Puppy food to adult food

[Merlinsmom]

Merlin is almost a year old and has been eating a cup of ProPlan dry puppy food plus two tablespoons of Champ puppy meat-usually chicken and veges-its canned dog food...as was recommended by his breeder

Id been told he could eat adult dog food now-and have tried this twice-same brand-'champ tinned food'-still chicken-but the adult version.Both times he has vomited that night :( So I stopped it-went back to the puppy food-and he was fine.

I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced this?And when is it a good time to move on to adult food-did I do this too early?(looks that way doesnt it-LOL) and maybe you might know a better brand of tinned food-or perhaps I should ditch that altogether-and cook him chicken?

Any suggestions would be appreciated-thanks!

Jules!

[goodtim'n]

I do not fee what you feed. I feed Nutro chicken, rice, and oatmeal, I also do not feed, Large breed type, I switch my pups at 6 months, yet I have a high-drive activity-training/teaching program that they are on. Food with dogs is trial and error, your food may to rich for his system. Did you mix the puppy with the adult when switching? Slowly work him onto the adult food. That's usually the way it is done. Gradual change

[angenbear]

Well honestly, the best thing you can do is switch to an all natural dog food, so your dog eats healthy, and there's no byproduct in the food. I assume that the breeder suggested to add can mixed with the dry because it gives more nutrients? Well if you go with natural, then you woudln't have to add in nutrients since everything in natural is healthy and plenty of nutrition. So that is a suggestion.

To switch puppy to adult, you'll have to do it gradually, mix in 25% of new food in with the puppyfood, then second day 50%, third day 75% of new food. Then all new food the next

[theGoldenPup]

Maybe keep researching foods, just in case so you have a back up.
I don't know much about 'natural' foods, but the point is some use human-grade ingredients, some don't, those that don't may have more mixed into them and some of those addititves, preservatives, flavors or colors could also be having a negative effect. Glad you were able to find a food without the soy, wheat and corn, that is likely to help. Its taken me years to figure out the stupid labels, I spent an hour comparing labels today....hehe.
Great suggestion, though maybe make the changes over a longer period of time than just 4 days.
Let us know how it goes!

GoldenPup

[FurryBaby]

Hello Merlinsmom,

" I'm just wondering if anyone else has experienced this? "

I have not experienced Aiden vomiting after changing foods but did experience diarrhea (even after the gradual switch) with excessive pooping & came to the conclusion that the food was just not agreeing with him.

" And when is it a good time to move on to adult food-did I do this too early? "

No, 1 year is not too early to switch to adult food. My vet recommended I switch to adult food at 6 months of age.

" and maybe you might know a better brand of tinned food-or perhaps I should ditch that altogether-and cook him chicken? "

I'm assuming you're talking about canned food? Well, we've never given Aiden canned food (except a spoonful with his deworming pill when he was a puppy). One of the reasons why I don't give Aiden canned food is because it causes plaque & tartar build up. I only give my guy dry kibbles. I've recently started him on Innova (so far so good!!! :029 ) That's one of the premium foods you can try. There are many more premium foods to try as well. If you do a search for it on here, there are many premium foods listed that are wonderful for dogs. To name a few, there's Canidae, Wellness, Pinnacle, Chicken soup, Innova & many more. You could try cooking for him yourself but you'll want to do some research on feeding your dog so that he's getting all the nutrition he needs. Is there a reason why you want your pup to eat canned food?

[Goldenglittergirl]

I have never heard of the food you feed. Is it human grade food? Wet food isn't neccesary and isn't good for their teeth. It can cause a lot of tartar build up and rot their teeth over time.

Gradual is the key to switching any food. First three days 1/4 new to 3/4 old, next three days half and half, then last three days 1/4 old to 3/4 new.

Some good, human grade foods with no byproducts:

Solid Gold
Innova
Canidae
California Natural
Wellness
Flint River Ranch
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul
Natural Balance
Newman's Own (yes he makes dog food)

Good luck! :)

[johnwa]

Related threads:
<a href = "http://www.topgoldenretrieversites.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1016">thread 1 </a><br>
<a href = "http://www.topgoldenretrieversites.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1064">thread 2 </a><br>
<a href = "http://www.topgoldenretrieversites.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1067">thread 3 </a><br>

[lvngold]

When I took Beau in for his neuter, the Vet said it was time to switch him over to adult food. I have not started this yet due to the fact that I want to due some more research. Beau has obedience this Saturday, and I want to check out the different types of food they have at PetSmart. I did not know Paul Newman had a dog food. Since my last name is Newman I will definitely have to check it out. Beau does not seem to have any problem with his food whatsoever. He has only thrown up once and that was when he ate the trouser sock but I intend to follow the advice given here and make the change gradually.

