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Puppy to Adult food

John Wood

John Wood

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Just want some advice on when it is best to change from puppy food to adult food , we are feeding him on Essentials food at the moment but we are thinking of changing brands because we want to try and firm up his poo (any recommendations ), so thought we would do it when we change over to adult food . On the packet it says 13 months is that about right ?
He is a 10 month old Cocker spaniel
 
I'd say when he has finished growing. The calcium and phosphorus ratios are different in puppy food to avoid spurts that his body can't keep up with so once he has reached his adult size, you are fine to change.

To firm up his poo, it depends what isn't agreeing with him. So if you are feeding a chicken based food, for example, maybe try a beef or lamb food.
 
We have a house full of Cocker Spaniels = 7. All of our girls live on a raw diet, most of the girls have been weaned straight onto a raw diet from a very young age starting at 2.5 weeks.

I would suggest "Millies Wolfheart", the "Millies Wolfheart", It covers all life stages which makes feeding youngsters very much easier.
I would suggest that the Millies Wolfheart lowest protein is used 40/60 "Forerunner" or "Alert" a choice of 2 flavours.
If you needed to graduate to a higher protein there are many choices but don't do it too quickly :rolleyes:
I always have a bag of "Millies Wolfheart" on standby. The dogs love the Millies, if I forget to get any meat out of the freezer I know that I can give them all a full meal of Millies without any tummy upsets and no slow introduction.
Poos remain as firm as the raw food and I do not notice any difference.
Try this link.
WELCOME TO MILLIES WOLFHEART
 
excuseme said:
We have a house full of Cocker Spaniels = 7. All of our girls live on a raw diet, most of the girls have been weaned straight onto a raw diet from a very young age starting at 2.5 weeks.

I would suggest "Millies Wolfheart", the "Millies Wolfheart", It covers all life stages which makes feeding youngsters very much easier.
I would suggest that the Millies Wolfheart lowest protein is used 40/60 "Forerunner" or "Alert" a choice of 2 flavours.
If you needed to graduate to a higher protein there are many choices but don't do it too quickly :rolleyes:
I always have a bag of "Millies Wolfheart" on standby. The dogs love the Millies, if I forget to get any meat out of the freezer I know that I can give them all a full meal of Millies without any tummy upsets and no slow introduction.
Poos remain as firm as the raw food and I do not notice any difference.
Try this link.
WELCOME TO MILLIES WOLFHEART
Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply .
I have thought about raw feeding before but feel it’s quite fussy do you buy the raw food ready made in packets or do you buy your own meat and portion it up yourself ? I wouldn’t know where to start with raw feeding.
I hear some give them chicken wings (uncooked) but i would be worried he will choke on them . I suppose I kind of feel out of my depth when it comes to raw feeding .
 
Some raw is better than none. You can buy "Complete" raw foods. If you can vary what you are using this will balance itself over a period of a few weeks. It is not essential to feed "completely balanced" meals every day
I buy raw online, or get products from our game keeper and a stalker friend too. We are also sometimes lucky enough to pick up a freshly road killed deer that I am quiet happy to butcher myself. (These are our luxury products ) BUT NOT EVERYONE'S CUP OF TEA :eek::rolleyes:
Our dogs are just as likely to choke on dry kibble as they are on a chicken wing.
There are plenty of us here that will be able to help you with raw feeding should you be tempted.
My favourite little book that I love to suggest " Honeys Natural raw feeding handbook"
Very good condition used books can be purchased on Ebay and Amazon.
 
The book can also be downloaded free from their website too.

If you are worried about choking on chicken wings, what I do is hold the wing and let my dog crunch on it, but he isn't the sort of dog that would grab it from my hand or misjudge and get my fingers. Or you could cut one up into pieces.
 
Use puppy food a few times,,but used adult food,,never had a problem..Our greyhound is 8 months old,,fed on adult food from 2 months old.
 
Feeding raw is easy, there is always someone who will make you feel uncomfortable about raw :rolleyes:. It is not difficult to do, the little book I have mentioned will help you understand.
How often do we make sure that our meals are balanced every day, do you know what a balanced diet for a human would entail ? Sure not, we must assume that our food balances itself over a period of time as with our dogs.

Don't worry yourself too much, provide a nice mixture of products ( various meats, offal, gristle, fat and bones) to eat. This should balance your dogs food over a few weeks.

Fruit and veg can be included and leftover healthy human scraps too.

..
 
excuseme said:
Feeding raw is easy, there is always someone who will make you feel uncomfortable about raw :rolleyes:. It is not difficult to do, the little book I have mentioned will help you understand.
How often do we make sure that our meals are balanced every day, do you know what a balanced diet for a human would entail ? Sure not, we must assume that our food balances itself over a period of time as with our dogs.

Don't worry yourself too much, provide a nice mixture of products ( various meats, offal, gristle, fat and bones) to eat. This should balance your dogs food over a few weeks.

Fruit and veg can be included and leftover healthy human scraps too.

..
Click to expand...
 
Excuse me for being naive but what sort of quantity would I give raw compared to kibble as it tells me how much to give on the packet ?
I know a lot of people feed raw and it’s something I’m keen to try but just feel overwhelmed by what to do .
 
When I had a GSD I know the local butcher and he used to save me all the cut offs which he used to throw away,,half a carrier bag every week for £2 (on a Thursday)lots of meat still on the bones,,even the cat had some,, sadly he is not there now .
 
John Wood said:
Excuse me for being naive but what sort of quantity would I give raw compared to kibble as it tells me how much to give on the packet ?
I know a lot of people feed raw and it’s something I’m keen to try but just feel overwhelmed by what to do .
Click to expand...

Have you read the info here?: Raw feeding

On a raw diet, you should feed between 2% and 3% of your dog's bodyweight in meat a day. If it would help, let us know what weight your dog is and we can do the sums - though many raw feeders simply feed by eye, the same as we do for human meals.
 
@Ross J
I also use our butchers off cuts and unwanted waste. Our butches have to pay for this service to be taken away, and I think they pay by weight, but I may be completely wrong here. Our butcher does not charge anything. However I do take whatever is in his bin and I sort it through myself when I get it home, sometimes a load of fat or bones, pig skin.
What I can't use gets securely and discretely wrapped and put in our household waste bin or take it to our local council tip with other rubbish.
 
JudyN said:
Have you read the info here?: Raw feeding

On a raw diet, you should feed between 2% and 3% of your dog's bodyweight in meat a day. If it would help, let us know what weight your dog is and we can do the sums - though many raw feeders simply feed by eye, the same as we do for human meals.
Click to expand...

I haven’t read the info on raw feeding but I will .
I have just calculated 3% of 14kg = 420 grams would you be so kind to check to make sure I’m right ? Please
 
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