When would you recommend a pup changing over to adult food ?
Most recommed 12 months but would you change sooner ?
Lel

I prefer to change much younger, certainly before six months. I like to bring my puppies on slowly.

Regards, John

Yes we have done the same. Just changed MB who is seven months old to big dog food:)

Lucy

Can I just ask why you change earlier?
What are the advantages or disadvantagesof changing earlier ?
Lel

I've always changed mine earlier than a year too.

With Phoebie she had puppy complete food till adult teeth through - changed onto Junior then as I felt it was better for her to have bigger kibble. Used one or two sacks of Junior then I'd guess by about 9 months she was on adult.

Part of my reason for changing was she was getting choosy about her food so seemed as well to change her onto the adult Sam was on as she was more interested in his grub Made it easier for me that way too instead of 2 types of food needed.

She was the latest change over I'd done with any dog I've had (only 4). With the others they were on adult at about 6 months. I give them high quality food as a pup for 6 months or so to give them a good start (including milk) and then ease off on protein levels.

I'm not sure why but somewhere along the line I'd picked up it was better to have steady growth than a mad spurt as a pup that the body could barely keep up with. This may be a load of rubbish but my dogs have looked like John said somewhere in another thread - looks like a puppy when they are one, looks like a junior when they are one - instead of little (or not so little) adults. Just today someone commented to me that Phoebie being a slower to mature bitch isn't a bad thing in the showing world - they tend to stay at the top longer once they get there than some pups who peak early but don't seem to stay with the places as an adult. I'm sure this isn't alway the case though but has been said to me by a number of people.
As adults all of mine have been full size - changing food early hasn't affected them reaching height/size but they got there steadily by about 18 months and not at 6 months.

I can't give proper facts Lel for why I do or even if I'm right - it has worked for me though.

SaraW

Gus is a Staffy and is on Hills Science Plan Puppy. He looks well on it but have heard people saying they change over earlier and wondered why .
He looks young compared to other pups when we show . Some in the same age group are huge and look adult whilst he looks like a puppy .
Without sounding too ignorant why does puppy food give them a growth spurt- I would have thought adult food would have had this effect ?
lel

Puppy food is for growing, whereas adult food is for maintenance. That is why dogs can grow too much with puppy food. Like Sara, I changed to junior when Monty decided he was bored with the puppy food, rather than because he'd reached a certain age. I think he was on adult Hills by about 10 months, if I remember correctly, and he is a large breed dog. He has grown slowly and steadily, no very lanky stages to speak of. In fact, he always looks the baby in his classes even when there are much younger dogs in the class. He just doesn't want to grow up - Peter Pan!!!

Monty's Mum

>>>>Puppy food is for growing, whereas adult food is for maintenance

Now why couldn't I have said it as simple as that instead of my long post below :D I know what I mean but I waffle and that sentence sums up what I'm trying to say

SaraW

I've also found that, when showing, puppies that look mature when they are still puppies, look 'overdone' and cloddy when they are adults. Bring them on slowly, and they last much longer.

Lel - I think how quick they mature is also in their Genes to an extent - I put part of Phoes slow maturing down to her genes so maybe Gus is the same.

With regards to the food I am no expert at all and these are my ramblings which a nutritionist would probably disagree with lol :
I understand that in puppy food there is more "goodness" per weight than an adult food. I think that a body will grow in accordance with the amount of goodness available to it up to a limit - however I worry that the body may be fooled into growing too quickly in some repects - body mass increases in size but I am concerned that the body can struggle to keep the bone growth in line with the body mass.
By reducing to an adult food the dog does not get as much "goodness" from the same volume so growth steadys up and in my mind EVERYTHING can grow at the same rate.
I can't back these thoughts up with scientific fact but it is what my brain has decided

Also (I believe) a body will only use what it can process and the extra converts to fat (extra weight strain on bones which can only grow at a certain speed) and some of the extra spare goodness converts into energy. Now a pup needs energy but an excess (in my mind) can lead to them being hyper.

All I do know for certain is that changing earlier has worked for me just as staying on puppy for longer will have worked for others. Not much help really am I lol

I hope one of the others comes along with their explanations and maybe they'll make more sense :D

SaraW

Thanks for everyones views on this
A lot of time we tend to take the manufacturers word as gospel and so it is interesting to see what other owners think and why
Thankyou
lel

http://fp.golden-retriever.com/puppy_food_or_adult_food.htm

http://petplace.netscape.com/articles/artShow.asp?artID=3299

http://petplace.compuserve.com/Articles/artShow.asp?artID=241

These links are quite interesting Lel - I went on the search as I was questioning myself and why I do as I do. My gut instinct seems to be right but for the wrong reasons - reading the top link it appears that puppy food can overdo bone growth at times rather than underdo it as I was concerned (in relation to the rest of the body) but leads to problems all the same. Size of breed seems to be an important factor in making the choice.

HTH

SaraW

editted @ 11.36pm

I too am interested in the ins and outs of food for different stages.I am feeding my Boxer puppy Nutro choice puppy for large breeds.Does this address the problem?I was under the impresion the large breed food took the growth rate in to acount and that is how it is formulated for slower growth?If it is the same as any puppy food I will be changing earlier rather than later too.Many thanks,
Hazel

I was under the impresion the large breed food took the growth rate in to acount and that is how it is formulated for slower growth?

That's correct, Hazel. Even so, all dogs are different and what's right for one will not be so good for another. Just keep an eye on your puppy to make sure that it doesn't get too lanky. If it does, then you may wish to consider moving up to junior, then finally adult. Also make sure that it doesn't get too chubby from over-feeding. Cut back if necessary. There are no fast rules really.

Monty's Mum

Hi Lel

We changed her due to the restricted excercise she has been under for her injury. She was starting to get a tad stir crazy and a little porky and wanted to reduce the protein levels to help with this.

Lucy

Switched our pup onto raw diet as soon as she had settled down and had all her jabs - so was on it at about 15 weeks - no puppy version of 'raw' - she gets the same as older dog. Looks fantastic and is easy to keep the weight down as Aussies are very energetic and so didn't want her to be overweight

Daisy