Small Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food
Graded by The Sniff System
ORIJEN Small Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food is a dry food for puppies, featuring chicken, salmon, and turkey as its main protein sources.
This food has a strong protein profile, with chicken as the first ingredient, providing high biological value. It also includes quality, named fat sources and a diverse mix of high-bioavailability proteins like egg, named fish, and organ meat.
Nothing concerning in the deck.
Good fit for small breed puppies. Nothing serious working against it.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Strong fit for lower-energy small companion breeds, including the French Bulldog, navigating a sensitive stomach. Chicken leads at position 1, but 5 stacked proteins make isolating triggers harder. Worth watching: multiple protein sources stacked (harder to isolate triggers). Frenchies have notoriously sensitive GI tracts plus a tendency toward obesity given their low activity needs. Limited-ingredient formulas with moderate calorie density tend to fit them well.
Looking at this for puppy French Bulldogs or French Bulldogs with a sensitive stomach ? We are building dedicated pages for these combinations.
Auto-matched from this product's measurements (ingredients, life stage, calorie density) to a breed archetype. Not a substitute for vet input on your specific dog.
Sniff scored this formula 68/100, landing in B-tier territory. The biggest contributor was protein quality (+22 points): Strong protein profile with chicken as the primary ingredient, delivering high biological value. Also adding to the lift: fat quality (+11). Quality fat sources: named fat with declared fat sources. The 7-point gap to A-tier sits mostly in carbohydrate quality (8 of 16 possible). Full carbohydrate quality requires whole-grain or single-source carbohydrates with a declared fermentable fiber.
Strong protein profile with chicken as the primary ingredient, delivering high biological value.
Quality fat sources: named fat with declared fat sources.
Includes egg, named fish, or organ meat for diverse high-bioavailability protein.
No negative drivers crossed our reporting threshold.
- Lowest DMB protein in ORIJEN's lineup (43.2%)
- Top 1% for crude fiber in grain-free dry kibbles (15.9% DMB)
- Lowest carb quality in ORIJEN's lineup (8/16)
Computed against the rest of our catalog. Percentiles refresh on each catalog update.
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Three lenses on products with formulation profiles similar to this one.
Surfaced from a vector similarity search across 3,491 scored dog foods. How this works.
Read why each ingredient is good or bad for dogs.
- 1protein animalchicken
Real meat. Primary protein source, with the amino acid profile dogs actually evolved to eat.
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2protein animalsalmon
Real fish meat. Natural source of omega-3s, which kibble usually has to add back from oil.
Position 2: co-primary protein. Two named animal proteins in the top 2 is a strong protein build.
- 3protein animalturkey
Real meat. Lean protein, good amino acid profile, often well-tolerated by dogs sensitive to chicken.
Position 3: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 4whiting
- 5haddock
Position 5: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 6dehydrated turkey
Real meat. Lean protein, good amino acid profile, often well-tolerated by dogs sensitive to chicken.
Position 6: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 7dehydrated chicken
Real meat. Primary protein source, with the amino acid profile dogs actually evolved to eat.
Position 7: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 8dehydrated herring
Whole fish, naturally high in omega-3s and very digestible protein. Common in premium formulas.
Position 8: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 9dehydrated chicken liver
Organ meat. Dense in protein, iron, vitamin A, and the B vitamins. Among the most nutrient-rich ingredients a dog can eat.
Position 9. Functional organ inclusion. Adds amino acids and micronutrients even at smaller weight.
- 10dehydrated egg
Whole eggs. The highest-quality protein on any ingredient label, by amino acid score.
Position 10: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 11legumered lentils
Same concern as other lentils. Affordable plant protein, part of the legume stack the FDA examined. See why →
Position 11. Trace inclusion. Below the level associated with the FDA's DCM-pattern concerns.
- 12legumepinto beans
Position 12. Trace inclusion. Below the level associated with the FDA's DCM-pattern concerns.
- 13chicken giblets
Position 13. Small organ inclusion. Functional but not a primary contributor to the protein profile.
- 14eggs
Whole eggs. The highest-quality protein on any ingredient label by amino acid score.
Position 14: trace protein. Likely there for amino-acid diversity or label appeal more than nutritional weight.
- 15turkey giblets
Position 15. Small organ inclusion. Functional but not a primary contributor to the protein profile.
- 16fatchicken fat
Despite the name, a high-quality energy source. Concentrated calories plus essential fatty acids like linoleic acid. See why →
- 17legumelentils
Same concern as peas. Affordable plant protein, but when they pile up in the top 5 ingredients, it's a flag. See why →
- 18legumenavy beans
- 19legumechickpeas
Also called garbanzo beans. Affordable plant protein source, part of the legume stack the FDA examined in its heart-disease investigation. See why →
- 20legumepeas
Cheap protein bulk. Fine in small amounts, but when peas stack with lentils and chickpeas in the top ingredients, it's the pattern the FDA flagged in its heart-disease investigation. See why →
- 21othernatural flavor
Legal term for animal-derived flavoring, usually hydrolyzed liver or broth. Adds taste, says nothing about quality.
- 22pollock oil
- 23dried apple pomace
- 24green mussels
- 25supplementdried kelp
Natural source of iodine and trace minerals. A common premium-brand inclusion.
Showing first 25 of 58. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
16 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.
ORIJEN™ Small Breed Puppy Complete Puppy Food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles for All Life Stages, except for growth of large size dogs (70 lb. or more as an adult).