[Guest]

I asked my vet and she said that she would wait until 12 to 18 mos before switching. I have heard others say 6 mos. If you don't mind sharing what age did your puppies go from puppy food to adult? And what are the benefits/risks of switching later vs earlier?

 

[Tink]

Considering they continue to mature til 18 months or so, I keep mine on puppy chow until then. It's designed specifically for this time, so I'd rather be sure they're getting everything they need so they have a good solid healthy start.

 

[movistar]

6 months on a standard size labradoodle.

too much protein in puppy food it affects growth, you want a slow and steady growth for a larger dog and adult food helps.

 

[Jac]

Heather, I think that it depends on the size of your puppy (will she grow more than 70 lbs?) and the quality of the adult food.
If you are feeding really good quality foods, you can switch as early as 6 months, but if you are planning on doing the "grocery store variety" (I hope not!) then, waiting is a good thing.
I actually just read a wonderful book co-authored by my vet, about holistic care of dogs and they have a LOT to say about feeding...baiscally they say that table scraps are best so long as you are eating a healthy, fresh diet (not fried foods and junk) and so long as you understand what things are toxic to dogs. They actually prefer that to dog food. They say it is a myth that kibble helps clean the dog's teeth...that chewies and chew toys do a much better job.

 

[blueteal]

Boy do I ever agree with that Jac.
We had a border collie as a kid and he pretty much grew up
on healthy table scraps as the tinned dog food that we could afford in
those days probably was not very good so we supplemented with table
scraps all the time.


Denver has been fed Canidae as a puppy and still now but
he has always had it mixed with people food and he is very healthy.
People will always say don't feed him people food and I always say
why not? We are not talking junk food here, I mean chicken ,vegetables
some fruits and yogurt, oatmeal and rice are part of his diet.

 

[sandy]

I've been wondering about this myself, since Nicky just turned one year old. He's always been fed Iam's Large Breed Puppy Food, although the vet wanted me to switch him to Science Diet when he was younger. That's when I found out the vet sells that brand! I was given a 5 lb. sample bag of Science Diet. When I put some of it in Nicky's bowl along with his regular food, he refused to eat the Science Diet. He tasted it and spit it out.

When I do switch Nicky to adult food, I don't know what I'll give him. He really likes the Iam's puppy food and has done so well on it that it's going to be hard to switch to something new.

The only people foods he gets are a couple of tiny bites of cheese if I'm putting some in my sandwich, a little peanut butter once in a while, and some little apple chunks if I'm eating one. I tried giving him carrots, but he has no interest in them.

 

[FoodLady]

We went from Iams Large Breed Puppy to Large Breed Adult. Ebbe's vet said to keep her on it as she ate it and had no digestive problems. She also said to switch when Ebbe was almost fifty pounds at 5 mos. Didn't want her getting too fat too fast! I'm the sucker in the family and fall for those big brown eyes and so she does get bits of cheese, yogurt, etc. but her fave ... oyster crackers!

 

[Jac]

Well, with all of the toxins in dog foods these days I have been very cautious and worried, so when I began reading about things I realized that dogs were fed raw or people food up until the first dog biscuit was created by a sailor who ate those dry biscuits on the ship...he decided to add meats and things to a biscuit for his dogs and ... then they started to make canned foods but in WWI the aluminum or tin became scarce and they started making kibble.
The book points out that (and I have always felt this was true) feeding one brand of kibble or one brand of canned every day is boring for your dog as it would be for you.
They need mostly protein, a tiny bit of veggies (2 TBS) and then certain minerals/vitamins...in fact, they said that one of the best sources of protein is eggs.
This book says that you can feed what you eat and usually this makes you eat a better diet too. People food with high protein makes for smaller and less smelly poops too! Yahoo!
They said that you feed much less if the food is good quality, so it can be cheaper. You only need to feed grains and carbohydrates if the dog is in a life stage where energy is an issue, as for pups, elderly dogs, etc.

 

[KingstonTodd]

They actually prefer that to dog food.

Our switch to RAW was predicated on Hershey not liking her kibble. she just one day stopped eating it so we had to look into something else.

