when to stop puppyfood?

[Michael Corby]

Master Flattie is about to have his first birthday. When should we stop feeding him the extra-fat, extra-protein puppy-food, and giving him calcium supplements? Given that he will not stop being a puppy in Flattie terms, do we just keep on with the calcium? Or at 12 months, should the food and supplement change to the adult ration?

Thanks,
Mike.

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[num...@aol.com]

We fed Gypsy a brand here called Chicken Soup for 2 years. The first 4 ingredients were meat, so it was considered high(er) protein. The vet said after two years they don't require as much protein (unless pregnant) so it was time to give the kidneys a break. Currently both Gypsy and Stella eat Nutro Chicken with Oatmeal and Rice. Here is an interesting site where you may actually compare MANY different foods:

 

 http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=home-tab

 

You will probably get a number of opinions with this question.

By the way, tell the young master HAPPY BIRTHDAY from all of us in sunny Florida :)

Bruce

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[Shirley Thistlethwaite]

I would recommend stopping the puppy food (assuming you are talking here about a "complete" kibble) and switch to an adult formula.  Calcium supplementation to kibble is contraindicated as the kibble already has extra calcium.  Too much calcium is known to lead to skeletal disorders.  More info here:  http://eiderdown.flatcoatsonline.com/linkpage.html

Happy First Birthday!

 

Shirley

[Shirley Thistlethwaite]

My apologies.  The link I meant to paste was this one:

http://www.msu.edu/~silvar/hips.htm

[Oakwo...@aol.com]

 I feed puppy food to the pups from 3 weeks to about 9-12 weeks and none after that (least with the pup(s) I keep). I started this with my first litter in the early 90's-I was told by a vet student that current studies (in the early 90's) indicated there was no need for it, and would give a pup TOO much of a 'good thing' and could cause structural problems-usually by the bones growing faster than the surrounding tissue-resulting in orthopedic problems, from mild to severe. And the pups get all the nutrients they need from adult food--they eat a LOT more food/body weight than adults do.  The pups I have kept have all grown up healthy/happy and without problems.

 

Diane Constable
www.oakwoodfcr.com
Click here: Flickr: Photos from oakwood
"I will make a palace fit for you and me
of green days in forest and blue days at seas."
-Robert Louis Stevenson

[J Pav]

I follow a similar approach to Diane with my guys, feeding pups until about 16 weeks (depending on how quickly they are growing).  I was told a very similar thing as you by a veterinary orthopedic specialist in 2000.  They get too much from pup food.

 

Jen

Oakwo...@aol.com wrote:

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[Marilyn Wilkinson]

I have one of Diane's puppies and I've followed suit, although I don't feed the same food she does.  Cammii eats Nature's Recipe, a holistic brand that doesn't offer a puppy food.  Cammii has wonderful bone density and muscle mass, much more than my first two FCRs who were fed puppy food until they were 18 months old. 

 

I'm wondering, too, if feeding puppy food lends itself to weight problems later.  Just my own casual observation, but Sally and Bobby had/have  a terrible time regulating their weight.  They could look at food and gain.  Cammii has no problem. 

 

Bobby is 73# at an ideal weight, but I feed him 2 cups of a reduced calorie food a day.  Cammii is 57# and I feed her 2 cups of her food, not reduced calorie per day.  Bobby gains easily, yet Cammii gains nothing.  They are both altered, so that doesn't enter the equation.  Maybe it's like human children, the puppy food has so much more fat, and causes them to make more fat cells early in life. 

 

I don't think I will ever feed puppy food again.

 

Marilyn

[Theresa]

On Wed, 17 Jan 2007 20:21:21 -0600, Marilyn wrote:

>I'm wondering, too, if feeding puppy food lends itself to weight problems later. Just my own casual observation, but Sally and Bobby had/have a terrible time regulating their weight. They could look at food and gain. Cammii has no problem.

I feed puppies the same thing that the adults get, just more in
proportion to their size to fuel all that growth. I feed a raw diet,
though, rather than a kibble.

I think weight problems come from the individual metabolism rather
than a particular kind of food. Karma (16 yr old mix), Zubie (11 year
old FCR) and Giddy (4 year old FCR) stay thin no matter how much food
we give them. Giddy's mom Flyer (7.5 yrs old) gains weight if she
looks at food. She gets less per day than ancient Karma, despite being
substantially larger than Karma, and is rather chubby despite our best
efforts. (Karma is ~34 pounds; Flyer should be ~48 and weighs ~52 at
present.) And Flyer is actively running flyball and chasing and
playing with Giddy constantly. She just hangs on to every calorie she
consumes.

