what are you feeding your adult Shorkie?

[Auburn9]

I'm now trying to transition Miss Ava into adult food, so far I've tried Wellness (I had samples from them) Now I have a bag of Blue for small dogs, she does not seem to like this much at all, I think on the weekend I'll take the bag back and get a bag of Wellness, she seemed to like this better. I'm still giving her original puppy food about half and half with the adult food but would like to get one she likes of course.

[Ann]

I found with Toby that is was a bit of trial and error. I think the main thing you try little bits and if she seems to like it do what you are doing. I give Toby Purina One and Country life food Trays but I think our dog food is different to what you get where you live so I really can't advise you.

[raleysmom]

I'm now trying to transition Miss Ava into adult food, so far I've tried Wellness (I had samples from them) Now I have a bag of Blue for small dogs, she does not seem to like this much at all, I think on the weekend I'll take the bag back and get a bag of Wellness, she seemed to like this better. I'm still giving her original puppy food about half and half with the adult food but would like to get one she likes of course.

I mix food for Raley.  He always gets Blue Buffalo for small breed and I mix it with Nutro Natural Choice for Small Breed or Wellness for Small Breed.  I have found that mixing his food keeps him from getting bored with what he eats.  I have a plastic container that I mix it in so when I scoop his food out it is already mixed.

[Auburn9]

that sounds like a good idea, although I don't think I want to buy three bags of dog food.  The one I got is 6 lbs. which is still way to much, I'll be returning the Blue as she doesn't care for it, I think I'll get Wellness this time, at least you can return it if they don't like it.

[junip1977]

Question for you guys, what age can you switch them to the adult food?  I am worried they are getting too many calories from their puppy food.  They are pretty big for their age....13lbs and 11.5 lbs @ 10 months.  I don't think we feed them too much...we give them each 1/4 cup of dry food in the morning each and in the evening we give them 1/4 cup of dry mixed with 1/4 can of wet (small can).  Is this too much?  Thanks!

[Ann]

This Quote is from http://www.petplace.com/dogs/when-do-you-change-from-puppy-food-to-adult-food-2/page1.aspx

Once you have chosen a good quality puppy food, continue feeding this diet until your dog reaches 80 to 90 percent of his anticipated adult weight. For most dogs, this occurs around 9 months of age.

Once your puppy has reached the age for a diet change, gradually begin changing his diet by feeding ¼ adult food and ¾ puppy food for a few days. Then add ½ adult food and ½ puppy food. After a few more days, feed ¾ adult food and ¼ puppy food. Then, you can feed straight adult food.

If you have any concerns about changing your puppy's diet, consult your veterinarian for advice.

[Ann]

I personally changed Toby to adult food when he was 8 months. I found though that I had to still feed him 3 times a day as giving him just one meal seemed to long. He would cry as he was hungry. I have since read on a blog that small dogs sometimes do need to be fed 3 times a day. I also asked my vet and he said that there was not a problem with that as long as he didn't get any more than the quatity of his daily allowence.

[Pinky]

I changed Stormy to adult food right at 12 months. She loved it at first, but doesn't seem to care for it anymore. As a puppy I had her on Chicken Soup for the Puppy's Soul which I highly recommend. I never tried their adult version bc that's when I switched her to Natural Balance. I wouldn't give her Wellness if I were you, not good food in my opinion.

[junip1977]

Great, thanks for the suggestions.  We currently feed them Blue and they seem to love it and have no problems so we will definitely keep them on the same brand.  I just know with my cats, they gained more weight if I kept them on the kitten food longer so I was thinking since my puppies seem pretty much as big as they should get I should think about switching them.  I guess like you said Ann, do it gradually. 

[Auburn9]

I changed Stormy to adult food right at 12 months. She loved it at first, but doesn't seem to care for it anymore. As a puppy I had her on Chicken Soup for the Puppy's Soul which I highly recommend. I never tried their adult version bc that's when I switched her to Natural Balance. I wouldn't give her Wellness if I were you, not good food in my opinion.

Why do you think Wellness is not a good food?

[Pinky]

I don't like that it has garlic in it - which is bad for dogs and has been linked to causing anemia. It also has pesticides from the tomato pomace in it. It's not bad food by any means, but there's certainly better options available.

[ellietoo]

I feed Gracie a raw diet. I'm totally against the dog food industry feeding our dogs a grain based diet. Right now Gracie is on Stella & Chewy's. I have mentioned that I cooked for her the first year of her life because she refused all kibble. After much research and trial and error I've decided the raw diet is as close to the food a dog's body was determined to eat naturally. Kibbles are baked at least 3 times at very high temperatures in order to kill all organic material in the food. Then they add synthetic vitamins and minerals to make up for the fact that there is no real nutrition or enzymes left in the food. That is how the food can be transported and left to sit on a shelf for months at a time.
Read your ingredient lists and see if you would feed those things to a dog or to a cow. My last dog lived to be 15 years old but his older years were not healthy years. After reading about what I was feeding him I can understand why.

[Pinky]

I have really been considering switching Stormy over to a raw diet. I completely agree with you, while there is good dog food out there, it still has ingredients in it that aren't great. Do you ever make food for Gracie or just always feed her the Stella and Chewy's? Initially I wanted to make her food, but considering I'm domestically challenged I don't know if that would be a good idea ha. Reading up on that food now.

[mandy15]

Angel was on a raw diet once but the vet had a fit when he heard she was on it. I know vets don't know hardly anything about nutrition. I put Angel on Wellness Core Reduced fat dry food. I put it on the other forum. There's not many low fat dry foods and this one seemed the best. When my husbands eating on his recliner Angel stands on the couch and leans over and puts her paw on my husband's arm and begs for food. She sticks her little but out and wags her tail, its so cute. I feel so bad because I know she's hungry because I don't think the low fat feels her up. But she isn't losing weight so that's good.

[mandy15]

Also one reason I picked Wellness because it is grain free. I know it says it had tomato pumace which is a contraditional food additive. The reduced fat did get five stars because it has more meat, protein in it. Some of the others didn't get too many stars.