When to switch to adult food
At SheepieFest! someone said he should be on adult food now, that sheepies should be switched earlier than other dogs. The food bag says he should be on it until 18 months. What do you all think, and when did you switch your dogs over? Thanks |
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| I'm just starting to switch mine over. Dancer is not a big girl and not a big eater, so if I didn't have Sky I would not be switching her yet. I would probably around a year or so. But Sky is a porker and growing at an astonishing rate. So, I want to steady that bit and have begun mixing a 20 lb bag of dogfood with an 8 lb bag of puppy food. Dancer is going on 10 months old, but Sky is only 16 weeks. Sky is almost as big as Dancer already though, only about 2 inches shorter and maybe 5 or 6 pounds lighter.
I'm hoping the lowered protien will settle Dancer a bit as well. She's a bit of a spaz. |
| Hi...I hope we can re-visit this topic. I can't remember the answer as to when to switch the puppers over to adult food. I recall I got a lot of flack for keeping Pirate on puppy food for 9 months. So..when do you switch them? Keira is 5 months old, and I want to be sure I'm doing the right thing for her. Thanks  Deborah, Pirate and Keira |
| I think it just depends on the dog... Kiera is a mix of smaller breeds, so I think 9 months and up is fine. I don't think she owuld need to be on it longer that a year or so, but again, every dog is different. I ended up putting my dogs right back onto puppy food after the attempt at switching to adult. They are still on puppy food at 15 months and 9 months of age, and I can't see that changing anytime soon. |
| We just switched to adult food at 11 months. There appears
to be different opinions-our vet said 10 months, the dog food company said 12-18 months, and many of the breeders prefered 12 months. I agree, I think it depends on the dog. Ours is doing well with the transition. |
| Great topic. I've been wondering myself. Clyde's been getting so big, I wondered if I ought to slow him down early but it sounds like, despite his size, I should probably wait. I wasn't sure how much to trust the bag! |
| Clyde is such a dolly-boy! Pirate is a big...ah, BIG sheepdog. Last weight was about 110 pounds, and he's 29". I think when he goes in for his shots next month, he will have lost weight, because, I cut back his food, and he's been getting lots of exercise with Keira. But...my point to all this rambling is, he grew very fast. And I took him off puppy food at 9 months, after several people told me I'd better start slowing down his weight gain. He's very healthy and strong and, of course, beautiful. But the fast growers need to get off the puppy food faster...I think! Deborah, Pirate and Keira |
| Have you considered switching to a brand that is good for puppies and adults? I have Spike on Canidae which is good for Puppies, Adults, Working dogs, and Seniors, according to them. I know that a few of the ultra premium brands have the same sort of beliefs- that would certainly take care of the need to switch foods again and again. |
| Hi everyone, I literally spent that last two hours here at work combing all the "best foods and when to switch" posts on the boards. So much good info, I finally had to just land on one to post a reply.
We just brough Wilbur back from the Vet this morning and the vet is really concerned that he is under weight (30 lbs at 4 months). Vet says out of 5 he gives Wilbur a score of 2!! I was given VERY specific instructions from our breeder on how to feed Wilbur. To paraphrase: "From 2 Months to 3 Months: Food should be available to them about 4 times a day - morning, lunch, dinner and about 9 pm in the evening before they settle down for the night. The same for water, only in small quantities to control when they have to go. At 3 Months: Gradually reduce food supply to 3 times a day, taking away the night feeding, but still giving the same quantity of food as recommended by supplier. At 3 1/2 Monts start introducing adult dog food so by 4 Months old they should be fully on adult dog food at the recommended rate three times a day, and at the same time you should be able to gradually increase amount of water left out for them. At 5 1/2 Months you will start to take away the lunch feeding so that by 6 Months they will be on 2 feedings a day - 2 cups each feeding morning and night. Please keep the adult food at 22% to no more than 24% protein. Please try to keep them from feeding anything with soya bean in it." He actually told us to buy a 20 lbs bag of Eukanuba medium breed puppy food (this is apparantely the only food available all over the world as he has shipped some dogs to Russia and Japan) and when that was done, switch to the adult food. Adult food he recommeded Performatrin and I forget what else....Instead of Perfomatrin I have been feeding Wilbur Fromms Whitefish and Potato because the protein content is 22% max. The vet told me he doesn't like to get in the way of the breeder as far as feeding recommendations go, but he really feels that Wilbur is underweight and that we should still be feeding him puppy food for at least a few more months. I am going to call the breeder later this evening to discuss it with him. I am probably going to switch foods, feeding guidelines for the Fromms food I feed Wilbur say for a 30 lbs dog, 2 cups a day but I have been giving 3 and he is still underweight....maybe I can increase the amount I give him? He definitely has no problem with his appetite and we spend a lot of time playing and excercising outdoors.. Wilbur's dad is about 90 lbs. In our puppy class there is a Bouvier there who is the same age as Wilbur but outweighs him by about 15 lbs and feels "solid". I want my kid to be solid too! Maybe like Clyde:) |
Wilburs dad..
