Why do some breeders recommend adult food for large puppies?

Some breeders recommend feeding large- and giant-breed puppies adult dog food because they believe puppy food will cause the dogs to grow too quickly and their joints to suffer. They suggest using adult food to safely manage the puppy’s rapid growth and prevent developmental orthopedic diseases (DOD).

However, veterinary nutritionists strongly warn that this is a dangerous misconception. Switching a large-breed puppy to an adult diet too early puts them at high risk for skeletal abnormalities due to the following factors:

• The Calorie-Calcium Mismatch: Adult maintenance diets are typically lower in calories than large-breed puppy foods. In order to get enough calories to fuel their rapid growth, a puppy fed an adult diet will have to eat a much larger volume of food.

• Accidental Nutrient Overdose: Because they are eating a higher volume of food overall, the puppy will inherently consume a dangerous excess of calcium and other nutrients. Ironically, switching to an adult food to slow growth may result in the puppy receiving more calcium than if they had been fed a proper growth diet. This excess calcium is a primary trigger for debilitating DODs.

• Ignoring Specific Growth Needs: Transitioning to an adult maintenance diet completely ignores the unique nutritional requirements of a growing puppy, failing to account for their need for highly specific ratios of calcium, phosphorus, iron, and protein.

Instead of switching to an adult food, experts recommend feeding a specifically formulated large-breed puppy diet that naturally controls caloric density while providing the exact balance of nutrients necessary to safely support a giant breed’s bone development. You should keep your puppy on this growth diet until their skeletal frame is 90% to 99% fully developed, which is typically around 18 months of age.