Puppy foods

[goombaya]

Hi im feeding eukanuba large breed puppy food to my 5 month old female. She'll grow to about 80-85 lbs when mature. Wondering when and why some of you recommend switching to an adult food.

Couple of things to note/ most mfrs say wait till about a year. Seems self serving in that puppy food costs more/ lots of dog people have very differnt opinions, ranging from never feed puppy food to 4-6 months to 18 months.

So whats the consensus and why?

[Dawn]

I would ask your vet or the breeder that you got the puppy from.

[goombaya]

Dawn,

bred this one myself...

As for vets, its been my experience that many - the ones i use included, are not as progressive regarding nutrition as the real dog folks...ever have a vet NOT recommend Hills Science Diet to you?

Im one of those folks that thinks switching foods ocassionally is of benefit, as I think many of the higher end foods each have something to offer/ so im wondering about switching to an adult food.

Ya know lots of the higher end mfrs dont even make a "puppy" food. Just one size fits all.

Im gonna play it safe and stay with a puppy food of about 1.5/1 calcium to phosphorous for the time being. But id like to get her on an adult food within a month or two.
After about 14 months or so i'm usually less concerned with the technical stuff and just feed em whatever keeps em happy and healthy. Usually something like Solid Gold, Innova, or Canidae. Im not a huge Eukanuba fan, but the puppy food lands right smack dab in the middle of the Aafco recomendations for a large breed. So thats where im at right now.

But if you have any recommended diets or foods for a pup this age, im all ears. I like to learn as much about nutrition as possible, I think its ultimately important to the health of the dog.

[bearsmom]

A lot of the larger breeds don't completely mature until at least 2 years, so I'd recommend keeping her on puppy food for at least a year - maybe even longer. It'll be even more important to have the nutrition for her bones and joints as she approaches her adult weight. A year is the absolute youngest I've ever changed a dog to adult food, and our oldest dogs are approaching 15 years old.

[ January 17, 2004, 08:06 PM: Message edited by: bearsmom ]

[Dawn]

Switching foods around is really hard on their kidneys. If you want to get what each has to offer, the safest way healthwise is to mix them all together. I wouldn't do it any earlier than a year old though.

[binka_nugget]

I'm not sure what type of dog you have but.. here's an interesting read:http://www.talkaboutpets.com/group/r...es/189358.html

I've fed puppy food to my sheltie 'til he was a year old. It's not so much of a problem with smaller breeds but for my next dog, I will either raise it on raw or adult food right away. Some people like to avoid puppy food all together to avoid having the pup grow too fast. It's generally harder on the larger breeds but I don't feel there's any harm with slow growth in both small and large breeds. I guess 7/8 months is a good time to take her off puppy and move into adult.

[LoriAnn]

I have large dogs as well. My vet, who is also my employer recommended keeping them on puppy food until about 10-11 months. He said because they grow so fast he always recommends switching to adult food a couple of months early. But, he said if you are using the large breed puppy food, it's not that important anywhere between 10-12 months is fine. I have my 10 mo. golden & 6 mo. GSD on Iams large breed puppy food.

If you're going to switch, do it gradually mixing the old with the new a little more each day until you're using 100% of the new. But, everything I've every read & every vet I've talked to recommends sticking with one.

[ January 18, 2004, 05:14 AM: Message edited by: LoriAnn ]

[goombaya]

Ive never heard that switching foods puts strain on kidneys. Sorry, but I think thats just not accurate.

Problem with many vet recommendations is, the typical client is a pet home. The advice is safe and general. For the most part correct however it doesnt accomodate the special needs dog. Lactating *******, performance and working dogs, showing dogs, all have differing needs. There are seasonal factors to consider.

You can't send a dog out to special on Iams and expect to compete, you cant expect a dog to work all weekend every weekend for 2 months without providing him the nutrition he needs (higher fat and protein). However when its downtime, the need isnt there, so the diet changes. Hope I said this correctly.
Thats why I do it, many people dont have those circumstances so staying with one food is just fine for them.

[Dawn]

It is a very well known fact that changing feed constantly puts strain on a lot of thier organs, not just their kidneys. If you choose not to believe that, then fine. I certainly can't prove it to you. As far as your scenarios, you would simply cut back on the amount of food. Not change what they're eating.

[goombaya]

Dwan,
Sorry- you know not from what you speak.

Switching foods"incorrectly" can cause gastrointestinal disorder, if this is what you mean by putting stres on organs (you said kidneys not organs earlier) You can show absolutely no evidence that kidney problems result from switching foods - because it does'nt. Also, it is important to define "constantly" switching. I switch around seasonally, maybe every4-6 months.

Your idea of "cutting Back" on food is silly.
I assume you also meant to increase food as circumstance dictated. Its just bad science. They make higher protein, fat foods for performance dogs - it is highly recommended that whelping/lactating ******* be fed puppy food.

http://www.akc.org/breederedu/Articl...ndfeeding2.cfm

I dont know what type of dog you own, maybe it just sits around,sucks down ol'roy,and poos all day. Mine are athletes that win shows. I feed them the best foods available -for the circumstance they are in. I study nutrition ad-infinitum, Any vet would tell you to do that, mfr's make foods to accomodate it.
No kidney problems here.