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| Hello and welcome!
I would highly recommend you listen to your vet's advise. Your vet can tell if he is underweight and your breeder won't be able to tell from a phone call. If your vet is recommending you feed puppy food, I'd recommend you follow that advise. 4 months is very young to be on adult food. Puppy food provides extra calories (which Wilbur seems to need!) for growth. We feed based on the instructions on the dog food package. Barkley is 8 months old and still eating large breed puppy food. We were advised by both our vet and our breeder to continue feeding puppy food until the age of 1 year, or earlier if he starts getting chubby before 1 year. To give you some perspective, our pup (also male) was 30 lbs. at 12 weeks old. Then he was 50 lbs. at 6 months (ish) and now at 8 months he's approx. 65 lbs. The dog food bag should have feeding instructions based on age and weight at maturity. For the purpose of determining food requirements, you can approximate a male's weight at maturity to be 75-100 lbs. (I think). I forget how many cups a day we were feeding at 4 months. Also, if your vet didn't, ask your vet to show you how to feel if your dog is a healthy weight. They can show you the things to look for, and how a dog at a healthy weight should feel (how their ribs feel, the level of tapering, hip bones, etc.). P.S. I recognize the breeder's feeding instructions. They were one of the breeders we visited when researching breeders.  |
| Thanks Steph, I am running off to the store this minute to buy a huge bag of puppy food. I'll start mixing it in with what I am feeding him now and it should help him pack on more weight. I'd hate to think I am depriving little Willie of essential proteins and nutrients. I'm still gonna call his breeder however just to talk about what the vet said. I'd like to get his perspective. |
| I agree that you should follow what your vet suggests.
Quote: Puppy food provides extra calories (which Wilbur seems to need!) for growth.
I was told by one of the most reputable places I know (vet school in TX which is one of the largest and renown) that studies have shown that adult food should be given earlier (depending on breed, I was told 4 months for Yuki) because the OLD thought "puppies need extra fat/protein" was when adult food was made differently several decades ago... While they need more food, that can be done by giving adult food in larger amounts. This is new, so most vets still follow old guidelines. ...just like I know so many vets that will argue up and down that grapes and raisins are perfectly fine for dogs. I do think there are different thoughts/philosophies to raising a puppy/dog, so I'm just sharing what I believe. |
| Interesting Joahaeyo, I think that is what my breeders thinking is. He really seems to be concerned with the amount of protein given to his dogs. At the petstore I go to, they carry pretty much all the hard to find brands and high quality dog foods. The food I am feeding Wilbur now has a 23% min protein. I bought another one from the same manufacturer (Fromms) that has a 25% min protein. Both foods are considered an "all stages" type. I am going to scrap the feeding guidelines on the bag and feed Wilbur a whole lot more and monitor him closely. |
Joahaeyo wrote: I the OLD thought "puppies need extra fat/protein" was when adult food was made differently several decades ago... While they need more food, that can be done by giving adult food in larger amounts.
It seems like if I could get the similar nutrition by eating 3 apples rather than 7 oranges, I would just eat the apples. |
ButtersStotch wrote: Joahaeyo wrote: I the OLD thought "puppies need extra fat/protein" was when adult food was made differently several decades ago... While they need more food, that can be done by giving adult food in larger amounts. It seems like if I could get the similar nutrition by eating 3 apples rather than 7 oranges, I would just eat the apples. Unless you really like oranges..... or eating for that matter... then you might want to just go for the gusto    |
| True, just seems like so much more work... and more money. |
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