Puppy Food for how long?
What are the pros and cons of extending it from 6 months to a year, if any? I am feeding Nutro right now, and he is doing well, good coat, nice teeth, firm regular stools... At almost 6 months old Bosley eats between 5 and 6 cups a day. I will get him weighed at the vets today. Thanks! |
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| I would definitely keep him on puppy food til a year, 9 or 10 months at least.
I didn't use large breed puppy food, just regular puppy food, for my girls because in my opinion their particular line would not be considered large breed. Where did you get Bosley? |
| He was pulled from a Montreal SPCA at 8 weeks old so no idea of his lineage. I just assumed OES's were a large breed....maybe I should switch to regular puppy, then. |
I think you'll hear various opinions here too  , and I certainly don't consider myself an expert buit I can give you our situation just for comparison purposes. 5 or 6 cups per day sounds like a lot to me, but as long as the vet is happy with his weight then it's all good. Since these dogs can have very different frames I think it's important to consult with your vet to determine if your dog is at a healthy weight. We stayed with large breed puppy food until about 7 months then went to large breed adult, but Bailey is on the large side for a sheepie (70 lbs at 8 months) so for us I think it's the right choice. We feed him 3-4 cups per day, plus treats. I've seen arguments on both sides, but our vet thought that his growth was slowing and that it was a good time to take him off the higher protein puppy food. We stayed with the same brand so we haven't seen any difference in stools, appetite, etc. |
| I thought 5/6 cups was a lot, too. He only gets treats when we are training, and he is still quite thin, so I don't want to hold back anything. He was in really rough shape, skin and bones when we first got him, and has never had any puppy fat as he got older. I think he may be going through a growth spurt these past couple of weeks, though, as I can almost see him grow daily. Vet was packed, so I'll try to drop in tomorrow for a weigh in and ask her what she thinks. |
| I would make sure he is dewormed and flea free too.... |
| Clyde just turned a year old 2 weeks ago and we just switched him to large breed adult. There is no denying he's a "large breed"! He pushing 90 pounds now but he really doesn't eat too much-- maybe 4 cups of food on a good day. He had been on large breed puppy and doing well but he really doesn't need to bulk up anymore than he has already so there was no need for any extra protein.
Did you find out his weight at the vet? At 6 months old you should be able to see if he's going in the "large" direction! |
| I switched Beau at 6 months from puppy food to adult. He gets 3 cups aday and a tablespoon of canned dog food with it. At 10 months, he weighs 71 lbs. The breeder said that he should get to 80 lbs.
The breeder also said, that if he doesn't want the noon feeding, just eliminate it and go to two cups aday. Every OES is different. Good luck with your new addition to your family. |
| Bosley turns 6 months old next week and is 47 1/2 pounds. The vet has no problem with his weight, and says to feed him as much as he wants because he is still growing. I asked her about the "large breed" food and she really doesn't see the difference. She used to breed Danes. I guess I will keep him on it for a while, still, as he likes it and is doing well. He is not a garbage hog, or a counter-surfer. And if he gets something illegal in his mouth he brings it over to show me. He such a good boy, and let me sleep in until 9:30 this morning! Special hugs for that! LOL |
Bosley's mom wrote: He such a good boy, and let me sleep in until 9:30 this morning! Special hugs for that! LOL
I am SO jealous! Please send Bosley for a visit so he can discuss morning wakeup times with Bailey. When we're lucky he waits till 6:30 to wake us up  |
| Yuki probably went through ONE big bag of puppy food after I got her, so probably a total of 4 months. Breeder had her on puppy food, so I added that in (approx).
I am a firm believer of those vets learning now that certain breeds should be fed ADULT large breed food from the beginning (in puppy portions though). The vet school located where I went to college (one of the best in the U.S.) teaches this now. When I brought Yuki there (one of several visits), she definitely was recommended to only be on ADULT large breed. Her mommy was tall and lean from what I've seen. To me, Yuki dodged that and is shorter and fits more into her body. Vets say she has a very athletic frame (partly from hiking), and the perfect layer of fat on her. The purpose behind feeding them adult food is so their joints/bones do not grow faster than their bodies can handle/are ready to, which leads to painful problems in the future (when they're old). Puppy food contains more fat and protein which some now believe (at least our vet school and many others here have said theres is practicing the same thing) ............some puppies do not need like previously and long thought. Some grow up to be just fine, and hey..it's worked for many years. But there is a growing number that are growing up too fast due to this. So for me and my personal opinion, now is a good time to switch foods gradually. |
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