hi all,

my breeder has recommended that within the next week or so, it is time to switch my yellow puppy (she's 11 weeks) from eukanuba puppy lamb and rice to eukanuba large breed puppy. i'm not a fan of eukanuba... and i think it might be causing the dark waxy build up in my pups ears.

when she's six months, the breeder suggests moving to an adult formula food... and i had planned on starting her on chicken soup for the dog lover's soul brand food. but rather than waiting until she is six months... can i switch her over now?

does anyone know if i want to switch her over now, would i feed her the puppy formula, or the adult formula? she's sort of at the inbetween stage... so i'm not sure which one to feed her. she has a vet appointment today, so i will be asking my vet... but i always like to get other opinions!!!

thanks!!

Hey guys,

I switched my Baxman over to Chicken Soup puppy when he was @ 14 weeks old. It has less protein/fat than most puppy foods, but still a bit more than Large Breed puppy food. Baxter LOVES Chicken Soup, and so do I. It really is a great food.

Then yesterday, Baxy got his first bag of Chicken Soup Adult. He is getting close to 5 months old, and he's growing really well, so his breeder recommended adult food. He thrives on the stuff, so my vote would be yes!

If the dark waxy build up in ears smells, it is a yeast infection. It CAN come from food and be lessened with a better food.

But start cleaning your dog's ears as well. It's a good habit to get into as well as getting them used to you fooling with their ears.

Thanks for the info on the ears... it doesn't smell, so you're right, it's probably not an infection. I decided to go ahead and start trying her out on the puppy Chicken Soup, and see how she does. I've been taking it slow, so now she is up to half CS and half Eukanuba... so far so good :) I got cleaning solution from my vet for her ears, and some cotton squares to wipe them out... so a regular cleaning should take care of that problem :)

thanks everyone!

Carrie,
When Riley and Kasey came home they were 11 weeks and eating the Eukanuba LB Puppy. Within a month, I gradually switched to the CS for Puppy (which they loved, but make sure you do it gradually - as with any dog food- to prevent the runs). They are now 6 months old and this week officially started the CS for Adult. I think Lily will be fine!

One caution with the Chicken Soup adult:

"Animal feeding tests using Association of American Feed Control Officials procedures substaniate that Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul Adult Dog Formula provides complete and balanced nutrition for the maintenance of ADULT dogs"

i.e. it has not been shown to provide proper nutrition for puppies. Adult foods can be fine for pups, but it would be safer to look for a food labeled for "all life stages" or "growth and maintenance" - many, if not most, other foods in the Diamond line (as well as other premium brands) are AAFCO feed tested as such.