When to change the food from puppy to adult

During the first months of life of our dog, feeding is essential to ensure proper development and growth. It is the stage in which more energy input is needed and you must provide feed rich in nutrients and proteins, calcium, phosphorus, fiber and a high energy concentration. Withdrawing the puppy food and starting with the adult one early can mean the appearance of serious abnormalities in the joints, especially. To avoid this happening and know when to change the food from puppy to adult, in this article we tell you all the details depending on the breed of your dog.

one

The change of food for puppy dog ​​to adult should be done when the dog's growth process is finished. Thus, race plays a fundamental role, since each one develops in a different period of time.

two

Small breeds, such as Chihuahua or Yorkshire, finish the growth process much earlier than the large ones. Puppies belonging to this type of breed reach adult size around 10 months . Therefore, it is at this time when we must change the puppy food for the adult, as well as reduce the daily intake. If you want to know how much food you should give your dog depending on age and size, look at the article about how much my dog ​​should eat. There is specific food for small breeds in the market, which contains all the nutrients for a healthy development.

3

Medium breeds, such as Beagle or English Bulldog, are growing until they are one year old . In this way, until they reach 12 months we can not change the food from puppy to adult. In the same way that happens with small breeds, you should reduce the number of times you feed your dog a day to two.

4

Large and giant breeds, such as Siberian Husky and German Shepherd or German Dogo and San Bernardo, are the ones that take longer to reach adult size. Up to 18 months of age do not finish the growth process and, therefore, we can not change the puppy food for the adult. Remember that this type of breed requires more food per day than the previous ones, as well as more exercise time to burn all the accumulated energy and not generate a state of stress or anxiety.

5

Once the growth process is finished and the adult size is reached it is very important to change the puppy food and adapt it to the current age to provide all the nutrients you need. If the change is not made, the dog could suffer an imbalance due to an excess or lack of proteins, vitamins, nutrients, carbohydrates, etc. Remember that puppy food contains a very high amount of protein and fat, excessive for the body of an adult dog, and could be overweight.