the percentage on the packaging.
What NANDOO puppy food delivers: 60% meat and fish content from clearly declared sources, chicken, turkey and salmon. No collective term, no hidden sources. The analytical crude protein content is stated on the packaging and lets you make a genuine comparison.
Feeding amount for puppies: how much is right?
The manufacturer's guideline on the packaging is a reference point, your most important check is your puppy's body condition. Puppies should be neither visibly underweight nor clearly overweight. The ribs should be slightly palpable but not visible.
Important: the recommended daily amount on the packaging always refers to your dog's expected adult weight, not its current weight, that's what distinguishes puppy food from adult food. Read the table carefully.
Training rewards and treats are part of the daily ration. If your puppy gets a lot of treats during training, reduce the main food amount accordingly. Especially during the intensive imprinting phase between 3 and 6 months, it's easy to underestimate how many rewards are adding up.
Practical tip: Weigh your puppy every 2 weeks. A steady weight increase without sudden jumps is the goal, not the fastest possible growth. Adjust the amount of food if the puppy clearly gains or loses weight, and wait at least 10 to 14 days after each adjustment before correcting again.
How many protein sources does a puppy need, and why this matters for its whole life
This is one of the most important questions around puppy feeding, and the answer is more scientifically grounded than most dog owners realise.
Oral tolerance: how a puppy's immune system learns
A puppy's immune system has to learn, in the first months of life, what is harmless. Food proteins are harmless, but the immune system doesn't know that from birth. It learns through repeated, regular contact. In immunology, this mechanism is called oral tolerance.
A peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (Marsella et al. 2003) demonstrated this mechanism directly in allergy-prone beagle puppies: puppies that regularly consumed a particular protein through their food over 28 days developed significantly weaker allergic reactions to exactly that protein later in life, measurable through reduced IgE levels and raised immunoregulatory markers (IL-10 and TGF-β). The conclusion: early, regular exposure builds active protection.
What this means: A protein that your puppy eats regularly in the first months of life gets stored by the immune system as harmless. A protein it never or barely encounters stays "unknown", and could act as an allergy trigger later in life when the immune system meets it for the first time.
Why 2 to 3 protein sources in puppy food are the sensible middle ground
It follows that the more different protein sources a puppy gets to know early and regularly, the broader the protection. A puppy food with 2 to 3 clearly declared protein sources lets the immune system build tolerance to several proteins at once, without overwhelming it.
Because this is where the important limit lies: oral tolerance develops through regular, repeated contact over a longer period, not through a single encounter. A puppy that gets a different type of meat every day gives its immune system no time to stabilise. Specialists at the Tierklinik Ismaning explicitly warn that too many different protein sources at once, changing too quickly, can actually encourage sensitisation rather than prevent it in genetically predisposed puppies.
The sensible approach is therefore: 2 to 3 fixed, clearly declared protein sources daily in the main food, kept stable over weeks. If needed, introduce a further protein source gradually through treats and observe the response.
Why NANDOO puppy food with chicken, turkey and salmon puts this into practice
NANDOO puppy food contains exactly three clearly declared protein sources: chicken, turkey and salmon. No collective term, no hidden sources:
- Three instead of one, the immune system learns to recognise three proteins as harmless, daily and regularly. Active tolerance-building for three different sources at the same time.
- Three instead of ten, no flooding, no uncontrolled variety. The immune system gets time and repetition to build genuine tolerance.
- Chicken and turkey as poultry proteins, the most commonly used meat sources in dog and cat food. Early tolerance to poultry is one of the most valuable protective factors for a dog's later life.
- Salmon as fish protein, a separate protein group, rarely an allergy trigger. At the same time, it provides DHA for brain and eye development.
- 60% meat and fish content, enough protein for daily, intensive contact with all three sources. The immune system gets the signal at every meal: these three proteins are safe.
By the end of the first year of life: A puppy that has had NANDOO puppy food for a year knows chicken, turkey and salmon as harmless. All three. Daily. With 60% meat content. This isn't marketing, this is oral tolerance in practice, backed by peer-reviewed immunology.
