Vet Tony Buckwell advises on timings
Q: My cocker spaniel is coming up to eight months old and is still fed a puppy diet. How and when should you switch from puppy food to dog food?
A: Puppy food is high in calories and nutrients to support the rapid growth that your young dog is going through. When your dog reaches maturity, puppy food is likely to make it overweight.
Keep a close eye on your dog’s physique, and don’t hesitate to speak to your vet if you think it might be piling on a few too many pounds. If your puppy is getting a little overweight, you might need to reduce the amount of puppy food it is getting, or it could be time to transition to adult food. (You might also like to read – is it best to feed dogs before or after exercise?)
Best time to switch from puppy food to dog food
A young dog needs to continue eating specialist puppy food until it has fully transitioned into adulthood. For smaller breeds this can be as early as eight months, for medium-sized breeds it’s around 12 months and for larger breeds it can be 18 months to two years of age.
An appropriate diet tends to be more efficient than exercise for weight loss, so controlling…
