# Puppy food vs All life stages



## texaspoodlelover (Jul 25, 2014)

I was just wanting you guys opinions. My Puppy is on Merrick Grain free Puppy recipe and my grown girls are on I and Love and you Grain free red meat medley. everyone is really happy on there own food and all are doing great on them. I was wondering seeing how my puppy is almost out of food if I should try to transition him to the same food as the girls seeing how its grain free and for all life stages and I think he would do well on it and it would be less expensive for me or just keep him on his puppy formula until he is like 18 months for maximal joint growth and health.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Merrick is one of the highest rated kibbles. Was that what the breeder was feeding? If he likes it, I would continue to use it. If my SPOO puppy liked his breeder's kibble, I would throw a party, so my perspective could be way off.


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

I'll be interested in the responses you get. I searched a lot about this topic on PF and elsewhere. I had started Dulcie on Merricks puppy too (after she rejected Blue buffalo which was my first choice, but she just didn't seem to like it much). While I was feeding that to her those first couple of weeks, I began to read a bit about varying opinions about feeding puppy food to standards and other larger breeds. Apparently, it isn't always necessary or desirable to do so with larger dogs due to the possibility of excessive long bone growth and subsequent issues with joints etc. I read in many places (including here) that some people and vets recommend going with a high quality all life stages food. After Dulcie finished the puppy formula bag, I switched her to Nature's Variety Instinct, grain free, all life stages. She loves it - there is a wide variety of flavors including canned and frozen raw, which are formulated to allow rotation feeding and variety (something I really like). Dulcie is doing very well on this food and the vet says she is growing at an appropriate rate so I think I will continue with this feeding plan.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

More important than puppy vs all life stages is the calcium content. Some puppy foods are inappropriate for growing medium to large breed dogs and so are some All Life Stages foods. As an example, the calcium in instinct is IMO excessively high and I would personally not feed it to a standard poodle puppy.


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## texaspoodlelover (Jul 25, 2014)

Mfmst said:


> Merrick is one of the highest rated kibbles. Was that what the breeder was feeding? If he likes it, I would continue to use it. If my SPOO puppy liked his breeder's kibble, I would throw a party, so my perspective could be way off.


No the breeder was feeding taste of the wild but I have been a fan of Merrick for years my girls were on it but I got a free bag of I and love and you and they loved it so I kept it for them since it is a five star dog food by dogfoodadvisor.com ... Not to mention I'm all about supporting my TEXAS companies.:amen: lol


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## spindledreams (Aug 7, 2012)

Didn't realize that Merricks made a grain free puppy food. My kids are on their grain free all life stages and the younger dogs have been on it since I picked them up as puppies... My understanding is that all life stages is just as healthy for them. In fact some large dog breeders recommend all life stages for their puppies over the special puppy foods.


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## texaspoodlelover (Jul 25, 2014)

spindledreams said:


> Didn't realize that Merricks made a grain free puppy food. My kids are on their grain free all life stages and the younger dogs have been on it since I picked them up as puppies... My understanding is that all life stages is just as healthy for them. In fact some large dog breeders recommend all life stages for their puppies over the special puppy foods.


I can't wait to see how he grows


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## Bizzeemamanj (Apr 14, 2014)

Cooper (24 week old mini) is on an all stages food as well. We also feed grain free - Nature's Variety Instinct Rawboost Kibble mixed with NV Instinct canned food. He was eating 3 times a day, but he's down to twice a day, a bit more at each meal. He loves it. We switch up the main ingredient (rabbit, venison, chicken, lamb, duck etc.) and he has liked all of them so far, except for beef. Natures Variety was the brand my breeder recommended if I chose not to do a homemade raw diet. This seemed like a good compromise as I wasn't comfortable with the strictly raw diet especially since I wanted the kids to be involved in feeding Cooper.


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## JudyD (Feb 3, 2013)

I switched from a raw diet to kibble when we got Blue. The big dogs were thriving on it, but I didn't trust myself to get the balance right for a pup. I started with Victor grain free all life stages, but the dogs had very soft stools, which were difficult to clean up. After three bags of that, I fed two or three bags of the Merrick grain free all life stages kibble. All three dogs liked it, but it was $60 for a 30 pound bag at Tractor Supply, so I switched to TOTW for the big dogs and TOTW puppy for Blue. Neither of the poodles seem to like TOTW very much. Fortunately I found Merrick at a feed store for $47, so now I'm in the process of switching back. Once Blue is an adult, I'll probably go back to raw.


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## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

ALS is puppy food. ALS has to support all life stages so it is, essentially, puppy food.


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## Poodlerunner (Jul 4, 2014)

The only puppy food I am feeding is Orajen Large Breed Puppy kibble and I only use that for treats and toys that you stuff. The rest is all life stages. I've stocked up on Stella and Cheweys frozen and freeze dried and Primal frozen raw. Also, Ziwi Peak and various small bags of things like hearts, bison bits and fish skins for treats. Except for the kibble, everything is all life stages but you have to figure out the amount to feed per meal by the puppy's age and weight. I change up her menu and she is doing good... her stools are small and tidy  

pr


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Shamrockmommy said:


> ALS is puppy food. ALS has to support all life stages so it is, essentially, puppy food.


Exactly! . 

Growth is the life stage that demands the most so an All Life Stages food has to be formulated to meet these demands. That's why we really need to look at the panel and choose based on that instead of how the food is marketed. For a growing medium to large breed puppy, the ideal calciumhosphorus ratio is 1:1. You also want to limit total calcium in the diet. I've seen some ALS with crazy amounts of calcium! (For example - one of the Instinct varieties is almost 2.7! )


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## Poodlerunner (Jul 4, 2014)

CharismaticMillie said:


> Exactly! .
> 
> Growth is the life stage that demands the most so an All Life Stages food has to be formulated to meet these demands. That's why we really need to look at the panel and choose based on that instead of how the food is marketed. For a growing medium to large breed puppy, the ideal calciumhosphorus ratio is 1:1. You also want to limit total calcium in the diet. I've seen some ALS with crazy amounts of calcium! (For example - one of the Instinct varieties is almost 2.7! )


I checked the Primal Nuggets that I've been feeding and the Ca - P ration is 1.47 - 1 so, should I be concerned about that?

Thanks so much for this helpful info.

pr


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Thanks for that tip, CM! I went online and checked all the nutrient formulas in the ALS food I'm feeding Dulcie (Instinct) and will avoid the ones with the higher calcium. Most do seem to be in the range you suggested, thankfully, and the ratios of calcium to phosphorus seem decent in several of the varieties. 

When the puppies reach adulthood, does the calcium requirement change?


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