Dogs go through different life stages, this much is obvious, but do they require different nutritional profiles during each of these stages? The answer to this question isn’t as easy as it might appear at first glance, but ultimately that answer is yes.
Because all life stages dog foods aren’t age-specific, you need to be careful about how much you feed to younger dogs. These types of dog foods are usually packed with calories, which means that unless you properly portion them you could potentially overfeed younger dogs (or smaller breeds). Most brands will include specific instructions on how to size out portions, timing, scheduling, etc.
When it comes to the debate between life-stage based feeding and all life stages dog foods, you really need to consider your dog’s medical history, age, breed, and size. Before starting any new diet plan, or making any major changes to your dog’s diet, you should first consult with your vet to go over what options are available.
Generally speaking, there are three categories that most dog foods can be placed in; all life stages, adult/senior, or puppy/development. The specific guidelines and regulations that AAFCO sets forth for the dog food industry are very strict (in regards to adult dog nutritional profiles), and this is where things get a little fuzzy.
With that being said, is life-stage nutrition really required? Or is an all life stages dog food the better choice? Which type of diet will provide your pup with the most balanced, nutrient-dense food? Below we cover the answer to these questions (and also go over some details about optimal nutritional profiles).
Fair question. First, consider that there are two ways a dog food can be shown to meet nutrient needs, according to AAFCO standards. One is to make sure the recipe is “formulated to meet” the levels of nutrients that AAFCO publishes. These nutrient levels, or profiles, list minimums and, in some cases, maximums, for essential nutrients that should be in the food depending on the dog’s life stage. The minimums for puppies and pregnant or nursing dogs are often higher than the minimums for non-reproducing adult dogs. Thus, as long as the food contains the minimums for pups and breeding females, it can be said to be “for all life stages.” The nutrient levels “may be overkill” for the average adult dog, says board-certified veterinary nutritionist Cailin Heinze, VMD, but a healthy grown dog will not be hurt by the higher amounts.
One caveat: food for puppies and pregnant/lactating bitches is often, but not always, higher in calories than food formulated for “maintenance.” If calories are an issue for your adult dog, check package labels to compare calorie levels from one food to another. That way, if your dog needs fewer calories to maintain or lose weight, you can choose a lower-calorie food.
For dogs who are reproducing and also for puppies, “I would certainly rather have feeding trials” than a food simply formulated to meet AAFCO nutrient minimums, Dr. Heinze says. “A lot more can go wrong during those stages of life than during adult maintenance. Problems happen much more quickly than they would over the course of an adult dog’s life.” In other words, there’s only a small window for getting it right, and a food that has gone through feeding trials for gestation/lactation and/or growth provides more assurance that things will turn out the way they’re supposed to.
When you look at a bag or can of dog food, there’s always a statement from the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) that says the food is appropriate for any one of a number of phases of a pet’s life. These include “growth” (puppies), “reproduction” (pregnant or nursing bitches), “maintenance” (adult dogs), or “all life stages.” But how could a food be for every stage of life if there are all those categories?
The second way a recipe can be validated is for the food to actually go through feeding trials with dogs in the life stage group for which the food is intended. For instance, if a company wants to say “gestation/lactation” on the label’s AAFCO statement — not by making the recipe according to a list of nutrient minimums but by seeing what happens when dogs actually eat the food — it needs to test the food on pregnant/lactating dogs and see if the results stand up to AAFCO guidelines. These guidelines are not about specific levels of nutrients, as they are for foods “formulated to meet” AAFCO standards, but for actual health outcomes. For instance, the bitch and pups must have similar weight gain to the average for dogs in the colony, show no signs of deficiencies, and have normal red blood cell and blood protein values. If the standards are met, the AAFCO statement on the label can say “feeding trials” to show that the food is right for reproduction.
Now, to get back to the aforementioned comment. The standards for growth and reproduction are not “more stringent” than are those for adult maintenance, inferring that the latter are somehow inferior. In fact, it could be said that the adult maintenance standards are more stringent in that for many nutrients, minimums and maximums are dictated while only minimums growth and reproduction foods only have to adhere to a set of minimums. All life stages foods have to meet both sets of parameters, which isn’t as hard as it might sound when you actually take a look at the table.
