Asalei Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 (edited) OH and I had a discussion at lunch about moving the girls to an adult food. They don't seem to eat the puppy food much anymore and are eating more and more poopies. I'm wondering whether their puppy food (optimum puppy) isn't giving them the nutrients and diet they require and there's something missing? They'll be 8 months old at the end of July. We decided from when we got them that we'd leave them on the optimum until they were 12 months old, then switch to a better quality food. Is it too soon? Should we maybe be changing to another puppy food until that 12 month mark then going onto an adult food. Thanks in advance. Edited July 17, 2007 by ~Erin~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 We have always left ours on puppy food until 12 months, Cassie is 8.5 now. Why switch to a better quality food when they are 12mo?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scales of Justice Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 Not sure about small breeds, but we have put our large breeds on adult food as early as 8 months without any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laffi Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 Not sure about small breeds, but we have put our large breeds on adult food as early as 8 months without any problems. I think small breeds can be switched to adult type sooner than large breeds However in this case I would recommend to go to a different brand puppy food. It's recommended to switch dry food every couple of months (and rotate between two or three different ones) in case some of the nutrients are not assimilated very well with one type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lil Miss LeiLani Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 Laffi - does that go for puppy food only, or rotating adult food too ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloss344 Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 Puppy food has more nutrients than adult food not less. Perhaps changing to another high quality brand with more digestible ingredients, such as Nutro, Nutrience, Eagle Pack or Royal Canin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laffi Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 Laffi - does that go for puppy food only, or rotating adult food too ? I goes for puppy and adult food. Check out few of these websites for more info http://dogfoodanalysis.com/ and more specifically about rotating foods in: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/changing_foods.htm This one is also really good for general dog food info http://www.dogfoodproject.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asalei Posted July 18, 2007 Author Share Posted July 18, 2007 We have always left ours on puppy food until 12 months, Cassie is 8.5 now.Why switch to a better quality food when they are 12mo?. We were always told that puppies should be switched to Adult food when 12 months old, so when they reached 12 months we were going to swap them to royal canin or science diet or something like that. Optimum is what the breeders were feeding them and we just kept it. However in this case I would recommend to go to a different brand puppy food. It's recommended to switch dry food every couple of months (and rotate between two or three different ones) in case some of the nutrients are not assimilated very well with one type. Hrm, once the two bags of food we have in the cupboard are gone, we might try swapping to another brand of puppy food gradually and see if that makes a difference. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laffi Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 However in this case I would recommend to go to a different brand puppy food. It's recommended to switch dry food every couple of months (and rotate between two or three different ones) in case some of the nutrients are not assimilated very well with one type. Hrm, once the two bags of food we have in the cupboard are gone, we might try swapping to another brand of puppy food gradually and see if that makes a difference. Yep, forgot to mention to always change the food gradually Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 We have been feeding Nutro to all of ours for nearly seven years, we have not changed in that time, we also wean our litters onto Nutro. Our dogs range in age from Cassie (mentioned before) to 4 years, 2 will be 7 in Sept, then 9 1/2, we also fed Nutro to our previous dog who passed away at 16. We feed a little Ziwipeak on top of their meals, but Nutro is the basis of their diet. We also feed chicken wings, and occasionally leftovers, or raw meat when making casseroles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asalei Posted July 18, 2007 Author Share Posted July 18, 2007 hesapandabear, where is Nutro sold? I'm honestly not sure what food we'll put our girls onto as I have no idea... I do know though that they go nuts for ziwipeak as we use that as treats for training. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShesaLikeableBiBear Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 Erin try here http://www.nutro.co.nz/ there are also a number of on line suppliers, if you were to google Nutro natural Choice it should come up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flaves Posted July 18, 2007 Share Posted July 18, 2007 I don;t agree with changing the brand of food regularly. I think if you find somethign that works for you and your dogs you should stick to it. My opinion only but one that is shared by a few. When i was feeding supermarket food i changed nearly every bag, now i am on the good stuff, i change if i cannot get a bag of Nutro, i have fed Eagle pack and DVP Natural Balance Organic. They love the Nutro and that is what i will continue to feed them. Mitchi is now 15 months old and i am about to change her to the adult food, Hunta is 7.5 months and she will stay on puppy food until she is around 15 months old. THen go to large breed adult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 hesapandabear, where is Nutro sold?I'm honestly not sure what food we'll put our girls onto as I have no idea... I do know though that they go nuts for ziwipeak as we use that as treats for training. Erin you can get samples of most brands of high quality dog food for free. I got a free sample of ziwipeak food the other day from the Pet Cafe Royal canin also give free samples, we got a heap at the redcliffe pet expo even though we already feed it So that might be the way to go as you can test what food they like the best. To feed ziwipeak as regular food is VERY expensive. I do what Hesa suggested which is just add a sprinkle on top of their regular dried food as it lasts longer. Although I've not had any probs getting mine to eat royal canin on their own, they really like it so you may find whatever food you change the girls to they will eat without any extras thrown in. Although being beagles they aren't usually terribly fussy anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asalei Posted July 19, 2007 Author Share Posted July 19, 2007 (edited) I know, that's whats worrying me.. my beagles are borked They don't skoff down their food!! What's wrong! Not that it's a totally bad thing because they won't become obese.. but it's a concern that they aren't hungry most of the time. ETA: Maybe I should go buy a big bag of ziwipeak and add a few pieces into their dry food, might get them to eat it. Edited July 19, 2007 by ~Erin~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flaves Posted July 19, 2007 Share Posted July 19, 2007 Erin, how often are you feeding them? If it is 3 times a day they may need to go to 2. If twice they may need to go down to once, or try cutting their food down and only leaving it down for 10 minutes and then removing it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 Hang on Erin. Are you feeding them anything else - table scraps , chicken wings etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonduca Posted July 20, 2007 Share Posted July 20, 2007 I don't know if this will help, but since my 2 BC's have been 4 months old I have given them a blend of Optimum Puppy and Science Diet Large Breed Puppy. They get 2/3's of a cup of each every night along with some wet food (minimal mind you). Each morning the get a chicken wing (raw) they are 6 and 7 months respectfully and I will look at introducing adult dry food when the hit 10 - 11 months. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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