Switching from puppy to adult food

[LarryL]

Hello everyone,

Oliver is almost one.
He is a tiny GD, and weighs about 25lbs

Curious about when we should consider moving him to adult food?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Generally, you stop the puppy food when they complete their skeletal growth, and with the smaller dogs like Oliver, that can be as early as 6 months. So it's definitely time for an adult formula.

[Malenie Piscetelli]

I started last week and Lucy will be a year old next week.

[LarryL]

Thanks guys,

And how would you recommend rotating flavors?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I wouldn't make more than one change at a time. You generally rotate formulas when you buy a new bag of food, so if you are switching to an adult formula, stick with that for at least a month. You can rotate to another formula after that. 

[LarryL]

Thanks, I'll probably do 2-3 bags of the adult before switching....but then it doesn't matter, just rotate to whatever?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

No, you stay within one line of food. Same brand, same line. The Acana Regionals would be an example. There are four formulas, all with similar nutritional profiles but with different protein sources. With a dog who is eating Orijen Adult formula, you could rotate to Orijen 6 Fish or Regional Red. Fromm's 4 Star line has a dozen different formulas to rotate. Same brand, same line, just different protein sources. 

[LarryL]

Thanks again Karen,

Yes - I would stay within orijen, but just wondering if there is a method to the madness - or if I could just switch up the orijen flavors one bag at a time randomly?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

One bag at a time randomly is fine. You have grain-free formulas with the same basic macronutrient percentages, approximately the same calorie content so the same feeding amounts, and the similar carbohydrate sources. Basically, the only difference is the animal protein sources. So it doesn't matter which one you feed or when. I would start with the Orijen Adult formula, since it's very much like his current puppy food. But after that, you can mix them around however you want; just don't introduce more than one new formula at a time.