# Trouble in the kitchen...



## Littleflower (Aug 8, 2021)

So I brought home my two new puppies and they are on a mixture of Eukanuba and Bill-Jac food. My senior toy (a very healthy 12 yr old) is on Earthborne Holistic food. She has decided she wants the puppy food and will dump her food and glare at the puppies as they gobble up their food. She flat out refuses to eat her food. So I am reaching out to you all with two questions. 
1. Which is better Bill-Jac or Eukanuba? I want to give them one or the other. Not both!
2. Is it okay to feed my senior the puppy food?


----------



## Phaz23 (May 31, 2020)

Bil-jac and Eukanuba are both not great BUT Eukanuba at least has nutrition profiles based on scientific studies and is supported by a number of reputable organizations. So my choice if I had to choice would be Eukanuba. Also please make sure these are puppy formulas not adult formula foods.


----------



## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

Littleflower said:


> 2. Is it okay to feed my senior the puppy food?


Hi

It's probably not a good idea to feed your senior a puppy food, if it's specifically formulated for puppies. 

The nutritional requirements for puppies and adults are different. 

Excerpt from:
What’s the Difference Between Adult Dog Food and Puppy Food?

_Reputable manufacturers produce foods that follow the guidelines put forth by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). The following table compares the AAFCO minimum requirements for a variety of vital nutrients:_



_*Puppies need to eat more in the way of protein (including higher concentrations of specific amino acids), fat, and certain minerals than do adult dogs. Additionally, many manufacturers provide higher amounts of nutrients that are not regulated by AAFCO in their puppy foods.*

Good examples are the omega-3 fatty acids that have been shown to promote healthy brain and eye development in young animals.

*The caloric density of foods designed for adults and puppies can also be very different. Growth and development take a lot of energy, so puppies need to take in more calories than do adult dogs of a similar size.*_

source: PetMD

additional info:

Excerpt:
_*The biggest primary difference between puppy food (growth and reproduction recipes) and adult (maintenance) food relates to protein. Puppy food should derive 22.5% of their calories from protein sources, while adult foods need only 18% of their calories from protein.

Adults can certainly tolerate the higher protein levels of puppy food, but it may lead to weight gain, due to the higher amount of protein calories.

However, puppies will often suffer from developmental problems if fed an adult food and deprived of the proteins they require.*

Remember: “protein” really refers to a soup of different amino acids. Because not all amino acids are created equally, the AAFCO recommends differing amino acid compositions for adult and puppy dog foods.

Some of the starkest contrasts of amino acid compositions include:_


_Argine_
_Histidine_
_Isoleucine_
_Leucine_
_Phenylalanine_
_Ohenylalaline-tyrosine_
_Thereorine_
_The AAFCO requires nearly 2x the amount of each of these amino acids in puppy foods than it does in adult dog foods. That is because these amino acids are intrinsic to the growth process.

The AAFCO also requires puppy foods to contain a bit more fat than adult foods do. Per the guidelines, adult food need only derive 5.5% of their calories from fat, while puppy food must derive 8.5% of their calories from fat. This is primarily to ensure that puppy foods are “energy dense.”

Fats contain more calories per pound than either proteins or carbohydrates do, which ensures that puppy food is packed with energy for stoking their internal fires. Adult maintenance formulations, by contrast, are designed to be leaner, so they contain less fat, and therefore fewer calories in every bite.

The mineral content of puppy foods also differs from those of adult dog foods. For example, per AAFCO guidelines, puppy foods must be 1% calcium, while adult foods need only be 0.6% calcium. Similarly, puppy foods must be 0.8% phosphorus, while most adult dog foods are only 0.5% phosphorus.

What about Foods for “All Life Stages?” Are They Safe for Puppies?
In addition to foods that are labelled as being appropriate for “growth and reproduction” or “adult maintenance,” you may also see foods bearing a label that indicates they are appropriate for “all life stages.”

These foods are appropriate for most healthy dogs (they may not be good for some senior canines), so you can go ahead and feed them to your puppy.

These foods are designed to meet the requirements for “growth and reproduction” and “adult maintenance.” But because the nutritional requirements for puppy foods exceed those of typical adult foods, it means these are essentially puppy food._

source:
Can Puppies Eat Adult Dog Food? Puppy vs Dog Nutrition & What You Need to Know! (k9ofmine.com) 


This is why selecting the correct food for any dog from a company that has veterinary nutritionists on staff who are studying and formulating the foods for the various life stages, breed size, and other special needs is in your dogs best interest. 

All three food brands meet the AAFCO guidelines but it does matter whether puppy vs adult versions. To determine which brand/s are the "best", look for a company using nutritionists, choose the version best suited for your pups and then the version best suited to your senior. Then you hope to find foods that they like the taste of and will eat . 

Choosing foods can feel overwhelming but it is worth figuring out. 


Your other thread has the first idea on how to manage this situation. Feed the puppies separately in their crate and separately from your senior toy. If the puppy food isn't there in front of her, she can't eat it. 

If she was eating the Earthborn before happily, she will again, as soon as she gets hungry enough. It has so far proved to be true that a healthy dog will not starve themselves. You'll naturally keep an eye on her to make sure. 


Another possibility would be to switch all three to an All Life Stages food as described above but only following proper transitioning. I'd hold off on that for a while, myself. 

If the pups are doing well on the combo, if you feel that switching to just one is beneficial, you can pick one to keep them on and slowly change the proportions over a week or so until they're eating only one brand. 

I'd ask, tho, why are you wanting to switch to just one food? There are advantages to having more than one food that your dogs will eat. I did that thru my puppies first year. It isn't necessary to feed every form of food available to get the benefits.

Some information on that subject
Rotation Feeding for Pets | PetMD 
All about rotational feeding for dogs | Animal Wellness Magazine


----------



## Skylar (Jul 29, 2016)

Littleflower said:


> 2. Is it okay to feed my senior the puppy food?


No. It’s too high in fat and protein. Your older dog is healthy but too much fat and protein could cause health issues. Years ago I had a healthy middle aged tpoo who ate an appropriate adult dog food. She supplemented it with snacks from the cats kibble. Cat kibble is too high in fat and protein….. she developed pancreatitis and had to be fed a special diet the rest of her long life. While puppy food isn’t as high fat/protein as cat kibble, making it your older dogs sole source of food may be close to what made my tpoo sick.

I would also be cautious about switching to an all life stage food if you aren’t currently feeding it. For some dogs it may be too rich in fat and protein leading to diarrhea and digestive upset OTOH many dogs enjoy and thrive on all life stage.

If you are happy with the food your older tpoo is eating, and you plan to feed the puppies the same food when they are finished growing, then solve all your problems by feeding the puppies separately in their crates. In fact all three dogs should be fed separately so you can keep tabs on how much each is eating. It can indicate a potential health problem that may be missed early if all three dogs are eating from the same bowl. Now, with the addition of new puppies, is the time to implement a plan to provide each dog a separate area to eat.


----------



## Littleflower (Aug 8, 2021)

Thank you all so much, it look like my best option is to feed all three separately and dont make any changes right now.


----------

