I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice regarding when to change from puppy to adult food.

I have a 10 1/2 month old border collie bitch, she is currently on Beta puppy/junior food and would always clear her bowl within minutes, recently she has been really fussy with her food and not overly interested, she is fine in herself in all other respects.

I have heard that the high protein content in puppy/junior food can actually been not so good for them from 9 months onwards.

I am considering changing her to Bakers complete and any advice about this and when to do this would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Hi, I would normally change my collie pups onto adult food around 6 to 7 months so yes I guess now is fine :D  Personally I wouldn't feed bakers though, but that's a personal opinion. When you've chosen your adult food just gradually mix it in with the puppy food, increasing the ratio of adult to puppy every couple of days. Mine have never had upset tummies or even noticed the difference when they're changed over.

Thanks for your reply, out of interest what do you feed yours on, there are so many brands on the market it is a complete mindfield as to know what is best to feed them on.

Thanks

I have fed mine on Beta most of her life and she is thriving at 12, her companion lived to her 16th year on it :)  If your puppy has been doing well on the puppy and junior why not continue and see how she does on the adult?

I will have a look at Beta adult food, thanks very much

You are right, there are so many foods to choose from, and a search on here will bring up lots of options. Poeple will swear that the food they use is best, whatever suits your dog and your pocket is the best food for you. With that in mind, I'd go with Isabels suggestion of beta adult food as a first one to try and see how it goes?

I'm not that impressed with Bakers, I would stick with Beta as opposed to that.  The lady I got my first Chi from feeds it to all of hers and they are all overweight, but she doesn't walk them regularly either.  I spoke to the vet and they said it's the 'lower range' of the market.  I feed Arden Grange to my Chi's, a rescue Pom, and my GSD it's very good from the point of view that you can buy sacks and get it delivered because I don't drive and  couldn't carry it.  The company also gives good support advice and seem genuionely interested in the dogs - I've rung them so much recently that they've asked me to send them photos of my lot! :)  Not all foods suit all dogs, and it's finding what's right for your pooch and you.

I would stick with the Beta ,I feed mine a raw diet,but my curlies breeder uses Beta and her dogs are in fab condition ,if your puppy is happy on Beta I would try and stick with that ,my pup suffered with terrible allergies and if a particular food I put him on would help with the runny eyes and scratching then you could bet he would get the squits and vice versa,so with no problems I would stick with the Beta

I also would stick with Beta,even though i wouldnt feed either bakers or beta,but beta is the lesser of the two evils i guess.Please dont feed bakers,it is nothing but sugars,colours and preservatives with none of the meat and vegies that they try and make customers 'think' it contains!

Ardwhallan you dont HAVE to feed supermarket quality foods you know? :) They are all much of a muchness anyhow. There are many better brands around you can try. Here's a few you can check out:

JWB-http://www.wellbeloved.co.uk

Ardengrange-http://www.ardengrange.com

Wafcol salmon&potato-http://www.wafcol.co.uk

Berrimans-http://www.berrimans.net

Fromm and eaglepack-http://www.postalpets.co.uk

Naturediet(wet food) and wainwrights,both available at PAH.

Thanks for all the info, it is very much appreciated.

I think I will try and put her back onto Beta, my only problem at the moment is she has recently become very fussy about what she is eating and this was why I decided to change her from Beta as she has lost all interest in the puppy/junior food. However after everything you have all said about Bakers I will steer clear of it.

I was thinking of whether to change her to a wet diet but I have always thought a dry complete diet is better than a wet diet.

Any advice on this would be much appreciated.

Thanks

We don't all have a downer on Bakers :)  I don't see any reason why you should not try it if your dog does not take to adult Beta. I know several dogs fed on it and they do very well.  A friend's young labrador, in particular, always strikes me as a very fit dog with a beautiful glossy coat.  Sugar does no harm at all other than possibly contributing to plaque on the teeth but of course that can be easily monitored by the owner.  Colourings are unnecessary, of course, but unless your dog is one of the few unlucky ones with an intollerance they will do no harm at all in the tiny permitted quantities allowed in the UK.  This also applies to preservatives but they, of course, do have a very important function namely giving assurance that the minerals and vitamins will be maintained throughout it's shelf life.  Personally, it would always be my preference to choose a food that had a good, scientifically founded, preservative unless I was choosing fresh.  I use herbs in cooking a lot but they have never given me the confidence to store the dish for any length of time ;) 
Having said that I think you do have to watch out for your dog trying it on to get a never ending stream of goodies out of you, if he takes to whatever choose you opt for but later goes picky again I would just pick up the dish and give nothing else until the next meal and so on as when she is hungry enough she will accept you are not going to continue to tempt her with new stuff.

I don't have separate rules for feeding my dogs and feeding my family.   So I opt for commercial dog foods that are free of artificial preservatives, flavourings and artificial colourings.  In the same way I don't buy foods for the family that are overloaded with sugars, I buy fresh rather than canned or frozen whenever possible, etc. 

Sugar, as in people food, is added to make something more palatable.  Not only is it not necessary to add sugar to foods (for dogs or people), but I'd rather feed my dogs food that they like without needing to dose it with sugar.

I'd rather feed my dogs a food that is preserved with a natural substance, like Vitamin E, rather than an artificial preservative.  Both artificial and natural preservatives keep food equally well, but a preservative like Vitamin E also happens to be essential for good health - and in my view that's a better alternative.  Some of the wet foods don't need a preservative at all, of course, vacuum sealing of the can or pack is enough to keep the food.

Unless your dog is allergic or is sensitive to certain foods or ingredients, it all comes down to personal choice.

>I don't have separate rules for feeding my dogs and feeding my family.

Neither do I.  I don't have a sugar free, preservative free diet either :)

>Unless your dog is allergic or is sensitive to certain foods or ingredients, it all comes down to personal choice.

Exactly :)

Thanks for everyone's advice, much appreciated as it can get quite confusing with so many different brands on the market to know which is the best one.

I think you are right regarding Meave not eating, I am going to try and be strict on this one and pick the bowl up if she doesn't eat it and not offer her anything else.

Thanks again

>I was thinking of whether to change her to a wet diet but I have always thought a dry complete diet is better than a wet diet.<

Why? :) Wet foods such as naturediet,naturesmenu etc are a more natural food for dogs than dry pellets,it is also a myth that dry food keeps dogs teeth clean,most are loaded with carbs (most wet foods are not) which stick to teeth like glue.

Sugar
 

Can include sucrose, cane sugar, caramel, corn syrup and others.
Sugar or sweetener is an absolutely unnecessary ingredient in pet foods, added to make the product more attractive. Continuous intake can promote hypoglycemia, obesity, nervousness, cataracts, tooth decay, arthritis and allergies. Pets also get addicted to foods that contain sugars, so it can be a tough piece of work to make them eat something healthier.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients The part i bolded may explain why so many owners who feed bakers and such have trouble switching their pets to other healthier foods.

Scroll down to "sweetners".This page also lists other ingredients and additives that should be AVOIDED in pet foods.

>Continuous intake can promote hypoglycemia, obesity, nervousness, cataracts, tooth decay, arthritis and allergies.

Hardly likely in the quantities we are talking about here.
The author you have quoted does not appear to have any accredited qualification in nutrition.

>Hardly likely in the quantities we are talking about here.<

How do you know? :) Eating a food everday is continuous intake,is it not?

Would you dump a tsp or even a 1/4 tsp of sugar on top of your dogs meals twice a day everyday? If someone came on here saying they do just that,it would be deemed unacceptable by most,but why is it allright when it's disguised in dog food?

Like Cairnmania i dont have different rules for myself and my dogs,i wouldnt eat a food filled with sugars and colours with little or barely digestable meat content for every meal and neither do my dogs.

Accredited qualification in nutrition?? This is a no brainer as far as i'm concerned!

But just FTR After completing coursework in Animal Nutrition, Animal/Pet Care, Animal Physiology and Diseases & Parasitology, Sabine earned her certification in Animal Care from the University of Guelph, home of the Ontario Veterinary College.

Add this to many years of research and study into nutrition,plus her non affiliation with any pet food brand, i trust what she has to say.

I think filled with sugar is a gross exageration.  Sugar in itself is totally harmless.  If it leads to obesity or teeth problems then too much is being given.  These things are easy to monitor and if they are not manifesting themselves you can say that there is no harm in the level of sugar being given.  As I said to Cairnmania I don't eat a sugar free diet and unless you two are diabetics I doubt very much you do either.

>home of the Ontario Veterinary College

What on earth does mean? :D Is it affiliated or not?
I have no idea who has accredited her course or at what level it was set.  Setting up a web site is not enough to establish trust in what you are talking about for me.  There are people who sit at their computers for years reading these sorts of sites and regard that as "years of research" if you have a look at this site you might appreciate why I don't think so.