# How long to stay on Puppy Food?



## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

My vet says ALS for the life of most dogs after 12 weeks of age.

Lucky ate ALS from 12 weeks til he was 13 and was full of himself til the day he suddenly passed. His bone and muscle development was great and he had barely any arthritis- I am talking needed to stretch for 2-5 min. when he got put in the morning on a damp day.


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## Millie'sMom (Sep 7, 2012)

I think it is a personal and vet preference. Some puppies are weaned onto and ALS food and never have puppy food and do very well. Others have puppy food for various amounts of time and also do well. My 2 girls are 3 and 6 years and they are still on LBP food because they need the extra calories and they do well on it.


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## Sammy&Cooper (Dec 28, 2011)

I think it's personal preference. Sammy was on puppy food until she was 9 months (vets recommendation) and cooper I switched when he was 6 months (my personal choice). 


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## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

I switched Winston over at about 6 months or so. Its really a personal preference!


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## Tuco (Jan 3, 2013)

With a low quality dog food, such as Pedigree, IAMS, science diet, or a grocery store kibble, I would stay on puppy food for at least a year, they often have significantly more nutrition than the adult food, but if you are on a high quality dog food, the nutrition is appropriate for puppies as early as 10 weeks, the foods I would consider appropriate are Orijen, evo, back to basics, acana, Fromm, dr tims, etc a medium quality food I would wait until about 6 months, I would consider eukanuba, and some of the purina and Purina pro plan products there


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

I think it depends on both the dog and the food. Charlie is on California Naturals puppy and their website reccomends 2 years for large breed puppies. Charlie is on the smaller side and has had issues with several foods that I'm planning to keep him on it at least until he hits the bottom weight of the breed standard. He's 9 1/2 months and at 56lbs. now, and the standard says 65-75lbs for males - he gains VERY slow so we may be on it for awhile.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Both Jacks' and Bertie's breeders recommended switching by 5 months. 

With Jacks I switched at 12 months. Bertie I decided I wanted both dogs on the same food sooner and switched between 4 and 5 months. Both Jacks and Bertie eat the same food now. 

Jacks ate large breed puppy kibble.

Bertie ate regular kibble. <-And this is the interesting thing that probably comes down to genes, but Bertie is a lot trimmer than Jacks was at the same age.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

Max ate Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy Food until he was 15-16 months old. That worked best for him. He has been eating Acana Wild Prairie for a little over a year now.


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## LJack (Aug 10, 2012)

I switched my girl Jinx to adult food right around 4 months. She had a front leg that was tending to jitter when she was weight baring. I believed it was caused by puppy food causing her bones to grow faster than her muscles and ligaments could. Once I switched to ALS the leg jitters went away in about a week. Her two siblings were kept on puppy food for much longer and both experienced leg issues that Jinx never did. Personally, I think it was the food. I know not everyone believes in the slow growth process, but what I have seen is proof enough for me.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

I switched Hank at aroung 9 or 10 mos. I kept him on his puppy food (Innova LBP) longer than many do because it was lower in calories than the adult version.


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