Hi-Tek Naturals Just for Puppies Dry Dog Food Review

Our Recommendation

Growing puppies need sufficient amounts of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and other nutrients to maintain strong bones and an overall healthy growth. Since it can sometimes be tricky to figure out if your puppy’s daily diet includes everything they need, many pet parents prefer to buy commercial dog food that has been specially formulated for puppies.

Hi-Tek Naturals Just for Puppies Dry Dog Food is aimed at recently weaned puppies and young dogs up to the age of 18 months. The puppy food manufacturer describes it as a complete and balanced diet that does not require additional health supplements and which will strengthen your puppy’s muscles, bones, and immune system.

This puppy food only uses natural mixed tocopherols and citric acid as food preservatives, and they do not use synthetic ethoxyquin preservative in their dog food. If the dog food contains fish ingredients, traces of synthetic ethoxyquin preservative may be inevitable since US regulations make it mandatory for ships carrying a cargo of fish and fish products to use it on-board as a stabilizing agent.

The main ingredients of the Hi-Tek Naturals Just for Puppies Dry Dog Food are chicken meal, chicken fat, and menhaden fish meal. Chicken meal and menhaden fish meal are concentrated protein sources are healthy for your puppy, and chicken fat is a good source of omega-6 fatty acids.

The vegetable and fruit content in the puppy food includes alfalfa, tomato, spinach, carrot, beet pulp, cranberry, and blueberry. These are good antioxidant sources, but beet pulp is a somewhat controversial ingredient as it is often used as a cheap filler and not considered to have any particular nutritional value.

The puppy food includes healthy and easy to digest grains like brown rice, grain sorghum, and pearl grain millet. These grains are rich in magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and iron, and are also good sources of fiber and vitamins. Signature Pet Products note on their website that these grains may be GMO grains.

The inclusion of flaxseed will provide your puppy with proteins, minerals, fiber, vitamin B, and omega-3 fatty acids.

The Hi-Tek Naturals Just for Puppies Dry Dog Food also contains probiotics. These facilitate better digestion.

Ingredients

Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Grain Sorghum, Pearl Grain Millet, Beet Pulp, Menhaden Fish Meal, Flaxseed, Natural Flavor, Alfalfa, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Tomato, Spinach, Carrot, Cranberry, Blueberry, Vitamin E Supplement, Biotin, Niacin Supplement, D-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin B6), Riboflavin (Source of Vitamin B2), Thiamine Mononitrate (Source of Vitamin B5), Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Selenium Yeast, Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Lactobacillus Casei Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Bifido Bacterium Thermophilum Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Enterococcus Faecium Fermentation Product Dehydrated.

Nutritional Analysis

Pet food ingredients, nutritional values, and the way they are labeled for consumers are monitored by several organizations in the United States including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the NGO, Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).

Each year the AAFCO publishes two sets of nutritional minimum standards for dog food intended to help specify if a food is suitable for:

1. Dogs in the growth & reproduction phases of life
2. Adult dogs maintaining a healthy weight and activity level

Caloric Content

386 kcal/cup

Guaranteed Analysis

* – indicates not yet analyzed

Transition Instructions

Recently weaned and older puppies can have sensitive stomachs, and so you need to be careful about what you feed them and how much. If you plan on putting them on a diet of Hi-Tek Naturals Just for Puppies Dry Dog Food, it is best to start with a tiny amount and see how well they digest that. If they appear fine, increase the amounts until you are feeding them the puppy food entirely.

Feeding Amounts

The food portions are measured in a standard measuring cup of 8 ounces.

Feeding Instructions

You can follow the manufacturer’s weight-based feeding amount recommendation, and make any necessary adjustments according to your puppy’s individual requirements. Always make sure that your puppy is fed in a clean bowl and has a ready supply of clean, drinking water.

The Bottom Line

This food does not use grains like wheat, corn, and soy- which are often added to dog food as fillers, have low nutritional value, and are difficult for dogs to digest – but they do use brown rice, white rice, oats, and barley in some of their products. They clearly state on their website that some of these grains may be genetically modified grains (GMOs).

Pet parents may also be concerned by the inclusion of beet pulp and the presence of synthetic ethoxyquin preservative, however minute the traces, in the puppy food.

Some pet parents, however, appear to be well-satisfied with the Hi-Tek Naturals Just for Puppies Dry Dog Food and report that their finicky puppies are happy to gobble up the kibble.

Despite the manufacturer’s assertion that this is a ‘complete and balanced’ food, it is always advisable to include fresh vegetables, fruits, and other foods in your puppy’s diet.

Loving this product? Want more? You might like to check our review for Hi-Tek Naturals Grain-Free Alaskan Fish dog food.

If you would like to consider other puppy food options that are GMO-free, please see: