Hi,
We have a male Gsd who is now 6 months old. He is currently fed on Burns canine extra (larger breed puppy food)with the added occasional leftovers!! He seems very happy on this diet. How long is it best to keep him on this food before changing over to Adult food.
Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.
Thank you

Burns Canine Bites is the large breed puppy food right?  I know that with JWB they recommend going from Puppy to Junior at 6 months, then Junior to Puppy at 12 months, but Burns don't do a Junior.  With large breeds I believe you're supposed to keep the pup on the puppy food for longer than a smaller breed - 12-18 months (?)  Personally I'd suggest keeping your GSD on the puppy food til atleast 12 months :)

With large breeds I believe you're supposed to keep the pup on the puppy food for longer than a smaller breed - 12-18 months (?) 
I think that could be the other way round? Definately 6 months or before in our large breed change to junior and around 12 months change to adult :)

Dee

People on this forum have said Burns is pretty helpful; I have no personal experience with them. You could call their help line 0800 083 6696 (just happen to have a dog mag next to me)

Large breed puppies do not need puppy food which is often far to high in calcium!Andyb you can change over to an adult food anytime you like.

Peewee i think youve got it back to front :) The less time a large breed is on a puppy food,the better IMO. Puppy foods with their high protein,fat and calcium and phos levels arent known for promoting slow and steady growth..

"Large breed puppies do not need puppy food which is often far to high in calcium!"

Ya learn something new everyday!  I was just going on what the actual foods recommend and it seems to be longer for larger breeds

Hi - I'd suggest you phone Burns and speak to them.  Recommendations will vary depending on the breed and on the age of the dog, but mostly on the food.  Since Burns manufactures the food, they're the best people to ask.

Personally, I believe that you should leave him on the Canine Extra until 9 months.  But speak to Burns and see what they say.

I dont know about Burns as I feed my 6 month old on Nature diet and JWB - I am currently weaning her off the puppy nature diet onto the original adult nature diet and the JWB is a junior feed until shes about 1 year old I think.  I was told by Nature Diet to swap her to the adult one (slowly) as they dont need as much protein at this age.  I think you need to speak to burns, Im sure they would be helpful and give you the advice you are looking for

I contacted Burns regarding their food and this might be of help.

Their reply was

At Burns we do not produce specific food for larger breeds either. Please find below an extract written by John Burns:

'Some manufacturers of dog foods produce diets specifically for large breeds. The justification is that large breeds have special needs which cannot be met with 'normal' foods. My view is that adult large breed dogs requirements are no different from other breeds. Large breed foods for growing dogs have lower protein and fat levels. These levels are similar to Burns foods for growing dogs. Our view is that all foods for the growing dog should have these lower levels of nutrients to avoid too rapid growth.'

I have a Newfie and have lowered his protein intake following their advise in steps. The bad news is he never liked the food and just would not eat it so I had to switch but Burns were very helpful to me no matter what I asked.

We weaned our lab pup off Burns puppy food to Burns adult at about 6 months old, which is before most food manufacturers recommend. He is now 16 months old and has grown up really slowly and steadily and is a happy healthy dog, I think it is better to change sooner than later as you don't want a rapid growth spurt with a larger breed as their joint development can't keep up with their muscle development.

Sarah