# Is 7 months to young for wilderness?



## zoey2010 (Mar 19, 2010)

I have been feeding Zoey Blue Buffalo LBP. She has done great on it. I want to get her off of puppy food, is she to young for the Wilderness?


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

The calcium is too high for growing puppies

I think the only safe grain free food for puppies is Orijen


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

Is there a reason you want to get her off of puppy food? Ideally she should be on it until at LEAST 12 months. 

Yes, she is too young for wilderness. Keep her on a LBP food with low calcium content until at LEAST 12 months. 

If she's doing great, why change it?


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## zoey2010 (Mar 19, 2010)

So she need to stay on puppy food? Two weeks ago she weighed 57 lbs.


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## sagelfn (Aug 13, 2009)

You don't have to stay on puppy food, you could switch to an adult food that had acceptable levels of calcium for puppies but Wilderness and all other grain free foods except Orijen do not have acceptable levels.

Her weight is not the issue, she is still growing and developing and will continue to do so. Many people feed puppy food past 12 months


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Stick to the Blue Buffalo LBP or adult formula until at least 2 years old. They stop growing around that time, so a switch to wilderness should be ok then. 

Is there a reason you want to switch?


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## zoey2010 (Mar 19, 2010)

I just thought the GS did not need to stay on puppy food very long because they grow too fast on it. I have no problem keeping her on the puppy food. I just want to do what is best for her,that is the reason I asked first.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

zoey2010 said:


> I just thought the GS did not need to stay on puppy food very long because they grow too fast on it. I have no problem keeping her on the puppy food. I just want to do what is best for her,that is the reason I asked first.


LBP food actually has less calcium to promote slow growth which is actually good for large breed pups like german shepherds. Large breed puppy food is nice, you don't want to feed regular puppy food. Maybe that's where you're getting confused. There's definitely a difference between LBP and regular puppy.

Most grain free foods have too much calcium which is why most here will recommend not to feed until they're done growing.

It's the calcium that you need to watch out for. Blue Buffalo LBP or their adult formula (excluding the wilderness formula) should be fine until she's 2. Once she's done growing, you can switch her to whatever you want.


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## jakeandrenee (Apr 30, 2010)

If you are looking to go grain free for a puppy, you can try Acana grain free "Pacifica". It is safe for puppies. Acana is made by the same company as Orijen, and is high quality kibble. However although they say all flavors are ALS the Pacifica flavor is the only one I am comfortable with. Jake is 6 months and ever since I switched from BB his poops are perfect. BB just didn't agree with him. Good luck on the food search.


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## jent (Jun 14, 2010)

I, and many others qualified, would actually suggest not going off a LBP food until after 18 weeks. It does not hurt them to stay on it, and there is good evidence that there is still some benefit to be had from a LBP food after 1 year.

This is iVet's brand recommendation (I am currently undecided about this particularly food in general though, but they do seem to address some good concerns with the manufacturing process), but I have heard it from several veterinarians as well.


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## zoey2010 (Mar 19, 2010)

Thanks everyone. I will stay with the BB LBP. Zoey has done really well on it.


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## Whitedog404 (Mar 25, 2010)

Now I'm confused. I started giving Dexter (now 6 and 1/2 months old) half Kirkland's puppy food and half Kirkland's lamb & rice, with homemade food (cooked chicken, turkey, beef and such with veggies and brown rice). And he takes Springtime supplements daily. I was going to stop the puppy food when I ran out. Should I not?


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

It's not that they need to be on PUPPY food, it's that the calcium has to be a low content in the food or they'll grow too fast and stress bones/joints. 

I do not feed anything with calcium over 1.5% max. Orijen is cutting it close, and I would be wary feeding it, but it is grain free, which is an advantage.


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## Whitedog404 (Mar 25, 2010)

Shoot. I can't find the calcium content in Kirkland's.


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## DJEtzel (Feb 11, 2010)

I cannot find it either. The other two formulas are min. 1% and 1.5% so HOPEFULLY it's not much more.


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