The scores
Canidae PURE Puppy Real Chicken, Lentil & Whole Egg: B (78/100) — Very Good. Chicken + chicken meal lead the formula, with a tight legume stack (lentils + peas + garbanzo beans) filling the carbohydrate slot. Limited-ingredient discipline keeps the full deck under 12 core ingredients.
Wellness Complete Health Puppy Deboned Chicken, Oatmeal & Salmon Meal: B (78/100) — Very Good. Deboned chicken + chicken meal open the formula, then peas + sorghum + chicken fat. A grain-inclusive approach built around a single named animal protein backed by marine DHA.
How the ingredients compare
The top five ingredients:
Canidae PURE Puppy: Chicken, Chicken Meal, Lentils, Peas, Garbanzo Beans
Wellness Complete Health Puppy: Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Peas, Sorghum, Chicken Fat
Both formulas lead with the same two-protein signature — fresh chicken + chicken meal — and both deliver real named-animal density in the first 20% of the bag. The divergence is in what happens next. Canidae PURE runs a three-legume stack (lentils + peas + garbanzo beans), while Wellness uses a peas + single-grain (sorghum) architecture with chicken fat wedged into position five for energy density.
The grain-free vs grain-inclusive question matters more for puppies than for adult dogs because the FDA’s 2018–2022 DCM investigation flagged grain-free legume-heavy formulas as having a nutritional association with dilated cardiomyopathy in non-predisposed breeds. For DCM-predisposed breeds (Golden Retrievers, Doberman Pinschers, Great Danes, Newfoundlands, Cocker Spaniels), grain-inclusive formulas are the cardiologist-default during growth. Wellness Complete Health Puppy’s sorghum-based grain stack is explicitly on that safer side. Canidae PURE, with three legumes in the top five, is the kind of formula cardiologists flagged.
Further down, Canidae PURE adds menhaden fish meal, canola oil, whole egg, alfalfa meal, and a DHA + probiotic premix. Wellness adds salmon meal, tomato pomace, ground flaxseed, spinach, broccoli, kale, blueberries, and a DHA + glucosamine/chondroitin + probiotic premix. Wellness’s whole-food vegetable inclusions (spinach, broccoli, kale, blueberries) add phytonutrient diversity that Canidae PURE’s limited-ingredient approach intentionally avoids.
Where Canidae PURE Puppy pulls ahead
Limited-ingredient discipline: The PURE line is built around the “fewer variables, easier troubleshooting” philosophy. For puppies who come home with a suspected food sensitivity or a history of GI issues, the tighter deck makes allergy-identification materially easier. Wellness Complete Health runs a longer ingredient list including tomato pomace, spinach, broccoli, kale, and blueberries — more variables if a reaction develops.
Whole egg prominent in the formula: Egg is the highest biological-value protein available in dog food. Canidae PURE calls it out in the product name (“Real Chicken, Lentil & Whole Egg”) and it appears in the top portion of the ingredient list. Wellness doesn’t feature egg similarly.
Menhaden fish meal for DHA: Menhaden is a cleaner marine protein with lower mercury and PCB exposure than broader fish meal blends. The salmon meal in Wellness is a fine source, but menhaden is slightly cleaner on contaminant load. Shop on Amazon →
Where Wellness Puppy holds its own
Grain-inclusive safety profile: For DCM-predisposed breeds, Wellness Complete Health Puppy’s sorghum-based grain stack is the cardiologist-recommended architecture. Canidae PURE’s three-legume formulation falls into the category FDA flagged for monitoring.
Whole-food phytonutrient diversity: Spinach, broccoli, kale, blueberries — these appear lower in Wellness’s ingredient list but contribute measurable antioxidant, vitamin, and polyphenol diversity that the limited-ingredient PURE formulation intentionally skips.
Glucosamine + chondroitin supplementation: Wellness calls out glucosamine and chondroitin in the premix — useful for large-breed puppies where joint development is a first-year priority. Canidae’s standard PURE Puppy doesn’t feature glucosamine/chondroitin as prominently. Shop on Amazon →
The bottom line
For at-risk breeds or owners who want the safer grain-inclusive default during the growth window, Wellness Complete Health Puppy is the right pick — solid named-protein opening, sorghum-based grain stack, whole-food vegetable inclusions, glucosamine/chondroitin supplementation. For puppies with suspected food sensitivities or households specifically seeking a limited-ingredient grain-free formulation, Canidae PURE Puppy delivers a tight, troubleshootable deck with whole egg prominently featured. Neither is wrong — both are B/78 formulations from reputable brands. See our best dog food for allergies guide for broader comparison.