# When to change to adult food



## poodlelover (Oct 19, 2008)

Hi, I have a 6 month old standard poodle. I have been feeding him puppy food. When did you change to adult food? I have heard to change after 6 months or 1 year. I have a different food for my other 2 spoos and it is for all ages, I was thinking of feeding him this food. What do you all think?


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

poodlelover said:


> Hi, I have a 6 month old standard poodle. I have been feeding him puppy food. When did you change to adult food? I have heard to change after 6 months or 1 year. I have a different food for my other 2 spoos and it is for all ages, I was thinking of feeding him this food. What do you all think?


If it were me, I would go ahead and switch to the All Life Stages food. Just make sure that the calcium/phosporus ratio is not totally wack. I'm not sure what it should be (as I am a raw feeder) but I do know that puppy foods and ALS (All Life Stages) foods, especially those that are grain free, can have a bad ratio. I'd google it!

Also, regular puppy food should never be fed to a standard poodle because it can cause them to grow too quickly. Some large breed puppy foods have lower calc/phos. ratios allowing them to slow poodle growth. Although, most adult formulas have a similar ratio. Like I said, you just have to watch out for those grain free ALS' calc/phos ratios.


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## rikkia (Nov 5, 2011)

Poppy was put onto Symply Adult at 11 months, I would have liked to change at 12+ months but there was a mix up in the order and I got adult a month earlier than planned.

I am however very interested in the responses to this so thanks for asking poodlelover!


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

I've never fed puppy food, I've always fed all life stages food.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

I am planning to make the switch at 12 months. Standard poodles continue to grow up to a year and then slowly fill out for the next 6-12 months. I have been happy with Blue Buffalo puppy food and Wellness canned supplemented with a little raw and meaty bones and select table scraps. I did not use the large breed one because she is a smaller standard. She is a good weight on it. 

I have started thinking about what I want to use. I thought I could use the same food for both my dogs, but I put my whippet on a weight control diet a few months ago. He was getting chubby as he hit 5 years old. He looks and feels much better after losing some pounds (I can finally see his last rib), but his food isn't high calorie enough for my poodle. I will feed her something different and haven't decided what that will be yet. I may just go to the adult Blue Buffalo, but I have to research it more.


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## poodlelover (Oct 19, 2008)

Thanks, I might try the All Stages Food. It would be easier to feed all three the same food, but I want to do what is best for Oasis. I will ask my vet when I go there. Thanks again.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

outwest said:


> I am planning to make the switch at 12 months. Standard poodles continue to grow up to a year and then slowly fill out for the next 6-12 months. I have been happy with Blue Buffalo puppy food and Wellness canned supplemented with a little raw and meaty bones and select table scraps. I did not use the large breed one because she is a smaller standard. She is a good weight on it.
> 
> I have started thinking about what I want to use. I thought I could use the same food for both my dogs, but I put my whippet on a weight control diet a few months ago. He was getting chubby as he hit 5 years old. He looks and feels much better after losing some pounds (I can finally see his last rib), but his food isn't high calorie enough for my poodle. I will feed her something different and haven't decided what that will be yet. I may just go to the adult Blue Buffalo, but I have to research it more.


How old is she? It is really important to consider not feed a regular puppy food/growth formula to a standard poodle, even one of Bonnie's size. Growing too fast = less strong bones and developmental problems. You want Bonnie to grow as. slow. as. possible. She will reach her ultimate size regardless. The key is for this to happen as slowly as possible.


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## cookieface (Jul 5, 2011)

Great question. My Katie turns 6 months on Thursday. Right now she's on a mix of two different puppy foods and one adult food. I'm planning to transition her to TOTW ALS over the next week or so.

I just read that TOTW is manufacturing a puppy food now, but the formulation of their adult food hasn't changed. Sounds like a marketing move and that their adult food will still be ALS suitable. Does anyone know if that is not the case?


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

ChocolateMillie said:


> How old is she? It is really important to consider not feed a regular puppy food/growth formula to a standard poodle, even one of Bonnie's size. Growing too fast = less strong bones and developmental problems. You want Bonnie to grow as. slow. as. possible. She will reach her ultimate size regardless. The key is for this to happen as slowly as possible.


Bonnie is almost 10 months old and hasn't grown much in the last couple months (maybe a quarter of an inch?). She is about 21.5 inches tall. She is showing no signs of going into heat, so I think I have a few more months of growth. She is about the size of a boxer, a nice medium size dog. You wouldn't feed that size dog a large dog formula.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

outwest said:


> Bonnie is almost 10 months old and hasn't grown much in the last couple months (maybe a quarter of an inch?). She is about 21.5 inches tall. She is showing no signs of going into heat, so I think I have a few more months of growth. She is about the size of a boxer, a nice medium size dog. You wouldn't feed that size dog a large dog formula.


Agreed, but a puppy formula of any kind that speeds up growth is inappropriate for a medium size dog. Adult food (with proper calc/phos ratios) slows growth compared to a puppy formula. This is a good thing and promotes proper development. Your dog needs a good foundation to live a long, healthy life.

To help put things in perspective, in the wild young dog (very young) would eat a pre-swallowed, partially pre-digested diet as their mom regurgitates them. This means they would actually not have the abundance of nutrients that puppy formulas have which force our dogs, medium sized included, to grow inappropriately fast and suffer from health issues due to improperly formed bones. This is why, even for a medium size dog, a growth puppy formula is not recommended. 

When we feed puppy food (growth formulas), we are forcing our dogs to grow faster than they should. This is not appropriate, IMO, for ANY dog, except perhaps very small dogs.


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