Food

[Russ and Judy Wallace]

We are getting a new pup in a few days and plan on mixing our puppy  food with her current food.

My question is at what age should we change her to a large breed puppy food?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Why you shouldn't change a puppy's food for at least two weeks after he comes home: (From the Food Group):

It's critical that you not change anything about her diet for at least two weeks after she comes home. That means you keep her on the food and treats the breeder is feeding, even if they aren't so great.

Do not introduce any new treats or chews either. Keep her diet exactly the same as it was at the breeder's. 

Many, many doodle puppies come home with giardia and other parasites. Giardia has a 10-14 day incubation period, so it won;t show up in a fecal test right away. The excitement and stress of leaving the mother, the litter, and the only home the puppy has ever known can contribute to tummy troubles, too. And an 8 week old puppy has only been eating solid food of any kind for about 4 weeks, so the digestive system is very immature.

We have even had members whose brand new puppies had serious health issues resulting in digestive symptoms.

If you change the food before the dog has had a chance to settle in, and before any parasite issues have time to show up in a fecal test, and the dog has diarrhea, you will not know if it's caused by the food change, stress, parasites, or a digestive illness, and the breeder will blame it on the food change. Thus begins a journey of frustration trying to figure it out and an endless round of food changes. You also don;t want to do anything to upset that delicate digestive system, as diarrhea can cause a young puppy to dehydrate very quickly, and is going to make housebreaking a whole lot tougher.

So you wait. If you leave the dog's diet exactly as is, and diarrhea develops, you have just eliminated any connection to food as the cause, and saved yourself a lot of aggravation. And of course, if the puppy comes home with diarrhea that doesn't resolve in a day, you know your breeder sent you a puppy with an intestinal parasite and you can probably recoup the cost of the fecal testing and the treatment, lol. (I personally would have fecal done on any new puppy I got, along with a general once-over at the vet's office, but parasites may not show up right away.)

So wait at least two weeks. If, after two weeks, the stool is firm and regular and everything seems fine with the pup's digestion, you can start changing her over. Make only one change at a time. 

Also, unless your doodle is expected to be more than 80 or 90 lbs ate maturity, you don't need a "large breed" formula. I know that the labels say they are for dogs over 50 lbs, but in reality, they are designed for giant breeds who take 18- 24 months to reach their full bone growth. The main difference between a regular formula and a large breed formula is that the latter is slightly lower in calories and fat. 

Any food from the Food Group's Recommended List would be fine...but not until at least two weeks have passed. 

[Chelsie]

I'm sure Karen will give you great advice as she is our food guru. I would not switch your puppy's food for 2 weeks after bringing her home. After 2 weeks if you wanted you can switch her food, but go slow! My experience was the slower the better! If your pup comes diwn with a case of giardia, and many of them do, you wouldn't really know if it was from the giardia or new food! Also, unless you puppy will be incredibly large there is no need for a large breed puppy formula. I forget what Karen would say about a specific size, but large breed dog/ puppy foods are not necessary for our "breed" think Great Dane, Irish Wolfhound, Bouvier, or Mastiffs!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Wow, I need to make you a co-administrator of TFG, Chelsie! Perfect advice, lol! 

[Chelsie]

Almost everything I know I learned from you and The Food Group!

[Jennifer and Jack]

I have a WWKD bracelet ... WHat WOuld Karen Do!!! LOL

[Tammie Ciesielka]

I hope you don't mind me asking a question on your question, but at what age would you guys recommend switching from puppy to adult food?  I've heard 1 year and I've heard 2 years.  Thank you!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Typically, you switch from puppy to adult food when the dog's skeletal growth is complete, which varies widely. The smaller the adult size, the earlier the bones finish growing. (Only the largest of the giant breeds, i.e. Great Danes and Irish Wolfhounds, complete their bone growth as late as two years old.) For our doodles, skeletal growth in the minis is usually complete between 6-8 months of age. For the standards, it's usually between 9-12 months. Very few doodles need to be on puppy food past their first birthdays, if that long.

Keep in mind that many foods are ALS (all life stages) formulas, which can be fed from puppyhood on; many dogs are never on formulas made specifically for puppies, and they do just fine. There is not all that much difference nutritionally between puppy and adult formulas anyway. The puppy formulas typically have slightly more calories and very minor differences in the mineral content. IMO, it's better to switch sooner than later. 

[Tammie Ciesielka]

Thank you Karen for the very helpful response.