dog food and ages

[SFKennels]

At what age would you all switch from puppy food to adult? What is your food of choice and why?

[JoeOverby]

2 years. Eukanuba. Proven results, commercial availability.

[KEB]

what type of Eukanuba?

[JoeOverby]

Large Breed Puppy and then Premium Performance 30/20

[MikeB]

Growing a pup slower using an adult food my choice is Canidae All Life Stage. No need for large breed formulals in my opinion. When you need a higher protein/fat and calorie food you an add some Canidae Grain Free.

[Rnd]

Growing a pup slower using an adult food my choice is Canidae All Life Stage. No need for large breed formulals in my opinion. When you need a higher protein/fat and calorie food you an add some Canidae Grain Free.

Mike, Growing a puppy slower is certainly a good idea.

I think that is just what Eukanuba is doing with their "Large Breed Puppy Formula" It's rated at 26/14 much lower than adult performance which is 30/20 .

SFKennels, I think Joe gave you solid advice...IMO


P.S. You can also do a search on here. This topic has been debated to death around here.

[counciloak]

At what age would you all switch from puppy food to adult? What is your food of choice and why?

When I was feeding Eukanuba I called and asked them the same question. Sorry, I don't remember their answer, but it may be on the manufacturers web sight also.

[Mountain Duck]

Joe, do you have any trouble maintaining weight, or energy levels with young dogs in the middle of heavy yard work and the usual field work, with the Euk LB Puppy?

Have my 7 month old on it and he has done well, but was thinking about switching to PP Performance in the next month when this last bag is gone. Thinking the Performance might be better for T work, and overall heavier training coming up this spring?

Can't find Euk 30/20 locally???

[JoeOverby]

Never had the first issue. I have had some "hard gainers" but none that lost weight on Euk LBP during the rigors of yard work. A word of caution, switching over a young 7 month old pup to a "performance" food before their growth plates are closed IMO is not a good idea. It is true I like my pups a little "skinny" but, I would rather them a little light than heavy putting unnecessary stress on their growing bones and developing joints. I believe the puppy food has everything they need along with a good balance of protein/fat (26/14) to maintain their energy, stamina, and weight during "school days".

[windycanyon]

Growing a pup slower using an adult food my choice is Canidae All Life Stage. No need for large breed formulals in my opinion. When you need a higher protein/fat and calorie food you an add some Canidae Grain Free.

Depends on the lines I guess. I feed all my dogs, at ~12-14 mos and older Canidae ALS, but no way can I grow a puppy slowly / uniformly on it. I tried. The Calcium level of ALS is now (as fed) averaging ~1.8%-- actually too high for a pregnant bitch even!!!! I know they only list 1.2% on the label, but that is the MINIMUM.

I started seeing terrible puppy growth on it when I tried it once w/ a litter. Went back to Euk LBP, and all was wonderful again. Sticking to the old tried and true.

I see no reason to keep a pup on the Euk as long as Joe, but rather until growth plates close or at least pup is thru the fast growth stages. For mine, that's 12-14 mos typically.