# Advice on what to feed 5 month old male



## mlwindc (Feb 8, 2013)

A lot of puppy feeding questions lately... thanks in advance for all the help and suggestions!

Our boy is a few days shy of 5 months. He's been on Blue Buffalo (puppy formula, lamb and oats) his entire life and gets fed twice daily -- about 3-4 cups per day depending on activity level. He gets plenty of exercise for his age -- about 2 hours of on lead walking + 30 minute - 1 hour off leash time (occasionally with other dogs) / day.

Yesterday at the vet he was 41 lbs. I'm starting to wonder if we should transition him off the puppy formula, or add in some Taste of the Wild (I plan to move him to TOTW anyhow when he is grown, just have been sticking with Blue since that's what he was eating when we got him). 

Would a mix of TOTW make sense? I am thinking about introducing salmon formula to help w/ his coat (which is looking dry in this winter weather). Should I mix in some adult formula? or stick with puppy formula at this age? He does not get raw foods or any wet foods, but does get a ton of frozen baby carrots to help w/ his teething. And treats for training too. 

Here's a photo of him from this morning's walk.


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

I would transfer him to adult food as soon as you can. Personally I believe puppy kibble makes large and giant breed puppies grow too fast causing skeletal problems in later life. I have never fed any of my Danes or Vizslas on puppy kibble and am pleased to say none of them have suffered HD, or other joint problems and have grown in large well muscled dogs.

There were some excellent links to some scientific papers written about this very subject posted very recently - use the search box and see what you can find.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

I wonder how they determined what composition and how much to feed puppies? And why do they need it until they are fully grown? 

I still mix quality puppy food with adult food, but only if it's on sale. Otherwise, it's mostly grain free adult food... 24 months, intact male.


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

We were told since Miles is still so lean that we should keep him on puppy food because of the higher fat content. He eats TOTW puppy food and we supplement with raw. Sometimes we get a small bag of adult TOTW and sprinkle 1/2 cup into his food just to mix it up a bit. He is free fed, which I know changes thing a bit.


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## mlwindc (Feb 8, 2013)

Thanks. I ordered a bag of TOTW adult salmon and will mix some into his food -- maybe a 3:1 ratio of puppy:adult And see what happens. It's so hard to know what's right. We are definitely holding off on neuter as long as we can.


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