The Best Taste of the Wild Puppy Food

Written by Kristin Hitchcock
Updated: January 13, 2023
© mary.foto.great/Shutterstock.com

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Taste of the Wild is well known for producing quality dog food with natural ingredients and novel proteins. In addition to a huge line of adult food formulas, they also produce two different puppy food recipes.

Novel proteins are proteins that are rarer and that are new to your dog. Examples of novel proteins include alligator, duck, kangaroo, rabbit, and venison. If your dog is allergic to more common proteins, such as beef or chicken, you may choose to feed them a food featuring a novel protein that they’ve never eaten.

Overall, these puppy food recipes are great quality — with solid ingredients for your puppy to grow on.

We know just how important it is to feed puppies the best possible diet. After all, puppies are growing, so they need plenty of nutrition to develop strong teeth, bones, muscles, immune systems, and more. We’ll help you choose the best Taste of the Wild food in this article so that you can feed your puppy only the best.

  1. Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy
    • Contains water buffalo and lamb
    • Supports your puppy's necessary growth
    • Includes chicory root for extra fiber and healthy digestion
    • Added chelated minerals
    Check Chewy Check Amazon
  2. Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Puppy Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
    • Made from fish primarily
    • No grain or chicken
    • Contains chelated minerals for digestibility
    • Antioxidants from real fruits
    Check Chewy Check Amazon

A-Z-Animals Top Picks for Taste of the Wild Puppy Food

#1 Best Overall: Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Dry Dog Food

Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Dry Dog Food is our choice for the best overall Taste of the Will puppy food. Water buffalo and lamb meal are the first two ingredients. This Taste of the Wild puppy food is very high in protein (28%) and supports your puppy’s bone, joint, and muscle growth. It includes a variety of different meats, including roasted bison and venison. Plus, this formula is completely grain-free, so it may be suitable for some puppies with sensitive stomachs.

This formula also includes chicory root for extra fiber and healthy digestion. All the minerals are chelated, which makes them easier to absorb. It also features vitamins and minerals from superfoods, omega fatty acids for your puppy’s skin and coat health, and probiotics, antioxidants, and prebiotics to support healthy digestion, immune system health, and overall wellness.

However, this food does include high amounts of peas, potatoes, and similar ingredients. While these aren’t necessarily bad in themselves, they are used in pretty high amounts.

For instance, pea protein is used to up this dog food’s protein content. These ingredients have been associated with certain heart conditions in dogs, so they are generally not very recommended.

Taste of the Wild is a family-owned business and its products are made in the US from globally sourced ingredients.

Pros and Cons of Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Dry Dog Food

ProsCons
Water buffalo and lamb meal are the first two ingredients.It includes high amounts of peas, potatoes, and similar ingredients that have been associated with certain heart conditions in dogs.
It’s high in protein (28%) to support your puppy’s growth.
This formula is grain-free, so it may be suitable for puppies with sensitive stomachs.
Taste of the Wild is a family-owned business and its products are made in the US from globally sourced ingredients.
Best Overall
Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy
  • Contains water buffalo and lamb
  • Supports your puppy's necessary growth
  • Includes chicory root for extra fiber and healthy digestion
  • Added chelated minerals
Check Chewy Check Amazon

2. Best for Sensitive Stomachs: Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Puppy Dry Dog Food

Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Puppy Dry Dog Food features fish as the main ingredient. Specifically, the first ingredient is salmon, followed by ocean fish meal. These novel proteins are good options for puppies with sensitive stomachs that may not be able to handle usual proteins like chicken and beef.

Plus, this formula is completely grain-free. While most puppies can handle grains, those with sensitive stomachs may not be able to. However, instead of using more meat, this formula instead uses peas and potatoes. While these are okay in moderate amounts, you may want to be cautious about foods that include high amounts due to their link to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs.

This food also includes natural antioxidants through the use of real fruits and veggies. Furthermore, this recipe also uses dried chicory root for added fiber and digestion support.

Chelated minerals are also added to optimize nutrient absorption and ensure that your puppy has everything they need to grow.

