Raw food for puppies is how you set a dog up for the lean body, strong skeleton, healthy gut and steady immune system they'll carry into adulthood. Puppies grow fast. Between weaning at six to eight weeks and reaching full size somewhere between twelve and twenty-four months depending on breed, they lay down every bit of muscle, bone, organ and brain tissue they'll have for life. What goes in the bowl during that window matters more than any other diet decision you'll make. This range covers everything a growing puppy needs: lean novel proteins, soft raw meaty bones, organ meat for vitamin density, and omega-rich fish. Whether you're raising a five-week-old Cavoodle, a young Labrador, or a giant breed pup that needs careful skeletal development, browse below and pick what fits the stage.
Why Raw Food Suits Puppies Better Than Kibble
Puppies are built for high-quality animal protein, real fat, calcium-phosphorus ratios that come from natural bone, and a steady supply of moisture. Kibble delivers compressed, cooked carbohydrate with synthetic vitamin top-ups, all of which their bodies handle inefficiently at exactly the stage when efficiency matters most.
Raw-fed puppies typically show a leaner growth curve, better coat condition, cleaner teeth, smaller and firmer stools, and noticeably calmer digestion. Energy is steadier across the day instead of crashing between meals. The full case for puppy-specific raw feeding is on our puppy raw feeding guide, which goes into the differences between our puppy approach and the generic raw-for-all approach.
For owners moving a puppy off kibble or transitioning straight from mother's milk to solids, raw is the most direct biologically appropriate option. Done right, it sets up a lifetime of cleaner health outcomes.
What to Feed a Puppy at Each Growth Stage
Puppy nutritional needs shift through three clear phases between weaning and adult body weight. Match the food to the stage rather than feeding the same thing for twelve months straight.
Weaning to 4 months
Soft, finely textured raw food in small, frequent meals. Four meals a day is normal. Focus on highly digestible proteins like lamb, turkey and venison. Stick to soft raw meaty bones only: chicken necks, duck necks and chicken feet. Hold off on harder bones or recreational chews until adult teeth settle around four to six months.
4 to 8 months
Three meals a day. Introduce more protein variety so your puppy is exposed to multiple flavours early, which prevents the fussy adult eating that pet owners often deal with later. Start broader bone options like duck wings and meatier necks. Add omega-rich fish like sardines once or twice a week.
8 months to adult
Transition toward adult feeding patterns: two meals a day, full protein rotation, the entire range of raw meaty bones, organ rotation and natural chews. Most small and medium breeds reach adult patterns by twelve months. Large and giant breeds need slower growth and continue puppy-style nutrition until eighteen to twenty-four months.
What's in the Raw Puppy Food Range
Each product in this range is either puppy-appropriate directly or fits into a puppy's diet from a specific stage. The core categories:
Lean Primal mixes for growth
The Primal Lamb Mix is the everyday workhorse for growing puppies. Rich in protein, organs and essential fats, with the digestibility most puppies need from weaning onwards. The Primal Wild Venison and Primal Wild Emu are clean novel proteins, useful for sensitive puppies or for early exposure to multiple proteins to prevent allergies later. The full range of single-protein and wild mixes sits in our primal pre-mixed tubs collection.
Soft raw meaty bones for young teeth and bones
Calcium and phosphorus from real bone is non-negotiable for skeletal growth, but the bones have to match the size of your puppy. Chicken necks, duck necks and duck wings are the safest starting bones. Chicken feet and duck feet add natural glucosamine and collagen, which matter especially for large-breed puppies whose joints carry developmental stress. Browse the broader raw meaty bones range as your puppy grows.
Organs for vitamin density
Organ meat is the most concentrated natural source of vitamins and minerals available to your puppy. Chicken hearts bring taurine, iron and B vitamins. Chicken giblets deliver a balanced organ mix at the lowest price point. Primal Raw Green Tripe supports gut development with natural digestive enzymes and probiotic bacteria. The full case is on our green tripe deep dive.
