OK for puppy to eat adult food for a couple of weeks?

[Jenny Barnes]

I am a new member and am the human of a 21 week old medium GD named Sulley.  He is my first GD and I am so in love with him,  He weighs 21 pounds at last check.

I got him from the breeder when he was 8 weeks and at that time he was on Iams puppy.  I slowly changed him over to Wellness SuperPuppy Mix by the time he was 10 weeks.  He did well on that until about 2 weeks ago and then he began turning his nose up at it.  I added some FF plain Greek yogurt and he did better.  He is gaining well, his poop ok and he's very active and smart.

Here is my issue right now.  He will be attending puppy day care during the day and boarding at night for a week at the end of the month while we take vacation. The facility feeds Science Diet Sensitive stomach food 3 times a day.  I was wondering about Sulley.  Since he is so picky about the Wellness and have to add the yogurt, I just don't think the technicians will take time to fool with it. 

Would it hurt to switch him temporarily to the SD?  After we return, I would slowly wean him off that and am thinking about trying him on something else besides the Wellness.

Thanks for any suggestions.  I will try to figure out how to post some picture of my sweet little man.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sulley is adorable.

If you are currently feeding him three times a day, that may be one reason he is less interested in his food. At this age, a lot of puppies are switched to two feedings a day, and sometimes, lack of interest in eating is a sign that it's time for that. 

I strongly agree with Joan that this is not a good time to change foods. And again, there's no reason to believe that he will like the Science Diet, anyway. 

I also agree that many dogs lose their appetite anyway when they are in a boarding situation, especially the first time around when they don't know that you are going to come back for them. So whatever he was fed, he might not want it. A food that's familiar to him is your best bet. 

[Jenny Barnes]

Thank you!

The reason I feed him three times still is he will throw up if he eats too much in one sitting.  Luckily, I am retired and can do this.  I also have to give him a small amount at bedtime to prevent dry heaving in the mornings.  I hope he outgrows this!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That makes sense.

A lot of us still feed our adult dogs a small snack in the evening to prevent vomiting bile first thing in the a.m. it's pretty common. He may not outgrow that, but he'll be able to eat more food at one meal and you'll be able to switch to two main meals per day + a bedtime snack. 

[Gwyndolyn Morasko]

My experience with boarders, vets, and day cares have all been extremely positive.  Every tech I've ever met is there because they love dogs and they love to do what's right for the dog, including following your instructions, including the yogurt.  My puppies have been boarded at 3 different places and I've checked out 5 total. All of them have refrigerators for special needs food and medicine and they are always happy to follow instructions.  The only fluctuation from home might be at the exact time of day that they get their meals, but they always get exactly what I bring and label for them.  If your boarder doesn't have those basic things (fridge and willingness to give special diet), then you might want to find one that does.  (They also like that they are saving money by not feeding my dogs their food even though it's included in the cost)

[Jenny Barnes]

Thanks, everyone.  I will provide his Wellness and yogurt and be confident that he will be well cared for!  I think I'm just being nervous about leaving him the first time!  I am boarding him at his vet's office.  Sulley will go to "Bark and Play" during the day and hopefully will crash from tiredness at night in his kennel!  "Bark and Play" has a trainer that supervises and has a doggy pool (shaped like a bone) and plenty of room to run and play in the shade.  He loves being around other dogs and loves people!  He will have fun.  I will miss him though!