Well, Rascal is all grown up. As of right now he's still on puppy food, but he'll be turning one in a few weeks. We always put our dogs on adult dog food once they turned one.

When we took him to the vet about his limp, she advised us to keep him on puppy food for at least the first 2 years. I don't really agree with that, but she's the vet, so I figured, okay, she knows more than I do.

Well, at the follow up visit recently, we got a different vet (our vet clinic has numerous vets working there. You rarely get the same vet twice), and that vet said "I see Rascal will be one soon, time to start dog food".

Now I'm confused.

Behavior issues I can deal with, and advise on. But food has never been my strong point. So, I'm asking all you pet food experts, what's your opinion? Who's right, vet A or vet B?

Did Vet B know of the limp and the recommendation by Vet A?

What was Vet A's rationale for keeping him on puppy food for another year?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

Did Vet B know of the limp and the recommendation by Vet A?

What was Vet A's rationale for keeping him on puppy food for another year?

---

Yes, vet B had all of Rascals medical history.

Vet A's rationale was that he always keeps his dogs on puppy food for the first 2 years. He feels that a larger dog isn't really done growing until the second year, which is why puppy food should be fed for the first 2 years.

Vet B disagrees, and thinks that dogs are done growing after the first year. Keeping them on puppy food longer than that can promote obesity, since puppy food is higher in fat.

What kind of dog is Rascal again?

Apollo (our Dane) is staying on puppy food until he is 24 months. They really don't stop growing until just before then, but that's his breed.

Are we having a birthday party for Rascal?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sariss

What kind of dog is Rascal again?

Apollo (our Dane) is staying on puppy food until he is 24 months. They really don't stop growing until just before then, but that's his breed.

---

Rascal is a border collie cross. If he isn't done growing, we're in trouble. Man he's tall, and long. He's pretty big for his mix, especially since he's mainly border collie.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Wondergirl

Are we having a birthday party for Rascal?

---

LOL! Every day is a party for that pup.

Rascal is not a large breed dog.. why on earth would he need to be on puppy food still? All that will do is make him fat.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lucky098

Rascal is not a large breed dog.. why on earth would he need to be on puppy food still? All that will do is make him fat.

---

Thank you Lucky. That's my thought as well. I just got conflicting information from those two vets, so I wanted to see what you all thought, since I actually trust the pet experts on this site more than any vet.

We'll start slowly switching to dog food now. Boy will it make life easier, now both dogs can eat the same food, and I won't have to watch Chewy to make sure he's not stealing puppy food. Apparently the puppy food is the cat's meow, or would it be the dogs bark? ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lucky098

All that will do is make him fat.

---

That's what I was thinking since it works that way with cats. But I have never had a dog so I kept my mouth shut (this time, until now).