Hey again

My 5month GSD is on the Large breed Eucanuba (lol sorry cant spell that but I hope you no what I mean) puppy food. On the packet it says give it to him till he is 12 months but my vet says just to give it to him till he is 6months and then move on to the adult food. What do you guys reccomend and once I do move him on to the adult stuff should it still be the large breed Eucanuba or can I give him other brands aswell?

Thx
Zoe:)

Hi Zoe,

Your vet may be concerned that your GSD is growing too quickly on the puppy food. Large breed dogs need to grow slowly so their bone structure is not put under too much stress by excess weight before it is fully developed. GSDs are not fully physically mature until they are about 18 months old. I know many GSD breeders and they all have different feeding regimes. Some stop giving puppy food at 9 months, some 12 months, and some never bother with it at all. It's best to judge from your own puppy and your vet's advice.

In general, take whatever it says on packages of dog food with a grain of salt. Most dogs would weight twice as much as they should if you actually fed them what the manufacturer recommends. The manufacturers are also motivated to keep dogs on the more expensive food for longer, I believe puppy food costs a bit more than adult food. (I am going to check this next time I go to Pets at Home, I am bad about remembering prices.)

You can switch brands if you want to - but if your puppy is doing well on your current food then there is no reason to switch. I switch foods on occassion, probably just to keep myself amused. Right now I feed my puppy Hills Science Diet, but as I am about to switch from puppy to adult I may change brands. Why? Dunno, although I could give a dozen reasons if pressed. :-) I also feed more fresh food than I do dry complete, so the brand of dry I use is really not so important.

Stacey

Hi i have a 6month japanese akita, and the puppy food doesn't seem to be doing any good, he isn't as big and fluffy in the face as he should be, what do you recommend?

HI, I'd feed him half large breed puppy food and half large breed maintenance for now and see how it goes. He can probably go onto adult by 9 months or so if he is well grown.