Puppy Starter Shopping List for North York: First-Bag Food Picks, Chew Rotation and Daily Feeding Amounts

A new puppy needs seven things on day one: a growth-formulated food, two stainless bowls, a flat collar with a six-foot leash, a crate or pen, soft teething chews, an enzymatic cleaner, and poop bags. Plan on roughly 3–4 kg of food for a medium-breed puppy's first month.

That list sounds short because it is. Most first-time owners over-buy gear and under-think food. Start with a bag sized to two or three weeks of feeding — puppies change appetite fast — then shop puppy dry food in a larger bag once you know the recipe agrees with them. Everything else on this guide is built around that sequence.

What new puppy owners in the area ask us most

The three questions we field almost daily are: how much do I feed, what chew won't crack a baby tooth, and do I have to keep feeding the breeder's food. Our team at Ashario Pets answers those in that order, because feeding volume drives everything else — stool quality, crate training success, and how many treats you have left in the daily calorie budget.

When a customer walks in with an eight-week-old puppy in a carrier, we usually start by asking the adult weight estimate, not the current weight. A 4 kg cockapoo puppy and a 4 kg bernese puppy need different mineral profiles. Large-breed growth formulas cap calcium at 1.8% on a dry-matter basis for a reason: controlled skeletal growth. Pet owners tell us this is the single detail nobody mentioned at pickup.

Other recurring counter questions, in rough order of frequency:

• "Should I switch off the breeder's food right away?" — No. Run the original food for 7–10 days, then transition over another 7–10 days at roughly 25% increments.
• "Is grain-free bad for puppies?" — That's a conversation for your veterinarian. The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine has published updates on diet-associated cardiomyopathy reports, and it's worth reading before you commit to a long-term recipe.
• "How many treats per day?" — Treats should stay under 10% of total daily calories. For a puppy eating 600 kcal, that's 60 kcal — about six small training bites.
• "What do I feed while teething?" — Same food, softened with warm water or a splash of broth if they're reluctant between weeks 16 and 24.

First-bag food picks: reading the guaranteed analysis before you buy

Any puppy food you buy should carry an AAFCO nutritional adequacy statement for "growth" or "all life stages," not "adult maintenance." Under AAFCO growth profiles, puppy food must supply a minimum of 22.5% protein content and 8.5% fat content on a dry-matter basis, plus 0.05% DHA for brain and retinal development.

Adult maintenance food, by contrast, only needs 18% protein and 5.5% fat — which is why feeding an adult recipe to a 10-week-old puppy quietly shortchanges them. Check the bag panel, not the front-of-bag marketing. AAFCO's label modernization changes are being phased in ahead of a 2030 compliance date, so you'll gradually see nutrition panels that look more like human food labels, with calories and nutrients presented per serving.

Two Canadian-shelf staples cover most first-bag scenarios. Here's how they compare for a growing puppy:

If your puppy came from a raw-fed litter, don't force a kibble conversion on week one. We stock raw dog food for puppies from Canadian producers including Big Country Raw, Red Dog Blue Kat and Raw Performance, and a frozen-to-thawed routine is often gentler than a full format switch during the settling-in period. Freeze-dried toppers from Stella & Chewy's or Instinct Raw are a middle path when freezer space is tight in a condo.

How much puppy food should you feed per day by body weight?

Puppies under four months old need roughly three times their resting energy requirement (RER), calculated as 70 × (body weight in kg)^0.75. From four months to adult size, drop to about two times RER. A 3 kg puppy at 10 weeks needs around 480 kcal per day; a 10 kg puppy at six months needs about 790 kcal.

Most premium puppy kibbles run 380–460 kcal per 250 ml cup, so that 480 kcal puppy is eating a little over one cup daily — split into three meals until about 16 weeks, then two meals. Weigh the food with a kitchen scale instead of scooping. Cup volume varies by kibble density by as much as 15%, and that gap compounds over a 12-week growth window.

A few practical anchors we use at the counter:

• 2–4 kg puppy (toy/small breed): ~380–560 kcal/day, three meals, small-kibble formula strongly preferred.
• 5–10 kg puppy (medium breed): ~650–900 kcal/day, two to three meals.
• 12–20 kg puppy (large breed in growth): ~1,000–1,400 kcal/day on a large-breed recipe with controlled calcium.
• Body condition check: ribs easily felt but not seen, visible waist from above. Re-weigh every two weeks and adjust by 10% at a time.

The American Kennel Club publishes breed-specific growth curves that are useful for sanity-checking whether your puppy is tracking normally. For anything that feels off — plateaued weight, persistent loose stool beyond a transition week — that's a veterinary question, not a food-switch question.

Building a chew rotation that survives teething

Puppy teething runs from roughly 12 to 24 weeks, when 28 deciduous teeth are replaced by 42 adult teeth. During that window, avoid anything you can't dent with a thumbnail — antlers, hooves and hard nylon can fracture immature teeth. Rotate three to four textures instead of leaving one chew out permanently.

