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02-13-2014, 02:29 PM | #1 |
YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: MN, USA
Posts: 780
| Is 3% a lot of difference if food? My friend was just scolded by her vet for switching her new Yorkie puppy to the same food as her almost 2 year old Yorkie eats. I told her to check the ingredients and she discovered that there is a 3% difference- 3% more whatevers in the puppy formula versus the adult formula (same brand, just puppy and adult formulas.) So the question is, how much difference does that 3% make? Is it worth it to keep the puppy on the puppy formula for that extra 3% or not? I'm not sure what brand she is feeding, by the way, but I do know that it is a 5 star food, if that makes a difference in your answer.
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02-13-2014, 02:56 PM | #2 |
Don't Litter Spay&Neuter Donating Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: So Cal
Posts: 9,874
| Puppies need more calcium & protein/fat for growth & maintenance. If it's an All Life Stages (ALS), it should be fine. If it's not, it's not specially formulated for puppies. How ALS works is that puppies just eat more & adults get less. If the other food is 3% less than the puppy formula, then the puppy needs to be eating 3% more of that food than the puppy food.
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02-13-2014, 03:25 PM | #3 |
Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Garner, NC
Posts: 1,485
| For me it would depend...I switched Toki to an all life stages food that you can feed to both puppies and adults when she was 7 months old but the formulas had similar protein/fat levels so I was comfortable switching her from a "puppy" food knowing that she would still get adequate nutrients. I'm kind of surprised your friend's vet scolded her about the food choice if her puppy was otherwise healthy. I guess I could see there being more of an issue if the puppy was a large breed and required very specific Ca/P ratio. Dog Food FAQs: Protein They've listed the protein/fat requirements for various dog ages and activities. There is quite a large range for puppies. Most commercial puppy foods seem to have around 27/28% protein and 16-18% fat ( some are even higher in protein like BB Wilderness or Wellness Core for puppies with 36%) so those are the levels I'd try to stick with. It's very possible that your friend could be feeding an all life stages food to her older dog that would work for the puppy as well. Teddy came to me when he was 10 months and he was on Natural Balance Organics (and had been since he was much younger) which is 22%/13%...I felt like that was waaaaay too low in protein and fat...he was so underweight and had a terrible coat and benefited immensely when I switched his food...I don't think any type of permanent damage occurred from his previous owners feeding him such a low protein/fat food as a puppy but it was not optimal as evidenced by his poor body condition. Anyway, just my personal experiences with my pups and feeding them different foods. |
02-13-2014, 03:50 PM | #4 |
Don't Litter Spay&Neuter Donating Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: So Cal
Posts: 9,874
| How old is your friend's new puupy? If it's only a couple months old, I would stick to food formulated for puppies. Here's a link w/AAFCO chart: dog nutrition - puppy vs adult dog food, pros and cons.
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02-13-2014, 05:07 PM | #5 |
Donating YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Mesquite, TX
Posts: 2,659
| 3% to a 20 pound puppy probably isn't much difference, but 3% to a 1 1/2 pound dog is a huge difference. It would be like feeding your 12 year old child baby formula, or your 6 month old baby a steak and baked potato. There's a reason puppies get puppy food. My female is still eating puppy food after giving birth 7 weeks ago, and even my makes sneak into the puppy dish. Of course, I've caught the puppies in the adult food too, but I won't let them eat it all the time
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02-13-2014, 09:32 PM | #6 |
And Rylee Finnegan Donating Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Metro Detroit, MI
Posts: 17,928
| The vet is correct. Protein and fat aren't the only things to consider. Puppies (excluding large breed) should eat regular puppy food or all life stages. Adults should eat adult food, if possible. They can do ok on ALS though.
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