Feeding your Puppy: When to Switch to Adult Food
The arrival of a new puppy brings with it an unbridled joy – every friend, relative and neighbour want to meet them, you end up taking about a thousand photos and life with your new addition seems set.
Until it comes to food choices!
Many new puppy owners are overwhelmed by the choice – and they have lots of questions. Which food is best, how much should I feed them, when do I switch to adult food, how many times a day should they eat, can they eat this, can they eat that. The list goes on.
Let’s tackle some of these.
Which food is best?
We’d be lying if we said that there aren’t lots of good, nutritious dog foods available on the market – of course, we’d prefer you used ours!
The most important decision in terms of which one to choose would be one with the right ingredients. Grain-free, high in animal proteins and well-balanced with vegetable proteins.
All of our grain-free recipes are made from a wide variety of human-grade quality food, sourced from the finest farms and fisheries. We know that providing dogs with highly nutritious, healthy and great tasting food will provide them with the best quality of life.
We also know that sourcing our ingredients directly from our farms and trusted sources, provide a guarantee of the highest quality product.
You can read more about the benefits of some ingredients here.
How much/how often to feed them – Feeding Guides
Just like humans, dogs have different metabolisms and depending on their lifestyle, will have different feeding needs.
Feeding guides on dog food are exactly what they say, just a guide.
When it comes to our dogs, their metabolism ranges from one extreme to the other.
Barny, for example, eats very little as he puts on weight so easily, whilst Murphy eats 5 or 6 times more than all our other dogs and we cannot get an ounce of fat on him!
For puppies, two or three small meals per day will suffice – as they grow, you can increase the portion sizes and reduce the number of feeds per day.
Once matured, some choose two smaller meals per day, whilst others prefer one decent size meal per day. It really depends on the breed and their lifestyle.
Can I feed my puppy adult food?
Whilst it’s not dangerous to feed your puppy the odd bowl of adult food, the differences in the food are far more important in the long-term.
Adult food is formulated much differently than puppy food as both have their differing nutritional needs.
Puppies, for example, have to work harder to maintain their body temperature than larger, adult dogs and so need more calories than an adult dog.
A puppy will complete most of its growth in the first two to three years of its life, depending on the breed. This requires different resources than simply living does, which means that puppies also require more amino acids than adults do.
Puppy food should derive 22.5% of their calories from protein sources, while adult foods need only 18% of their calories from protein.
When to switch to adult food
Most dogs are ready to transition from puppy food to adult food between 12 and 18 months of age.
It can vary from one breed to the next so always best to consult with your vet.
Normally, when you do make the transition it is advised to do so gradually over a few days. However, as both our adult and puppy food is properly balanced, there’s no need to with our food, you can make the switch from one to the other when they’re ready.
What to avoid
We’ve written a few blogs posts recently covering some of this.
Our range of puppy food is a blend of high-quality proteins and vegetables to provide balance and an introduction to some really nutritious ingredients. They’re also rich in amino acids for growth and development.
You can see our full range of puppy food here.
If you have any questions about how to feed your puppy or adult dog, please get in touch.
