The scores
Acana Puppy Recipe: A (90/100) — Excellent. Chicken + turkey + chicken meal lead the formula, with turkey meal, flounder, and eggs following. Champion Petfoods’ WholePrey-inspired puppy formulation.
Nulo Freestyle Puppy Turkey & Sweet Potato: A (90/100) — Excellent. Deboned turkey + turkey meal + salmon meal + chickpeas + chicken fat open the formula — a turkey-forward lead with a marine protein meal and a single legume in the top five.
How the ingredients compare
The top five ingredients:
Acana Puppy: Chicken, Turkey, Chicken Meal, Whole Green Peas, Whole Red Lentils
Nulo Freestyle Puppy: Deboned Turkey, Turkey Meal, Salmon Meal, Chickpeas, Chicken Fat
Acana runs a three-named-animal-protein triple at the top — fresh chicken + fresh turkey + chicken meal — followed by two legumes (green peas + red lentils). The WholePrey philosophy shows in the broader formula: positions six through ten continue with turkey meal, flounder, eggs, fish oil, and yellow peas — five named animal proteins in the top ten ingredients total. Nulo runs a different pattern: deboned turkey + turkey meal + salmon meal in the top three, then chickpeas + chicken fat — three named animal proteins in the top five but concentrated all on turkey and salmon, plus one legume.
For puppies specifically, both formulas satisfy AAFCO growth requirements. Acana Puppy is formulated for “growth of puppies including growth of large size dogs (70 lb or more as an adult).” Nulo Freestyle Puppy covers growth generally. Large-breed puppy owners should specifically read the large-breed-suitability statement on the bag — Acana explicitly addresses large-breed growth, while Nulo labels for growth without the large-breed callout. For large-breed puppies (Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Labradors, Great Danes, etc.), controlled calcium (1.0–1.8% dry matter basis) is critical for orthopedic development, and the large-breed-appropriate statement matters.
Further down, Acana adds sweet potatoes, yellow peas, whole chickpeas, chicken liver oil, whole green lentils, whole pinto beans, pea starch, natural chicken flavor, and a premix heavy on chelated minerals. Nulo adds sweet potato, yellow peas, deboned trout, pea fiber, natural flavor, yeast culture, dried chicory root, dried tomatoes, dried carrots, and dried blueberries — plus the Nulo signature taurine supplementation. Acana’s ingredient list reads as deep legume diversity. Nulo’s reads as one legume plus functional fiber and produce.
Where Acana Puppy pulls ahead
Five named animal proteins in the top ten. Chicken + turkey + chicken meal + turkey meal + flounder + eggs gives the formula remarkable animal-protein diversity in the opening half of the ingredient list. That’s the Champion Petfoods WholePrey signature at work. Nulo runs three named animal proteins in the top five but caps out at four (adding deboned trout later) — less protein-source diversity overall.
Fresh meat in positions one and two. Acana leads with two fresh whole meats (chicken + turkey) before any meal-form concentrate. Nulo leads with deboned turkey (fresh) followed immediately by turkey meal (concentrated). Both are valid approaches, but for owners who specifically want the fresh-meat-first signature, Acana delivers two fresh meats before a single meal appears.
Explicit large-breed puppy suitability. Acana Puppy Recipe’s AAFCO statement explicitly covers large-breed growth, which matters for puppies projected to reach 70 lb or more at adulthood. Large-breed puppies have controlled-calcium requirements that not all puppy formulas address. Nulo Freestyle Puppy covers growth generally but doesn’t carry the explicit large-breed statement — owners of large-breed puppies should confirm with the current packaging. Shop on Amazon →
Where Nulo Puppy holds its own
Turkey-forward rather than chicken-forward. For puppies with potential chicken sensitivity or owners specifically rotating proteins across the litter’s life, Nulo’s turkey lead provides a different starting protein without giving up the A-tier grade. Acana’s chicken-first profile is excellent but chicken-dominant.
Marine protein meal in the top five. Salmon meal at position three delivers concentrated EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids directly from fish tissue — critical for puppy brain and eye development (DHA is specifically called out in AAFCO growth requirements). Acana includes flounder and fish oil further down, but a marine protein meal in the top five is the more potent DHA delivery.
Supplemented taurine plus single-legume architecture. Nulo explicitly supplements taurine (the amino acid at the center of the FDA’s 2018–2022 grain-free DCM investigation) and uses only one legume in the top five (chickpeas) versus Acana’s peas + lentils double-stack. For DCM-conscious feeding, especially in at-risk breed puppies (Golden Retrievers, Doberman puppies, Great Dane puppies), that’s a meaningful architectural difference. Shop on Amazon →
The bottom line
If you have a large-breed puppy (adult weight projected at 70 lb or more) or want the broadest animal-protein diversity in the formula, Acana Puppy Recipe is the right A/90 pick — explicit large-breed suitability and six named animal proteins in the top ten. If you want a turkey-forward formula with salmon meal in the top five for DHA brain development, supplemented taurine for DCM-conscious feeding, and a single-legume architecture, Nulo Freestyle Puppy Turkey & Sweet Potato is the stronger match for small-to-medium-breed puppies. Both legitimately earn A/90 — the right choice depends on breed size and legume-stack philosophy. See our best puppy food guide for more A-tier options.