Hi Everyone!

Just a quick food question.

Wesley currently has one tray of Nature Diet puppy a day and a bowl of dry IAMS to snack on throughout the day when it suits him!

At what age can he start having other flavours of Nature Diet? I looked at the ingredients and as they are all natural and good I was thinking maybe he could have some variety in his meals.

At what age is he classed as an 'Adult Dog'?

Stupid question but Its really got me pondering!

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This is a difficult one to advise, it's up to you really.
Years ago there was no puppy, senior etc. Just dog food and pups had a bit more, seniors a bit less.
Mine was on puppy until 10 months before I joined here and realised it wasnt necessary.
Larger dogs do better going onto adult a bit sooner as the lower protein allows the last growth spurt of the bones to happen more slowly.
You could perhaps contact ND and see what their take on it is. Perhaps that will help you

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"Life is mostly froth and bubble, Two things stand like stone,
Kindness in another’s trouble, Courage in your own”

ND class Puppy/Junior up to 6 months and then Adult food from 6 months. I wouldn't worry too much, especially if your dog is having dry food as well. I'd think it would be fine to offer the adult varieties as well as the puppy.

Thats interesting, thanks for that
The puppy food looks so boring and smells odd, the other flavours sound much more appetising, although Wesley is just under 3 months, still a baby so maybe its a tad too soon.

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Just read that Wesley is under 3 months - in that case, I'd probably stick with Puppy a bit longer. How about trying some Natures Harvest/Natures Menu or Wainwrights Puppy trays for a change?? Then you could give him different flavours ......? Claire

Just looked at the nutriotional info on ND website the only difference between puppy and adult is there's 2% less protein and 1% less oil. Can't see this being a huge issue! But maybe I will wait another month or so.

I give him Applaws chicken fillet/chicken & vegetables every few days just to mix it up a bit, but thats very expensive at £1.20 per small can = 1 meal!

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Yes, I tried Applaws when Henry was a pup but I didn't use it often as it's not a "complete". Wainwrights do a puppy tray in various flavours - you could try the odd one of those.

I don't believe in life stage foods at all, and, if I ever fed commercial foods, wouldn't bother with puppy foods, quite often the main difference is the size to which the kibble shapes are milled.

I'd also have a bit of a research about IAMs, they're not the best company to be buying pet food from

What does "complete" mean? Is that all the extras like oil and ash etc... Is Nature Diet a complete food?

Im a total n00b with puppies.

IAMS were not my choice at all, Wesley was on Eukanuba with the breeder so when we got him PAH had stopped selling Eukanuba so told us IAMs were made by the same company so we stocked up not knowiong any better, TBH Wesley doesn't seem to fussed on them, he loves James Welbeloved kibble and Science Plan, which we have samples of using as treats. When the IAMS is gone I won't be buying it again. Its grim and boring.

What sort of research should I do? Im curious now, and have a whole night shift to search the web!

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Hi - yes, Naturediet is a complete food - this means it contains everything a dog/pup needs for a balanced diet and does not require anything else to be fed in addition. Applaws wet is a "complementary" food which requires additional foods to make it complete. Most of the other high-quality wet foods are complete as well as Naturediet, ie, Natures Menu, Natures Harvest, Wainwrights.

Do as much research as you can - you will find lots of food advice here under Diet and Nutrition. Basically, these are good foods to get you started:

Dry Foods

Arden Grange, Burns, Fish4Dogs, Acana and Orijen, Wainwrights from Pets at Home, James Wellbeloved.

Wet Foods (complete)

Naturediet, Natures Menu, Natures Harvest, Wainwrights from PAH, Arden Grange Partners.

Avoid foods like Pedigree, Bakers and Wagg. Iams, (although a little better than Pedigree and Bakers) are known to do cruel animal testing). Basically avoid anything you can buy in a Supermarket.

Hope that gets you started but if you're using Naturediet you're on the right track.

Good luck!

Claire

PS. Just read your comment about the JWB and Science Plan samples - out of the two I'd definitely go for JWB - Science Plan is not a very "natural" food and is very overpriced.