Theresa

[Michael Corby]

Hi Marilyn,

I'm sorry, what do you mean by "#"?

Mike.

----- Original Message ----
From: Marilyn Wilkinson <marilynw...@earthlink.net>
To: flat...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2007 11:21:21 AM
Subject: [Flatcoats] Re: when to stop puppyfood?

I have one of Diane's puppies and I've followed suit, although I don't feed the same food she does.  Cammii eats Nature's Recipe, a holistic brand that doesn't offer a puppy food.  Cammii has wonderful bone density and muscle mass, much more than my first two FCRs who were fed puppy food until they were 18 months old. 

 

I'm wondering, too, if feeding puppy food lends itself to weight problems later.  Just my own casual observation, but Sally and Bobby had/have  a terrible time regulating their weight.  They could look at food and gain.  Cammii has no problem. 

 

Bobby is 73# at an ideal weight, but I feed him 2 cups of a reduced calorie food a day.  Cammii is 57# and I feed her 2 cups of her food, not reduced calorie per day.  Bobby gains easily, yet Cammii gains nothing.  They are both altered, so that doesn't enter the equation.  Maybe it's like human children, the puppy food has so much more fat, and causes them to make more fat cells early in life. 

 

I don't think I will ever feed puppy food again.

 

Marilyn

----- Original Message -----

From: Oakwo...@aol.com

To: flat...@googlegroups.com

Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 4:57 PM

Subject: [Flatcoats] Re: when to stop puppyfood?

 I feed puppy food to the pups from 3 weeks to about 9-12 weeks and none after that (least with the pup(s) I keep). I started this with my first litter in the early 90's-I was told by a vet student that current studies (in the early 90's) indicated there was no need for it, and would give a pup TOO much of a 'good thing' and could cause structural problems-usually by the bones growing faster than the surrounding tissue-resulting in orthopedic problems, from mild to severe. And the pups get all the nutrients they need from adult food--they eat a LOT more food/body weight than adults do.  The pups I have kept have all grown up healthy/happy and without problems.

 

Diane Constable
www.oakwoodfcr.com
Click here: Flickr: Photos from oakwood
"I will make a palace fit for you and me
of green days in forest and blue days at seas."
-Robert Louis Stevenson

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[Marilyn Wilkinson]

Ooops, sorry!  Bobby is 73 lbs. = 33 kg.  Cammii is 57 lbs. - 25.8 kg.

 

Marilyn

----- Original Message -----

From: Michael Corby

To: flat...@googlegroups.com

Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2007 5:47 AM

Subject: [Flatcoats] Re: when to stop puppyfood?

[jean.car...@googlemail.com]

Surely it depends on what brand of food you feed?

I am in the UK and feed Naturediet. Their puppy food is given until 6
months and then changed to the adult variety. This food is a soft
food, containing chicken, rice, tripe, carrots and seaweed. It's
holistic and contains no additives and preservatives.

Jean

On Jan 18, 2:32 pm, "Marilyn Wilkinson"

[Allison Garfoot]

I feed Naturediet too, and can highly recommend it, my 3 thrive on it. I do
mix in some James Wellbeloved kibble, which again has no additives etc and
is good for their teeth.

Allison

[jean.car...@googlemail.com]

Hi Alison - Naturdiet is wonderful isn't it. I'm sure it helped Elsa
through all her surgeries and infections.

I buy Burns biscuits and also their fish treats for her, she also gets
smoked bones to gnaw on, so no problem with her teeth.

Jean

[Michael Corby]

We are in Australia for about 12 months - are there any Aussies on this list who can recommend a good product available here? I understand that Supercoat is supposed to be very good?
Mike

----- Original Message ----
From: Allison Garfoot <all...@garfoot.com>
To: flat...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Friday, February 9, 2007 8:57:02 PM
Subject: [Flatcoats] Re: when to stop puppyfood?

Allison

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[Jean Glover]

Oh How wonderful! Wish it was available everywhere!

Jean

---

From: "jean.car...@googlemail.com" <jean.car...@googlemail.com>
Reply-To: flat...@googlegroups.com
To: "Flatcoats" <flat...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: [Flatcoats] Re: when to stop puppyfood?

Date: Fri, 09 Feb 2007 11:53:30 -0000

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----- Original Message -----
From: Jean Glover
To: flat...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Saturday, February 10, 2007 2:48 PM
Subject: [Flatcoats] Re: when to stop puppyfood?

Oh How wonderful! Wish it was available everywhere!

Jean

From: "jean.car...@googlemail.com" <jean.car...@googlemail.com>