Should my 5-month-old puppy still be eating Fidele starter food?

Lifetime large breed dog food is formulated for all life stages, including puppies. Since he is already 60 pounds, you can begin to transition him to this diet at any time. Please switch diets gradually by mixing the old and new diets together for 5-7 days to ease the transition.

Farmina Puppy Starter is for puppies up to three months of age to assist in weaning, after which Bosco should be fed a puppy food. I would follow that recommendation, but be sure to slowly change over his food so that he doesn't get GI upset. Start by mixing together the old food and the new food, and then slowly increase the amount of new food while decreasing the amount of old food until Bosco is eating the new food only.

Ralphie looks like a real cutie! Yes, it will be fine to finish the food you already have and then switch him to an adult large breed diet. Make sure to transition him over to the adult diet over a 5-7 day time period to help avoid any GI upset. That means you will need to mix in the puppy food with the new adult dog food and gradually switch him over. Please feel to post any additional questions.

Hello. It is probably not necessary at this point to switch back. If Kano was a giant breed, like a Great Dane, Mastiff, etc., then I might want her to be on a large breed puppy food, but otherwise, if she seems to be doing well on her current food, there is no need to change. Thank you.

There are so many high quality foods available for dogs that it can be confusing, and marketing becomes the biggest tool that food companies have to try to give their food the "edge." Be aware that this has led to A LOT of general misinformation. I give you this information openly and honestly as a professional who has devoted the last 10+ years to the health and care of pets. Dogs (and wolves for that matter) are omnivores, meaning they have evolved to seek to eat and digest meat AND plant material. In comparison, cats (and big cats such as lions, etc) are obligate carnivores, meaning they absolutely require meat as their primary food source. While some dogs may have sensitivities to diets with grain, many dogs do not. Just like people. And for those who do NOT have a problem with grains, they are a healthy contribution to the diet. That is just a fact. The trend to favoring "grain -free" diets has been pushed by marketing and the trend of fad diets for people that favor a "paleo" or "keto" diet. Many dog food brands and companies, and many specialty boutique brands have worked to push this idea that grains are bad for all dogs, when the science is just not there. And there has been information linking grain free diets to an increase in heart disease. See this article: http://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2018/06/a-broken-heart-risk-of-heart-disease-in-boutique-or-grain-free-diets-and-exotic-ingredients/ Here is another great article summarizing how assuming "grain free" is better may be a mistake: http://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2016/06/grain-free-diets-big-on-marketing-small-on-truth/ Here are some good resources to help you make decisions for Mini''s food. http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/banr/miscellaneous/dog_nutrition_final_fix.pdf http://www.acvn.org/frequently-asked-questions/ Thanks for asking PetCoach !

Large or giant breed puppies should be fed an appropriate large/giant breed puppy diet until about 18 months of age. The reason being that they develop slower than other breeds. Many do not stop growing until around 2 years of age. Most above average and premium brands have a diet for large breed puppies. Brands include Canidae, Orijen, Acana and Taste of the Wild. Choose the diet that is easy to buy, that Sarge will eat and will not cause stomach upset. Personally, I'm not a fan of the BB line. This is my own opinion based on personal experience and in no way reflects the opinion of either Petco or Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Congrats on the new puppy! I would definitely start slowly transitioning him to a commercial dog food. I am not sure which brands you have in your area but I love royal canin, science diet, iams, and purina. If you don't have these brands, the main thing is that you want to try to find a large breed puppy formula for him to be on until he is about 1 year old. I would start by stopping the milk as this can cause him to have an upset tummy. I would also start to slowly mix in the new puppy food and over about 10 days, increase the amount of puppy food and decrease the amount of chicken and rice. I hope this helps!