Another Dog Food Question

[tmike]

At what point do you switch from a puppy formula to an adult dog formula? I've heard different opinions. My 6 month lab is eating Beneful and the bag says up to or over a year old. Should I follow that or is there another rule of thumb? Is there anything to watch for? He's already 55 pounds, lean and healthy. I was just curious what others thought and wondered when the majority of his development has taken place.

[singleshot12]

One year give or take a month. And I say feed em table scraps just adjust it to their dry dog food diet and the amount of exercise they get daily. Labs always tend to over eat so regulating their intake from day one is important

[tmike]

No kidding about wanting to over eat. He inhales his food so I watch it carefully.

[singleshot12]

I've always wondered if I was to dump out a 40 lb sack of DF how long it would take to be gone for my two labs? My guess would be half a day

[Sportfury]

At what point do you switch from a puppy formula to an adult dog formula? I've heard different opinions. My 6 month lab is eating Beneful and the bag says up to or over a year old. Should I follow that or is there another rule of thumb? Is there anything to watch for? He's already 55 pounds, lean and healthy. I was just curious what others thought and wondered when the majority of his development has taken place.

tmike I have never worried about puppie type foods when I feed pups unless the pup is super small like a chihuahua where they need smaller food. The pups get the same thing that the big dogs eat. What I worry about when looking at food is whether it is grain free, protein content, and ingredients. Grain free, good protein, and good ingredients will insure your pup will grow up big, strong, and in shape.

[tmike]

OK thanks. So with a good quality food your pups get the same thing as the adults. Interesting.

[Stilly bay]

I prefer " all life stages" type dog foods and adjust the feeding as needed.

[h2ofowlr]

I just feed my labs atta boy.  I give them half a pitcher of dog food each daily.  Many brands of dog food are made at the same plant.  The shapes and colors may be different, but ingredients may be very much the same.

[akirkland]

You can tell alot about a dogs food by looking at its poop. Lol. Its true though. The lower end food tends to be soft and really wet. The upper end food seems to make firmer poop with just a sheen. Just like us...if we eat McDonalds all weekend we gunna poop cow pies on Monday. If we eat good (healthier) food it is a different consistenancy.