# Puppy Food or Not to Puppy Food?



## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Caniche said:


> So I have a co-worker who says that you should only feed your puppy dog food (kibble I mean) that's for "all life stages". She says that "puppy kibble" actually makes the dogs grow quicker, bigger than what they'd normally be and mess with their development.
> 
> Does anyone have any info on this?


There is some truth to that, but it's not so simple. Its important to feed a food that is approved for growth or for all life stages but it's also important for medium and large breeds to choose a growth or all life stages formula that has as close to a 1:1 ratio of calcium: phosphorus as possible to avoid excessively rapid growth. Nothing you do will make a dog grow their than they are genetically programmed to grow, but you can make them grow too fast if a food has too high levels of calcium. It's possible for both puppy foods and all life stages foods to have appropriate levels or calcium or high levels of calcium. You have to look carefully.


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## Caniche (Jun 10, 2013)

CharismaticMillie said:


> There is some truth to that, but it's not so simple. Its important to feed a food that is approved for growth or for all life stages but it's also important for medium and large breeds to choose a growth or all life stages formula that has as close to a 1:1 ratio of calcium: phosphorus as possible to avoid excessively rapid growth. Nothing you do will make a dog grow their than they are genetically programmed to grow, but you can make them grow too fast if a food has too high levels of calcium. It's possible for both puppy foods and all life stages foods to have appropriate levels or calcium or high levels of calcium. You have to look carefully.



Thank you CharismaticMillie!

So, to take it one step further....can you provide an example of an appropriate kibble puppy food and/or all life stage food for a toy poodle puppy?

This co-worker does therapy work with her golden retrievers and acts very dog knowledgable. BUT I'm not always sure what she says is true since she told me today that puppies should go to their new homes at 7 weeks of ago - which I know is wrong. 

Thanks for clearing this up!


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Caniche said:


> Thank you CharismaticMillie!
> 
> So, to take it one step further....can you provide an example of an appropriate kibble puppy food and/or all life stage food for a toy poodle puppy?
> 
> ...


Sure! I can't promise they are perfect as far as ratios go, but I personally felt comfortable with the ratios and had good luck with Orijen Large Breed Puppy, Wellness Large Breed Puopy and (gasp!!) Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy. I haven't fed Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy or Fromm large breed puppy but I like the ratios. Also, I would personally feel comfortable feeding just about all of the Fromm Four Star all life stages varieties.


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## Caniche (Jun 10, 2013)

CharismaticMillie said:


> Sure! I can't promise they are perfect as far as ratios go, but I personally felt comfortable with the ratios and had good luck with Orijen Large Breed Puppy, Wellness Large Breed Puopy and (gasp!!) Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy. I haven't fed Nutrisource Large Breed Puppy or Fromm large breed puppy but I like the ratios. Also, I would personally feel comfortable feeding just about all of the Fromm Four Star all life stages varieties.



Thanks! Those brands do help, but I wanted to know about toy poodles? I'm assuming you wouldn't feed large breed to a toy 

I'll definitely look into those brands. I'm never sure if small breed food is necessary for small breeds? I know that when I brought Cash home at first I had to feed a small breed puppy formula (Royal Canin for the first few weeks unfortunately - ick) just because I couldn't find anything with small enough kibble.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Caniche said:


> Thanks! Those brands do help, but I wanted to know about toy poodles? I'm assuming you wouldn't feed large breed to a toy
> 
> I'll definitely look into those brands. I'm never sure if small breed food is necessary for small breeds? I know that when I brought Cash home at first I had to feed a small breed puppy formula (Royal Canin for the first few weeks unfortunately - ick) just because I couldn't find anything with small enough kibble.


Sorry, I did not see anything in your post about toys (must have skipped over it) so I just spoke generally when I said medium and large breeds need careful ratios to prevent rapid growth. When you asked for suggestions, I assumed that must have meant you had a larger poodle. For toys, it doesn't matter. You can feed any puppy food.


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## lepetitoeuf (May 3, 2015)

I've been reading about puppy food recently, as B is just gone 4 months old and I wanted to move him over to grain free. 

I've been comparing ingredients lists between the 'puppy' food we currently use and the 'all life stages' grain free I want to transition over to, and I am beginning to wonder how much difference there is. They both list pretty much the same nutritional values and vitamins, in slightly varying quantities, however the grain free is far higher in protein. So there's no 'magic' additive in the puppy food that I can see, except a lot of maize.

The grain free I'm considering gives feeding guidelines for puppies and dogs of all ages and is very specific about dog weight and age vs quantity of food, which is very reassuring. However, the mass market puppy food he is currently on is incredibly vague, with feeding guidelines only listed at 3kg, then 10kg :confused2:, I've found this annoying and one of the reasons I'm less keen on it, why can't they give more specific feeding suggestions?

I'm going to move him over to the grain free at 5 months, I can't see why there's any reason not to. He's going to get all the nutrients and vitamins he's currently getting, less maize and filler, plus support of a well regarded pet food company who have a face and will answer your questions.


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