When To Change Puppy Food To Adult Food?
September 18, 2009 by admin
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
My Chihuahua is 4mnths old{hell b 5mnths on the 17th}, hes currently on puppy food
My moms Cockapoo is 2 years old and is on adult food {obviously} but she, the cockapoo, is on beneful and my dog is on Purina cuz thats what the breeder used. He barely eats it and always tries to sneak and get her food and will sit in my bed with his stomach growling to high heaven but will NOT eat his food {i leave it out all day incase he gets the urge}. It is soo rare he does. My uncle breeds and trains Jack Russles and said not to switch him to adult food till 6 months but i want to know if its true for all breeds or if maybe it varies breed to breed. Any constructive advice is deeply appreciated.
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It varies from breed to breed, some mature quicker than others. I use eaglepack http://www.eaglepack.com and Innova EVO, check them out…. I do not like beneful…. ick
As soon as they turn 1 years old. the puppies need the extra protein. I asked this question last sept. when I brought home a new puppy and my other 2 were 2yrs old. My vet said its ok if the puppy eats a little of the adult food, but make sure her main source of food is the puppy.
Take her to a seperate part of the house and only let her eat the puppy food, too much puppy food for the adults is not good.
12 months=1 year
I’ve read you can feed puppy food to a dog up until it’s a year old and you can switch. Once in awhile I’ll put a little of adult food in with our 10 month old pups food. She sometimes prefers it over her pup food.
Kiki b was right. Eaglepak is awesome. I would switch him at 1 year. If he was a Dane Id say wait till hes 2. But he’ll be ready at 1. Nutro, Nutro Ultra, Blue buffalo, Royal canin, Natures recipe, and Bil Jak are also some good foods. You dont want corn or by-products in your first 3 ingrediants.
Ordinarily it is a good choice to initially feed what your breeder feeds until the dog is settled into your home. However I am surprised to hear you say that they were using Purina (I’m only assuming this is puppy chow and not purina one) The basic Purina products are very similar to feeding Science diet. They have a very bland flavor, however the major difference is basic Purina uses by-products in their foods which is lower in quality. After having done a lot of research and not wanting to spend the ridiculous prices on major brands we picked Beneful as well. Our dog loves the food and can’t wait to be fed in the morning. It is ok to switch foods but do it over a course of a week. Buy whatever food you want to try then mix it slowing into the old food and increase the amount of new product each day until you are completely feeding the new food. This will help your dog adjust to the new product without developing an upset stomach from it. Your uncle is right for most smaller breeds the recommended time to change a puppy over to adult food is at least 6 months. Since yours hasn’t been eating that well you might want to extend that for 1-2 more months to allow his body to get the right nutrients before changing. You should also follow the same procedure I described when changing over to the adult formula. Each product is different and their little bodies needs time to adjust to them.
For smaller breeds the general rule is 6 months for larger breeds 1 year. When you do switch his food please don’t use beniful. It’s a very poor quality food. If you are on a budget I would recommend Maximum Nutrition from Walmart. It is much healthier than the standard commercial dog foods but not as good as the non-filler foods but costs a lot less.
you could add a little bit of beneful adult food in ur chi’s feeding dish so it doesn’t get hungry but i think it is best if you keep it on puppy food until it is a little bit older like 6-8 months old b cuz your chi’s body might not be ready for adult food when it is a puppy
really depends on your own dog, the main reason,for puppy food it got a higher protein content, as he growing he needs this ,to grow, however by about 8ths old, adult food is fine,
make sure you mixed the two ,so that the dog can get used to the new food, one more thing, dogs will eat anything, in time, let him skip a meal over night, then feed him in the morning, he will eat what ever you put down, don’t worry he wont starve, i feed my dog enknuba,
Try gradually switching your dog to a different puppy food. Puppies are picky. Our dog stopped eating his puppy food around 6 months and we transitioned him to another kind that he liked. You can also try mixing a small amount of wet food in with the kibble – it enhances the smell of the food which entices the dog to eat. You should not switch to adult food until the dog is a year old. I’d suggest on your dogs 1st birthday, or there abouts, buy a bag of the puppy food you are currently feeding him and a bag of the adult food you wish him to eat. For the first week feed the puppy food, the 2nd week feed 3/4 puppy food and 1/4 adult food, 3rd week feed 1/2 and 1/2 and 4th week, 1/4 puppy and 3/4 adult food and starting the 5th week feed only the adult food. You can use the same ratios to transition from one puppy food to another.