Premium Nutrition for Your Pet The Benefits of Choosing Ava Puppy Food
AVA Puppy Food Review
Find out if Ava puppy food is good enough to provide all the nutrition that your growing puppy needs, as we take a close look at the ingredients.
Advanced Nutrition Vet Approved known as AVA is a high-quality premium brand which is produced by Pets at Home.
Designed to support wellbeing and health, as well as provide superior nutrition, AVA puppy food has a special blend of nutrients to support your growing pup.
Pets at Home produce a range of other foods and products; theyre not just a retailer.
They have created AVA to be a particularly gentle and natural addition to their products, perfect for pooches who are on the sensitive side.
AVA puppy food includes both wet and dry food so you can select the option that suits your pet.
But what do the AVA puppy food reviews make of this product?
Heres a look at whats inside the packaging.
Range of Foods
When you purchase dog food, some brands offer different options depending on the size of your dog.
AVA goes one step further and caters specifically for certain breeds, such as Shih Tzu, Yorkshire terrier, and many more.
Thats not the case with their puppy food though; this more selective type of food is only available with AVA adult dog food.
AVA puppy food is available in either a wet or dry format. The whole range is made from premium, natural ingredients only and is completely free of pork, soya, dairy, wheat and gluten.
Therefore if youve got a dog whos prone to allergies, this puppy food could be a top pick.
The wet puppy food they offer includes:
- Chicken pate
- Chicken and lamb pate
And their dry puppy food:
- Small breed chicken kibble
- Medium breed chicken kibble
- Large breed chicken kibble
Both 2kg and 15kg size bags are available.
The kibble is sold in bags for either small, medium and large breeds, which is a simplified version of their breed-specific adult food.
Its important to pick the type that corresponds with your poochs breed because the individual kibble will be sized for your dogs mouth.
Kibble which is too small wont feel satisfying for your canine, and if its too big, they may struggle to eat comfortably.
Recommended:We take a close look at Burns puppy food in our latest guide.
Health Benefits of Ava Puppy Food
No matter which type of AVA puppy food you select, your dog will be enjoying natural ingredients with no artificial additives.
The formula focuses on skin, coat and digestion to help your dog look and feel their best.
Puppy food has very different requirements than adult dog food and AVA has received official approval from vets.
It has been formulated to deliver a high-calorie diet which is rich in important nutrients to encourage healthy growth and development.
The protein is carefully chosen to be easily digestible by immature canine systems. It contains slow-release carbohydrates to support steady energy levels plus soluble and insoluble fibre to aid digestion.
Ongoing brain development, kidney health plus skin and coat conditioning are supported by nutrients which include Omega-3 and Omega-6.
Recommended: Dont miss our Acana puppy food review next.
Beneficial Ingredients
AVA is a dog food which aims to go beyond just providing good nutrition; the blend of ingredients help to improve your poochs health and get them in tip-top condition.
It does this by not only relying on the highest quality proteins and ingredients but including their own special blend of nutrients.
Known as +Imuvita, this collection of extracts has been carefully selected to boost your dogs wellbeing. It includes green tea extract, cranberry, beta-glucans and pomegranate.
Brewers Yeast is also included as an ingredient because of the health benefits its linked with. In dogs, Brewers Yeast is believed to promote healthy function of the eyes and liver, plus boost the hair and skin.
Brewers Yeast includes B vitamins as well as a whole host of minerals including chromium, selenium, zinc, potassium and iron.
These are good for your canines body in many different ways, such as supporting the immune system and helping with the production of red blood cells.
Recommended:Make sure to check out our Bakers puppy food review after this.
Is Ava Dog Food Good Value for Money?
AVA puppy food is geared towards dogs who have sensitivities and owners who want to ensure that theyre buying high-quality, all-natural ingredients.
This means its not aimed at the budget market and is competing with other premium brands.
Compared to other puppy foods which have a similar profile, AVA is middle of the range.
Its not the cheapest food nor is it the most expensive. Broadly speaking, its on a par with brands such as Iams.
Are There Any Negatives?
Although Brewers Yeast is associated with many health benefits in dogs, it can be problematic for some.
