Dog food question: no its not the typical which is better...?

Question

Alrighty, I feel like I have a legitimate question:

We have 3 dogs two are in puppy stage pretty close to young adult stage and one just went into young adult stage.

Question is: Is there a real purpose to switching her to "adult" dog food from large breed puppy dog food since she is still SO active like a puppy or can it wait until maybe 5 or 6 months from now when the other two are ready to switch also? (also it will save me from having to purchase seperate dog food, and although this is not as important as her health is sure would be more simple)

She is a healthy weight and size the vet checked her out and she has no health problems-- just checking to see if there is a benefit to switching to adult food right this second?

Thanks

So what your saying is that puppies dont need special nutrition? How in the world can that dog food have the proper nutrition to help puppies grow but not too much to hurt adult dogs?

Answer 1

I've had Bindi on an all stages food since I got her at 14 weeks old.


People say that puppies have different nutritional needs than an adult dog. This isn't entirely true. Puppies have the same nutritional needs as an adult dog, they just need more of those nutrients. You will feed more of an all stages food to a puppy that you would an adult.

Puppy formulas being so nutrient rich actually cause puppies to grow way to fast. This lead to bone and joint problems later in life.

A puppy fed an all stages food will have a much more desirable slow growth, which helps prevent bone and joint problems.

Puppies should grow up slowly not spring up like weeds.

In my opinion the only dogs that should eat a puppy formula are those that are pregnant or lactating.



**Added.: You didn't understand what I wrote. Puppies and dogs have the same nutritional requirements. They both need this vitamin and that vitamin, that mineral and this mineral.

The difference is how much. A puppy needs more of the nutrients than an adult dog. So the puppy eats more, the adult dog eats less. When you feed all stages you food, you give more to the puppy in a day, than you do an adult.

The puppy is meeting his nutritional requirements by eating more of the food, and the adult is meeting his nutritional requirements by eating less than a puppy would.


Take a look at what dogs and puppies ate before kibble came around maybe 80 years ago. Did the puppies eat something different than the adult dogs? No, they just ate more often.

Answer 2

If you are using a quality dog food, and I mean top shelf...there is no need for puppy vs. adult food.
Many of the top brands didn't even sell 'puppy' food until the last couple of years, and only do now for the sake of commercialization. All the puppy food is, is the same formula in a smaller kibble. You just feed a different amount .
Why? because their food is already nutrionally balanced. Unless the dog has an ailment or allergies, they do not need 'special' nutrients as a puppy. And in the larger breeds, all the additives to 'puppy food' can actually harm them during growth.
Think about it this way...in humans- if the person (child or adult) has a correct diet meaning the appropriate amounts of the food groups, there would be no need for vitamin or calcium or any other kind of supplements. They would grow correctly, be healthy and not overweight. The reason those things are out there is because most people don't eat correctly and so they use supplements to counter the negative diet.

Answer 3

It's ok. It is about 30% carbohydrates on a dry matter basis. That is certainly better then most dry foods and only about 5% more than Orijen. But grains and potato are not really the best for a dog. Orijen is already grain free so why add some grains when you are paying a high price for a grain free food? Plus Orijen is already kind of high in potato, you definitely don't need more. But it's not bad. Check out EVO for a really excellent canned food. BTW even though it says it includes omega 3 & 6, it really doesn't. Same with Orijen. It is kind of a lie. At one point it did, before it was cooked. Heat completely destroys fragile omegas. Plus air exposure also degrades them, so even if Orijen sprays on the oils after cooking, as soon as you open the bag they go rancid very quickly. All dogs fed canned or kibble should be supplemented with fish oil/omega 3. Also absolutely nothing wrong with a good quality canned food. You could even skip kibble and feed only canned if you wanted. Canned foods are the next best thing to a raw or homemade diet. You can easily find low carbohydrate canned foods since they do not need it to hold the product together like kibble does. They have less preservatives since the canning process preserves them. Kibble needs preservatives. And since they are lower carb they are actually better for the teeth. Carbs feed bacteria and bacteria cause tooth decay. Chewing on kibble actually has no cleaning effect whatsoever. It actually makes teeth dirty. I have never come across a food that cleans my teeth, no mater how dry or crunchy. Canned also has a much more natural moisture level which keeps your dog properly hydrated, which is probably the best thing you can do for your dog, even better than a high quality diet. Chronic dehydration leads to organ failure later in life.

Answer 4

Whilst very young puppies need a lot of protein to grow and develop, once they are past about 6 months, they should be switched to a food less rich in protein (adult food). The last thing you want is a dog growing too fast, as the development of the bone structure needs to proceed slowly for the bones to grow healthy, strong and dense. If they grow too fast, they will be weak and that can lead to bone deformation, hip dysplasia and other problems. The bigger the breed, the slower the bone development should be - for obvious reasons ... Don't worry, you won't deprive your puppy of anything by switching over to an adult food at 6 months. - Just use common sense.... Most commercial dog foods are too rich in vitamins and minerals anyway. If you really want to do the best for your dogs development, look into a BARF diet.

Best wishes,
Christina

Answer 5

What are their ages and breeds? You said the older one is a large breed. Large breed dogs can eat puppy foor for over a year. My breeder recommended my lab stay on puppy food until 18 months. It depends on your dog's breed.

It is probably okay to keep them all on puppy food, depending on the older dog's breed and age. If he's already 18 months, I would switch him. If he's only 12 months, you can keep him on puppy food a bit longer, and wait for the younger ones to catch up to him.

Or you could switch them all the Canidae, or one of the other "all life stages foods." The thinking behind these foods is that all dogs need the same nutrients to grow and be strong/healthy. Puppies just need more of it than adults. The amount you feed your dog will be different at different life stages, but it will still be the same food.

Answer 6

No dog should ever be on puppy food past 12 months, and most (probably all) can switch to adult food much younger.

You're further ahead to buy the adult food , and switch all 3 of them to that now. Just do it gradually, and then they'll all be on the same food. Puppy foods promote fast growth, which is not ideal. Slow, consistent growth is preferable. Good Luck.

Answer 7

I have to agree with most of the other posts. I would recommend switching all of your dogs over to an all-life stages food such as Canidae. Large and giant breed dogs really don't need puppy food as it can cause them to grow too much, too quickly.

Answer 8

What are their breeds/ages? Puppy food is formulated especially for growing puppies. Depending on your dog, they switch at different ages (average is 1 year, but small dogs can be on adult food at 7-8 months, and some large breeders stay on for a little bit over a year, and giant breeds are never on puppy food).

If you want to avoid the whole "puppy food" and "adult food" dilemma, you can put them all on an "all-life-stages" food right now.

Here are some high quality all-life-stages foods:

* Canidae - http://www.canidae.com/dogs/all_life_stages/dry.html

* Merrick Wilderness Blend - http://www.merrickpetcare.com/store/detail.php?c=14&s=20277

* Merrick Turducken - http://www.merrickpetcare.com/store/detail.php?c=14&s=20274

* Innova EVO -http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1488

* Innova EVO Red Meat - http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1491
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Answer 9

Dogs should not be on puppy food after 1 year of age. Puppy food is too rich and not good for adults. Just because she is healthy weight and active does not mean that the puppy food won't affect her badly.
I would switch to Canidae all life stages. It is suitable for your puppies as well as the adult.
http://canidae.com/dogs/all_life_stages/dry.html

Answer 10

no, it won't hurt her. and, since she's still relatively young, i doubt it would make that much of a difference on the positive side. honestly, i'd wait.