[angenbear]

I've tried a few, and find so far that Innova is great for my pup. I just looked over the ingredients, there's no corn, wheat in it. You will find though that each dog will do better with one over the other. The price is a little bit more, however you get more out of it since the feeding is less than other products.

[Merlinsmom]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

My guess is the reason you havent heard of this food is because Im in New Zealand-and Im assuming we get different brands over here-I havent heard of alot of the ones most of you mentioned...

There is no particular reason I give him tinned food-other than that it was what his breeder recommended-and I really had no clue in the beginning apart from what she had told me.I also asked my vet about this-and he said alot of it is trial and error also-and he has suggested a few other brands-and also said to add them in gradually...

The good part is-I do know the dry food I give him is excellent-Ive been asking around about it-and apparantly there are alot of dog breeders who use it here.They also have a website which provides alot of info too-so that helps.I do give Merlin vegetables/leftovers sometimes-and these dont disagree with him!!

Anyway-thank you all for your input!Great advice!

Jules.

[SteveR]

Sorry to disappoint you but Proplan is a below average food at best. Much can be said about a food by reading the ingredients. Go over to the food forum and check out a few posts on what to look for and what to avoid. Just take a look at Proplan's ingredients:

Chicken, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, whole grain wheat, poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), whole grain corn, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), pea fiber, fish meal, natural flavor, dicalcium phosphate, chicken cartilage (natural source of glucosamine), hydrolyzed sunflower oil, egg product, salt, potassium chloride, potassium citrate, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, vitamin supplements (E, A, B-12, D-3), ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, calcium carbonate, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, calcium iodate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite. D-4457

Two of the top three ingredients are fillers, the fourth is a known allergen to many breeds including goldens, and one of the protein sources is poultry by-product meal. Do you know what goes into poultry by-product meal? Neither does anyone else. They put in any garbage they can find, none of which is fit for any kind of consumption. I don't mean to be so abrupt about it but I hate it when people offer recommendations on something without the requisite research behind it.

[Merlinsmom]

Its fine-Id rather know...

Merlin has been fine on ProPlan so far-the problem is-the brands people are recommending here simply arent available in NZ alot of the time.

However-Im going to talk with my vet again on Monday-he's been great with Merlin so far-and I'm sure he can help me find something here that is better for him too!

Thanks for your input!

Jules.

[angenbear]

Good luck in finding one in NZ, I'm sure they have natural dog food there. Hopefully your vet may offer help, but sometimes they don't know much about dog food.

[SteveR]

This is something you can figure out for yourself. Read the labels. All the information is there for you to make an educated decision. A quality food will have two or three protein sources in the top 5 ingredients. These will be identified sources such as chicken, chicken meal, lamb, turkey etc. There shouldn't be any corn, such as whole corn or corn gluten meal these are fillers and serve no nutritional value. Thay also sometimes cause allergic reactions. Same with wheat . Barley is ok, rice - whole white & brown. There should be no by-products of any kind, no artifical preservatives. Try to avoid foods with soy and dairy, though eggs, farmers cheese & yogurt should be ok. Believe me if you read through some of the threads in this forum you will have a better understanding of canine nutrition than your vet does. This is an area that they do not dedicate all that much time to.

[Girlnovelist]

A quality food will have two or three protein sources in the top 5 ingredients. There shouldn't be any corn, such as whole corn or corn gluten meal these are fillers and serve no nutritional value. Thay also sometimes cause allergic reactions. Same with wheat . Barley is ok, rice - whole white & brown.

My vet and I have agreed that it's time to switch Fletcher over to an adult food and this is exactly the kind of infomation I am looking for. Beyond this, what % of proteins and fats should I be looking for and how much calcium is okay?

Fletcher is a tricky eater. He is currently on Wellness Puppy and I love it. His coat is amazing, no itching, and his weight is where I want it. He is "big" for 5.5 months, weighing in at over 55 pounds, but there is no fat on him. You can feel his ribs and he has a defined waistline. He exercises a lot and I am starting puppy agility training with him. The problem is, he has a tendancy to be gassy and have soft stools. (FYI, he completely vet checked, vaccinated and up-to-date on flea, tick and heartworm meds) From my research, I think a switch to adult food may help these problems and I want to pick the food most likely to keep is growth rate at a slow and steady level.

My plan is to pick a premium food from the reseach I've done, but I wonder if anyone who has had a similar situation can tell me what food they chose? I plan to continue feeding premium food and am lucky that I have many of the most popular brands available in the area I live in.

The only premium foods/diets I am not considering are CANIDAE and the raw diet/BARF. Canidae is absolutely wonderful food, but it doesn't work for Fletcher. He was itchy and had dandruff while on it and I just don't have the time or expertise to do raw/BARF. A local independant pet store owner in my area really pushes the Abady diet. Anyone have experience with this food??

Thanks in advance!
Jen :grwag