Grain-free for puppies: sensible or not?
Grain-free means no wheat, maize or barley is included. For puppies without known intolerances, grain-free isn't a necessity, but it isn't a disadvantage either. The real benefit lies elsewhere: grain-free recipes often rely on more digestible carbohydrate sources such as sweet potato or potato, which can be gentler on a puppy's still-sensitive gut.
What you should check with grain-free puppy food: it still has to be a complete food. Grain-free says nothing about how complete the nutrient supply is. Always check for FEDIAF compliance on the packaging.
NANDOO puppy food is grain-free, and still a complete food with a grain-free carbohydrate source. No wheat, no maize, no compromises on the nutrient profile.
Hydrolysed protein in puppy food, what you need to know
Some vets recommend hydrolysed food for puppies with skin symptoms or digestive problems. It's important here to understand the mechanism, because there's a specific drawback for puppies in particular that's often not explained.
What hydrolysed protein is, explained simply
In hydrolysed food, the proteins are industrially pre-digested, broken down into tiny fragments that the immune system no longer recognises as protein. This is meant to prevent allergic reactions. The immune system is outwitted, not cured.
The problem for puppies: oral tolerance can't develop
If a puppy's immune system no longer recognises the proteins in its food, because they've been broken down too small, it also can't build tolerance to those proteins. The very mechanism that makes oral tolerance possible in the first place, recognising the protein as harmless, is exactly what hydrolysis switches off.
What this means: a puppy fed exclusively on hydrolysed food doesn't learn to recognise a single protein source as harmless during this critical phase. It leaves puppyhood with an immune system that hasn't built any tolerance to food proteins, and is therefore potentially more prone to food allergies in adulthood, not less.
The research picture: Clinical studies also show failure rates of 20 to 50% with hydrolysed food (Bizikova & Olivry 2016) and T-lymphocyte activation in 24 to 39% of the allergic dogs tested, despite hydrolysis (Masuda et al. 2020). Hydrolysed food is a short-term diagnostic tool, not a long-term food, and certainly not puppy food for healthy dogs.
If your puppy suffers from a vet-confirmed severe food allergy or IBD, speaking to the vet is of course the first step. For healthy puppies, the rule is: real proteins in clearly declared, controlled amounts are the more scientifically sound basis.
Changing food for puppies: how to do it properly
Whether you're switching your puppy from the breeder's ration to a new food or changing food later on, the gut needs time. Especially in puppies, the gut flora is still developing and reacts more sensitively to sudden changes than in an adult dog.
The tried-and-tested switching routine:
- Days 1 to 3: 75% old food, 25% new food
- Days 4 to 6: 50% / 50%
- Days 7 to 9: 25% old food, 75% new food
- From day 10: 100% new food
With a sensitive puppy, slow this process down, up to 3 to 4 weeks is normal. If the puppy develops soft stools or diarrhoea during the switch, reduce the proportion of new food for 2 to 3 days and then increase it more slowly.
Important: Keep treats and chews constant during the switch, ideally unchanged. If you change food and rewards at the same time, you won't know what's causing a reaction.
These signals show you when something isn't right for your puppy
Your puppy can't talk, but it shows you through its behaviour and body whether the food suits it. Keep an eye on these signals:
- Stools: Firm, well-formed stools are a good sign. Persistently soft stools, diarrhoea or very frequent bowel movements over several days is a sign that something isn't right, either the amount of food, the composition, or the switch happened too fast.
- Skin and coat: Itching, redness, flaking or a dull coat can point to an intolerance, but also to other causes such as parasites or environmental allergens. Don't change the food straight away without ruling out other causes.
- Energy and playfulness: A healthy puppy between 3 and 12 months has plenty of energy and is playful. Persistent lethargy or very little activity is a signal for the vet, not just a food issue.
- Growth: Even growth is the goal. Neither stagnation nor sudden growth spurts are ideal. Weigh every 2 weeks and compare with breed growth curves.
