One of the best-known toy breeds, the Chihuahua is a small, energetic dog bursting with personality. Most Chihuahua owners take their dogs everywhere, and they’re ideal “purse” dogs.

Chihuahuas have unique energy needs, however. They require a balanced diet for optimal nutrition, especially as puppies. While all dogs need a certain balance of protein, fat, and nutrients, Chihuahuas need a high-calorie, nutrient-dense diet to support their activity levels during growth and development.

To help, we’ve compiled our list of the best puppy food for Chihuahuas based on reviews from pet owners like you.

A Quick Comparison of Our Favorites of 2024

The 10 Best Puppy Foods for Chihuahuas

1. The Farmer’s Dog Fresh Dog Food Subscription – Best Overall

The Farmer’s Dog is the best overall puppy food for Chihuahuas. This premium subscription food offers fresh, customized recipes for your puppy’s needs. You simply fill out the questionnaire about your dog’s breed, weight, activity level, and age to get a feeding profile, then select your recipe and delivery schedule to have the food delivered directly to your door.

These meals must be refrigerated and offer added convenience with delivery. Once your puppy reaches adulthood, you can transition to an adult formula. The nutritional breakdown is for the beef formula, but you can also choose from chicken, pork, or turkey. Keep in mind that The Farmer’s Dog is only available through a subscription and may be expensive for pet parents on a budget.

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2. Blue Buffalo Small Breed Puppy Dry Food – Budget Buy

Blue Buffalo Baby Blue Small Breed Puppy Dry Food is the best puppy food for Chihuahuas for the money. This value-packed formula offers the nutrition your Chihuahua puppy needs with ingredients like chicken, brown rice, and garden fruits and vegetables for plenty of protein, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

This recipe is free of artificial flavors or preservatives, wheat, soy, or by-product meals, but it does contain peas. There’s evidence to suggest that peas in dog food could be linked to heart disease in dogs. Note that this food is designed for extra small, small, and toy breeds, so it’s not appropriate for medium or large dogs.

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3. CANIDAE PURE Puppy Grain-Free Chicken Recipe

CANIDAE PURE Puppy Grain-Free Limited Ingredient Chicken Recipe Canned Dog Food is our third choice for a puppy food for your Chihuahua. This grain-free recipe is formulated for puppies with sensitive stomachs and only four ingredients to limit digestive upset.

All CANIDAE products are manufactured in US facilities and source ingredients from reliable suppliers both in the US and in Canada and New Zealand. With complete nutrition, it can be fed on its own or in combination with dry puppy food for puppies or pregnant or nursing females. With the limited ingredients, some dogs will be too finicky for this food, and it does contain peas.

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4. Purina Pro Plan Puppy Small Breed Dry Dog Food

Purina Pro Plan Brand Dog Food Puppy Small Breed Chicken and Rice Formula dry puppy food is high in protein and features chicken as the first ingredient to give your Chihuahua puppy the energy they need. The kibble is small to make chewing more comfortable for toy and small breeds, and it’s highly digestible to improve absorption. It’s also fortified with live probiotics for digestion.

This food has no artificial colors or flavors, and all ingredients have a nutritional value. Some reviewers said their dogs weren’t pleased with the food or they struggled to source it and had to switch to other brands.

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5. Hill’s Science Diet Puppy Healthy Development Dog Food

Hill’s Science Diet Puppy Healthy Development Small Bites Dry Dog Food is another great choice for a puppy food for Chihuahuas. This formula features wholesome ingredients like chicken meal and barley to support your pup’s nutritional needs during growth, including nutrients for healthy brain, eye, and muscle and skeletal development.

This food is manufactured in the US and held to rigorous standards for purity and nutritional standards. Appropriate for puppies up to 1 year and pregnant or nursing dogs, this food is complete and balanced for the nutritional needs of extra small, toy, and small breeds. Some reviewers said their dogs didn’t like the food, so it may not be appropriate for finicky eaters.

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6. Bil-Jac Small Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food

Bil-Jac Small Breed Puppy Chicken, Oatmeal & Yam Recipe Dry Dog Food uses fresh, farm-raised chicken as the first ingredient. It also contains wholesome oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and corn meal that are slow-cooked for better digestion. The food comes in a proprietary Nutri-Lock low-temperature, vacuum-drying process that extracts moisture without compromising fats or nutritional value.

All Bil-Jac foods are made in the US without fillers, gluten meals, wheat, soy, rendered fat, or protein concentrate. Though approved by the FDA as a feed additive, some pet owners are concerned about the BHA in this food. This food is a little pricey if you’re on a budget as well.

