# When do you switch them to adult food?



## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

Just wondering...I am wanting to try a different food...we are about to run out of the puppy food we are on. When can I go ahead and put him on some adult food? Many of the puppy formulas say something about the first six months of life-or something like that...He is almost 8 months..will be probably by the time we are out of the one we have...is this too early to start making the switch? Do you have to wait until 1 year?

Next question...in another thread we discussed the Royal Canin brand and their "Yorkie" food...is there any reason our malts can't eat that...? Or is that a dumb question?


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## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

OK-to answer part of my own question...the Yorkie Royal Canin says for over 10 months...does that 2 months make a huge difference if your malt is already almost 8 pounds and healthy?


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## mee (Jul 17, 2004)

sorry tlunn ,but i dont know the answer for the yorkie food, but i asked my vet, trainer and they all said that i should wait till they are one year old and then switch to adult food..im just waiting too coz jongee is 10 months old..


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## Caesar's Mommie (Apr 8, 2004)

Caesar is 10 months old, and we just bought a new bag of Science Diet Original Puppy food. I have always heard do the puppy food until they are a year old. I figure by time we run out of this new bag, he should be about 12 months or pretty close give or take some. Hope this helps


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## Elegant (Jul 17, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Caesar's Mommie_@Oct 30 2004, 05:48 AM
> *Caesar is 10 months old, and we just bought a new bag of Science Diet Original Puppy food.  I have always heard do the puppy food until they are a year old.  I figure by time we run out of this new bag, he should be about 12 months or pretty close give or take some.  Hope this helps
> 
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> ...


[/QUOTE]
Why one year old?
I heard that puppy food and adult food were just marketing tools and that either were fine.
~Elegant


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## mee (Jul 17, 2004)

> _Originally posted by Elegant+Oct 30 2004, 10:10 AM-->
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> 
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> ...


Why one year old?
I heard that puppy food and adult food were just marketing tools and that either were fine.
~Elegant
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[/B][/QUOTE]

i dunno. i heard that puppy food just has higher calories in them so if u keep feeding puppy feed to adults they wil just gain weight coz of the extra calories..


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## Toby's Mom (May 7, 2004)




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## Brinkley & Neyland's Mom (Jun 14, 2004)

Well, if the puppy food has higher calories..and he is getting tubby...then the adult food shouldn't hurt him...right?
I know my cats ate adult food before they were ready b/c it was impossible to keep it all separate....they are fat and sassy and perfectly healthy.
I am leaning toward the Royal Canin yorkie formula...or Canidae...


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## Quincymom (Oct 17, 2004)

I rotate Quincy's food regularly and a couple of the brands I use only make one type,for adults and puppies both. I also feed at least 3 different foods at the same time, or rather, one type at each meal. Then when I run out I buy a different one. I just don't believe that one formula is good for life, I am hoping by giving a variety of different manufacturers formulas then I will cover all bases. But that is just me, it isn't the vets recommendation, but Quincy has never had an upset tummy or diarrhea. My new little nameless guy (home less than 24 hours) is on the breeders puppy food, and I will feed that at least for the first month home with me. Then I will slowly switch. I want him to make a smooth adjustment before I make changes.
Quincymom


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## Maxismom (Mar 24, 2004)

maxi will be 14 months on 11/14 i just started to try different food but he really doesnt like anything else but the lamb and rice with roasted white chicken on top i do however make him a chicken meat loaf every few weeks and he loves that with applesauce other than that i try and stick with the same stuff maxi has a weak stomach the minute he eats something different he has the big watery poop


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## Boom Boom's Mom (Jul 27, 2004)

Boom an I went through this mess...

When he was 8 months old he got neutered. I asked the vet then if I could switch him to adult food, he said yes, so i bought food mixed it slowly an changed to adult food. Boom became sluggish an lazy. He didnt want to play, didnt get excited for walks, just wanted to sleep. I decided i was gonna give him his puppy food back and fed him half adult half puppy for the rest of the puppy bag. About 11 months his puppy food ran out and he started eating adult food only. He gets half a bag of moist and meaty mixed with half a cup of science diet nature and he's good to go now.. acts like he did when he was still a puppy


so i'd hafta argue they're different..


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## Guest (Oct 31, 2004)

Lacey eats the Royal Canin Natural Blend Puppy Formula - Holistic Dog Food. I just looked on the bag and it has a feeding guide until 12 months of age. Lacey does really well on this food. No tear staining and she has lots of energy. I have read in some maltese books to start giving adult food at 10 months of age. I don't know about that, I need to speak with my vet and breeder and hear what they say. I feel very lucky that Lacey is such a good little eater. She hasn't been fussy at all with her food since her baby teeth were pulled. I also am very lucky with tearstaining. I give her bottled water, the Royal Canin, no food with dyes. I wash her little face every Wednesday and every Saturday she has a bath. I don't know if all of this is the reason for no tearstaining or if it is genetic.


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## BrookeB676 (Oct 17, 2004)

tlunn- keep in mind that this is just my opinion! I am part of a yorkie forum and I cant tell you that many people have swithced to adult food at 8 months or sometimes even a little before. He will be fine if you switch him to adult food if this is what you want to do. If you look at the ingredients you will see that the only difference is that their are more calories because of the higher fat and protein. In fact there are a few foods out their that are ALL life stages food (one of which is the DVP natural balance). I can also tell you that their have been people that have called royal canin and basically the "yorkshire" on the package is a marketing ploy in my opinion, although the food contains ingredients that are suppposed to be good for a toy dog's health. I would look at the yorkshire terrier as a toy dog but not as a breed specific food, as there are NO foods out their that are "truly" breed specific. My advice would be to do a lot of research and learn all the ingredients that appear in these foods. Anything with byproduct, meal, corn should be a good indicator that you should probably choose another food (Im sure you are aware of that though). I have done a lot of research on food and will be feeding mine wellness, you can go to www.oldmotherhubbard.com and look at the ingredients. Their are a few yorkies that I know on the royal canin but it is a little bit higher in fat than some foods out their and is a little bit pricey in my opinion for what you get. I have 2 adult yorkies that are over a year and just got my maltese who is 4 1/2 months old. I will actually switch her to the wellness when she runs out of her puppy food which will definitely be before a year (probably around 6-8 months), if she is growing good and has developed (which they do most of their growing within their first 6 months) than their is no specific reason to keep her on puppy food unless I think she needs the extra calories. Infact, its hard to separate the adult and puppy food, so we leave our yorkies food out like it has always been and Maya's food is in her pen, which is she isnt in when we are home we have to make it a point to keep offering her the puppy food and sometimes I will know she is hungry if she is eating my yorkies food and I give her the puppy food, but I would rather her get into the adult food than my yorkies get into her puppy food and gain weight. Like I said this is my opinion from the extensive research I have done on food. I actually did try the royal canin but mine wouldnt touch it, however every dog is different. Whatever you do will be the right decision if you are confident about it







consult you vet if you feel more comfortable, Im at my 3rd baby so I am getting used to worrying about these little things


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