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When to Switch to Adult Food?


Guest Anonymous

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Guest Anonymous

Ok everyone, I've been feeding Cody and Zoey Pedigree Large Breed Puppy ( since they both eat out of the same Bowl ) my qestion is Zoey is probally around 9 months ( she's a shelter resuce so we have no clue ) and Cody is 6 1/1 months right now. Zoey is 65 pounds and Cody is 40 pounds.
When should i switch over to Adult food? should i get the little bites for them for right now or just regualr adult formula??

Thanks in advance!

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Most vets will tell you to switch them at about a year, but be careful with that. Larger breed dogs are puppies longer than smaller breed dogs.
Some of the larger breeds need puppy food (for the additional vitamins and minerals) than smaller breeds. The best bet is watching their weight and activity. If they are still acting like puppies, (tons of activity, never slow down, never stop) then feed them the puppy food until you see
differences in their behavior. When they seem to slow down a little, then start them on the adult food. For large breed dogs, 1 1/2 years is usually
the time.

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i'm not an expert at all, but i've read that with large dogs, many breeders recommend adult food from the start or switching over early......apparently they are concerned that puppy foods are so rich (i had this experience with dresden) that they make puppies grow too fast and give them tons of excess energy because they are so loaded with carbohydrates.......also they have a theory that with large breed dogs that if they grow more slowly their joints will be much stronger and therefore a lot more healthy :)

maybe some large breed people here will know more, obviously this would apply to zoey more than cody.

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Have you considered raw feeding? Its suitable for all ages and is SOOO good for them!!!
I've heard about all the benefits and had been feeding half raw, half kibble for a while and the dogs were really healthy, I honestly didn't beleive they could get any shinier or healthier, but i was wrong! I decided um, probably close to two months ago to ditch the dry food because with every dish i cringed at what i was letting my dogs eat, all those chemicals etc :-?
Anyway, you should see them now!!! I honestly didn't know it was possible for dogs to be so shiney, their eyes are so clear and sparkly, the poodle has lost her allergys, smell, stinky breath, staph infections etc etc etc and her fur is coming through so woolie and lovely, she has a new lease for life, its like she is a puppy again, its amazing! Tessa, the kelpie/pig dog cross has looked more like a kelpie than a pig dog for her five years of life despite endless exercise, now she has just stacks on so much bulk and muscle she looks like a different dog!!! If she wasn't black and tan she would look like a Pit, not a kelpie. She is so shiney its blinding to see her in the sun! Her teeth are clean, she has lost her doggie odour, she has even begun playing again! The reason she didn't play before was because she was too scared all the time that she would get in trouble, probably a side effect of the chemicals in the dog food but now she is so confident and happy all the time, i was on the verge of taking her to the vets for anti depressants before but now its been cured, and without any drugs at all! Oh, and she had this infection on her belly from the scratches she gets jumping the fence, that is gone now as well as a fatty cyst or lump on her shoulder which is pretty amazing to see that disapear from a simple change of diet!
Lily, the boxer, has been on a mostly raw diet for most of her life, so naturally she was very healthy before but since cutting out the dry food entirely I have definatly noticed some changes for the better. She was about as shiney as i could imagine a dog could get before, but now she just looks and feels like silk. She is one of the most musclely dogs in town and her eyes are always so bright and clear now, no discharge at all. And probably one of the greatest things, you've probably heard me agonising over Lilys seemingly uncurable aggression problems, well they are basically gone, she is so happy and is all tail wags around other dogs now. She does occasionly get a little angry, possibly out of habit more than anything, but that is a rare occasion in comparrison to before.
Anyway, i hope I've given you something to think about! :angel:

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:-?

Courtnek & Marble are both correct.

Large breed dogs do not actually mature until between 18-24 months, they need the extra energy that a puppy food can give them, however since their bones will have a tendency to grow faster than the muscles, tendons & ligaments can support, it is not advisable to feed an enriched puppy food, you want to slow down the bone growth in large breeds so that as they grow they maintain a healthy balance. The best thing to feed to a large breed dog is a formula that is for large breeds & puppies, the puppy part of the formula is for medium breed puppies, the large breed can be used from about 8-10 weeks of age until adulthood (2-3 years).

You want to look for a "lower" protein number for large breed puppies, anything around 23/12 (protein/fat) should be fine. Puppy formulas are somewhere around 28/17 and the protein/fat ratio is too high for a large breed, more protein means faster growth.

:angel:

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Guest Anonymous

I do not feed dry food but a holistic vet told me that if people must feed dry to start with puppy food then at the age of two switch to the Senior diet. You do not want a young puppy getting too much protein and some adult foods are high in protein.

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I am intrigued by all the belief systems being shared.

I dont believe in puppy food at all for any reason. All of my dogs have been raised on adult food, although high calorie adult food, since the day I brought them home. They are in excellent shape. I believe puppy food often has too much protein, even for small breeds.

Just out of curiosity, are your dogs rescues or did you get them from a breeder. If a breeder, call and ask what they recommend.

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Guest Anonymous

Thank you everyone! I dont think i can do the RAW diet.. I know it would be best for the furkids, BUT i dont eat meat of any kind. it makes me sick, i cant stand the look of it let alone to touch it. And with hubby gone all the time i'd be the one to fix it.. :(
What's the difference betweent he FAW diet and the BARF diet? maybe i can try the BARF diet..
Utnil then, is it ok to keep feeding Cody the large breed puppy food? or feed Zoey large breed Adult food and feed COdy something else?

It's very hard because they eat out of the same bowl at the same time. lol if i feed them differntly they wont eat .... *sigh*

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Grrr, I just finished writing this big long post and bloody explorer quit on me!!!!! :evil:
Oh well, basically what it said was, if you can brave the slimey raw meat, then thats great!!! I'm pretty used to it now, got 18kg chicken carcass' in the kitchen waiting to be packed along with a few nice hearts, kidneys and lovely liver!!! You've just got to find a way to make it in to sort of a game and it isn't so disgusting. I'm telling you, after disecting a toad for biology I think I can handle just about anything!!! :lol:
Some good links though if you do want to learn more (I suggest you read them all, they are all great) are -
[url]http://www.njboxers.com/[/url]
[url]http://www.barfers.com/[/url] - The FAQ in this one is GREAT.
[url]http://www.pet-grub.com/[/url]
Oh, and by the way - the reason some people use the word "raw" is because it isn't so off putting to people who don't know what it is!!! :lol:

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