Switching to Orijen puppy or adult?

[Andrea, Belle and Honey]

Belle was eating Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul puppy food at the breeder's, and I have continued with this ever since.  Her parents were 16 and 23 pounds. She is now 7 months old, between 13.5 and 14.5" from paw to shoulder (she isn't happy with the measuring tape), and weighs 13.8 pounds. I took her to the vet's office last week just to be weighed, and the vet happened to be near the scale, so I asked her if Belle should be gaining more weight for her size.  The vet felt her under all the hair and said Belle seems to be the right weight for her current body structure. She makes well formed but not really hard poops 3 times a day. Originally I fed her 3 times a day, but now am feeding her 3/4 cup of kibble twice a day (with some reserved for training treats), with the addition of a teaspoon of plain yogurt several times a week. For training in addition to the reserved kibble I use freeze dried chicken, Cloud Star liver treats (broken into smaller pieces) and for high value treats, small bits of chemical-free chicken hot dogs. For chewing, she has elk antlers, and gets several frozen baby carrots and 2  6" bully sticks each week. At bedtime she has one small Mother Hubbard cookie. Since the beginning, she has rarely finished all of her kibble for the day, which is why I haven't increased the amount, although I worry that she should be growing more.  I am thinking of switching her to Orijen but am not certain if she should remain on puppy food or switch to adult food.  Any comments or suggestions would be welcome. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Given the size of her parents, I'd venture to say that Belle is pretty much finished with her skeletal growth. She will continue to gain some weight in the form of lean muscle and bone mass, but she isn't going to get much taller or longer. So I'd switch to the adult Orijen. Then you won't have to make another switch in a few months. 

I think you'll be very happy with this switch. For one thing, the Orijen adult formula has 128 more calories per cup than her current food. Yes, you read that right. The Chicken Soup food is pretty low in calories, especially for a puppy food. One and a quarter cup of the Orijen contains more calories than the one and a half cups of Chicken Soup that you're currently feeding per day. So she won't need to eat as much to get the same amount of calories, which is good news for those of us whose dogs don't clean their bowls at mealtimes. And you should see an improvement in the firmness of her stool as well. I also think she will like the Orijen better. 

Expect an adjustment period; some dogs can be gassy for 3-4 weeks after switching from a food with grains to Orijen.  

[Andrea, Belle and Honey]

Thanks so much Karen.  I'm going to buy some Orijen Adult tomorrow and start transitioning Belle.  By the way, I appreciate all your advice on DK -  my little "honorary doodle" terrier eats tiny amounts of Royal Canin HP, and last week the vet had only large bags of the small breed kibble.  Due to your sage advice, I knew to freeze all but a little bit of it, otherwise I might have unwittingly caused Honey a flare with stale kibble. So thank you, thank you from us both.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

:) Glad to help.