When to make the switch?

[tanza]

I only use puppy food till about 8 wks (or when the bag runs out….) I find no need for puppy food if you are feeding a good quality food.

However, always good to talk to your puppy's breeder

[Athena]

Ok thanks. I'll make a call.

[YodelDogs]

I agree with Pat that the best person to ask is your breeder. As for myself, I normally switch to adult food somewhere between 4-6 months.

[khanis]

All dogs are different.
My dogs are quite lean.
I feed everyone puppy…my dogs range in age from 11 weeks to 8+ years...
and the 8 year old is the wispiest one there is!!

Check with your breeder... they might tell you something different than everyone here.

[DebraDownSouth]

I feed large breed dogs puppy food til 4 mos. I switched Cara and the other basenjis at 7 to 9 mos. University vet schools research says 6 to 9 mos for most, but a year for tiny breeds (which basenjis are not lol).

[dmey]

I fed Ayo puppy food until he was about one, because he was a picky eater and now he gets adult small breed food! I only get eukanuba here, no premium organic brands or anything!

[nomrbddgs]

I agree with Kathy. Some lines run lean. I have a line that does run lean, and he is still on puppy food. He is also very picky, so it's always a challenge to keep him eating. But he is on puppy food at over a year. His mother only filled out a bit more after she had the pups last year. Her sister, that has not had a litter, is still very skinny and so are the other boys.

My other line, usually around four to six months I change them over. The quality of the food, is, IMO, generally what I look at. A good quality food is just as good as puppy food, without the extra fat in it. The food they make now isn't like the food of 20 years ago.

It is best to ask the breeder, simply because they know the line and how they grow.

[Shaye's Mom]

We fed Shaye puppy food until 6 months, started mixing it then, and when she was 9 months, we got Gemma, who was already 16 months, so we switched to entirely adult food. Fortunately, they were both on Blue Buffalo at the time - since then we've had to change because they hated the little hard things in Blue Buffalo, and it appears most of the really good nutrition was in them. Now they are on Nutro - they love it and it seems to be easy on their systems.

[dmey]

Is Nutro considered a better quality brand than Eukanuba? I think I can get Nutro here…

[maquignon]

Nutro and Eukanuba are about of equal low quality, but at least Eukanuba doesn't have menadione, so if those are your only choices, I would choose Eukanuba. Good foods for about the same price are Blue Buffalo, Wellness, Castor & Pollux, Merrick, Taste of the Wild, Canidae, Solid Gold and Pinnacle.

[DebraDownSouth]

dmey a good place to check is the dog food comparison chart. These are the top ones on whole dog journal:
Anamaet Petfoods
Artemis
Back T Basics
Bench & Field
Blue Buffalo,
Blue Seal
Breeders Choice
Burns Pet Health
Canidae
Canine Caviar
Castor & Pollux
Champion Petfoods
Della Natura Commadities
Diamond Pet (Chicken Soup, Premium Edge, Professional Et & Taste Of The Wild)
Natural Balance
Dogswell Llc
Dr G's Pet Food
Dr. Tims Pet Food
Drs Foster & Smith
Earthborn Holistic
Evangers
Fromm
Horizon Ept
Laughing Dog
Lincoln Biotech
Lotus Natural
Merrick
Mulligans Stew
Natura (Calif Natural, Healthwise, Innova, Evo & Karma)
Natures Variety (Instinct & Prairie)
Ominpro Pet
Perfect Health Diet Products
Pet Chef Express
Petcurean Pet Nutrition
Pet Valu
Precise Pet
Smartpak Canine
Solid Gold Health
Tuffys Pet Foods
Verus Pet Food
Wellpet

[LindaH]

I'm surprised Orijen isn't on that list!