For example, the AAFCO minimum for a food’s calcium to phosphorous ratio is 1:1 with a maximum of 2:1 added for adult maintenance and all life stages foods. Research has shown that to help avoid developmental orthopedic diseases like hip dysplasia, the ideal ratio is 1:1 to 1.3:1 for large breed puppies. Large breed puppy foods are formulated to meet this more restrictive ratio, even though AAFCO has nothing to say on the matter at all.
AAFCO standards are simply a floor beneath which pet foods cannot fall if they are to carry a “complete and balanced” statement on their labels. Highly regarded manufacturers go much further, fine-tuning their diets to optimize nutrition for specific populations.
Dog foods can be placed into one of three categories — adult maintenance, growth and reproduction, or all life stages.
Recently, a reader posted a comment in response to an old post about life stage feeding. In part it said:
What is an All Life Stages Diet? | GO! SOLUTIONS
Ask any dog owner what their least favorite part of buying dog food is, and they’ll most likely respond with something mentioning how there are just too many options. Should you buy grain-free? Protein-rich? Which type of protein should you buy (e.g. duck, beef, lamb, chicken, etc.)?
Making it even more confusing is the sheer amount of specialized recipes on the market. One of the more popular types of dog food that has seen a recent surge in the US market is life stage-based food. Life-stage nutrition isn’t a novel concept, and there’s certainly some solid evidence behind its reasoning (i.e. puppies require different nutritional profiles than senior dogs).
With that being said, is life-stage nutrition really required? Or is an all life stages dog food the better choice? Which type of diet will provide your pup with the most balanced, nutrient-dense food? Below we cover the answer to these questions (and also go over some details about optimal nutritional profiles).
It’s not exactly a secret that puppies require a different nutritional profile than adult dogs. Puppies need more calories and other nutrients (e.g. minerals, vitamins, etc.) in order to grow into healthy adults. Likewise, dogs that are pregnant (or have just given birth) also require different levels of nutrition.
That part is obvious. The part that isn’t so obvious, though, is that AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials) doesn’t just develop guidelines for specific ages, but they also work on nutritional profiles for “all life stages.” Dog food that’s rated as “all life stages” by AAFCO can be fed to any type of dog, no matter what age they are.
Generally speaking, there are three categories that most dog foods can be placed in; all life stages, adult/senior, or puppy/development. The specific guidelines and regulations that AAFCO sets forth for the dog food industry are very strict (in regards to adult dog nutritional profiles), and this is where things get a little fuzzy.
Some think that life-stage based dog foods are nothing more than a marketing gimmick, whereas others think that they actually do provide more benefits than all life stages food. However, it’s important to remember that AAFCO simply develops guidelines/requirements. Most high-quality dog food brands not only fulfill AAFCO requirements but far exceed them (which is exactly what makes them high quality).
Dogs go through different life stages, this much is obvious, but do they require different nutritional profiles during each of these stages? The answer to this question isn’t as easy as it might appear at first glance, but ultimately that answer is yes.
However, any decent all life stages dog food (e.g. Canidae All Stages dog food formula) will contain not only the bare minimums as set forth by AAFCO, but it will contain an optimal level of nutrition for dogs of all ages.
Because all life stages dog foods aren’t age-specific, you need to be careful about how much you feed to younger dogs. These types of dog foods are usually packed with calories, which means that unless you properly portion them you could potentially overfeed younger dogs (or smaller breeds). Most brands will include specific instructions on how to size out portions, timing, scheduling, etc.
One important caveat that must be made in regards to all life stages dog food: large dog breeds must be treated with extra care. Because large-size dog breeds are more prone to developmental issues when they’re maturing from puppies into adults, they are usually fed breed-specific diets. If you want to feed your large breed an all life stages diet, you need to look for a specific brand/product that explicitly mentions that it’s been vetted for use on large-breed dogs by AAFCO.
When it comes to the debate between life-stage based feeding and all life stages dog foods, you really need to consider your dog’s medical history, age, breed, and size. Before starting any new diet plan, or making any major changes to your dog’s diet, you should first consult with your vet to go over what options are available.
All life stages dog food provides dogs of all ages with AAFCO-recommended nutritional profiles. The only thing you need to consider is which life stage your dog is in (as well as its breed), and adjust the portions as necessary.