# I have a clue but......



## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

I was wondering when do you think I should start feeding twice a day instead of 3 times? I realize it depends on their growth, but for my GSD, what would be your guess. I am thinking at 7 months because he seems to be still growing pretty fast at 6 months (sat he well be 6).

I also was wondering when you think is a good age to go from puppy, to adult kibbles? I am thinking I might buy my 1st bag of adult next month, but I have been told one year is a good time frame. I know it should come about slowly.


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

I switched from puppy to adult when he turned one. There are some people that say that you should never give puppy formula to a puppy. I don't know if this is true?

Not sure on the raw though... :smile:


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

I generally feed three times a day until about six months or so, give it a try and adjust amounts according to weight loss or gain. Some people feed twice a day from the start. I offer my 3 month old Boxer food four times a day 6am, 12pm' 4pm, and 8pm. She usually only eats any amount worth mentioning at 6 and 4 though. As for adult food, it's really unimportant. Most "adult" foods are appropriate for all life stages anyway.


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## malluver1005 (Nov 15, 2009)

Oops I forgot, most kibble foods are for "all life stages" :smile:


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Yeah, this is true. But I've seen people switch their German shepherds off puppy food too soon and the dog started losing weight because it didn't have quite as much fat, protein, calories, etc. (I know it's just a stupid marketing gimmick, but it seemed to make a difference in these cases). I would recommend keeping your puppy on it until he is at least one year old if not a year and a half. German shepherds grow a lot in that time so the more calories you can get into a meal, the better.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

I have always heard for a year! Keeping them on this routine isn't going to do anything bad for them so I would just keep it up until a years gone by!
You should also chekc with your vet. If your dog smeems to be doing fine why change until he's considered an adult! That year goes so darn fast! My one I thought we just got wil be two in decemeber! UGH! How did that happen so fast haha!
Enjoy that puppy stage! Even though when considered adult they are still very puppy acting haha! That one still chases the broom haha!
Keep feeding till a year!


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## Scarlett's Mum (May 28, 2009)

I personally prefer high quality all life stages grain-free kibble and don't buy into the whole puppy food gimmick at all. 

But as for feeding 2 vs. 3 times per day, your dog will tell you when he's ready to reduce. I noticed that with Scarlett, she was still hungry for lunch but she was eating less food over the course of the day. So I eliminated lunch and spread her food over two meals. That was at 8mos. She was annoyed the first few days when our lunchtime routine was off, but she got over it pretty quickly.

Vets are vets, not animal nutritionists, so I wouldn't bother asking them. They will always tell you what they think is medically appropriate, and that's usually Purina or Science Diet. If you have questions like these, you should ask your breeder.


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## Kristofski (Nov 18, 2009)

I've read in the past, that large breed puppies have a decreased bone density and you do not want them to grow too rapidly, or they with have structural bone damage, and cannot properly hold the weight when they are older, thus causing problems in the future. I was told NEVER to feed large breed puppies, "Puppy" food, and to stick to something with no more then 23% protine, until the age of 18 months, or 80% of the final growth. I would recommend switching your pup asap. Also, 6 months is a good time to go from 3 to 2 feedings, especially if he is growing fast. Again, you want the large breeds growth to be gradual, and keep him on the lean side


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

Kristofski said:


> I've read in the past, that large breed puppies have a decreased bone density and you do not want them to grow too rapidly, or they with have structural bone damage, and cannot properly hold the weight when they are older, thus causing problems in the future.


That was the accepted theory at one time and still is accepted by many who have not done much research into carnivore physiology.



> I was told NEVER to feed large breed puppies, "Puppy" food, and to stick to something with no more then 23% protine, until the age of 18 months, or 80% of the final growth.


Again that was the thinking at one time. If you compare the ingredients list of puppy food kibble to the adult food of the same brand you will see no significance between the two. Usually its just switching the place in the order between two ingredients. This has no appreciable effect on the food.

Protein is the main building block of muscle. You want your puppies to have well developed muscles. They can't if there isn't sufficient protein in the food. Protein has no effect on the growth problems that it was once thought that it did. The amount of calcium in the diet is much more important.


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## Kristofski (Nov 18, 2009)

RawFedDogs said:


> That was the accepted theory at one time and still is accepted by many who have not done much research into carnivore physiology.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Are you following me around the forum, Mr. Teacher Man? Hehehehe :tongue:
Once again, I am thinking old school it seems. I always enjoy reading your responces to my obviously old information :wink:


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

It seems like all the good dog food has a high protein level.

Horizen 40%
Blue wilderness 42%
Evo 43%
Natures Variety 42%
Orijen 40%
TOTW 34%
Wellness Core 34%
Go 34%
Aretmis 42% 

These are all the foods that get a 6* rating on the site below. Which I pretty much agree with

Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost


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## Kristofski (Nov 18, 2009)

GermanSheperdlover said:


> It seems like all the good dog food has a high protein level.
> 
> Horizen 40%
> Blue wilderness 42%
> ...



Yup, I have been on that site many times. Also though, if you look at these 6 star premium dog kibbles, and read the full reviews on them, at the bottem they say:

"The only caution we would make on this food is that the high protein content may make it suitable for adult dogs only, particularly in the case of large breeds"

They themselves say this on the review, and according to the new information about how the high protine is infact Good for them (thanks RFD) even as pups, just shows that the people doing the dog food reviews, have not done any recent research.


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## jenh22 (Sep 22, 2009)

I think the issue with large breed puppies really comes down to amount of calories as opposed to protein content. Simply over feeding them will cause them to grow quicker. With high quality protein rich food you just need to adjust accordingly and feed a little less.


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## sganow (Apr 16, 2009)

Appropriate calcium and phosphorus levels are very important for puppies, especially large breed puppies.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

sganow said:


> Appropriate calcium and phosphorus levels are very important for puppies, especially large breed puppies.



You are 100% correct about this. Appropriate calcium and phosphorus levels are very important to large breed puppies on a kibble diet. WHY?

Because calcium and phoshporus are added in at highly* inappropriate *levels in kibbles.

This is why you have to be careful with feeding large breed puppies grain free, or even grain based, kibbles.


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