Pros and Cons of Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Puppy Dry Dog Food

Pros
Cons
The main ingredient in this puppy food is fish; salmon is the first ingredient and ocean fish meal is the second.This recipe includes peas and potatoes, which have been linked to dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs.
These proteins may be good for puppies with sensitive stomachs that can’t handle common proteins like chicken and beef.
This recipe is grain-free, which may be a good choice for puppies with sensitive stomachs that can’t handle grains.
Real fruits and veggies provide natural antioxidants.
Dried chicory root is included for added fiber and digestion support.
Best for Puppies with Allergies
Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Puppy Recipe Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
  • Made from fish primarily
  • No grain or chicken
  • Contains chelated minerals for digestibility
  • Antioxidants from real fruits
Check Chewy Check Amazon

Choosing the Best: What to Look For

There are many different formulas you could potentially feed your canine. Because puppies require specific nutrients in the right quantities for optimal development, selecting the best option can be challenging. We’ll take a look at some of the most important features to look for when choosing puppy food: ingredients, macronutrients, grain inclusion, and price.

Ingredients

Pet food is only as good as its ingredients. Therefore, you should take a careful look at the ingredients before you purchase the food. Preferably, meat should be the first few ingredients, followed by grains and/or veggies.

At the very end of the list, you’ll find a list of added nutrients. While these have chemical (and sometimes scary-sounding) names, they are vital for your dog’s health, especially when they’re a growing puppy.

Macronutrients

Puppies need lots of protein and fat to survive and grow. They need more than the average adult due to their high activity level and the fact that they’re still growing. In dog food, most protein and fat come from meat. Therefore, a high meat content usually translates to a high protein and fat content. However, some companies do use ingredients like pea protein to add extra protein without spending more on meat.

Pea protein does have a different digestibility than whole meat. Therefore, it isn’t necessarily as good of a source. Plus, eating peas, lentils, other legumes, and/or potatoes in any form (whole, flour, protein, etc.) in large quantities have been linked to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs.

Grain-Inclusion

Many dog owners mistakenly think that grains are not appropriate for dogs. However, studies have found that dogs have evolved to eat grains, and they include quite a few nutrients, like added fiber.

Furthermore, instead of adding more meat, most of these recipes simply add extra peas and potatoes, which are cheap veggies that also happen to be high in protein. Excessive amounts of these veggies have been linked to certain health conditions.

In this way, grain-inclusive formulas are usually a better option for most puppies.

Price

Only you know what your budget is. Therefore, you’ll have to judge whether a particular food fits your budget.

With that said, more expensive food is not necessarily better. Many owners choose more expensive food under the assumption that it’s the best. However, we recommend looking at other criterion instead, since many expensive pet food brands are actually sub-par.

Verified Review: User Experience

Many dog owners loved both of the puppy recipes that Taste of the Wild creates. There are countless reviews raving about how these foods help their puppies stay healthy and happy.

For instance, one specified that their puppy’s coat was “shiny” and their eyes “bright.” It helps puppies’ coats “stay beautiful.”

Furthermore, this food seems to be quite tasty, likely because of its high-fat content. Specifically, there are many comments that their dogs “loved it.” Even those with previously picky eaters found that this food is well-loved by most dogs.

Quite a few customers found that these foods were very good for puppies with sensitive stomachs. The salmon and ocean fish recipe is particularly helpful in this manner.

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About the Author

Kristin is a writer at A-Z Animals primarily covering dogs, cats, fish, and other pets. She has been an animal writer for seven years, writing for top publications on everything from chinchilla cancer to the rise of designer dogs. She currently lives in Tennessee with her cat, dogs, and two children. When she isn't writing about pets, she enjoys hiking and crocheting.

The Best Taste of the Wild Puppy Food FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) 

Is Taste of the Wild dog food good for puppies?

Have Taste of the Wild puppy recipes ever been recalled?

According to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s Recalls & Withdrawals website, as of January 13, 2023, no Taste of the Wild recipe has ever been recalled.

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