What happens if you feed puppy food to an adult dog or adult food to a puppy?
This is specifically for a small breed dog My friend feeds her adult dogs puppy food along with her 9 month old puppy. All the dogs are the Havanese breed. At first she was feeding the 9 month old adult food for a while because of the other adult dogs. Now she is feeding them all puppy food. I tried to tell her it’s not good but she doesn’t believe me. So what will it do?

October 9th, 2009 at 3:44 am
It turns into a werewolf and kills your family. speaker of unassailable truth
October 12th, 2009 at 1:37 am
The adult dog food has a very high amount of protein and could make your little ones could get real sick……adult dogs love puppy food and cat food! Again, they’ll get sick and leave you little gifts on the floor in the morning….walking barefoot…..to your coffee machine! Good Luck
PiNk pink
October 14th, 2009 at 8:38 am
the puppy may not get adequate nutrtion from adult food.
puppy food may make an adult fat nonshowing breeders breed crap
October 15th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
they’ll turn into adults! Ahhh!!
No.. It’s okay.. It’ll probably be a little harsher on their tummies.. but it won’t kill them or anything, The puppy food just has a lot more vitamins etc. Like how we feed infants formula instead of regular milk. It has more nutrients that developing babies need. But it certainly won’t do any harm.. Esp since your puppy is 9 months. Kristen
October 18th, 2009 at 1:18 am
I think that puppy food is fattening for adult dogs. I recently rescued a little starving chihuahua mix and, though she was an adult, the vet recommended that I feed the dog puppy food for a while because it was easy to digest and would help her gain weight.
She also said that, regardless what the can says, all canned dog food IS puppy food. scruffycat
October 21st, 2009 at 11:44 am
The adult dogs will get fat!!! Puppy food is higher in protein and calories than adult dog food. It would be much better just to feed all the dogs adult dog food - as long as the puppy is not underweight! Lissa C
October 21st, 2009 at 2:35 pm
I fed my Toy Poodle adult dog food since she was six months old. They’ll probably be just fine eating puppy food. Salty Boy
October 23rd, 2009 at 5:17 pm
the adult becomes a puppy and the puppy grows idk shoot its like almost 11 …why are u asking this? Cool Guy
October 24th, 2009 at 10:42 am
You are right. Puppy food is formulated for growing dogs that have higher nutritional requirements and burn more calories due to their activity level and metabolism. The protein and carbs in it are not in balance for a mature dog. Simply compare the analysis table on the puppy food with that on regular dog food and you’ll see a striking difference. Simply tell your friend that if she cares about the health of her dog, that her dog would do much better on adult dog food.
It depends on the formulation, but most likely, the adult dog eating puppy food would just get fat if it eats enough to satisfy its appetite. cbspokane
October 25th, 2009 at 10:22 am
It has to do mainly with protein and carbs content. Which differs from a brand to another.
Although puppies need a decent amount of protein to help them grow, a too rapid growth (too high of protein intake) might increase their risk of hip dysplasia.
There are debates over puppy food vs adult dog food. But overall they should be fine.
Adults might get a lit bit chubbier with puppy food.
Puppies might miss some nutrients.
Since they are a small breed protein weight in the food shouldn’t be excessive.
. Lilasianfrog
October 26th, 2009 at 1:59 am
The adult dogs will actually be fine, though it would be better to give them a diet more geared towards their age and needs. Puppies on adult food, however, can get very sick. It’s not nearly as bad as feeding a human baby adult food, but it’s good that she stopped. She really needs to just suck it up and buy two different kinds. She’s doing her dogs a disservice. Red
October 28th, 2009 at 11:18 am
Hi,
First of all they call it puppy food because it is made special for puppy’s.Puppy food has what puppies need to grow and for their bones and teeth and such.When a dog gets older their body’s need different vit.and minerals for different parts of their body’s.So if she is feeding her dog puppy food than he will not be healthy like he should be.You can go to a vet and get the information that you are seeking.And than give it to her to read.Or read it to her yourself. angels
October 28th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Doggie, Want to go for a walk?, I haven’t had any problems with my havanese. Keion M
October 30th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Adult dog food is more nutritious as compared to less nutritious puppy food as puppy needs less proteins then dog so feeding your puppy high protein food may cause him sick., MJG
October 31st, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Your friend didn’t ask for your opinion, and didn’t want to hear it. You can’t change her.
You might want to suggest that she ask her vet as the vet is a dog owner’s best assistant in trying to raise a healthy dog. If her vet explains that the nutrients are not right for the dog, she’ll believe her vet, where she will doubt you -!- Nedra E