 

[lmtoth2]

our vet wanted us to keep Dexter on puppy food until 1 yr, but his quick growth and his food allergies led us to switching him to canidae (all stages) at around 7 mos and then to the adult food (when canidae didn't work) just before 12 mos.

 

[Jac]

I want to feed raw too...my problem is that I have so many dogs! Can you imagine them all carrying around their raw meaty bone to various places in the house/garage???? Yikes!
What type do you use? I'd be interested in buying the patties already ground and ready to go!

 

[annabelles mom]

We have fed our dogs Iams for 25 years - We switched AB from puppy to adult at about 12-13 months old, she is eating Iams Healthy Natural dry. She also gets Iams treats and HealthPro mint bisquits - she will eat carrots on occassion but beef she throws up - we do give her some chicken occassionally. she also gets scrambled egg beaters a few times a week and she get 3 chicken nibbles after we eat dinner each nite - crunchy, she loves them.

 

[Owned by Barkley]

My vet said after 6 months there was no need to feed puppy food, especially if we did a good quality food.

So since we have had Barkley he has been on adult food. We adopted him from his first owner at 6 months old. And when I got him he had been put on I/D for his stomach issues. That was not puppy food either, and he had been on it for a while.

 

[sandy]

I'm so glad to know that some of you feed your dog(s) Iams. I think I'll just stick with that brand for Nicky and will start to switch him to adult food soon. I just got two $2 off Iams coupons in the mail today, but there is also an $8 coupon on the Iams web site. I usually shop at PetSmart for dog food because it's convenient.

 

[annabelles mom]

I'm so glad to know that some of you feed your dog(s) Iams. I think I'll just stick with that brand for Nicky and will start to switch him to adult food soon. I just got two $2 off Iams coupons in the mail today, but there is also an $8 coupon on the Iams web site. I usually shop at PetSmart for dog food because it's convenient.

I signed up for the $8.00 coupon and just got it in the mail - we feed her the new Natural healthy Iams and she loves it.

If you have neighbors who dont have dogs or dont use Iam, ask them is they'd mind if you signed them up on the iams site my two neighbors did that and when coupons arrive they give them to us - it helps on the food bill and that way Annabelle gets to buy an xtra toy or two when we go get her food :wink:

 

[cocoandjane]

I started on a holistic food which I think basically was excellent, but there was a question about a form of Vitamin K in it....so I switched to the
All Stages Canidae. I think it is very good....and others swear by it on this forum. I think there are several makers of natural dog foods that are probably pretty good.....read the labels....

I have heard others say they really like the Iams.
8)

 

[eloise]

We have gotten a lot of good information from these forums since we got Eloise at six weeks. The subject of dog food in general and even in this thread varies quite a bit. Eloise turned one year three days ago and her food bucket is low. She has been on Orijen large breed and a lot of people food. She will eat almost anything we eat. Our vet says she is in top health and he was interested in her diet. He says that it is surprising how some dogs can thrive on the most unlikely diets. He treats a lot of pets of homeless people and they rarely have a steady diet of anything. From all the posts in this thread and other sites we have read, it looks like switching now to a good adult food won’t be a problem. It might upset one of our cats because he really likes her food. If you donate food to charities or food banks please remember to donate some pet food. If your pet doesn’t like a food you bought, don’t throw it away, donate it.

 

[warcopwife]

Georgia has been on Science Diet since we got her, and even though our vet said we could switch her to any gluten free dog food, I just stick with the science diet. We swapped over to adult food at 12 months. We had one weekend that I forgot to go get her food, and the vet was closed, so I had to search the stores for a gluten free food, and what I found and gave her....icky nasty dog breathe! I won't make that mistake again.

 

[Dominic Beatham]

I discussed this question with the vet. It depends not only on the age and breed of the dog, but also on the rate of growth.

 

[Dominic Beatham]

If you do not want to consult a veterinarian, then you can find a lot of information about it on the Internet. I know several sites where there are articles on this topic. Recently I read an article about the best food for Siberian Huskies on the Petstiger.com. This article also tells you when a puppy can start eating adult food. This is very useful for the love of a dog owner. But I still recommend contacting the veterinarian.