When to switch to adult food.

[Diesel's Dad]

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I’m sure this has been asked before but can’t find anything specific for boxers so any advice appreciated.

Diesel is now 19 weeks and as of this morning 17.2kg. His diet is prepared raw foot from Narutal Instinct. Following the 6% rule he’s getting just over a kilo per day. We weigh him and adjust each week.

Looking at average growth charts for boxers he’s bang on where he should be.

So when to switch to adult food and adult quantity which I think are 2 different questions?

If I keep him on 6% for the first 12 months when he should be around 30kg that’s a massive 1.8 kg of puppy food each day!

So any advice on when to switch to adult food and quantities would be helpful.

Many thanks.
DD

 

[JudyN]

Quantity-wise, I would think that when you notive his weight is rising a bit faster than the growth charts recommend, or is looking a bit chubby, you can reduce then percentage then, rather than worrying about specific 'puppy portions' or 'adult portions'.

I'm not convinced that raw-fed puppies need a different formulation to adults, but can't say for sure that's correct. @excuseme may well know more.

This guide might be helpful, even though it's not specific to Natural Instinct: How to feed puppies on the Barf diet

 

[Diesel's Dad]

Thanks Judy. Some good info on the wolf Tucker site.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

DD

 

[excuseme]

Thank's @JudyN. Now how do I reply to that?

I always think of how our dogs would have survived if they were wild dogs, or still in the form of a wolf.
A "completely balanced" meal would consist of a variety of whole creatures, but to be realistic this is often shared by others or shared by a litter of pups. Balance takes place over a period of days or even weeks, depending on how lucky the the wild dog is to get a little of the variety from time to time.
Pups are reared on the same food as the parents catch, the only difference is that as the puppy grows, the more is required in volume, therefore ingredients increase.
The wild dogs and wolves are survivors of millions of years, with no help of warm homes, regular meals, or a vet to make them better. They must be doing something correct!

My dogs are not fed on percentages, but with good variety of all body parts over a period of time.
Puppies are the same, if we buy a puppy or breed one for ourselves, they are fed the same as the adults, but in different daily amounts as they grow. (this can be more or less as their body condition will tell you)

Once puppies reach adulthood and stop their rapid growth, food amounts can be cut back to just maintenance adult rations.

WolfTucker advice is very knowledgeable and a good place to start. As with all "complete" foods, their daily amounts are still only a GUIDELINE.