Hi, my pup Maya is just over 1 (13 months/41lbs) year and I'm looking for some advice as to what adult food would be good for her in addition to when she should be switched. As far as when, I have been told anywhere between 1 year and 2, which is too large of a range to be of any help. For the food, I would like to have her on a higher quality food than the standard kibble, but at the same time I am a college student and cannot afford some of the foods like Blue. My vet recommended Purina, saying that a lot of the other foods don't have to meet the same requirements. Due to that fact I have looked into the Pro plan and One varieties. In addition I found the brand Victor to have great reviews, decent availability and affordable prices. One last thing is that grain free food upsets her stomach so I'm trying to avoid that if at all possible. Any advice on these 2 questions would be super helpful. Thanks!

Hey Brandon, I would say over a year is more than fine to go to an all life stage or adult food for a husky. I would and do feed grain free and Victor is one of the best foods out there, so if it fits your budget, and you find one that is grain free (some of theirs has grain, so dependent on if available to you). The only thing I will suggest is to do a slow transition to the new food to avoid tummy upset.

Hey Brandon&Maya!

I second the 1 year transition to an adult food. Even the instructions on the bags usually say that you should be switching to an adult formula at one year. I currently feed Orijen, but if that's too expensive Acana is a cheaper alternative. Otherwise, I have friends and my breeder recommends Kirkland (Costco) dog food.

Check it out on dogfoodadvisor and make an informed decision.

Cheers!

The 1-2 year advice depends more on the breed you have. Small/Medium breeds tend to be fine switching at a year. Large breeds who take longer to grow need to be on an appropriate puppy formula for longer. Sibes being a medium breed are fine to switch around a year of age.

You say that "grain free food upsets her stomach" but I HIGHLY doubt it's a lack of grain that's upsetting her stomach. I think the culprit is something else, you just have to do some detective work (i.e. trial and error) to figure out what the true cause of the stomach upset is.

There a many, many, many food choices that would be great options. But I would not feed Purina. We have a What are you feeding your Husky? thread that is full of great suggestions you might want to check out.

Good catch Val, I read that as "grain foods upset her stomach"..............I totally agree with Val, Brandon, if something is bothering her tummy I would not just assume it is because of the grain free. Although some dogs, usually not huskies, do very well on a high end kibble that has grain in it. Trial and error is the best way to go, have food labels so you can compare ingredients so you can determine what may be bothering her. If you are insistent on feeding a kibble with grain, Fromm, Victors and Farmina come to mind that are high quality.

Taste of the wild is what I feed it's technically an all life stage food so I'm currently mixing TOTW puppy food with their adult food (ours is 8 months old). I'm thinking of switching to a New Zealand brand Ziwipeak which is even better quality than TOTW but it's more expensive.