Hi, I’m feeding my puppy with large breed puppy food since we got her. Now she is 7 months, about 43 pounds. When we got her at 10 weeks, she was only 6.5 pounds. She is growing so fast. I don’t know when I need to stop feeding the large breed puppy food and switch to regular food. Please help. Thanks!

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The food you are feeding should have the age range on it. Many people will feed large breed puppy up to 2 years old. Just out of curiosity which food are you feeding?

We started to transition off of PPP LBP between 7-8 months. There is no hard and fast rule, but puppy food is intended for puppies. It is nutritionally complete for fast growing, large breed puppies. Once their growth starts to slow, their caloric needs change, and their specific nutritional needs change to that of an adult. It also depends on the quality of food as well.

I use Life’s abundance which was recommended by the breeder.

9-12 months is usually a good range. You want them on large breed puppy food for controlled growth for their joints. They grow until roughly 14 months which about when their growth plates close. Their growth has slowed so much by 9 months old that bring in an adult food shouldn't make any difference. 24 months was thinking back in the late 80s or early 90s. No point in force feeding extra protein and fat asking with calories when they aren't utilizing it anymore. That's a common train young puppy pack on the weight.

No puppy food for my dogs. Start them on premium dog food (pro plan performance 30/20). Don't over feed, follow the recommended rations by weight. Also consider the activity level of the dog.
Feed twice a day the first few months then transition to just in the evening. I train or hunt hard almost every day and do not like to work a dog with a full stomach. My current pup decided on his own at about 4 months that he didn't want food in the morning.

^^ that to me is crazy. Crazy excess of fat and protein totally uncontrolled growth and so much food at once getting once a day is huge increase risk of bloat/gastric torsion.

There are things that should work and do for some and vice versa but hmmm.

That is why it is very important to feed according to the recommended rations and I do feed two times a day with a very young pup, even three times the first couple weeks. Getting the needed fat and protein in a smaller ration of food is a good thing IMO.

I train with quite a few people and I don't think any use puppy food. These are extremely active dogs, training for field trials as well as hunting.

We also hunt/field train. I switch foods at around 7/8 months, after all adult teeth are in. I make the switch at that time because our field trainer only feeds once a day. They are taken off PPP Lg Breed Puppy and put on PPP Sport 30/20 before they go to him normally. The reason for going to feeding once a day during heavy training is they train in the morning and evening. Our trainer feeds in the middle of the day when they are rested, and have time to safely digest. He also is outside near all the dogs during this time in case one has an issue. He sometimes has 8 dogs at once so I understand. I feed 3 times a day until around 5 months and then I switch to two. I do go to the one time a day feeding while they are at the trainer, but when they are home I feed twice a day. (If everyone is healthy)

I am currently feeding both dogs 3 times a day because Duke is older and is having some health issues. It's easier for him to digest in smaller portions. Until I added Moe I could put Dukes food down in the morning and he would not touch it until around 7 p.m.. He always preferred to just eat once a day. I think he got use to it when he was training and it just stuck. I don't recommend Sport food to anyone that has a dog that isn't very active unless they are vigilant about weight control. I do not like my guys to be overweight.

I kept Moe on Lg Breed Puppy until 10 months because he did have some ortho issues and the surgeon and rehab specialist both recommended it.

If our guys are going out to hunt they eat when they come home in the morning or evening.

I also have a seven month old golden that is currently around 56lbs. I have him on ProPlan LBP and intend to keep him on it until he's 12 months old. The reason is that LBP is actually lower in calories so I can feed him a quantity that makes him feel full without him getting fat. I tried putting him on 30/20 as a puppy, but it was just too much fat for his system to handle and he had soft stools.

When he turns 12 months old in April, I will likely transition him to ProPlan 30/20 for summer training. He will need those extra calories to maintain weight during heavy exercise.