Your dog grows and changes over time just as you do. A very young animal will need more of certain vitamins than a very old one will. This is true for every animal in existence from your dog, to your cat, to your own body. Your requirements change as your age and body condition changes.

Many pet owners, reading that the pet foods should not be changed, mistakenly believe that to mean that starting a dog or cat on the same diet as a juvenile means that they should eat that food for their entire life span.

Nothing is further from the truth than that statement.

Changing your dog or cats diet for no reason is probably going to cause problems with whether or not they eat well. A massive change may cause some changes in digestion or elimination, but a healthy dog will be able to tolerate the change.

Your puppy needs a food that is designed to help him or her grow well. Just as you would not feed pizza to your baby, but would opt for baby food, puppy food is geared toward the health needs of your juvenile dog. It adds ingredients that give them extra nutrients, extra calories and helps them to maintain a good growth status.

As the dog ages and becomes an adult, the extra calories are often not necessary. If you maintain your dog on a food that is geared for puppies, they will quite likely experience flatulence, as well as will very likely be overweight, since the calories are more than they need.

As your dog ages, some ingredients should change in the dog food. You need to account for joint pain that may come with aging, as well as to lower the calories so that your dog gets plenty of nutrients but they don’t get overweight or inactive. Dog foods that are designed for older dogs are the best option for your dog when they reach the age of 8 or 9 years old. Even though your dog may act like a puppy at that age, their health care requirements are different and your feeding should be different too.

Take your dog’s age into account when you plan their diet and change their food according to the needs of your dog.