Our working rotation for a teething puppy looks like this: one soft rubber chew you can stuff and freeze, one collagen or fish-skin chew for 10-minute supervised sessions, one edible dental chew sized to the puppy's weight band, and one plush or rope item for non-dental play. Kong puppy rubber, Crumps' Naturals fish skins and Fare Game single-ingredient chews cover that spread well — browse puppy-safe dog treats and chews to see current textures on the shelf.

Greenies dental chews are labelled for dogs six months and older, so hold those until adult teeth are in. In our store we see customers buy the biggest chew available thinking it'll last longer; what actually happens is the puppy loses interest and the chew dries out. Two smaller chews, alternated, outperform one oversized one. For non-edible outlets during the 5 PM zoomies, shop dog toys and keep half of them in a bin on rotation so novelty resets weekly.

Seasonal gear for a GTA puppy: salt season, spring mud, summer humidity

Toronto sidewalks are salted from roughly late November through March, and road salt is a genuine paw irritant for a puppy taking eight short potty walks a day. Paw balm, a rinse cup by the door and quick-dry towels do more for winter comfort than any coat you'll buy.

Spring brings the mud season at places like Downsview Park and G. Ross Lord Park, which means a puppy who needs rinsing three times a week. Puppy-safe shampoo — TropiClean and Earth Rated both make gentle formulas — belongs on the starter list rather than the "later" list. You can shop dog grooming supplies alongside the food run and skip a separate trip.

Summer humidity along the Finch corridor changes the feeding picture slightly. Appetite drops in heat, and some puppies will skip a midday meal entirely. Adding 50–100 ml of warm water or bone broth to kibble restores interest and helps hydration. Harness sizing matters too: puppies outgrow a harness roughly every six to eight weeks during the first six months, so the first one should be adjustable rather than expensive. Our dog accessories collection covers collars, leashes and harnesses in growth-friendly sizes.

Delivery coverage and picking up bulk bags

Same-day delivery covers most Greater Toronto Area addresses, which matters when you run out of food on a Sunday night with a 12-week-old puppy who eats three times a day. Large-format bags of 11 kg or more are usually easier to collect in person.

You'll find us at 1111A Finch Ave W, Unit 2, North York, ON M3J 2P7 (open 7 AM to 11 PM daily); most GTA addresses can get same-day delivery through SkipTheDishes or a similar app. If you're comparing what a bag costs elsewhere, our price match guarantee page explains how that works before you order.

When a store visit beats ordering online

Come in person for three things: harness and collar fitting, first-bag selection when you're unsure of the growth curve, and chew texture assessment. Everything else — repeat food orders, litter, poop bags, supplements you already use — is better handled online or by delivery.

Our nutrition experts spend most of their in-store time on comparison work: pulling two bags side by side, reading the guaranteed analysis together, and working out kcal per cup so you can convert your current feeding amount without guessing. That conversation takes four minutes in person and twenty emails online. Sizing is the other one — a harness that fits a 6 kg puppy in the photo may sit completely differently on a deep-chested breed, and trying two styles on the spot saves a return.

If joint support, skin condition or digestion comes up later in the first year, browse dog health and wellness supplements and talk to your veterinarian first — glucosamine, omega-3 fatty acids and probiotics all have appropriate and inappropriate uses in a growing dog. The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association is a reliable starting point for finding a clinic if you haven't registered with one yet.

Bottom line: Buy a small first bag of a growth-labelled food meeting AAFCO's 22.5% protein and 8.5% fat minimums, feed 3× RER under four months and 2× RER afterward, and rotate three or four soft-to-medium chew textures through the 12–24 week teething window. Get fitted for a harness in person; order the refills.

Puppy shopping questions we get at the counter

How much puppy food per day by weight for a 10 kg puppy?

A 10 kg puppy between four months and adult size needs roughly 790 kcal per day, based on 2× RER (70 × 10^0.75 = 394 kcal RER). At 420 kcal per cup, that's about 1.9 cups daily, split into two meals. Adjust by 10% increments every two weeks based on body condition, not appetite.

What are the best first puppy chews for an 8-week-old?

Soft, pliable options only: stuffable rubber chews you can freeze, thin fish-skin or collagen strips under supervision, and plush toys for non-dental play. Skip antlers, hooves and hard nylon until adult teeth are fully in around seven months. Keep chew calories inside the 10% daily treat allowance.

What belongs on a new puppy supplies checklist beyond food?

Two stainless bowls, an adjustable harness plus flat collar and six-foot leash, a correctly sized crate with a divider, an enzymatic cleaner, biodegradable poop bags, a soft slicker brush, nail clippers, and three chew textures. Our specific-needs food guide and the dog blog cover the nutrition side in more depth, and you can also shop puppy food in North York for pickup.