[LegendsMami]

I have tried Royal Canin for both my dogs. They really seem to like it. But I'm not sure about when to take my APBT off puppy food since he's going to be most likely in the 80-90lb. range. (he's 83lbs. last time he went to the vet) and he's 11 months. I've been hearing conflicting stories. Some say 18-24 months other people say a 12 months and others say 6 months. I took my GSD off of puppy food at 14 months. My question is should I keep him on Royal Canin's Large breed puppy or put him on Royal Canin's Boxer?(thats the only one they have thats similiar to an APBT's build)

 

[Carrie]

Put him on adult food. I always switch the large breed pups to adult food between 4-6 months. Puppy food is just too rich for these large dogs and can cause too rapid growth. Most large breed formulas are lousy..not enough research on them at this time, and I have seen many problems with pups being fed a large breed formula. The RC Boxer is fine to switch over to now.

 

[Tanner]

Put him on adult food. I always switch the large breed pups to adult food between 4-6 months. Puppy food is just too rich for these large dogs and can cause too rapid growth. Most large breed formulas are lousy..not enough research on them at this time, and I have seen many problems with pups being fed a large breed formula. The RC Boxer is fine to switch over to now.

Carrie, could I switch Tanner to regular food now too? He will be 6 months on the 9th of October and he weighs aound 60 pounds.

 

[Carrie]

Yes you could. I know quite a few breeders who don't even start thier pups on puppy food. Also, nowadays, many excellant quality food companies have foods that are designed for all life stages in one bag.

 

[CGraney]

Yes you could. I know quite a few breeders who don't even start thier pups on puppy food. Also, nowadays, many excellant quality food companies have foods that are designed for all life stages in one bag.

do you think it's inappropriate to attempt to 'match' a stage of life with a different formula??

... it always sounded weird to have a "good for all stages" type of thing considering the different nutritional needs at different life stages.

 

[Carrie]

I think it really depends on the quality of food. While I know there isn't much "natural" about our dogs eating a kibble based food these days, i still try and liken feeding to what they would in the wild... Dogs in the wild don't really go though different stages of eating..they are on mother's milk until 4 weeks or so, then momma dogs would kill or scavenge a meal and regurgitate that food back to the pups. Once the pups learned to hunt on thier own..they were..all until they were senior and losing teeth or had already passed on.

With that said, feeding sectioned amounts of a quality food based on the activity level of your dog is all that is needed. All these fancy "stages" formulas are just a selling point. Dog food is big business...and a company producing all these different foods seems like they are the best out there becuase they have more to offer. In reality, if the food has all the necessary ingredients and is fed correctly, there is no need to feed multiple stages of food in a dog's life.

 

[LegendsMami]

Thanks Carrie! I wasnt sure since I heard so many different stories!

 

[CGraney]

interesting thoughts - thank you

 

[boxerdanica]

Whats the suggestion for a EB 5 months. He started out with eukanuba puppy and now since I heard how bad they are I have finally bought van dick ultra premium sweet potato and duck mixed with the rest of the eukanuba that I have left. My concern is what food should I feed him next as he gets older.

 

[Magnus Maximus]

I've never seen a healthy looking wild dog before, so I'm not sure I would mimic to much of what they eat in the wild. My understanding of large breed dog foods was that they contained less ingredients that would lead to increased speed of growth in order to avoid those problems that come with large breed dogs that grow to fast, in addtion to having components that contribute to good bone and joint health.

 

[Carrie]

boxerdanica....My EB is on Royal Canin Bulldog..he does very well on it. For you, I would just stick with the Dick Van Patton..it's an excellent food. I feed the DVP Ultra to my AB's.

Magnus....most large breed formulas have not been tested and proven to be effective. I have come across more people who have had serious growth issues while feeding these formulas, that I would never recommend them. Also, the glucosamine/chondroiton that's "in" these formulas is sprayed on and is really not effective to the dog's sytem..there isn't enough of these ingredients in the food to really be beneficial....I supplement those things separately so i know my dog's get exactly what they need. It is best to just stick with a regular puppy formula for the first 3-6 months and then switch over to an adult formula.

And..if you have the knowledge and know how to feed a raw diet, that's even better....dogs on raw seem much healthier than dog's on a kibble based diet...better growth and development, less illness, less allergies, less cancers even. Raw is what your dog's systems are meant to process afterall.