Side Effects

[Doggystyle]

When do you start feeding adult food to your dog/dogs? What could be the outcome of a dog who was fed adult food as a pup and ate it regularly?

[thedude04]

i started feeding my boys adult food at almost 6 months they took to it pretty good im not sure about your other question sorry

[GSDbulldog]

I fed adult food from the start, since Canidae is one-sized-fits-all. There really is no big side effect. Puppy food is somewhat unnesscary, I've always fed a high quality "adult" kibble to pups.

[CB]

I dont really feed puppy food. I have with 2 of my dogs and didnt with my 3rd and i dont see no difference. So i will just stick with aduld food.

[Doggystyle]

When I tell people that I fed my 1yr old girl adult food they flip and start giving me lectures that feeding a dog adult food before it's at least 2 in a half yrs old will not do the dog any justice b/c puppy food has all the right nutrients it needs. I kept blaming myself for my girl being short and unproportionate, but maybe it's not the food it's just genetics. I swear as long as I've been a member of this site I have seen dogs more mature then her and I can't figure out why this is and I would really like to know what has stunted her growth. It is so hard to explain and many people tell me that she will fill in and it's normal, but in comparison to a vast majority of the dogs(under a 1yr) I've seen on here, she is a 1yr and 3mths old but looks like a dog who is only 6 months old. I love her and I work her pretty hard so I am still proud of how she looks, but I am just concerned. I know it's hard to tell if a dog is pure bred pit bull. I got her from a BYB. Judging from her parents she should be around 65lbs, she is only 51lbs. Her parents "look" pure bred, only in comparison to some true bloodlines that were linked on this site. I never expected for her to be massive like a pig. I just figured her bone mass woud have grown by now. Please help?

http://www.game-dog.com/gallery/files/4/4/3/9/S4020082_thumb.jpg (http://www.game-dog.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=10672&c=3&userid=4439)

[findrodhere]

When I tell people that I fed my 1yr old girl adult food they flip and start giving me lectures that feeding a dog adult food before it's at least 2 in a half yrs old will not do the dog any justice b/c puppy food has all the right nutrients it needs.
I call 'em arm-chair vets, and in this case arm-chair nutritionists. You're probaby feeding her too much, and too much of a low quality kibble. What are you feeding? How much?

[Doggystyle]

I call 'em arm-chair vets, and in this case arm-chair nutritionists. You're probaby feeding her too much, and too much of a low quality kibble. What are you feeding? How much?She eats Eukanuba puppy chiots in measurments of 2 cups once per day. I dont think it's the food b/c many of my friends who own several dogs use the same food until their dog is 2yrs old and they turn out like many of the dogs I see here which basically means they mature around 8mths. I just wanted to know what would cause a dogs growth to stunt? Could it be that she had an umbilical hernia?

[findrodhere]

Her metabolism may be different than your friend's dogs. If you're very serious about getting her into shape, the first thing you should do is change her diet. On a couple other posts i've advocated nature's variety raw instinct to be the best. It is a little pricey, so maybe canidae is a better choice? Going raw would be the premier path to take, if you've got the time. eukanuba has a lot of corn (not good if you're looking to lean your dog up), and feeding a puppy mixture of eukanuba's food is sure to keep a few of those vanity pounds on. Do you feed once a day? Try feeding a cup in the morning and a cup in the evening. It's like a person, if you eat once a day, you're body believes itself to be starving and begins to retain fat. You eat 5-6 times a day, and your metabolism skyrockets.

Edit* check out http://www.bigfreakkennel.netfirms.com/conditioning.htm
some good articles on conditioning.

[14rock]

Eukanuba is junk first off, and you are paying WAY too much for a kibble that is unsatisfactory and also gives $$ to PETA-who is using that $$ to eradicate your little buddies breed.

As for the original question-I feed adult food until about 4 months old, just because it has been my understanding it is a bit easier on the stomach. Probably not necessary, and I do not know if I will bother with the next little one I have to feed. I've seen plenty of dogs raised on nothing but adult food, it doesnt stunt their growth any.

As for your dog, SHES STILL A PUPPY! This breed doesnt mature until 2 years old-or older sometimes. Some dogs will mature at a young age and look full grown at 8 months old, others look like big puppies until 2.5 years old. Give it time, its very likely she has another growth spurt in her.

[prettyfulpitbull]

She is pretty!!!

