Pet Tip for You: Whats the right Dog food for your pup?

Growth/Puppy Foods Puppy foods are intended to be fed to growing puppies.

For small dogs growth usually ends by nine months of age and for giant breeds it can last until 18-24 months of age. For this reason no single recommendation can be made as to how long to feed your puppies a growth diet.

Higher levels of protein, fats, vitamins and minerals characterize growth diets. This is necessary to meet the growing puppy's higher energy and nutrient requirements.

Pound-for-pound puppies need as much as three times more nutrients than an adult dog. Be sure not to over feed your puppy, as too much weight can predispose your puppy to orthopedic diseases later on in life.

Because growth diets contain extra nutrients they are also ideal for feeding pregnant and nursing moms.

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Adult Foods Adult foods are intended to be fed to moderately active adult dogs.

They contain moderate amounts of protein, fats, vitamins and minerals. Many adult diets come in two-piece sizes designed for smaller and larger dogs.

More sedentary adult dogs can be fed "light" formulas and older adult dogs should be fed senior formulas.

Lite/Less Active Foods Two types of foods fall in this category: light foods and less active or reduced-calorie foods. The term "light", when used for pet foods, is regulated by law and so these foods are very low in fat and calories and much higher in fiber than adult foods. They are especially appropriate for weight loss and can be used for more sedentary dogs that require fewer calories. Less active or reduced-calorie foods have less calories and fat than adult foods, but more calories than light foods. They also have much less fiber than light foods. Because they are higher in calories than light foods, they are better suited for weight maintenance of more sedentary dogs than for weight loss in overweight dogs.

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Senior Foods As your dog ages he may benefit from a senior diet. While not much is known about the nutrition of older dogs, we know:

• First, older dogs are more sedentary and require fewer calories (i.e. lower fat).

• Second, older dogs may benefit from a diet lower in phosphorus.

• Third, a moderate level of fiber in the diet helps prevent constipation and maintain gastro-intestinal health.

• Fourth, the food should be very palatable to encourage adequate food intake.

Again, because different sized dogs age at different rates there is no one age to begin feeding your dog a senior diet.

Generally seven years is a good rule of thumb, with giant breeds starting earlier (around five years) and small and toy breeds starting later (around eight or nine years).