I live with my grandparents and we recently lost a puppy (she was hit by a car). We have lots of left over puppy chow and I have a rat terrier, who's about 7 years old. My grandparents feed my dog the puppy chow and I've noticed a slight weight gain with him. I then found out that puppy chow is high in fat so now I'm worried. How bad is puppy chow for my 7 year old little dog?
2007-07-27 05:41:11 · 9 answers · asked by bri 3 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Puppy chow will have more fat and protein than food for an older dog but it won't hurt your dog to finish off the puppy chow..... just go back to his regular dog food once the puppy chow is gone.
2007-07-27 05:46:35 · answer #1 · answered by ♥♥The Queen Has Spoken♥♥ 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I wouldn't feed puppy chow to a dog. Puppy Chow is a terrible brand of dog food to begin with. Especially if your dog is older, you need to pay attention to the kind of nutrients he's getting as well as supplements. www.dogfoodproject.com. This is the best source of information on pet food and will help you locate a better brand.
As far as throwing out the Puppy Chow, why don't you drop it off at your local shelter? Although it is not the best dog food out there, I'm sure a shelter could use it. They are always looking for in-kind donations and I'm sure they would be thankful for your contribution.
2007-07-27 07:05:56 · answer #2 · answered by ark3 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Puppy chow (as in the brand made by Purina) really isn't all that great for any dog of any age. It's full of cheap, nutritionally inferior ingredients, salts (which are only there to make the food taste good to dogs) and artificial coloring (which is only there to make the food look good to people).
But for a 7 year old dog, it's not very good. It probably won't kill your dog, but puppy food is higher in fat and protein which can cause weight gain (as you've already noticed) and kidney problems. It can also cause gastrointestinal upset. I would recommend finding a shelter or possibly a neighbor with a puppy to give the bag to (or just throw it away...that might be even better) and sticking with an adult formula for your rat terrier.
2007-07-27 06:46:41 · answer #3 · answered by ainawgsd 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi
I think it would be fine to give your dog the rest of the puppy chow. You should mix it with his regular food though. You should not feed it to the adult all the time as there are nutrients and stuff in puppy chow that may be too strong for an adult dog, they could develop urine cystals or something like that.
2007-07-27 05:50:48 · answer #4 · answered by uniqueunicornbc 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Puppy food is not good for older dogs! The older dogs will gain weight . If you look on the puppy bag og dog food and then look at the food you feed the older dogs you will see the difference. The puppy has to stay on puppy food for at least a year. Good Luck
2016-03-16 00:33:47 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Puppy chow is full of bad things. All of that corn is no good - and take a look at the rest of the ingredients. Poultry by-product meal is a terrible thing to feed to your dog, but most people just don't bother to learn about it.
I highly recommend looking here to find better food for your dog:
http://dogfoodanalysis.com/
2007-07-27 05:46:03 · answer #6 · answered by Misa M 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes, it is high in fat and also too high in protein for a 7 yr. old dog. At this age they need a much lower protein diet.
A high protein diet can cause renal failure in the older dog so I would be inclined to ask your grandparents not to feed the puppy chow to your terrier.
2007-07-27 05:49:21 · answer #7 · answered by Fields of Gold 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
well the food its self is not harmful its very high in protein and nutrients ...
Its the weight gain that is harmful, I would stop feeding your adult dog puppy chow
2007-07-27 05:49:30 · answer #8 · answered by Stephanie 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It doesn't give them the right nutrient they need for their older bones.
2007-07-27 05:47:17 · answer #9 · answered by Skye 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
its not like it will kill the dog but you should change the food it might not be good for its digestive system.
2007-07-27 05:45:56 · answer #10 · answered by .... 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