[instructor74]

What is the best age to swich from puppy to adult food? I am almost out of the last bag of puppy food that I have. I will need to get more food soon and am not sure if I should by puppy or make the switch now to adult. My little boy is going on 8mon old. Thanks

 

[ReekosMom]

You never have to have your puppy on puppy food! Roxy has been on all life stage dog food ever since I had her at 8 weeks!!  I would switch now! Ive heard all kinds of stuff on boxers growing too fast with puppy food. By that I mean they grow faster then their joints do and it could cause problems! Thats just my opinion though

 

[samsonsmom]

Switch now, by all means...Like Roxy said, boxers grow fast and the thought is by keeping them on puppy food too long, you could actually do more harm than good...Keep in mind, you need to do any food change slow to avoid any upset tummy or loose stools. A food change should take anywhere from 2 wks to a month, depending on your dog.

 

[g8trkim]

We kept Rocco on large breed puppy food for about a year. Actually, we spoke to our vet and several trainers and they all recommended keeping him on puppy food for at least that long. I've heard different arguements about what's best. Large breed food is designed to give them higher levels of important components (like certain fats and vitamins... similar to food you would give a human child) but prevent them from growing as drastically as they would on normal puppy food. It may be best to ask your vet what they recommend. However, be wary, because many vets sell certain brands exclusively so they may be impartial. Just feel them out.

 

[JessiesMom]

i chose canidae because its for all stages of life... so i didnt have to worry about when to change food... just when to increase amount of food

 

[Honeyec]

According to all the professional advice I've seen, 8 months is a little young to change onto adult food, so if I were you I'd buy another bag of puppy food.  Then, at about 11 months, buy a bag of adult food and start mixing the two, gradually increasing the proportion of adult food in the mix until he's exclusively on that.  If you just suddenly switch him over to the new food, he may well refuse it.

As for the puppy Vs adult food debate, my own opinion is that an adult food (as opposed to an all-stage one) doesn't contain the right mix of nutrients for a puppy.  It should be obvious that a puppy, who is growing at a much faster rate than an adult dog, has completely different dietary needs to a mature dog who has reached its adult size.  You wouldn't feed a human baby an adult diet, why would a dog be any different?

 

[tootsie]

[quote="RoxyGirl22\";p=\"1895":3ah7yjer]You never have to have your puppy on puppy food! Roxy has been on all life stage dog food ever since I had her at 8 weeks!!

 

[tootsie]

According to all the professional advice I've seen,

Just curious...what kind of professional advice have you seen?

 

[Honeyec]

Hi Tootsie

The two different vets that Tink has been with since we got her have both advised this, as well as the Boxer book I have (can't remember the author, will have to check), plus the majority of online resources I've seen.

Obviously, though, a lot depends on the quality of the food they're on in the first place, not to mention each dog's individual metabolism.

 

[Bostonboxers]

When my pups come home I feed them puppy food until they are three months, then right to adult, not an all life stages food, just adult, also, Boxers aren't large breed dogs so that really isn't needed :lol: Many years ago we had a boxer that at almost a year was limping bad , we took him to the vet and the vet said no puppy food after three or four months, it's not necessary and their bones and growth plates grow at too fast a rate. Just sharing what I know None of our breeders or friends ever feed puppy food. Nothing new either, theyv'e been doing it for over twenty years.