Is Your Puppy Ready for Premium Adult Dog 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 brought up 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 nutrition such as Eukanuba® and Iams® are the best you can buy. They're specifically designed to provide your dog with nutrition with:

• 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

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

• Exceptional muscle tone
  
  
• Healthy skin
  
  
• A shiny, luxurious coat
  
  
• Strong bones
  
  
• Clean teeth
  
  
• Clear, bright eyes
  
  
• Small, well-formed 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 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 10 kilograms or less when fully grown are usually ready to go to an adult food when they're about 12 months of age.
  
  
• Medium-breed dogs who will weigh between 10 and 25 kilograms as adults normally also mature at about 12 months of age.
  
  
• Large-breed dogs-those weighing 25 kilograms or more when fully grown-might not be ready to switch to an adult food until they're about 24 months old.

To avoid upsetting your dog's intestinal tract or causing diarrhoea, 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. Veterinarian Dr Dan Carey, Veterinarian 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.