In dealing with boxers, when should I change from puppy food to adult food?

Question

I have a 1yr. 2mo. old boxer female and she is quite skinny, she is kind of a picky eater and I need to know when I should start feeding her adult dog food and what are some good ones.

Answer 1

Vets and Groomers recommend switching them to adult mix food at approximately one year of age. I have a 6 month old cocker spaniel that is incredibly picky. I had him on Purina's Bneful and he seemed to like it well until I ran across the chart I'll copy and paste at the end. This chart was extremely helpful in choosing a new food. I currienty have him on Canidae which he loves and it ranks very high on the grading scale. I switched him gradually as to not shock him into something different. It's kind of expensive, but with food that is better for the dogs, they get fulfilled much faster than on typical dog food like Pedigree and Purina. They go to the bathroom less, eat less and they don't have to go out as often. In the end, it works out price wise about the same if you would buy the cheaper brands. Hope this helps! Oh, and Canidae's formulas are made as "all life stages" dog food. So it has the same amount of nutrients and good things for all ages. I thought that was great because I had every intention of keeping my puppy on puppy food as long as I could so he could get the benefit of all the great stuff that puppies need. So here's the chart.

This is a dog food rating system created to help people find a quality food. This is not concrete but to be used as a guide. This was created by Fredalina of the GDR.


Giving Dry Dog Food a Grade:
Start with a grade of 100:

For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points


For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points

If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points

For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points

If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer’s rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points


If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points

If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points

If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points

If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points

If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points

If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points

If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points

If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points

If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to beef), subtract 1 point

If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:

If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points


If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points

If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points

If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points

If the food contains fruit, add 3 points

If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points

If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points

If the food contains barley, add 2 points

If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points

If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point

If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point

For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "turkey" as 2 different sources), add 1 point


If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point

If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point



94-100+ = A
86-93 = B
78-85 = C
70-77 = D
<70 = F

Some foods that have all ready been rated:
A's Score
A+ Chicken Soup for the pet lovers soul 113
A+ Eagle Pack Holistic chicken 114
A+ Eagle Pack Holistic LG and Giant Breed Adlt 113
A+ Eagle Pack Natural 104
A+ Timberwolf Organics Lamb and Venison 136
A+ Solid Gold Bison 123
A+ Solid Gold Wolf King 109
A+ Solid Gold Hund N flocken 105
A+ Solid Gold Mmillennia 111
A+ Innova 117
A+ Natural Balance Ultra 117
A+ Natural Balance Duck and Potato 114
A+ Canidae 119
A+ Foundations Chicken and Vegetable 109
A+ Flint River Ranch Fish and Chips 109
A+ Wysong Synorgon 110
A+ Flint River Ranch Lamb, Millet and Rice 117
A+ Back to Basics 107

B's
B Eukanuba Natural Lamb and Rice 87

C's
C Nutro Lamb and Rice 85

D's
D Iams Lamb and Rice 74

F's
F Pedigree Adult Complete 14
F Ol'Roy 9
F Science Diet Chicken Adult Maintainance 45
F Purina Beniful original 23
All Purina and Pro Plan foods rate as a F
F Pro Plan Giant Breed Adult 41
F Pro Plan Performance 53
F Pro Plan Chicken and Rice
F Purina Dog chow
F Purina Large Breed 40
F Diamond Lamb and Rice 61
F Diamond Performance (formerly professional)
F Diamond Large Breed 55

Answer 2

Your Boxer should be on adult food already. Most large breed dogs don't do very well on puppy food for long. They need a formulated protein mix.

Go to a reputable pet food store. Look up dog foods like, Royal Canin, Burns, Canidae, Solid Gold etc... You can feed kibble or kibble/canned mixed.

See the amounts recommended on the bag/can, and be flexible on whether you think your dog needs a bit more food....(it is normal to give a slightly bigger portion than the recommended amount).

If weight is a concern, you can supplement with 1cup of plain yoghurt, mixed in with chopped hard-boiled egg.

And raw Beef bones are fun for the dog. Even a turkey neck once in awhile.

Stay away from grocery store foods, like Alpo, Purina, Beneful. They are full of fillers, by-products and corn/wheat.

No dog food given should have corn.

Just read alot of articles on Boxers. They are a special dog, and need attention paid to diet.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

If she's skinny, that means she malnurished. She needs to be on dog food around 10-13 months. If she's a picky eater, oh well. If you need a pecific brand, but she doesn't like it, mix some gravy with it, can dog food, or just let her go hungry. She'll eat eventually. I know it sounds sort of mean, but if you can only afford a certain brand, or she needs a very specific one, then you'll have to do what you need to do to feed her. Science diet is good, Purina has different types of adult food, like indoor dogs, outdoor dogs, senior dogs, fat dogs, skinny dogs, Iams is supposed to be real good, They have a couple new ones out that lot of people of raving about, but I can't remember their names. I'm sure someone will eventually tell you on here lol.

She should have been on dog food a few months ago. But It's not real late, as to cause any kind f damage, or real bad malnutrition. But you might want to get her on adult food, and now! The last thing you want is a sick boxer on your hands!!

Answer 4

Your best bet is to slowly integrate the new food into the diet. example - start the first week by mixing about 20% adult food with 80% puppy chow. Once it's system seems to be handling it (i.e. stool is back to normal), then change the ratio 40% to 60%. Continue this process week after week until you have changed to 100% adult food. Another suggestion is to try to find brands where the ingredients are not to far off - if you switch from a wet puppy chow to a dry adult food, your dog may respond worse than if you had gone from dry to dry or wet to wet.

Answer 5

I stay away from puppy food and start with well balanced all stages food such as Canidae. A dog your age should be on adult food. Try Canidae or any of the Solid Gold or Timberwolf Organics varieties.

Answer 6

Your boxer is ready to be switched over to adult food. I would recommend Large Breed Adult Eukanuba. It is chicken based, has higher levels of Glucosamine and Chrondroiten Sulfate for healthy joints, and is more nutritionally dense, so you are not feeding a ton of food to your dog without the nutritional benefits. (think of eating cornflakes or eating oatmeal. Oatmeal is more dense...less food, more benefit).

Answer 7

Start mixing her puppy food with adult food then after awile get rid of that puppy food, she should of been on adult food in the first place.. I suggest feeding he Iams, my pugs loves it! well good luck hope I helped

Answer 8

She should be on adult food now. Good quality Dogfood.. Lots of people suggest Nutro, check that one and Wellness SuperMix.