Adult or Puppy Food?

Adult dogs and puppies have completely different nutritional requirements and levels of energy. But how would a pet owner know if they should be feeding their dog a puppy food or an adult food?
Puppies vs Adults
A Puppy’s nutritional needs are much more expansive than an Adult Dog. The reason for this is because Puppies need calories for all the energy they have, as well as needing the calories to support their growing bodies and bones. A Puppy’s stomach can’t hold as much food as a fully grown dog, so it is recommended that they are fed in small portions but, more frequently.
Calorie Dense Food
One of the main factors of Puppy Food concerns the volume of calories needed for a small stomach, in order to fuel them until their next feeding. Feeding an Adult Dog a Puppy Food would put them at risk of consuming too many calories all at once, whilst feeding a Puppy an Adult Dog Food will put them at risk of not having enough calories, which could lead to the slowing or stunting of their growth.
Large Breed Puppies
With Large Breed Puppies, pet owners need to take extra care, compared to Smaller Puppies, this is because of the high rate of growth and energy needed as a Large Breed Puppy. This type of dog can be at risk in later life of developing issues with their hips and elbows because of how quickly they grow.
Switching to Adult Food
It is recommended that when a dog reaches 80% of their full adult size, the owner should consider switching them onto Adult Food. This can happen at different times and ages depending on the breed of the dog. It is suggested that Small Dogs will reach this size first, at the age of around 9 to 10 months. Medium sized Breeds continue to grow until they are about a year old. Whilst Large Breed Puppies reach 80% in size at around 12 to 16 months old.
Orchard House offers a wide choice of fantastic recipes over four different ranges of food, that provide the nutritional requirements for any type of Dog no matter what Breed it is or, at what life stage the individual is. To help you make the right choice you can find every detail including specific recipes, their benefits and full composition for each food in every range on the Orchard House Pet Food website.