Omega-3 for brain and joint development
Puppies are building brain, eye and nervous system tissue at a pace they'll never repeat. Whole sardines are the most efficient way to deliver natural omega-3s once or twice a week. For ongoing skin and coat support, especially in large-breed puppies, the broader natural pet supplements range covers liquid omega oils.
Functional novel proteins
Wild Rabbit and Goat Testes are unusual but valuable for puppies. Novel proteins early in life build a broader food tolerance and reduce the chance of developing allergies to common proteins later. Each one rotates into a varied weekly menu.
Large Breed vs Small Breed Puppy Feeding
The single most important variable in puppy raw feeding is breed size, because growth rates and skeletal load are wildly different.
Small and toy breeds
Cavoodles, Mini Dachshunds, French Bulldogs, Pomeranians and similar. Reach adult size by ten to twelve months. Feed four meals a day until four months, then drop to three, then two by twelve months. Portions are small but frequent. Watch for hypoglycaemia in very small puppies, which means no skipping meals.
Medium breeds
Cocker Spaniels, Border Collies, Kelpies, Australian Cattle Dogs. Adult around twelve months. Standard puppy feeding schedule. Active herding and working breeds need higher protein and fat than average, especially as they approach working age.
Large breeds
Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Boxers, Staffies, Vizslas. Adult around fifteen to eighteen months. Slower, controlled growth matters more than fast growth. Avoid overfeeding, even with raw, since rapid growth in large breeds is linked to joint problems later. Stay lean with ribs easy to feel.
Giant breeds
German Shepherds, Rottweilers, Great Danes, Mastiffs, Newfoundlands. Adult around eighteen to twenty-four months. Calcium-phosphorus balance is critical. Don't over-supplement. Don't overfeed. Slower is genuinely better for skeletal development in giant breeds, and raw delivers the right ratios naturally from real bone rather than synthetic mineral additives.
How Much Raw Food Should a Puppy Eat Daily
Puppies eat dramatically more relative to body weight than adult dogs. Rough starting points:
- 2 to 4 month old puppy: 8 to 10% of current body weight daily, split across 4 meals
- 4 to 6 month old puppy: 6 to 8% of body weight, split across 3 to 4 meals
- 6 to 9 month old puppy: 4 to 6% of body weight, 3 meals
- 9 to 12 month old puppy: 3 to 4% of body weight, 2 to 3 meals
- 12 months+: transitioning to adult portions, around 2 to 3% body weight
These are starting points. Adjust to body condition rather than the percentage alone. A growing puppy should be lean: ribs easy to feel but not visibly protruding, with a defined waist when viewed from above. Run exact numbers through our raw feeding calculator and recalculate every two to three weeks as your puppy grows.
How to Transition a Puppy to Raw Food
Puppies transition to raw far more easily than adult dogs. The basic approach:
From mother's milk
Around three to four weeks, start introducing very finely chopped or coarse-blended raw alongside nursing. By six to eight weeks the puppy should be eating proper raw meals independently.
From kibble
Move over 7 to 10 days. Start with 25% raw and 75% kibble, increase the raw portion every couple of days, fully raw by day 10. Puppies almost always accept raw enthusiastically. The common raw feeding mistakes guide flags the usual issues to avoid.
Serve at room temperature
Thaw in the fridge for 12 to 24 hours, then sit the meal out for 15 minutes before serving. Puppies eat better at room temperature than fridge-cold.
Always supervise bone time
Especially for puppies eating raw meaty bones for the first time. Match the bone size to the puppy. Take any worn-down piece away that could be swallowed whole.
Related Collections
As your puppy grows, the rest of the range opens up: the full raw dog food range, raw meal packs for balanced ready-to-feed options, raw meaty bones sized for adolescents and adults, raw treats for training, and natural pet supplements for joint and coat support. New to raw puppy feeding? Start with why raw works and the food selector guide.