Avoid feeding puppies with adult dog food

A puppy will reach 80 per cent of its expected adult size by the time it is between 10 and12 months-old, when it is provided with the right age-specific nutrition within the first 18 months of its life.

The first few months of your puppy’s life is when it goes through many changes, such as bone and joint development, brain growth, muscle development, internal organ growth and immune system development.

To meet these requirements, a puppy has to be fed with food that is formulated to include at least 25 per cent protein and 17 per cent fat concentration. In addition, food should contain vitamins and minerals, such as calcium, phosphorus and zinc.

On the other hand, an adult dog food should contain at least 18 per cent protein and 9 to 15 per cent fat concentration. Athletic dogs and dogs that are lactating (producing milk) should be fed a diet that contains at least 28 per cent protein and 17 per cent fat concentration.

Now, one major challenge experienced by quite a number of pet owners that I have interacted with is the inability to know when to switch from puppy to adult food formula. This is because most of the foreign breeds of dogs that are common today usually reach approximately 80 per cent of their expected adult size by the time they are 10 to 12 months old.

A dog attains complete sexual maturity at 18 months, irrespective of its physical and intimidating size. And switching too early from puppy to adult formula can make a dog to develop at a much slower pace than it did when on puppy food.

Please note that till it is 18 months-old, your dog’s body will continue to grow. The cells are still dividing rapidly and internal organs are becoming more mature. You are advised to feed your dog with the puppy formulation for 12 to 18 months because the puppy food formula contains more proteins.

But, in some exceptional cases, such as in pregnancy, lactation or recovery from illness, adult dogs can thrive on puppy formulas because of the higher concentration of protein, fats and other nutrients. However, as soon as the time is right, such adults should be fed with adult dog food.

If you who own dogs that are of different age categories, you need to ensure that each of them is fed according to its age-specific nutritional requirement. For example, if you have three adults and one puppy, ensure that the puppy is fed with a puppy formula while the adults are fed with the adult formula.

Avoid feeding puppies with adult dog food because puppies are at risk of nutritional deficiencies if they eat a diet formulated for adults. And nutritional deficiency may result in stunted growth.

The first 18 months of a dog’s life should be taken very seriously, with regard to proper feeding and routine health care procedures.

Just like young children, a puppy’s immune system is just developing and may not be fully capable of fighting quite a number of diseases. Feeding, genetics, and presence or absence of illness is some key factors that affect the growth of your dog.

Please ensure that vaccination records are up to date and the right food formula is provided. If you choose to provide homemade, ensure that your puppy’s protein source is at least 25 per cent of the diet. Good sources of animal proteins include meat, milk, eggs and fish. Some clients ask what about beans?

The reality is that from DNA studies, we know dogs evolved directly from wolves somewhere around 15,000 years ago and wolves are carnivores (an animal that feeds on flesh). Simply by looking at a dog’s set of teeth, you will realise that it is structured and well developed for tearing meat. After thousands of years in domestication, dogs have begun to share our food with us. but the reality is that dogs thrive better on animal protein.

My stand on the argument over which kind of protein, animal or plant, is superior for dogs, is based on several years of studies on dogs and interaction with pet owners. However, this is a highly debated topic, especially with the emergence of vegetarian dog food formulas in the market.

A vegetarian dog food is formulated with plant sources. This implies that the protein source is not of animal origin. Such foods do not contain meat, fish, chicken or any other animal products. Instead, beans and other plant proteins are used to formulate such food. It is also ‘interesting’ to note that a very good number of the people who feed their dogs with these formulas are the ‘vegetarians’.

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