Puppo Dog Food Review

Puppo is a new premium dog food service based in Oregon.

The dry food is available by subscription delivery only, and can be super-customized to meet your dogs needs. I had a go at their personalizing system, and was impressed at what they are trying to do.

The Basics

Food is made in an FDA-inspected facility in North Carolina, according to AAFCO nutrient profiles.
All formulas begin with a meat protein as their primary ingredient.
Corn, wheat, and soy protein are never used.
Food is available by delivery-only anywhere in the continental USA.
Pricing varies (typically around $1.35/day – and up to $2.50 for a larger dog).

The Puppo Process

Puppo has a unique process for getting exactly the right food for your dog.

You begin by entering your dogs name.
Then continue with breed and age details:
Upload a photo. This will appear on your bag of dog food.
Followed by selecting the best size for your dog.
Then choose activity level. Our dog Griffin barely registers on the couch potato (more about that later).
Now is where things get interesting. You choose any of your known dog food sensitivities or allergies.
Followed by your dogs flavor preference (depending on your breed – EVERYTHING might be a favorite flavor)…

What Happens Next?

The process is complete, you then get presented with your dog’s unique bag of food.

However, this didn’t quite happen for me. Our dog Griffin (labradoodle), unfortunately has a diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. This has made life difficult for him as he can often be in pain, lethargic, and can have flare-ups at any time. This has lead to a very strict diet for him.

Griffin hard at work

So when I selected the options on Puppo I initially chose almost everything as a food sensitivity. Which then presented me with this response.

Not quite what I was hoping for.

However – I was able to communicate directly with one of the Puppo nutrition team who was able to talk me through. It turns out the some of the selections (e.g. Pork) were only there as part of a flavoring. And… to be honest… we are not 100% sure of exactly which foods Griffin is intolerant of. We definitely know that Beef, Lamb, and Dairy do not work for him.

So I went back, and tweaked the sensitivities, and was rewarded with this outcome.

Puppo recommended their Salmon and Lentil formula. Now, clearly, this is not the cheapest food out there. For Griffin I’m talking around $50 per month (for approx. three 5 lb bags). You can compare this with, say, a bag of Wellness core (~ $40 for a 12 lb bag).

You can take a look at my limited ingredient food roundup, or the a selection of good hypoallergenic foods for some other options.

Puppo were able to disclose the complete ingredient list for this formula:

Salmon, Salmon Meal, Dried Potatoes, Lentils, Chickpeas, Dried Sweet Potato, Canola Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Potato Starch, Sunflower Oil (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Natural Flavor, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Potato Protein, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid (preservatives), Zinc Sulfate, Niacin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Selenium Yeast, Riboflavin Supplement (Vitamin B2), Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid, Rosemary Extract

As you can see, it’s right up there with the healthiest of dog foods.

Puppo Recommendations: Worth Trying?

One thing I like about newer services is their passion and attention to customer service. Despite my initial profile not working out, the nutritionists reached out and helped to resolve the situation.

How many other dog food places do you get to communicate directly with the manufacturer?

If you have a dog with known sensitivities, it’s definitely worth getting a higher quality food. With Puppo you are going to pay a little more (although you can cancel at any time).

Unfortunately for me, as I currently reside outside the US, my dog was unable to try the actual kibble. And, to be honest, with his condition it is very difficult to determine which foods are actually triggering an incident. But if I could get it – I would definitely be giving it a go.

See more at Puppo.com

Other Similar Services

Holichow offer a similar service.
Nomnomnow – are a delivery service – but offer a series of wet food blends (see more about nomnomnow in our limited ingredient roundup).

UPDATE: Since this post, Puppo now have even more personalized feed back for your dog (including recommendations, and how your dog measures up with his weight, etc).

If you’ve had any experience with Puppo – please add a comment below!

*This review was 100% editorial. There was no payment or product made in exchange for a review.

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