# when to stop puppy food?



## Pointgold

I switch between 4-6 months old.


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## Oaklys Dad

I fed Oakly adult from day one. But certainly you are ready for a switch now.


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## LibertyME

Tracer was switched at 8 weeks...Raleigh, the lab pup, has never eaten puppy food.


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## jwemt81

Now is a perfectly good time to switch.


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## Belle's Mom

Our vet recommended we switch at 6 months which we did.


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## LeeMedic

*I am a bit late*



Pointgold said:


> I switch between 4-6 months old.


I did not know that. Mine is almost 7 months. Looks like I am behind the power curve. Great info.


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## Nicole74

I switched at 4 months. I've heard it's better for the puppies to grow slower vs faster due to potential joint problems. Puppy food makes them grow faster due to the higher calorie content. Bailey likes adult food better then puppy food, so the switch was easy.


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## tippykayak

We switch at about a year. I imagine anything after about six months would be fine, though I wouldn't feed adult food earlier than that unless it was AAFCO certified as an all-life-stages food.

Young puppies do require a different balance of nutrients, and I wouldn't trust an adult food to provide that. AAFCO-certified puppy foods have been through feeding trials with puppies.

One note on calories: large breed puppy food is a little less calorie-dense than standard or small-breed puppy food. It helps with the slower growth Nicole mentioned.

Most vets will tell you to feed a large breed puppy food until at least six months or so.


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## Karlysmom

My Karly is 7 months and I talked to our vet about this subject last week. She said she usually tells people it is ok to switch at about 6 months. She doesn't want us to switch because Karly was so sick as a very young puppy. She said she still has some catching up to do as far as muscle mass goes. She has us feeding her a bit more than the dog food recommends but she is still pretty thin and when we feed her she acts like she hasn't eaten in a week even though it has only been a few hours!!


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## Pointgold

I have always switched between 4-6 months, and never used a large breed formula, as I do not consider Goldens a "large breed". 
We've done this for years, and mainly based it on the same principals as feeding young horses. Slow growth, as would occur "in nature" generally equals longer soundness.
In the "wild", dogs don't have a choice of Puppy Formula, Adult, Weght Managment, Senior, etc. They nurse (puppy formula per se) and begin eating the same foods as adults by around 4-6 months. (Simplified explanation, to be sure, but it has worked for us.)


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## tippykayak

Pointgold said:


> I have always switched between 4-6 months, and never used a large breed formula, as I do not consider Goldens a "large breed".
> We've done this for years, and mainly based it on the same principals as feeding young horses. Slow growth, as would occur "in nature" generally equals longer soundness.
> In the "wild", dogs don't have a choice of Puppy Formula, Adult, Weght Managment, Senior, etc. They nurse (puppy formula per se) and begin eating the same foods as adults by around 4-6 months. (Simplified explanation, to be sure, but it has worked for us.)


Wild dogs and wolves live around half as long as house dogs, so I'm not sure how much I'd trust the parallel. Obviously, you've had a lot of dogs and have never had problems with the 4-6 month guideline, so I'm not saying your advice is bad or anything.

Still, since we have solid feeding studies and nutritional science to look at, LBP puppy food, which is designed for slow growth, is a smart bet to use through the fastest early growth period.

Goldens are definitely not large, particularly when they're bred properly within standard, but they are a "large breed" by the definition of most pet food manufacturers, who typically design "large breed" puppy food for dogs who will be 50 lbs or over at maturity (that varies a bit). Since Goldens are 55-75 lbs at maturity if they're within standard, they're definitely the target group for most LBP foods.


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## Pointgold

Wild dogs are not receiving routine veterinary care, being spayed and neutered, are not vaccinated, and are rarely treated for injuries/infections etc. There is more to our house dogs living longer than just food. 
My "parallel" began with horses more so than canines, and as I've stated, has worked for us for a very long time.


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## tippykayak

Pointgold said:


> Wild dogs are not receiving routine veterinary care, being spayed and neutered, are not vaccinated, and are rarely treated for injuries/infections etc. There is more to our house dogs living longer than just food.
> My "parallel" began with horses more so than canines, and as I've stated, has worked for us for a very long time.


Oh sure, but we can't really look to them for examples of the relationship between diet and longterm soundness since they rarely reach old age.

And, as I've stated, I know you have a long experience and it's worked well for you.


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## Pointgold

tippykayak said:


> Oh sure, but we can't really look to them for examples of the relationship between diet and longterm soundness since they rarely reach old age.
> 
> And, as I've stated, I know you have a long experience and it's worked well for you.



As I said, it was really based on equines. As for dogs, the reference to soundness was mainly orthopaedic, and I believe is relevant.


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## Minnesota Rosie

Rosie is 7 months old, and she's still on puppy food. However, I'm supposed to have a bag of Fromm chicken ala veg food delivered today, and I'm going to start transitioning her to that. From what I understand, the Fromm foods are for "all stages."


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## MyBentley

All puppy foods are also "all life stages" foods and can be fed to any age dog. I know a number of people who feed their mature adult dogs the California Natural puppy formulas.

You really have to study and understand the guaranteed analysis listed for each formula. The name on a particular formula doesn't always mean a whole lot. The GA on one formula brand called "puppy" could be identical to another brand's food called "all life stages" or "adult". Look at the protein, fat, calcium/phosphorus percentages before making a decision.

As far as calories in a formula, that only determines how much I measure into the food bowl; not if it's appropriate or not for a certain age of dog. The number of calories kcal/cup also helps you determine how good of a dollar value a formula may be.


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## GR_Princess

You can also apply that equation to humans, today humans live much longer then our ancestors. While there are many factors why, there's one thing we can all agree on, we evolved and we now better understand how our bodies work. 

I doubt anyone will say a caveman knows more about there nutritional requirements then a modern day human with google at their fingertip. But a lot people seem to have the philosophy, when it comes to animals, this is what it eats in the wild, so it has to be the best thing for them.


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