If you notice your dog is suffering with more gas than usual or is bloated, this could be due to the Brewers Yeast in the food.
Most dogs only suffer from mild symptoms which quickly pass but for others, the problem can be quite severe.
This is more likely to occur in dogs which have known digestive difficulties or a breed which has a tendency to bloat.
Larger breeds with deep chests are more likely to have tendency to bloat (such as St Bernard, Weimaraner, Irish Setter and Great Dane).
Brewers Yeast also has the potential to interfere with any medication your dog may be taking.
This is especially the case if the medication includes any Brewers Yeast already. Although the amounts involved are quite small, its best to clear it with your vet first.
Conclusion
AVA puppy food is one of the premium brands from Pets at Home that offers dog owners the opportunity to buy a natural, hypoallergenic formula which has been carefully blended to provide optimal health benefits.
Compared to lots of other dog foods, AVA stands out for its commitment to quality, receiving vet approval on the formula.
AVA dog food puppy reviews reflect this fact with the majority of owners praising it, and describing the positive effect on their canine.
If you want a dog food that will deliver a real bargain, AVA probably isnt what youre looking for.
However, if youre searching for a premium puppy food that contains high levels of protein and no hypoallergenic ingredients, this formula is very affordable.
Alternatives to AVA include Iams, Eukanuba, Skinners and Autarky, which range from cheaper than AVA to more expensive.
However, even with the alternatives, there are very few which are high in protein, a complete food, and hypoallergenic in the same way that AVA is.
For this reason, its widely rated by veterinary professionals as a top food for your pup.
How To Choose the Right Food for Your Puppy
Welcoming a puppy into your home isnt as simple as bringing your new family member homeyou have to puppy-proof your space, start crate training and potty training, and find the best puppy food to help her grow.
Feeding your puppy an appropriate diet that supports her growth and optimizes her health is not as hard as you might think. As long as you keep a few key things in mind when selecting your puppys diet, picking good food for a puppy is simple.
Why Puppy Food?
Growing puppies have different nutritional needs than adult dogs, which is what makes feeding them a puppy food essential. The most important step in choosing a food for your new friend is to select one that is specifically labeled for puppies or one thats formulated for growth. A quality puppy food will provide the following in amounts that will support your pup as she grows:
A puppys digestive tract is still maturing, so a good puppy food should also be highly digestible to reduce gastrointestinal discomfort or upset.
What To Look For in a Good Puppy Food
There are a lot of puppy food brands and formulations on the market, and not all are created equal. When youre choosing the best puppy food, heres what to consider:
1. Expected Adult Size
For large- and giant-breed puppies (those expected to weigh over 50 pounds as an adult), consider using a puppy food formulated especially for large- or giant-breed dogs.
The biggest concern with feeding large- or giant-breed puppies is providing too many calories and nutrients, which can cause your puppy to grow too quickly. This rapid growth causes abnormal bone remodeling and skeletal abnormalities, affecting the dogs ability to walk and exercise normally later in life. Puppy foods specifically formulated for larger dogs provide fewer calories and less calcium than other options, which helps regulate the puppys skeletal and muscle growth.
2. Breed
There are various dog foods that are marketed as breed-specific food. These diets are not truly necessary for your growing puppy, but they can help by offering a preferable kibble size for your puppy and a more specific nutrient profile for your dogs breed. For example:
Breeds with longer coats may benefit from a growth formula with added fat and greater essential fatty acids, to support a healthier haircoat and skin.
Large-breed formulas tend to incorporate more fiber to help improve stool quality/firmness.
Additional ingredients may be added to help combat common breed-related concerns, such as with Eukanubas Boxer formula, which supplies additional omega-3 fatty acids, L-carnitine, and taurineall nutrients beneficial for heart health.
So, while not necessary, a breed-specific puppy food may provide some added nutritional benefit for your dog.
3. Ingredient Profile
There are no specific ingredients to look for when choosing the best puppy food, but pet parents must ensure the food is made by a reputable company and contains high-quality ingredients.
Its not recommended to feed puppies grain-free diets because of their connection to the development of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The issue may not simply be the lack of grains, but more so the ingredients added in place of the grains that may alter metabolism of nutrients necessary for proper heart development and function.
