Changover from puppy food to adult food

[ferky1]

At what age is it appropriate to switch from puppy food to adult food?

Miles is 7 months now and he has started to lose the taste for his food (puppy Wellness). We have been mixing a bit of adult Wellness in with his puppy food and now he only eats the adult. I know that puppy food is important for the added protiens and fat content, but as a toy breed he should be almost full grown now. Additionally, adult Wellness is known to be a good, healthy food, so I was wondering if there are any reasons to keep him on puppy?

[imported_Kat]

Hey there,

Pups are usually changed onto adult food when they reach about 6 months as that is the stage (depending on breed) when they change to their adult teeth. If Miles is eating the adult food with no upset stomachs then gradually just reduce the puppy food until he is solely eating his adult food.

As far as nutrients goes, a potato or a slice of brown bread does wonders for developing puppy bones.

[TDG]

actually there is no real need to feed a puppy food at all. kibble size aside (especially for very tiny breeds), a food formulated for "all life stages" is suitable for dogs of all ages. in large breeds, feeding puppy food can actually be counterproductive due to providing too much protein and making bones grow too rapidly.

foods for different lifestages are an attempt of dog food manufacturers to make their products take up more shelf space, thus become more visible, so more people will buy their brand instead of that of the competitor.

wellness is a trustworthy quality brand and there is absolutely no reason not to feed the adult if your dog prefers it.

[Aonir]

I always thought puppies NEEDED to be on puppy food til 2 years of age? And I disagree. I think Puppies need Puppy food just like babies need baby foods. It provides the puppies with their necessary nuitrition.. And Adults dont need that stuff, so they get different foods made for dogs their age.

[TDG]

no, once puppies are weaned from their mother's milk, they do not need a specific type of puppy food anymore, since their digestive system is fully developed by that time.

it's a bit of a far stretch to compare two species that differ so much in the time frame they mature and the entire digestive system, starting with the teeth and enzymes present in the mouth and the design of the intestines.

all the extra nutrients puppies require to grow (and more important that they can even [b]get[/b] from a kibble!) are in the extra amount of food puppies eat. if you compare food intake per pound of body weight, the amount required decreases over time as the puppy grows.

all dogs require exactly the same nutrients, just in differing amounts depending on life stage, breed, activity level, environmental influences and other factors. also, depending on the breed, dogs mature at different ages.

if a food does not provide enough nutrients for a puppy, it is of such poor quality that it shouldn't even be fed to an adult dog.

personally i think that [b]only[/b] specific puppy food for large breeds has any sort of merit, since it is designed to prevent a host of orthopedic problems during the growth stage, but even then it's not really mandatory, since an appropriately formulated adult food will do exactly the same job.

in closing, note that eagle (an established manufacturer of quality dog food) even recommends that large breed puppies should not be fed their puppy formula after 4 months of age.
[url]http://eaglepack.com/pages/ep_puppy.html[/url]

there is absolutely [b]no[/b] scientific proof that feeding puppy food is required, other than provided by some dog food manufacturers who want to sell you a product. basically the same thing as the old "don't feed your dog table scraps" myth.

[midori115]

My vet has told me the same things, TDG.

However, Oscar is 7 months old and I am in the process of changing him to adult food now. The vet told me that 7 months was the right time to switch if you use puppy food.

[bk_blue]

[quote name='TDG']a food formulated for "all life stages" is suitable for dogs of all ages. in large breeds, feeding puppy food can actually be counterproductive due to providing too much protein and making bones grow too rapidly.[/quote]

I have to agree, I remember a time when puppy food didn't exist and all our dogs did really well either on BARF or canned and dry food.

Or maybe I am just way too cynical about things! :wink:

[Black GSD]

I TOTALLY agree with TDG.

I don't feed puppy food at all. (I DO however feed a "premium" "all life stage" food rather than your basic "grocery store kibble".)

There are a LOT of breeders that also don't use puppy food. Including the one I got my pup from. They are weaned straight onto adult food.
If this was harmful do you think that those that make a living in the dog world would feed this way? I sure don't.

Think about it. Do those that feed BARF give puppies anything different than the adults? (As far as I have seen NO they don't.)
Do baby wolves eat "baby" wolf food? NO they eat the same thing as the adults. (I know we are talking about dogs here and not wolves. BUT, they are still in the same "family".)

[3ofakind]

I also do not use puppy food, and my dogs grow up much leaner and healthier I believe. Puppy food packs on too much weight too fast, regardless of size of breed.

[Black GSD]

[quote name='midori115']My vet has told me the same things, TDG.

However, Oscar is 7 months old and I am in the process of changing him to adult food now. The vet told me that 7 months was the right time to switch if you use puppy food.[/quote]

That is the problem with listening to vets about dog nutrition. MOST of them know virtually NOTHING about it. They learn what they DO know from the dog food manufacturers(sp). (Why do you think they promote/sell Science Diet?)

If you ask 10 different vets the same question about dog food. You WILL get 10 different answers. :roll:

[midori115]

I meant that my vet told me that puppy food was not necessary at all. I left Oscar on it because that's what he was on. She said if I was going to leave him on the puppy food to be sure to get him onto adult food at about 7 months. Then my vet recomended Wellness, Chicken Soup, and Canadie.

I think she's all right ....

[JudyHoffman]

All of my puppies went from mothers milk, to goats milk soaked kibble to BARF.

They are all thriving and have been eating BARF full time since 8 weeks old.

[DogPaddle]

We did not feed Zaphod puppy food for very long as I got the same advice. He is lean and healthy and seems to have grown to a good size for his presumed mix - lab/chow (and possibly some other breeds.) He is around 55lbs and around a year.

[briards]

i have to disagree totally with you. but that's maybe because over here in europe its diffrent to the usa but the food brands are the same the only difference here we don't get as much choice as in the usa but we have better vets i say.

For maxi and large breeds the age to switch over from a junior dog food is 18 months.
For small breeds, and toy breeds its 12 months of age.

at the age of 6 months you change to junior food from puppy food (if the make has a choice as some don't do puppy/jr/adult but some do jr/adult only)

[TDG]

briards, i hope you are aware of the fact that nutrition is not a very large topic in veterinary school. whatever [b]is[/b] offered is generally sponsored by one of the corporate giants like hill's or purina, which both produce poor quality foods and make insane amounts of profits from selling them.

very few veterinarians actually take an interest in nutritional topics and pursue them to a larger extent, and those who do mostly specialize in the topic for the benefit of their own patients, but they are few and far between.

i don't know what you base the idea on that there are better vets in europe than in the US, but having points of reference for both sides of the atlantic, i can only say i highly doubt that statement.

one example that immediately comes to mind is that most veterinarians in europe (as far as i am informed) still advocate full yearly vaccinations, where studies in the US have shown that intervals of 2-3 years are absolutely sufficient for most diseases and over-vaccination can often have very adverse health effects.

[Edgar]

I think the answer to this is extremely simple and logical to derive.

Do wolf pups eat puppy food? No. They eat the same things they always will the only difference is that mom and dad have to feed / hunt for them.

Hence if a good all life stage food is good for an adult dog, it will also be good for the pup.

[DogPaddle]

I agree Edgar. In addition many puppy foods contain more grains and carbs for some reason, can't see how this would be that helpful. Also once weened and able to eat regular food most juvies in any population, human, wild dog, deer, etc all eat what the adults eat, albeit sometimes a bit more. :lol: