11 mo. old has lost a couple lbs, switch back to puppy food?
I'm wondering if I switched him to adult food too soon. The vet recommended switching at 4-6 months, but many of you on these forums keep your pups on puppy formula for a year or 18 months. We had been feeding Fromm Large Breed Puppy and started mixing that half and half with Nature's Domain grain free adult (which I think is manufactured by Diamond) about 4-6 weeks ago and then switched to 1/2 Nature's Domain and 1/2 Fromm Large Breed Adult just about a week ago. He's never been a super big eater, so maybe I should keep him on higher calorie stuff so he get more bang-for-the-bite, as it were. He's seeing the vet for an unrelated matter on Monday, so I'll ask her about it then, but I wondered if any of you have any thoughts on this. |
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| We recommend changing at 4-6 moths t0 help slow down the growth. Don't want large breeds growing too fast. My last litter was on adult food starting the day I started them on puppy mush. They never lost an ounce. |
| Marilyn, could you give a little more info on the puppy verses adult food, not growing to fast . I find this interesting and would like to know more. I am looking into getting a puppy in May. Thanks |
| I'm one who got them off puppy food fairly early instead of keeping them going. But we really didn't have the wide range of foods we do today. I'd be conflicted too these days. As for the boy, has he been playing more? Less interested in food? Bored? He may be in a holding pattering for a few weeks before he starts filling out so his appetite may be off. Check teeth to make sure there isn't a tooth problem making eating difficult. Is he eating more "cookies?" Try an alteration of his food.......slightly modified: pour a little canned chicken stock over his food, sprinkle some cheese. Meat "juices" are always popular but you must be careful: fat drippings from meats, drainage from tuna, etc. Too much fat will give them the runs. Will he eat peanut butter? Try a dab on a spoon. Realize their food consumption will go down as they near mature size. Maybe he's topping out. Some of them are self controlling, not eating to excess. You may have a dainty eater. |
| SheepieBoss - Yes, it seems I had much to consider when choosing a food. I did make sure that the large breed puppy formula we fed him did not have added hormones for growth and had an appropriate amount of calcium, etc. I even contacted the company and foudn that the source their ingredients from farmers/ranchers who do not use hormones. I felt pretty good about my choice, but with so many things to choose from and so much information out there, you just gotta make what you think is an informed decision and hope you've done the best thing for your pup! He did grow awfully fast, so I hope I didn't do wrong by him... At any rate, I DO seem to have a rather dainty eater on my hands. He's never eaten the recommended amount, but he was growing and had energy and seemed healthy and happy, so I figured he knew how much he needed. Dogs are individuals after all, with individual appetites and metabolisms. He tends to leave his food in the bowl most of the day and the at some point in the evening he realises that he's hungry. Definitely not one for wolfing down his food. He does seem to have nearly reached his "topping out" point. He has some filling out to do - looks like a gangly teenager - but I don't think he'll get much taller. And he does eat peanut butter and also shows more of an interest in finishing his bowl if I change it up - top it with chicken stock, he LOVES bananas so sometimes I mix some mashed banana in, and I got some chicken liver powder to sprinkle on that he also likes, but he tires of any one thing pretty quickly. So far the bananas and liver powder have the most staying power in terms of keeping him interested. Thank you for the input! |
| Marilyn - I would also like to hear what you have to say on the subject. Merlin grew almost scarily fast and I know that this can cause bone and joint problems. I had so much to consider when choosing his puppy food, choosing when to switch to adult food, when to neuter (we're waiting till 18 mo.), etc. Obviously I cannot go back and undo the choices I've made, but I'd still love to have your input. |
| I take mine off early too - they really should for their joint and bone health. My last 2 were off puppy food by 6 months, and 5 months. Have you been checking the calories of your foods? Every dog food (even those from the same company) vary greatly in the number of calories they provide. In dog foods, it is labelled as "kcal/cup" - the number of calories available from one cup of that dog food. So if your puppy food (and I love Fromm's large breed puppy) has 400 kcal/cup (just picking a number), but your adult food has 350, you need to adjust volume fed upward, just to maintain or be equal. If the new food had 430 kcals, you would feed less, etc. I rotate foods with all my dogs - switch to a different food every few months. By knowing the kcal/cup of the old and new food, I can keep the calorie level the same by feeding less or more, depending on the values. And you have a puppy, and their metabolic caloric need is always fluctuating. Growth spurts - bone, muscle, even growing hair - affect their caloric needs. So to some extent, you always will be reacting to either a weight loss or weight gain during this time until they are adults and done growing in all forms - that can be 3 years old for males and their bone growth. So if they lose a little, feed more. If they get plump, cut back. It's a balancing game  I weigh my dogs weekly, so I adjust often. Luckily I have a nice walk on scale at the training center where I teach classes, so my guys run for the scale like it's a treat!  |
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