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adult food

emmawright

emmawright

Well-known member
sorry if this has already been asked... when do you change to adult food? on the puppy food pack it say puppy food is up to 18 months, so i keep her on it for 18 months? she is 5 and a half months now.
 
Many breeders feel you never need to feed puppy food. I never did. :) So you could stop now if you wish.
 
Amber's been fed on adult since she was 13/14 weeks or so, and she's doing great on it. I've noticed no ill effects from not giving puppy food- her coat is glossy, she's active and full of mischief, and her stools are perfect.
 
Surprisingly, some knowledgeable people feel it's actually harmful to feed puppy food, harmful to musculo-skeletal development, raising a dog's risk of joint disorders.

This is from http://www.cpt-training.com/6_22_00.asp
Puppy food is richer in protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals (especially calcium and phosphorous) to meet the rapid growth and metabolic rate of puppyhood. Puppy food is also preferred for pregnant or lactating females. Though many puppy food manufacturers recommend keeping a young dog on puppy food for 12-18 months, veterinary researchers now recommend progressing to adult food as early as 4-6 months of age. Some researchers believe puppy food is often too nutrient dense as dogs age and may contribute to orthopedic problems such as hip dysplasia, osteochondritis dessicans, and panosteitis as well as obesity if continued for too long a time.
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i first learned that puppy food may cause health problems from a link someone posted on cavaliertalk, it was soon after i got zack. he was on Innova puppy when i got him so i got some of that. But then i read the link, to cavalier breeder Laura Lang's webpage on diet, and she adamantly advised against feeding puppy food at all. She said her breeder's warranty would be voided if someone fed puppy food. She's quite knowledgeable about cavaliers. I was influenced by this to switch to adult food. Zack was about 4 1/2 months then.

here's the link to the page
http://www.roycroftcavaliers.com/manualfeeding.htm

I have not been able to find out any detail about what experiences have led to this belief that puppy food is harmful--i understand the reasoning, that the formulas cause growth to be too fast--i just don't know how it's been shown that this happens, what research there is. But i read that the dog food manufacturers developed large breed versions of their food because their puppy chows were believed to be causing an increase in hip and joint problems in large breed dogs.

http://www.cpt-training.com/6_22_00.asp

i don't know if this is true. But i do believe that adult dog food is perfectly healthy for puppies and the whole puppy chow thing strikes me as a marketing gimick. So i was fine with switching to regular dog food instead of puppy food.
 
Its important to note that this is true ..... but only if you feed a high quality food. If you are feeding grocery store brands that are inferior .....which in my opinion, you shouldnt do anyway , there may be a reason to keep them on puppy food. Its best to feed a all stage high quality food .....no need for puppy food at all ;)
 
Do you want to feed wet or dry food, Emma? I feed Maxx on Burns dried food (developed by a Vet and not tested on animals) & Charlie is fed on Butchers tinned as he has a storage mite allergy and these mites are found in dry food. My own Vet recommended Butchers and he feeds his own three cavaliers on it.

I wouldn't go for the 'luxury' trays of food like Cesar as they are very rich and can upset their tummies. My old Vet used to swear that they were a major cause of Colitis and other inflammatory tummy problems in small dogs too :?
 
Silly questions: Isn't adult food kibble too big for puppies to eat could they choke on it? Or do you have to break it into smaller pieces.
 
Different brands of dog foods have different sized kibbles. Royal Canin kibbles are tiny and easy for pups to eat. Evo has tiny kibbles, too. I'm not familiar with the Irish and UK brands though.
 
When I did the food search for Wesley, I found that a lot of people on here really like the Innova EVO and that's what I plan to put him on now. The only bad thing I've heard is that it gives some of them gas. And some people mix it with something else to prevent that.

Anyone know what to mix it with to keep the gas down? Thanks!
 
My Wesley said:
When I did the food search for Wesley, I found that a lot of people on here really like the Innova EVO and that's what I plan to put him on now. The only bad thing I've heard is that it gives some of them gas. And some people mix it with something else to prevent that.

Anyone know what to mix it with to keep the gas down? Thanks!
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At first the pet supply store guy advised that digestive enzyme powder (naturVet brand is what i have) would fix the gas. And it totally did. then, a vet said to just mix it with any good regular protein/grain kibble, like Innova's or Canadae or Natural Balance or Wellness or Royal Canin, etc etc. the point is just to mix it with one that has lower protein, and i have used Innova's regular adult dog kibble with the EVO 50/50, and it also totally get rid of the gas. but i would suggest trying the EVO straight after a gradual transition, and see if he has gas, because it seems most people on here don't have that issue, and if there's no gas, there may not be a reason not to just give the EVO. there are many possible options..if you try EVO, i'd love to hear how it goes.
 
From personal experience I can tell you that puppy and junior dog food are not good for puppies. At that time when I got Spot I didn't know about the food and how they act to dogs. When I got Brenda home she started to eat junior kibble and I had no problems with her, she has excellent hip result and her elbows are healthy!
Now with Beethoven I have problems :(:( Beethoven comes from the lines of fast growing and that lines puppies food has to be on control what I didn't but as much attention as I should. Beethoven is always hungry and after eating his food he went to steel the other food and he got overfeed easily and started limping. I took him to orthopedic specialist in Finland and the result was not that good, he has elbow OCD. That time the OCD had no bone piece loose and didn't need surgery and we got some Rimadyl and Arthryl for him. Unfortunately now the bone piece came loose and he needs a surgery and first January week I have to go and make it for him!!! The cause of elbow OCD is wrong food (too high protein %), too much walking in young age, and pressure in early age. This is very very painful for dogs and usually it is problem on large breeds like pyrenean mountain dogs but I know that small breeds have suffered on this problem as well. For a large dog normal protein is 24% but the junior dog food what I feed him was 35% and from there our troubles begun.
I know a cavalier breeder in Estonia who feeds her growing puppies adult large breed food. I never asked her why but now I know why... she doesn't want her puppies to grow fast and have joint problems.
 
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