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7. CANIDAE PURE Petite Puppy Small Breed Grain-Free

CANIDAE PURE Petite Puppy Small Breed Grain-Free with Salmon Dry Dog Food is a good option for small breed puppies with sensitive stomachs. This food only has one animal protein source and limited ingredients to avoid triggering allergies or digestive upset. The freeze-dried kibble is raw coated with salmon for a delicious taste that will entice picky pups.

Despite some wholesome ingredients, CANIDAE PURE Petite Puppy Small Breed Grain-Free with Salmon Dry Dog Food has lentils and peas as major ingredients, as well as garbanzo beans, which may be linked to heart concerns in dogs. Some reviewers said their dogs wouldn’t eat it or experienced some digestive upset.

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8. Tiki Dog Aloha Petites Puppy Grain-Free Wet Dog Food

Tiki Dog Aloha Petites Puppy Mousse Chicken & Pumpkin in Broth Small Breed Grain-Free Wet Dog Food offers an enticing mousse texture for small breed puppies to transition them to solid food. The first ingredient is quality chicken to support your dog’s energy needs. The food also contains wholesome, nutrient-rich ingredients like fish oil and flaxseed. The pumpkin is added to improve digestibility.

Despite many good ingredients, this food has mung beans as a major ingredient. Legumes like this may be linked to heart issues in dogs. It’s also expensive for the portions, but it can be mixed with dry food or used as an occasional topper.

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9. Royal Canin Breed Health Nutrition Chihuahua Puppy Dry Dog Food

Royal Canin Breed Health Nutrition Chihuahua Puppy Dry Dog Food is a special formula intended for Chihuahua puppies. The small kibble is created to make it easier to chew for this breed and their tiny jaws. It also contains highly digestible protein and fiber for improved digestion.

This food is intended for puppies up to 8 months, after which you should transition to the Royal Canin Breed Health Nutrition Chihuahua Dry Dog Food for adults. Several reviewers said the food was especially dry, stale, and hard, making it difficult for their puppies to eat. Some dogs weren’t excited to eat it, either, and it’s expensive.

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10. Cesar Puppy Classic Loaf in Sauce Chicken & Beef Recipe

Cesar Puppy Classic Loaf in Sauce Chicken & Beef Recipe is a quality wet food that’s designed for picky eaters. Each single-serve tray has a perfect balance of vitamins and minerals to support your pup’s health and development, as well as US beef as the first ingredient.

The single-serve trays have convenient peel-away freshness seals, so you don’t need to refrigerate leftovers. You can feed this alone or mix it with a dry food of your choice. Some reviewers had spoilage issues that wasted several portions. The food is expensive for the portions as well, which may be difficult if you’re on a budget.

• Also Read: Cesar Dog Food Review: Pros, Cons, Recalls and Guide

Buyer’s Choice: Choosing Puppy Food for Your Chihuahua

Most commercial dog food is manufactured to meet the nutritional needs of dogs of all sizes, ages, and breeds. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) sets the standards, which are enforced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Still, some breeds or life stages may benefit from a specialized food formula, such as Chihuahuas. As adults, Chihuahuas may only reach 6 pounds, so they’re exceptionally tiny puppies. They don’t eat a lot of food at once, instead preferring to eat multiple meals a day.

That said, Chihuahuas need a lot of calories for a small dog. They actually consume more calories per pound of body weight than a larger dog. Like other toy and small breeds, they have faster metabolisms and can metabolize a meal in a matter of hours.

While some dogs can eat only one meal a day, Chihuahuas need to eat regularly to stave off low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia. This condition can be dangerous, especially in puppies, and may lead to weakness, lethargy, seizures, or death.

Puppies also struggle to regulate their body temperature, so an adequate intake of fat and calories can help them stay comfortable and maintain healthy brain function.

When you choose a dog food formulated for small breeds, you get a higher caloric density and nutrient density to ensure your puppy gets the nutrition he needs.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for good food for your Chihuahua puppy, you have plenty to choose from. Our best overall is The Farmer’s Dog for its fresh, customized recipes. For the best value, choose Blue Buffalo Puppy Dry Food. CANIDAE PURE Puppy Grain-Free Canned Dog Food is our third choice for puppy food for your Chihuahua. There’s also Purina Pro Plan Puppy Small Breed Formula, which is high in protein. Hill’s Science Diet Puppy Healthy Development Food is another great choice for a puppy food for Chihuahuas.

• See also: 10 Essential Chihuahua Supplies to Get You Started

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Featured Image Credit: Lara Ezhkova, Shutterstock