Transition from puppy food to adult food

[Andria]

Eddie is nearing 8 months and I'm thinking about the next few months and wondering when will be the best time to make the change to adult food. Also, should I "transition" slowly by introducing the new food in small increments if its the same brand and ingredients (Blue Buffalo grain-free chicken) as his puppy food, or is that unnecessary if its the same? I was thinking 12 months of age was the preferable age to make the switch, but hearing different opinions amongst friends..thanks all for your insight

[Victory]

12 months is generally the proper age to make the transistion. I had Dreamdancer on Solid Gold Wolf cub and Millenium until 12 months and then I worked him into the adult wolf formula, (turns out solid gold didn't really agree with him, soft stools)

I have found that switching from formulas that are very alike is easy. Dreamdancer has a touchy tummy, but I am able to switch between Merrick's Wilderness formula and Innova red meat formula with no issues. The Merrick's is often hard to come by, so the Innova red meat one is a good back up.

Anyway, I digress. Like I said 12 months is a good time to switch, but you want to consider his over all health too. Is his weight where it should be? Bones growing well and staying straight and strong? Energy levels still up there, good stamina? If the answers to all these questions are yes, then he at 12 months he'll be ready to go on an adult food. If anything changes or if there is a no to one of the questions, keep him on the puppy food until it is yes, or put him back on it if a yes turns into a no. Puppy food has more calories, more protein and usually more calcium than adult food. This to help them grow. But remember they actually continue growing for up to two more years for a male, mostly bone density and muscle mass, but they can add another inch or so to both height and length during that time too, (even females can, Firesong grew two inches in height after I got her at a year old) so be really observant about energy levels, a drop in these could mean he's not quite getting all the nutrition he needs and may need a mixture of puppy food and adult food. My vet has agreed with me that it is better to feed a higher nutritious food than increase the amount of one with lower nutritive value and this can lead to over eating. Kind of like a himan eating a good diet or filling up on junk. You eat more junk because your body c raves the missing nutrients.

[cherriemater]

Welcome Andria!!! Eddie is a gorgeous pup! (I can infer this because I have a blue chow that is hard to photograph, too! His eyes are so lively in that picture!)

When we first got our boys at nine weeks Taste of the Wild (TOTW) High Prairie DID NOT come in a puppy formula and at about 12 weeks it had just arrived. We opted to switch them to the puppy formula because it had added DHA for brain development. As Victory pointed out very wisely, we asked those same questions and all answered were Yes when they turned one year old. At 13 months, we began switching them back to the adult formula.

The whole process of switching should take anywhere from four to six weeks. It's not something you do all at once because of the tender tummies AND because you want to watch for food allergies, hot spots, etc. I forget the ratio (and our boys free-feed) so I think I recall that I added half cup new food to one cup old food for the four or five days (checking their stools for consistency) then one to one (new to old) then one to half (new to old). I'm sure this wasn't the proper formula but what mattered the most was checking their stools. Fortunately, our boys did fine with this final transition and it helped that they merely went from puppy to adult food rather than from one brand to another. AND, I am so terribly glad that they both eat the same thing. I've heard struggles of figuring out what food works for a group so you'll be fine with only having to transition one pup.

Final word on poop ... sorry ... but it must be said. When checking for consistency you will also want to note the AMOUNT of ... let's just say ... deposits ... that you get. To Victory's point about good food/diet ... your pup will actually make SMALLER deposits if his food is of higher quality. This means he's getting the MOST benefit out of his food (or higher quality ingredients). The more volume, the more potential waste in what he's eating. Eating more is never the solution because it's actually harder on the digestive system. So, finding what gives him good solid "deposits" will go a long way in helping your pup grow strong.

[Victory]

Welcome Andria!!! Eddie is a gorgeous pup! (I can infer this because I have a blue chow that is hard to photograph, too! His eyes are so lively in that picture!)

Final word on poop ... sorry ... but it must be said. When checking for consistency you will also want to note the AMOUNT of ... let's just say ... deposits ... that you get. To Victory's point about good food/diet ... your pup will actually make SMALLER deposits if his food is of higher quality. This means he's getting the MOST benefit out of his food (or higher quality ingredients). The more volume, the more potential waste in what he's eating. Eating more is never the solution because it's actually harder on the digestive system. So, finding what gives him good solid "deposits" will go a long way in helping your pup grow strong.

Yep, I forgot about that part. You can tell the quality of a dog's food by the poop. A low quality food with a lot of fillers and stuff will result in huge piles of very evil smelling poop it will also be soft to very soft. While a high quality food will result in much smaller amounts of not quite as bad smelling poop that are firmer. Yes the smells change and are very distinctive. I have always lived in the city so I have to pick up their poop, so I am familar with the smell, shape and firmness on a first hand, (through a plastic bag) basis.

[Rory's Dad]

We use the Nutro line and did transition from puppy to adult not exactly slow, but in increments. Other than a general 'ignore' stage, no issues. They have recently introduced a Young Adult formula geared toward 12 - 18 month dogs, but we are finding it hard to find. Seems like a good idea, particularly with large boned dogs, but havent seen anyone really using it.