How long to feed Puppy food?

Just wondering how long people have fed puppy food and why? BB is 7 months old and I am in no hurry to move her from puppy food but in reading on this topic it seems there are a lot of different views!

We feed Sonny Dick Van Patton's Natural Balance and it is the same formula for puppies to adults. I don't know if I would have chose this food or not, but it is what his breeder had him on and he hasn't had any problems on it, so I figured we would stick to it for now.

I moved both of mine over from James Wellbeloved puppy to adult when they were 6 months purely as that's what the instructions told me to do. I've since realised it's a very discussed topic! But either way both of mine have grown up just fine

JMHO but I wouldn't feed puppy food at all, especially to this breed. It tends to mean they grow too fast. Puppy food was invented at a time when pet feed was generally poor quality and puppies did need better nutrition. At most I would feed junior food - James Wellbeloved do a junior food with kibble pieces small enough for Cavaliers to manage, also Burns mini bites.

I know breeder Laura Lang does not recommend puppy food either. I would monitor puppy's weight and growth rate, if they are getting too skinny then you might need to put them on it for a bit, but it is far better for a Cavalier especially to be skinny rather than fat. Puppies should not be roly poly - the current thinking is that the body "learns" to retain fat and then this causes problems when they are older.

Remember that dog food packets always give high amounts to feed - so that you buy more food For kibble/dry foods, you should be feeding about 1% of their body weight as adults - for raw/home cooked feeding, up to 2-3%. Puppies obviously need more.

If you are feeding dry food, go for the best quality kibble you can afford.

ashleighelizabeth said:

We feed Sonny Dick Van Patton's Natural Balance and it is the same formula for puppies to adults. I don't know if I would have chose this food or not, but it is what his breeder had him on and he hasn't had any problems on it, so I figured we would stick to it for now.

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That's what I have Bentley on too, he is a picky eater, he likes solid gold also but it gives him loose stool. Natural Balance is a good healthy choice, from the research I did.
Solid gold is also the same way, the puppy through adult formula.

Wow - there is some great information between this thread and the Jesseandme thread! I am going to stop feeding puppy food as of NOW and just wish I would have posted this question sooner. Thanks to everyone for the information!

I have my Golden puppy on purina pro plan puppy food. He's done very well. Grew at a good rate and is very lean. I plan to keep him on it until he's a year old, then switch to adult.

To all the US folks, please be aware that the Diamond Food plant in Nort CArolina (I think...) has been shut due to salmonella contamination. One of the foods they were ,making I believe was Dick Van Patten. Also taste of the wild, and others. If you Google it you'll find the news about it. No pet deaths yet, but 14 humans have become ill from handling the food.

This website is helpful to look at dog foods, http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

also have a look at this thread http://www.cavaliertalk.com/forums/showthread.php?41323-Grading-your-dog-food

Bill1971:


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