# How long do you feed puppy food



## Lucy is my Girl (Jul 4, 2006)

Hello,

I have a guestion on lucy I was wondering how long do I keep her on puppy food she will be 1 in May


Thanks


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## Lin (Jun 7, 2006)

I believe customarily until age one.


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## Katie (Apr 9, 2005)

Usually around 8-12 months :wave:


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## Kat & Jinxy (Jul 7, 2006)

I agree with Katie.
Jinxy is about 9 months old, but the vet told me to switch to adult food a month ago.


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## Alisha (Mar 11, 2005)

The food we feed said on the bag you can feed until 10 months I think. So Mia just quit eating puppy food last month.


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## Krista (Dec 29, 2005)

Yeah you can switch as early as 8 months, or continue until 12 months with the puppy food. Usually your dog will let you know. A lot of the time they'll just stop eating puppy food when they are ready for adult food ... otherwise I'd wait until 12 months.


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## Lucy is my Girl (Jul 4, 2006)

Thanks everyone!!!

Yoshi thats what was happening she wasnt eating her puppy food very much
I did call the vet this morning and they said I could switch her

Thank you all for the input!!!


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## canadiandawn (Jan 11, 2006)

I just wanted to say that she's so cute!!


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## dlambertz (Nov 13, 2005)

I have never feed a puppy food. I think a good diet is essential and that means good food. With a giant breed a puppy food can do a lot of damage and puppy food is never recommended. Just make sure you are feeding a good quality food


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## snowflakechi (Feb 16, 2006)

in small breeds you can stop between 8 and 12 months but for a large breed you should feed puppy food until 18 months. the smaller breeds do most of their growing by 8 months while the large breeds keep growing well after they turn one. the puppy foods ensure healthy bone growth and extra nutrition that they need for growing and developing properly. unless you feed an all life stages food, then you don't have to worry about switching over, you just have to adjust how much is fed when they transition from puppy to adult.


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## dlambertz (Nov 13, 2005)

snowflakechi said:


> in small breeds you can stop between 8 and 12 months but for a large breed you should feed puppy food until 18 months.


In pups that are over 60lbs the role of nutrition during the growth periods of puppyhood can have huge effects on the dog. In the mistaken belief that you want rapid growth in a big dog, certain problems have been determined to be contibuted to over supplementation from feeding puppy foods. for example to much calicium, to much protein and feeding to many calories. 

Included in the list of medical problems feeding a large pup puppy food can be in part attributed to over supplemation are , Hip Dyspalsia (can be genetic and in part from diet) early arthritis and HOD which is a bone disease found in rapidly growing dogs. 

In all my years of being involved in giant breeds it is their very best interest NOT to feed puppy food but a high quality dog food. You do not want to promote rapid growth...


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## snowflakechi (Feb 16, 2006)

i didn't say you want rapid growth, i did say that they need the extra nutrients while still growing though. in the feild i work we see under nutrition in a lot of large breeds because people think they can switch them over to adult food before their growing is even done. you get a whole slew of problems when you over supplement yes, but you also get another slew of problems if you under supplement.


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## dlambertz (Nov 13, 2005)

I am going to disagree with you...if you feed a high quality dog food you do not need to supplement and you are not going to encourage rapid growth. I do not know of one dane owner who would recommend you start your puppy on puppy food...and if the breeder did...run do not walk as fast as you can.


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## oreo'sfolks (May 15, 2006)

Oreo's coming up a year, and we just switched with no problems


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