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When should a puppy start transitioning over to adult food?

Thanks Brooky's mum, muchly appreciated.
I think Jessie will look forward to being on an adult diet, rather than most brands being Chicken. There is much more variety.

Thanks again.
 
Even though Bailey is only 5 1/2 months old, my vet had us start moving him over to adult food. She wanted us to get him off puppy food to prevent him from getting fat after he's neutered, which we plan to schedule some time this summer once he's closer to a year old. I don't think she expected the transition to occur so quickly, but he LOVES the adult food. Of course, we started by mixing a small bit with his puppy food, and he would pick out the adult food and turn his nose up on his puppy food. According to my vet, it's fine if he stays on the adult food now since it's not upsetting his tummy and is probably more nutritious than the puppy brand he had been eating from the breeder.
 
A lot of breeders and nutritionists do not feel it is necessary to feed puppy food -- that it is basically a marketing ploy. Some feel it pushes them to grow too fast and it is definitely not recommended for giant breed puppies for this reason. Whatever the case, I never fed puppy food to any of mine. If you think about it, wild canids do not get a different type of food when they are pups, after weaning, so am not sure why puppies would need different nutrition (however it is a big market for pet food companies!). You'll note that puppy food is often also marketed for pregnant/whelping dams because it has higher levels of nutrients. For that reason alone I don't think I would feed it to anything but an underweight and undernourished puppy that needs building up (that would be the approach of most rescues I know -- they don't give puppy food either unless pups have a problem). I don't think feeding it does any great harm for cavaliers :) but neither does it likely have any significant benefit. But if you like feeding it and feel it has benefits, it's a personal choice! I would definitely not feed puppy food past 6 months myself -- it is a high level of extra nutrients and several breeders I trust recommend not feeding puppy foods. But then there are other people (and vets) who do.

PS I don't give kitten food to kittens either. :c*t:
 
Agree with what Karlin said.

I fed Cadence puppy food until he was 5 months old and then he was switched to ALS (all life stages). Lyra was never on puppy food. Always either adult food or ALS foods. I honestly don't see any difference at all! Puppy food sometimes have too much fats for my liking.
 
I switched both of my dogs over at 6 months of age. I'm pretty sure there is a junior JWB food as well but we went straight to adult.
 
We got Candy at 10 months old, and she was being fed Bakers adult food. We changed her to a different adult food, as I didn't feel she needed puppy food at that age.
 
Both my breeder and my vet recommend us changing Rosie to adult food once she is 6 months old, which is also what the food manufacturers often recommend. I haven't looked at what Fish4dogs recommend, but the other two were on JWB as puppies and changed over with no problems at 6 months.
 
Sorry for the delayed reply.
Jessie is now officially on adult food and we are feeding him twice a day now and he's thriving on it.

He seems much fuller for longer now, his potty time is also like clockwork as well.
He has developed a taste for yoghurt too (the plain, super good for you one). Does anyone else add a little to their dogs food? Or as a treat?

He has lost a little of his puppy chunk too, and is now starting to grow into a leaner, more athletic male now. He was a little on the porky side.
 
A lot of breeders and nutritionists do not feel it is necessary to feed puppy food -- that it is basically a marketing ploy. Some feel it pushes them to grow too fast and it is definitely not recommended for giant breed puppies for this reason. Whatever the case, I never fed puppy food to any of mine. If you think about it, wild canids do not get a different type of food when they are pups, after weaning, so am not sure why puppies would need different nutrition (however it is a big market for pet food companies!). You'll note that puppy food is often also marketed for pregnant/whelping dams because it has higher levels of nutrients. For that reason alone I don't think I would feed it to anything but an underweight and undernourished puppy that needs building up (that would be the approach of most rescues I know -- they don't give puppy food either unless pups have a problem). I don't think feeding it does any great harm for cavaliers :) but neither does it likely have any significant benefit. But if you like feeding it and feel it has benefits, it's a personal choice! I would definitely not feed puppy food past 6 months myself -- it is a high level of extra nutrients and several breeders I trust recommend not feeding puppy foods. But then there are other people (and vets) who do.

PS I don't give kitten food to kittens either. :c*t:

I know that I am a little tardy on this topic, but I absolutely agree with Karlin's comments. One of our cavalier breeders warned us about puppy food back in 1994, and we stopped feeding it back then.
 
Kokoda was only on a puppy food until the bag from the breeder ran out, and then he was put onto ziwipeak.
After a few months we also started adding other raw things, he is now 11 months old and is fed twice a day with ziwipeak and raw.
He loves it. I rotate the flavours of both the raw and the ziwi each time so that he is not bored.
 
I certainly did. Our little guy did, and still does, snack on raw carrots (the crunchier the better), celery, strawberries on occasion, watermelon even.
You can find lists online on what foods to avoid that are dangerous to dogs, apart from that, just try him on new foods but remember to keep it in
moderation so you don't end up with a chunky puppy.

http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/poisonous_foods.html
 
Hi,I also started my 5 months old puppy on adult food,just not sure how much to feed. On the pack it says 100g per 8kg per day.My puppy is nearly 4kg, does it mean I have to feed her 50g a day? She was having 120g of the other food plus some bits of carrot and green beans split into 3 meals .She is looking lean and I think puppy needs more food then adult dog ,surely 50g is not enough for growing puppy .So can I feed her 120g or even more a day or should I reduce the amount? And when should I feed her 2 times a day?Any suggestions?

Liana & Lotty
 
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