There also may be some breed-specific differences that precipitate this condition, in relation to the diet. Research on this topic is ongoing and conflicting. But for now, its best to err on the side of caution and avoid grain-free diets, particularly in your growing puppy, whose vital organs are still maturing.
The Best Puppy Food Brands
These days, there are a multitude of dog food brands for you to choose fromso much so, that the selection can be overwhelming. To help narrow down your choices, choose a manufacturing company that is committed to conducting scientific research on the foods it produces via organized feeding trials.
These companies have strict quality control guidelines to ensure the food nutrient concentrations meet their claims on the product label. Look for companies that employ a nutritionist to help formulate their diets; this information might not be readily available, so you may have to call the company or search their website to find the answer. Some of these scientifically driven companies include
All of these companies offer various brand lines that provide options to align with your budget and nutritional values, like Purinas Beyond organic line. Always discuss your choice in puppy food with your veterinarian.
You should feed your new family member puppy food until shes reached about 80% of her anticipated adult size. For small and medium-sized dogs, this is typically when theyre 12 months old. For large- and giant-breed dogs, this could occur between 18-24 months of age. At this point, they should transition to an adult dog food. But theres no harm in feeding a puppy diet into adulthood, as long as the calories and amount of food provided are appropriately adjusted for your dogs body weight and condition.
References
- Larsen J. 2010. Focus on nutrition: Feeding large breed puppies. Compendium: Continuing education for veterinarians; 2010.
Freeman, L. M., Stern, J. A., Fries, R., Adin, D. B., and Rush, J. E. Diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs: what do we know?; 2018.
US FDA. FDA Provides Update on Investigation into Potential Connection Between Certain Diets and Cases of Canine Heart Disease; 2019.
US FDA. Vet-LIRN Update on Investigation into Dilated Cardiomyopathy; 2019.
Adin, D., DeFrancesco, T. C., Keene, B., Tou, S., Meurs, K., Atkins, C., et al. Echocardiographic phenotype of canine dilated cardiomyopathy differs based on diet type. J. Vet; 2019.
Quilliam, C., Ren, Y., Morris, T., Ai, Y., and Weber, L. P.. The effects of 7 days of feeding pulse-based diets on digestibility, glycemic response and taurine levels in domestic dogs. Front. Vet. Sci. 8, 408; 2021
Quest BW, Leach WB, Garimella S, et al. Mar 2022. Incidence of canine dilated cardiomyopathy diagnosed at referral institutes and grain-free pet food store sales: A retrospective study. Front Anim Sci; 2022.
Featured Image: iStock/Vesnaandjic
- Larsen J. 2010. Focus on nutrition: Feeding large breed puppies. Compendium: Continuing education for veterinarians; 2010.
Freeman, L. M., Stern, J. A., Fries, R., Adin, D. B., and Rush, J. E. Diet-associated dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs: what do we know?; 2018.
US FDA. FDA Provides Update on Investigation into Potential Connection Between Certain Diets and Cases of Canine Heart Disease; 2019.
US FDA. Vet-LIRN Update on Investigation into Dilated Cardiomyopathy; 2019.
Adin, D., DeFrancesco, T. C., Keene, B., Tou, S., Meurs, K., Atkins, C., et al. Echocardiographic phenotype of canine dilated cardiomyopathy differs based on diet type. J. Vet; 2019.
Quilliam, C., Ren, Y., Morris, T., Ai, Y., and Weber, L. P.. The effects of 7 days of feeding pulse-based diets on digestibility, glycemic response and taurine levels in domestic dogs. Front. Vet. Sci. 8, 408; 2021
Quest BW, Leach WB, Garimella S, et al. Mar 2022. Incidence of canine dilated cardiomyopathy diagnosed at referral institutes and grain-free pet food store sales: A retrospective study. Front Anim Sci; 2022.
Featured Image: iStock/Vesnaandjic
WRITTEN BY
Amanda Ardente, DVM, PhDVeterinarian
Dr. Amanda Ardente founded Ardente Veterinary Nutrition LLC in August 2017, based on a long-term goal of combining her passion for...