- Hunger after eating: A puppy that keeps searching intensively after eating, or is very restless, may be getting too little energy. Increase the amount gradually and observe.
The most common mistakes in puppy feeding
- Giving adult food: No adult food for puppies, not even temporarily or "because it's there". The nutrient profiles aren't interchangeable.
- Feeding too much: Especially with large breeds, excessive energy intake leads to excessively rapid growth with joint damage. The manufacturer's guideline is a maximum value, not a minimum target.
- Not counting treats: During training, large amounts of treats quickly add up. This comes at the expense of the main food amount, or leads to oversupply. Always think of it as part of the daily ration.
- Constantly switching: Every change of food places strain on a puppy's gut and stops the immune system building stable tolerance. Don't change the food every time there's a soft stool, observe for at least 10 to 14 days.
- Adding calcium supplements: With a complete food, no additional calcium is needed, and too much calcium is harmful to skeletal development in large-breed puppies.
- Table and family leftovers: Salt, onions, garlic, grapes, chocolate and many other human foods are toxic to dogs. Even seemingly harmless extras disrupt digestion and distort body condition.
NANDOO puppy food, our recommendation
NANDOO puppy food combines the key requirements of the growth phase in one recipe: high meat content from clearly declared sources, grain-free, three protein sources for active tolerance-building, DHA from salmon for brain and eye development, and formulated as a complete food to the FEDIAF standard.
Chicken, turkey & salmon (60%), for medium and large breeds
60% meat and fish content from chicken, turkey and salmon. Grain-free, without artificial additives. The immune system learns to recognise all three protein sources as harmless every day, poultry protein and fish protein in one ration. From around €21.90.
Turkey & duck with garden herbs (60%), for small breeds
60% poultry content from turkey and duck, smaller kibble size suited to small jaws. Grain-free, with garden herbs. From around €18.90.
Which variety suits your puppy?
To the food finder →FAQ: frequently asked questions about puppy feeding
From what age can I feed my puppy dry food?
From around 6 to 8 weeks, puppies can eat dry food, lightly moistened if needed to make it easier to eat. From 3 months, normal dry food for puppies is fine. Important: always puppy food, not adult food.
How long does my puppy need puppy food?
This depends on the breed. Small breeds (under 10 kg adult weight) are fully grown at around 10 months and can switch to adult food. Medium breeds from around 12 months, large breeds from around 15 to 18 months, giant breeds sometimes not until 24 months. If in doubt: better to stay on puppy food a little longer than to switch too early.
My puppy isn't eating, what should I do?
If a puppy skips one meal, that's not immediately a cause for concern. But if it eats little or nothing over several meals or more than a day, seems lethargic or shows other symptoms, see the vet. Only change food after other causes have been ruled out.
How many treats can my puppy have during training?
As a guideline: treats and rewards shouldn't make up more than 10% of total daily calories. Use small pieces, a treat can easily be quartered. Deduct the amount from the main food portion.
Should I give my puppy wet or dry food?
Both are possible, both have advantages and disadvantages. Dry food is more practical to portion and good for dental care through mechanical abrasion. Wet food has a higher moisture content and is happily eaten by many puppies. A combination works, but then factor in the energy density of both types of food to avoid oversupply.
Can I give my puppy raw meat (BARF)?
BARF (biologically appropriate raw food) is possible for puppies, but far more demanding than commercial food: the nutrient composition has to be planned very carefully, mistakes in the calcium/phosphorus ratio or DHA supply can permanently damage skeletal development. Without veterinary or nutritional guidance, BARF isn't recommended for puppies.
What should I do if my puppy gets diarrhoea?
Short-term diarrhoea in puppies (1 to 2 days) is common and usually harmless, stress, too fast a food switch or an unfamiliar morsel can be the trigger. Offer plenty of water, feed a little less. If the diarrhoea lasts longer than 2 days, contains blood, or the puppy is lethargic and off its food: go to the vet straight away.
Matching products at kauliebe
You'll find specially formulated food for young dogs in our dry food for puppies.
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