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Is Your Puppy Ready for Premium Adult Dog Food? - Iams

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Is Your Puppy Ready for Premium Adult Dog Food?

When, Why and How to Start Feeding Your Pup Grownup Nutrition.

As your puppy matures into adulthood, he’s outgrowing the specific nutritional needs and eating habits of a young puppy. He needs nutrition that’s appropriate for his "new" body, and that means a high-quality adult formula— a premium adult formula.

The Benefits of Feeding Premium Food

Why move your grown-up pup to a premium adult dog food? Because quality counts. It’s crucial to continue the superb nutrition he’s been getting on into adulthood. Downgrading to a lower-quality brand at this stage of his life may upset his digestive system and won’t provide him with the same level of nutritional excellence he was raised on.

Think of a baby. When it’s time to start giving him solid food, you wouldn’t dream of feeding your child anything less than the best nutrition you can buy. The same is true for your maturing puppy. He needs the best age-appropriate food there is to help maintain his overall health. Premium foods such as Eukanuba® and Iams® are the best you can buy. They’re specifically designed to provide your dog with a food that has:

* High-quality ingredients

* High total-diet digestibility

* Balanced, optimal levels of protein, fat, fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, which make costly

* A nutrient-dense formulation appropriate for a particular life stage

* Consistent, high-quality ingredient recipes that do not change because of manufacturing costs

* Specific fatty-acid levels to help maintain healthy skin and coat

* Great palatability—taste—based on feeding trials

* Adherence to the Association of American Feed Control Officials guidelines

* Product guarantees.

Premium-Food Results

What do all of these features add up to? A happy, healthy dog. With premium dog food, you’ll notice these important indicators of good health that contribute to providing your dog with a long, healthy life:

* Exceptional muscle tone

* A shiny, luxurious coat

* Healthy skin and bones

* Clean teeth

* Clear, bright eyes

* Small, firm stools.

Founded on decades of research into canine nutrition, premium formulas from The Iams Company help maintain your dog’s health and provide him with the nutrition he needs for a long life. Basic brands may not provide these benefits or match the level of expertise that goes into every bag of dog food from The Iams Company.

When to Switch

When should you switch to an adult formula? The transition should begin a couple of months after your dog stops growing in height. The kind of dog you have will determine the time to switch. Small-breed dogs, for example, tend to mature physically much sooner than large-breed dogs. Follow these guidelines to help you decide when to switch formulas:

Small-breed dogs who weigh 20 pounds or less when fully grown are usually ready to go to an adult food when they’re 9 to 12 months of age.

Medium-breed dogs who will weigh between 20 and 50 pounds as adults normally mature at 12 and 14 months of age.

Large-breed dogs—those weighing 50 pounds or more when fully grown—might not be ready to switch to an adult food until they’re 18 to 24 months old.

Make the Transistion

To avoid upsetting your dog’s intestinal tract or causing diarrhea, make the change from a puppy formula to an adult diet over a period of four days by mixing the food in your dog’s bowl:

Day One: Fill your dog’s bowl with 75 percent puppy food and 25 percent adult food.

Day Two: Mix the adult and puppy food in a 50/50 ratio.

Day Three: Feed your dog a mixture that’s 75 percent adult food and 25 percent puppy food.

Day Four: Switch to 100 percent adult formula.

To determine how much food to give your dog, check the daily feeding recommendations established by the pet-food manufacturer and read the label. Dan Carey, DVM and Director of Technical Communications at The Iams Company, suggests using the recommendations and then weighing your dog each week. If he’s gaining or losing weight and shouldn’t be, slightly decrease or increase his daily intake, and weigh him in another week.

If you have specific concerns about your dog’s weight, talk to your veterinarian. He or she can assess your dog’s needs and give you a feeding recommendation.

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Reproduced with permission from:
IAMS Company
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