When to change from puppy food to adult food??

[NickyT]

Is it 12 months? 

Charlie is 9 months old now and I'm not really sure he's enjoying the puppy food any more or whether it's just not enough for him...he is very slim(OH says he's got an athletic body) I'm not so sure myself tbh...he doesn't eat his meals as quickly as he used to and doesn't really seem interested in his mealtimes any more(he's more than happy to drool over our plates when we eat tho ). 

Would love to hear any suggestions, thanks guys 

[mark1]

I've always changed at 6 months with no problems.

[The Waltons]

Milo 8 months old & i was wondering the same as you, he seems less interested in his kibble lately , especially breakfast when i thought he would be the most hungry. I have been adding a small amount of wet food to his dried food but hes loosing interest in that now.........
i was going to wait till 12 months.

jo

[mooching]

My vet said she prefers them to wait till they're fully grown, which she reckoned for Alfie would be around 8-9 months. I changed him over at 8 months.

Could it be that your pups are just getting a bit fussier at that age, and wanting to see what else might be available if they turn up their noses at it?  That sounds like it might possibly be the case at least with Milo.

NickyT, what food is Charlie having and what quantity? (same question to The Waltons!)

[Sharon]

9-12 months for us, depending on how they are 'filling out' 

[The Waltons]

sorry nicky didnt mean to hijack your thread  
Mooching, thankyou, Milo has 100g kibble in the morning & the same at teatime, 100g seems to be his limit . i have been adding some wainwrights wet food , only about a quarter of the tray & mix it up, he did woof it down , but now he leaves some, but i did leave the food down longer today & its now gone, think your right he hoping for something else  

jo

[mooching]

jo, does Milo have anything else during the day, eg in the way of treats, including training treats? It's just that the recommended serving size on the dog food pack is if that's all they have, so if Milo is having anything else, it might just be that he's not growing as fast now and not as hungry.

Alfie is 9 months old now and weighs 13kg; he has about 60g of kibble twice a day, plus a small handful (about 20g) at bedtime. I also keep a pocketful of kibble for when we are out on a walk and he is off-lead, and he gets a piece of kibble every time he "checks in" with me, plus something higher value whenever we do a recall or are doing some training. Plus he gets a knotted fish skin, a veal stick or an ostrich tendon each day, and maybe a few bits of kibble in his Kong Wobbler for a bit of fun. With this combination, his weight is stable and he looks just right - even though he's probably only having 150-160g of actual kibble.

[Geordietyke]

I changed Odie over to adult at nearly 6 months old, simply because he'd never been suited to the 2 types of puppy food he'd had.  He's maintained a steady growth rate on his adult food.  I've been giving him 200g of kibble (over 2 meals) daily plus fish treats and he's now 13 months old.  TBH he sometimes doesn't even finish all his kibble so may even reduce this amount in time. 

[Petepreston]

Posie is almost 8 months old now and lately she's been leaving her kibble so we started adding a little gravy. This worked for a few days then she started ignoring that too. So I added some chopped hotdog or tuna. Of course these went down well for a few days and then she was leaving food again. The latest is fresh cooked chicken and a small cup of cooked rice in with the kibble. This disappears in one sitting.

She is still "athletic" build and seems to not put weight on. I've weighed her infrequently at the vet and her weight has been quite consistent so I'm not worried. We've seen younger dogs that were taller than her and older ones that were smaller (just) so we've given up worrying that she's not growing enough.

As for switching to adult food; she has Burn's mini bites but the petshop agreed that it might be time to start changing her onto the Junior version, especially as we are filling out her meals with fresh food.

One thing I did notice this weekend is that she never eats a whole bowl of food if we leave the room. She'll eat some then come looking for us. Then she returns and eats most of the rest. I think she's going through her teens and I'm waiting for her to announce that she's become a vegetarian.

[The Waltons]

hi yes ive been very careful with Milo regards treats & with 7 kiddies they could pass him alsorts  
He has some training treats when we go out & my daughter loves to teach him her agility course which he loves & not much else, a biscuit at bedtime.  Ive noticed in the morning he waits for his breakfast, gives it a sniff & then gets in his bed, but then gets up & wanders over to the bowl & eats, just that you exspect them to clear the bowl every time, his weight looks fine just me worrying hes had enough.
jo

[mooching]

Posie is almost 8 months old now and lately she's been leaving her kibble so we started adding a little gravy. This worked for a few days then she started ignoring that too. So I added some chopped hotdog or tuna. Of course these went down well for a few days and then she was leaving food again. The latest is fresh cooked chicken and a small cup of cooked rice in with the kibble. This disappears in one sitting.

Just to say that I would advise caution about doing this, because by continually offering little extras it could actually make her fussy. In other words she will keep leaving her food to see what you add next.

Also to say that a number of owners here have found that with Burns their dogs find it hard to keep weight on. Some others have found it ok though.

[The Waltons]

oh thats funny Pete, milo,s the same , he likes me near him when he eats or he will come looking for me , although he is getting better, funny little babies.
jo

[Petepreston]

The fussiness is something that we noticed and were a little concerned about, but we tried a meal or two of "boring" food and she ate less than half so we had to go back to the extras. There's no spare fat on her so weight loss would be a bad thing. She lost half a pound over a couple of days following her recent eye operation, so I'd rather err on the side of caution/generosity, especially given that she otherwise doesn't have any excess weight. Adding some nice fresh food isn't a hardship for us, and if anything it has calmed her down when we are eating at the table.

[mooching]

The fussiness is something that we noticed and were a little concerned about, but we tried a meal or two of "boring" food and she ate less than half so we had to go back to the extras.

It actually wouldn't have harmed her to only eat half her food.

There's no spare fat on her so weight loss would be a bad thing. She lost half a pound over a couple of days following her recent eye operation, so I'd rather err on the side of caution/generosity, especially given that she otherwise doesn't have any excess weight.

As I said, that could be the Burns. It's low on protein, compared to other premium foods. If you find that adding fresh food becomes inconvenient, or you find that she starts turning her nose up at even the fresh food that you give her, you may find she would benefit from changing to something else.

Have you considered Nature Diet at all? It's wet food, in packs, and is highly nutritious (and smells like food you've freshly prepared yourself). I don't know about in Scotland, but down here even ordinary pet shops stock it.

http://www.naturediet.co.uk/

I bought Alfie the salmon and prawn variety as a treat, and it really smelled rather good!

[Geordietyke]

TBH Odie has never eaten his meals straight away (he has kibble).  He'll munch a bit then follow me, then go back to it.  I usually remove it after 20 mins or so if uneaten so he has to wait for the next one.  Even then, unless it's a meat based meal (as opposed to kibble), when he'll not come up for breath , he usually leaves some of it in his bowl, so I'm thinking of reducing his daily intake to encourage him to finish it all.  He does enjoy Nature Diet and he gets one of those for his Sunday Dinner