Puppy to Adult Dog Food

[lakaybully]

when is really the right time to shift from puppy food to adult food?

as i talked to other dog owners here, some say they follow the usual prescription of up to a year before changing to adult food but there are some who replied that catched my curiosity, as early as 4th or 5th month they prefer adult food at that stages. their main reason (among others) is puppy food contains high in protein, at that stages dogs should lower the protein intake and look for well balanced dog food to avoid other health problems in the future.

we wish to read your thoughts & experiences as well. thanks.:D

[ChubbyCheek]

Nice topic reruk! You are right that there are so many different beliefs about when is the best time to switch from puppy food to adult food.

It depends on the true intentions of the person you are asking. Are they more concerned about the switch for personal reasons or for the sake of the dog?? That is the big question.

A dog is not fully grown until approximately 2 years old...they are still a puppy. That is if they are a medium sized, large, or giant breed of dog.
A toy dog is fully grown approximately as early as 7 months old but by 1 year old.

From my experience switching a puppy too early to adult food, you have just effectively slowed their rate of growth to a absolute crawl...so much so for certain breeds, that you stunt the growth of the puppy, making them a undersized adult dog...we see this a lot in the larger breeds like Rottweilers.

Many do this switch early, because of simple money problems. They do not want to pay the additional amount that puppy food costs to continue to feed the puppy they have. It is much less expensive to buy adult dog food, and to feed an adult way. A puppy eats 3-4x as much as an adult dog to grow properly in a short period of time. Kinda like kids are hungry all the time, because they are growing...where when we are adults and we have reached our peak growth, we just get "fat" when we eat like a kid again.

If protein amount is a issue for a person feeding their puppy, then there are many other choices of puppy food with lower amounts of protein in them. This is not an excuse to put a puppy with growing needs on adult food.

Like I said in the beginning, it is more about the person you are asking, are they concerned for the puppies growing properly, or concerned about their wallet?

[lakaybully]

thanks CC. and thanks for the input.

just to recap, so from medium to giant size dogs you can leave them to puppy food for up to 2 years of age and for smaller sizes best is from 7th to 12th month before changing to adult food.

i hope others can also share what they have experienced or practices.

:D

[michelle21ph]

what will happen if an adult food eats puppy food or i mean food that is high in protein?

[heaven]

one time heaven saw the food bowl of our mixed breed who's eating beef pro ata or optima for adult dogs. grabe sobrang gustong gusto ni heaven! ayaw tigilan. kinain nya buong bowl! but my mom said wag daw muna ishift sa adult dog food. kapag daw 1 yr old nalang. actually concern ko rin to kasi heaven is turning 8 mos this month. and I was thinking if he needs to change na his food eh... thanks for the input CC

[ChubbyCheek]

what will happen if an adult food eats puppy food or i mean food that is high in protein?

A adult dog...meaning 2 years+ (medium-giant breeds). Should not be using puppy food unless it is a pregnant bitch for about 3/4 of the duration of her pregnancy.

What happens is usually the protein causes the adult to develop UTI, kidney problems, or liver problems...if fed this type of diet for a extended period of time.

Not to mention, puppy food has additional minerals, vitamins, calcium, and fats that are not needed for a full grown dog...so it may cause health concerns in the long term.

That is the same as feeding a Senior dog (7 years+) regular dog food. They should be on a Senior diet to stay healthy, because for every stage of a dogs life, their bodies need different amounts of nutrients.


Thanks reruk and heaven.

[lakaybully]

actually concern ko rin to kasi heaven is turning 8 mos this month. and I was thinking if he needs to change na his food eh... thanks for the input CC


hey! same tayo my bully will turn to 8th month na rin this month i was also thinking of changing his food... but i don't know i think CC is right:D

[heaven]

yeah same here. I think I will follow what CC said.. and isa pa he's still a baby naman for me eh.. LOL

[michelle21ph]

thanks CC... atleast now i know what to do...

[apura]

what will happen kapag ang 5 months puppy labrador will be fed adult dog food?

[ChubbyCheek]

what will happen kapag ang 5 months puppy labrador will be fed adult dog food?

First, I would call that irresponsible pet ownership. A person who can not afford, or do not care to feed a puppy the proper food...should not own a dog until they can provide for them responsibly.
This was the old way of feeding large breed puppies, to slow growth in order to help reduce dysplasia in certain breeds. There is no reason to do that anymore since more and more companies have formulated large breed puppy food to combat dysplasia, slow the growth of the pups, and give all the calcium, and nutrients the pup needs.

A large breed puppy should be fed a special diet to meet their unique nutritional needs. If feeding kibble, then any Large Breed Puppy food would do. Since large breed dogs mature at such a slower rate than other sized dogs, they should be kept on puppy food until they are 18 months of age.

What would happen is the same for any large breed puppy that is not fed proper nutrients.

1. Most noticeable thing would be, the growth will be stunted on the dog. They will not grow as big as they could be.
2. Potential problems with growth of their bones in the legs, hips, elbows and knees. Leading to "east west" feet, and all kinds of dysplasia.
3. Potential of having long term health effects that are not seen till later in the life of the dog, that may cause unforseen health complications.
4. Brain development of your puppy will also be affected, since adult dog food does not contain DHA.

Bottom line being, that a puppy NEEDS puppy food. Meaning for large breed puppies, should be large breed puppy food until 18 months old...for toy and small breed puppies, should be small breed puppy food until 10 months old...for medium breed puppies should be regular or medium puppy food until 12 months old.

You would not feed an infant child a meal of steak and potatoes....you would feed them formula so they could grow and develop properly.

Pet owners have to ask themselves the same question... Is the health of your puppy as important as the health of your child? If the answer is NO. Then that person should sell their puppy to another owner who is willing to put the effort into caring for it properly.

BTW...Good Question :cool: