Hi crazy4cats –
When feeding a line of food in which the formulas aren’t labeled “all life stages” (meaning there are separate foods for puppies, adults and seniors) I think any dog, regardless of age, should eat the puppy formula. My mom uses Whole Earth Farm Puppy in her food rotation for her adult dog. You’re paying the same price for a higher quality food (more fat, more protein = more meat). Pet food companies have created this idea in people’s heads that dogs suddenly need a different food when they go from a puppy to an adult or an adult to a senior. As long as the food is high quality and supplies adequate amounts of protein, fat and key nutrients, it’s good for life. If you notice most 5 star foods don’t have puppy, adult and senior formulas and the nutrition statement on the side doesn’t read “growth” or “maintenance” – it reads “all life stages.” “All life stages” foods meet the same requirements as “growth” (puppy) foods. The AAFCO recognizes two nutrient profiles – “maintenance” (more lax – the foods labeled for maintenance are generally lower in protein and fat) and “growth” (more stringent – the food must have more protein, fat and other nutrients). A company that has a food that meets the more stringent “growth” requirements can label that formula for growth or all life stages. Therefore a food labeled for “growth” is an all life stages food and a food labeled for “all life stages” is appropriate for growth. So my recommendation would be to put your dogs on the puppy formula and keep them on the puppy formula – there’s no reason they need to move to a lower protein and fat formula just because they’re adults. I have three dogs – a 7 year old senior, 2 year old adult and 7 month old puppy – they all eat the same food. Animals in the wild don’t suddenly start eating new foods just because they age.
