Might I ask, what brand is the sweet potato & fish formula you're feeding? I'm curious if it's something I've looked at before. I'd also like to jot a price down on it for comparison's sake.

Would you say a high quality adult food is better than the same brand of high quality puppy food? By that I mean, if I'm feeding Innova Puppy now are you saying that Innova's adult formula would be better than the puppy food?

I might need to do a little search on why, but it is mentioned as a disclaimer on the page ( http://leerburg.com/barkingmoon.htm ) that it's not labeled for growing puppies and is intended for dogs over one year of age.

Natural Balance. I get it at PetCo...its the best I can do on my budget...the THK is more important for my kids, but natural balance isn't bad for my price range.

Jasmine, how old is your puppy?

My question was "why do you think you have to wait until your dog is a year old to stop feeding puppy food?" Just wondering where you heard that.

The example I gave was about raw feeding since a dead animal is a dead animal whether the dog is 16 weeks or 16 months or 16 years. For natural feeders, there is no special "puppy formulation". I didn't mean that you had to feed raw to your dog, it was just an example.

I say this because, in my humble opinion, a dog should NOT be fed "special puppy food" until it is 12 months old. To do so promotes faster and greater growth than is desirable or necessary for the dog's skeleton. This is what you do not want.

I do feed puppy formula kibble to my young puppies. I switch my puppies OFF puppy kibble and onto adult kibble when they are 5 - 5.5 months old (during teething). 12 months, imo, is much too long to feed a dog puppy food.

 Quote: angela burrell

... My question was "why do you think you have to wait until your dog is a year old to stop feeding puppy food?" Just wondering where you heard that....

Was it specific to this quote from Ed about BATM, or general?

"This product is not labeled for growing puppies and is recommended for feeding to dogs over one year of age. I have also gotten feedback that this food is quite rich and concentrated and that feeding the amounts listed on the bag can cause loose stools. I would carefully monitor your dog’s intake and adjust gradually according to weight and activity level, as opposed to feeding the amount recommended on the bag."
from this page: http://leerburg.com/barkingmoon.htm

 Quote: angela burrell

I say this because, in my humble opinion, a dog should NOT be fed "special puppy food" until it is 12 months old. To do so promotes faster and greater growth than is desirable or necessary for the dog's skeleton. This is what you do not want.

I do feed puppy formula kibble to my young puppies. I switch my puppies OFF puppy kibble and onto adult kibble when they are 5 - 5.5 months old (during teething). 12 months, imo, is much too long to feed a dog puppy food.

My pup is 5 months, almost 6 months old. In all honesty, I don't remember where I first heard or read this but I'm sure that at some point in time a Vet recommended switching to adult food once the pup was a year old. (Not saying that's scientifically correct or not but I know I've been told that by a Vet.)

As far as feeding puppy food until she's a year old, I have heard conflicting opinions on the matter. Some will tell you they need to be on adult food earlier than that, some say you need to wait...others say it depends on if it is a large breed puppy or not. I've also seen somewhere that puppy foods promoting faster growth used to be a problem which may now be accounted for??

I shadowed a Vet once who told me that the important factor when comparing puppy kibbles was the Ca:P ratio (particularly for large breed puppies) and she had me look up the value for a client. I don't remember it at the moment (I'll have to drudge it up from my notes) but I do know that at this point in time, my preference is to keep Keiko on puppy food until she's closer to a year of age. Especially with what I'm feeding, I haven't met a person who has had a problem with it yet. The research I'm doing now may change my mind on that and maybe a comparison of the adult formula vs. the puppy formula may prove that there is not even a whole lot of difference in which case I wouldn't have a problem switching over to adult food sooner.

 Quote: angela burrell

My question was "why do you think you have to wait until your dog is a year old to stop feeding puppy food?" Just wondering where you heard that.

Also, I'm glad you asked this question. It got me thinking, so I called some Vets in various places to see what they had to say and asked this very question. I'll post back with the answers once I get a chance.

 Quote: jasmine dillon

 Quote: angela burrell

My question was "why do you think you have to wait until your dog is a year old to stop feeding puppy food?" Just wondering where you heard that.

Also, I'm glad you asked this question. It got me thinking, so I called some Vets in various places to see what they had to say and asked this very question. I'll post back with the answers once I get a chance.

Vets with some nutrition training would be good.

I have to say that most GP vets are as unlikely to be asked nutrition questions by me as they are to get my dog-food business.

 Quote: Connie Sutherland

Vets with some nutrition training would be good.

I have to say that most GP vets are as unlikely to be asked nutrition questions by me as they are to get my dog-food business.

I wasn't expecting to get advice that I would follow. Rather, I was interested in seeing why it is that Vets will tell you to wait until the pup is a year old before switching to adult food. Then I could of course follow up on the answers myself. I'll have the answers after I exercise my pup.

Of course I have to boast a little and say that I feel my Vet gave the best answer. (I also chose this particular office with a lot of LB recommendations in mind)

Edit: I tried to get some calls to holistic Vets in but didn't have the phone numbers on hand and have since run out of time. I'd like to speak to Vets who are in support of raw (as listed in an old thread started by Cindy I believe) to get their opinions.

Edited by Jasmine Dillon (07/17/2009 06:30 PM)
Edit reason: Added

 Quote: Jasmine Dillon

.... I wasn't expecting to get advice that I would follow.

AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

That made me literally LOL.