[thedude04]

u have a great looking dog u should see mine his almost 7 mouhs now and hes long short and has a lot of lose fur around his neck (so your dog looks alot better of then mine lol) most dogs dont sart to fell out tell there closer to two or so i hope for are sac

[Iverson's Pits]

I agree with Rock. Eukanuba isn't the best thing you could be feeding. Its not bad for a house pet, and it keeps your dog's stool nice and solid, but consider switching foods. Unfortunately, I'm feeding Eukanuba right now (adult prem. performance) at the price of $36 per 40 pounds. In Japan, on the Militart base...it is the highest quality food available...and going off base means spending about 60-70 dollars for a 40 lb bag. So for now, I'll stick with the Eukanuba, and just work the hell out of the dogs to keep some of the fat off.

[PorsA]

I feed the the dogs adult dogfood from about 2 months old with the best results. Some pups grow to quick on puppy dogfood because of the to much protein in the puppyfood. Thats no good for the dogs bones and can cause growpain. I split the food in 2 or 3 meals a day depending on the age of the dog(s).

[Rockstar]

For mostly the same reasons PorsA stated above, I start pups out on adult food. They'll grow at a slightly slower rate than with puppy food, indeed making it easier on their developing bones, joints, etc. They'll still reach their full growth potential, just not quite as rapidly.

[Doggystyle]

Eukanuba is junk first off, and you are paying WAY too much for a kibble that is unsatisfactory and also gives $$ to PETA-who is using that $$ to eradicate your little buddies breed.

As for the original question-I feed adult food until about 4 months old, just because it has been my understanding it is a bit easier on the stomach. Probably not necessary, and I do not know if I will bother with the next little one I have to feed. I've seen plenty of dogs raised on nothing but adult food, it doesnt stunt their growth any.

As for your dog, SHES STILL A PUPPY! This breed doesnt mature until 2 years old-or older sometimes. Some dogs will mature at a young age and look full grown at 8 months old, others look like big puppies until 2.5 years old. Give it time, its very likely she has another growth spurt in her.
I am concerned why you consider Eukanuba junk? Does it not have a proper balance of nutrients. I like it b/c it keeps weight on her that is easy to shave off b/c she is highly active. Oh yeah and she has a bowel movement only once a day with it. The other foods I have tried had her going to poop at least 3 times a day and it doesn't make sense for her to poop more in a day then what she eats.

[SAM_I_AM]

I Think The Concern That Everyone Has With Eukanuba Is The Corn. Correct Me If I Am Wrong But A Dog Cannot Digest Corn Too Well. Look For Another Brand Feed That Doesnt List Corn In Their Top Ingredents. I Feed Proplan Lamb And Rice (no Corn).

[SAM_I_AM]

A Couple Of Weeks Somone Posted An Article To Grade Your Dog Food And I Think This Would Be A Good Place To Repost It But I Cant Seem To Remember Who Posted It The First Time. It Was A Really Great Post. I Hope Some One Has Better Luck Finding It Than Me.

[Doggystyle]

Thats funny, the Eukanuba I feed has no corn. Pro Plan did.

[Marty]

A Couple Of Weeks Somone Posted An Article To Grade Your Dog Food And I Think This Would Be A Good Place To Repost It But I Cant Seem To Remember Who Posted It The First Time. It Was A Really Great Post. I Hope Some One Has Better Luck Finding It Than Me.Is this it?
http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=comp-wiz

[SAM_I_AM]

Marty, This is what I was talking about it was posted on 3-12-06 by *?* , but was originally posted by suki.



Hello,

Here is a post that I coppied and pasted from a post Suki made a few days ago.

It is a test that you can perfrorm to see how your dog food rates.

The higher the score the better.

Towards the end of the post it shows several brands that have been scored already. It shows that Authority Harvest scores very well. Ol' Roy is not a quality dog food. It is full of fillers and lower grade ingredients.

Hope this helps.

How to grade your dog's food:
Start with a grade of 100:

1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points

2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points

3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points

4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source,subtract 5 points

5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewerâ?Ts rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points

6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points

7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points

8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3points

9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 morepoints

10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil,subtract 2 points

11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points

12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points

13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isnâ?Tt allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points

14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isnâ?Tt allergic to beef), subtract 1 point

15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:

1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points

2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or
nutritionist, add 5 points

3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points

4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points

5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points

6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points

7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points

8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points

9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points

10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point

11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point

12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than
the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point

13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point

14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point

94-100+ = A
86-93 = B
78-85 = C
70-77 = D

69 = F

Here are some foods that have already been scored. If you don't
see your dog's food here, ask and someone will score it for you.
Dog Food scores:

Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+

Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F

Canidae / Score 112 A+

Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+

Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F

Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B

Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+

Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+

Foundations / Score 106 A+

Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 D

Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D

Innova Dog / Score 114 A+

Innova Evo / Score 114 A+

Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+

Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B

Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F

ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley / Score 103 A+

Purina Benful / Score 17 F

Purina Dog / Score 62 F

Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F

Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+

Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+

Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A

Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F

Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F

Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+

Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A