What are the effects of giving my 6-month-old puppy adult dog food?
Adult dog food does not meet a puppy’s dietary needs. Maintenance formulas for adult dogs are not designed for growing animals because the amount of nutrients they contain is not adequately balanced in relation to their calorie content. A growing puppy needs up to twice as much energy as an adult dog of the same weight. Since a puppy would have to eat a greater quantity of adult dog food to meet its energy needs, it would be unable to eat enough of the adult food to get the energy and nutrients it requires. Giving your puppy adult dog food may result in your puppy eating too much of certain nutrients, such as calcium. Excess calcium can lead to bone anomalies that slow growth, resulting in smaller adult size. Overeating may cause digestive problems, stomach pains and diarrhea. We recommend you give your puppy food that is specially formulated for growing animals. A dog’s growth rate is very rapid for the first 12 months of life. After this time, the growth rate slows, so we recommend y
