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Is commercial dog food healthy for my puppy or is it like junk food?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Hi, I took my 2 month old pitbull to the vet in Mexico since it is way cheaper than California vets and he told me something that got me thinking. He said to not give dog food to my puppy. That giving them dog food is like is eating McDonald's everyday. It honestly does make sense to me since both of them are processed foods. I just wanted to see what other vets think about this. Thank you.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Shaneez Wallani, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on March 28th, 2017

A balanced diet for a puppy has many key nutrients which are vital to their health, and which are available in good quality commercial puppy food. A homemade diet that is not balanced can have severe consequences for your pet’s health, as it can lead to nutritional deficiencies or malnutrition. There are many types of prepared pet food out there, some of them better than others. A good quality food with veterinarians and nutritionists developing the food and lab data showing that it is providing necessary nutrients is a good bet to make sure your pup is getting what he needs out of his meals. Because puppies have different nutritional needs than adult dogs, and large breeds have different needs than small breeds, your puppy should be on a large breed puppy food until he reaches a year old, then slowly transitioned over to a large breed adult dog food. That being said, many people now choose to cook for their pets at home, and this can be a good alternative to commercial pet foods if done right. If you wish to prepare your puppy’s food at home, I recommend booking an appointment with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist who can give you recipes for a nutritionally balanced homemade diet tailored to the needs of your puppy. If you are in the U.S., you can visit www.acvn.org to find a board certified veterinary nutritionist in your area. If this is not possible, you can check https://secure.balanceit.com for free recipes for meals for your puppy that will provide him with the nutrition he needs.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    There are advantages and disadvantages to dog food, but overall dog food, especially high quality ones, cannot be compared to junk food or McDonald's, they are much superior, balanced and healthier than any human junk food.

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