how long should you keep a puppy on puppy food?

Answer 1

depends on the size of the dog. For small dogs (toy breeds/small terriers) i'd keep them on pup food up until a year old. Medium size dogs (most terriers/some hounds) I'd keep them on it until about 7 or so months. For large breeds and giant breeds such as German Shepherds, Rots, Dobermans, Great Danes, etc. I take them off pup food at 4 1/2 months. Larger breed dog's bones should take longer to develop. Pup food makes bones grow harder and faster and for a large breed dog this can be a serious issue causing pain and improper alignment of bones. There have been studies on this and it proves that some breeds are more susceptible to improper growth by staying on pup food too long.

Answer 2

Switch her NOW to a higher quality puppy food! Purina is a low quality dog food! You can use, Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul, diamond Puppy food, Nutra, and many others that are much better! When you do switch brands do not forget to do it gradually to prevent stomach upset and diarrhea. Use about 3/4 of the old brand mixed with 1/4 of the new for about 3 day. Then 50/50 the next few day and so on until you are just using the new brand of puppy food. Keep her on puppy food for at least a year! Good Luck and Congratulations! *;*

Answer 3

Until they are 1 year old. Up until then, you puppy is still growing, he'll actually keep growing until a year and a half old, but while hes under 1 year he'll need the extra fat and protein for his fast growing development. After 1 year his growth rate will slow down so he won't need so much so fast and you can switch him to regual adult food.

NOTE: If hes a large breed puppy some vets might reccomend keeping him on a puppy food for longer, consult your vet if this is the case.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

It depends on the breed, but small dogs stay on puppy food till a year old, and some large breeds can go off puppy food around nine to ten months, but usually till a year of age.

Answer 5

A good start is a minimum of six months. If they are healthy, and active, they should be able to slowly progress from there to adult dog food. The primary reason for not keeping a dog on puppy chow is that it has a higher ratio of protein, and too much protein can cause skin problems in dogs. If your pups are still on puppy chow, and begin to develop skin problems, I would recommend switching them to adult dog food with lower protein levels. However, a pregnant and nursing mother should be fed puppy chow until she has stopped nursing. This will ensure healthier pups.

Answer 6

if its a smaller dog usually about 9 months, but with the bigger breeds, 12-18 months. start off with a little adult food mixed in with the puppy food and gradually add more adult and less puppy. that way it wont make their stomach upset

Answer 7

Depends on the breed/size...

toy /small dogs up to a year,

medium/large dogs (Labs, Goldens, etc) up to 6 months ,

giant breeds(Great Danes, Irish Wolfhounds, etc) should NEVER ever eat puppy food of any kind at any age.

Answer 8

After a dog reaches one year old he can go to dog food regular dry food of any kind.You should already have him on dry puppy food any way.(one year in people years)

Answer 9

year and a half when changeing the food change it little by little day by day when u start to change it mix a little in with the puppy food and mix a little bit more day buy day until ur out of the puppy food and the dogs used to the adult food

Answer 10

7-12 months. If the dog starts to eat more in one sitting, switch to regular dog food because puppy food is fattier and the dog will start to gain excess weight.