I know that there is an agree-to-disagree opinion out there so I am just looking for a general consensus.

Those of you that feed performance type diets (PPP, etc) - when you have a bitch in whelp do you change her to a puppy formula and wean the pups onto a puppy formula, or do you just leave everyone on the performance food?

If you wean onto a performance food, do you change the pups over to a puppy formula (large breed or regular)through their rapid growth stage?

At what age do you take them off the puppy and back onto the performance?

Thanks for constructive responses

I don't switch the mom off of Performance. I start the pups on regular Pro Plan Chicken And Rice Puppy Food (not shredded or large breed), and I keep the pups on it until they have their adult teeth in(about 6 months), and then they go right to Performance.

Keep mom on performance throughout, last litter for first time weaned pups onto PPP and kept them on it, never used the puppy food, and like how they are growing better, nice and even. If you look at the actual nutritional analysis of both foods, not what is printed on the bag which only shows minimums (have to get that info from Purina, they have a pamphlet you can sometimes pick up at their booth at shows that lists it) there is really very little difference between the puppy and performance, so I did not see any advantage of going on one then switching. For instance, the actual protein in the puppy food is 30%, not the 28% listed on the bag which is just the minimum, also the calcium in both is just about the same, 1.2% (again, you can't go by what the bag says which is just minimums but not actual.) The main difference between the performance and puppy is that the performance is about 50 calories per cup more than the puppy, so you can feed a little less. Also, the performance does not have wheat in it but the puppy food does, another reason I decided to stick with the performance food.

I weaned my last litter onto PPP Performance, and really love how they are growing. It's nice to have one food for everyone, with the high protein it's good for the adults coming back into coat too. I also appreciate that the performance food is higher in calories, so I can feed the puppies less food, (nice firm poops!) and they were/are really bloomy babies/youngsters.

There are so many ingredients in the PPP that I have been warned against by the industry, long-time/successful breeders, and animal health magazines.

Don't misinterpret my inquiry, I'm not bashing the folks who feed this food, but how do I overcome the feeling that I'm not feeding a quality food if I switch from Canidae, for example, to PPP? The ingredients that stuck out to me were the corn gluten meal, the poultry by-product meal, the whole grain corn, the corn germ meal, and the animal digest. Plus, do we really need salt in dog food? Please tell me your perspective.

PPP:
"Chicken, corn gluten meal, brewers rice, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), whole grain corn, corn germ meal, fish meal (natural source of glucosamine), animal digest, fish oil, dried egg product, salt, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, calcium phosphate, Vitamin E supplement, choline chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite"

Canidae ALS:
"Chicken meal, turkey meal, lamb meal, brown rice, white rice, rice bran, peas, potatoes, oatmeal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), millet, tomato pomace, natural flavor, flaxseed meal, ocean fish meal, choline chloride, suncured alfalfa meal, inulin (from chicory root), lecithin, sage extract, cranberries, beta-carotene, rosemary extract, sunflower oil, yucca schidigera extract, dried enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, papaya, pineapple"

Taste of the Wild has a puppy formula out now. My mommas/puppies are on Pro Plan Large breed puppy but my big guys(and mommas when they are off puppies) are on Taste of the Wild and everyone looks great on it.

Think I might give the puppy formula a try.

I had started thinking that way and went on the food merry go round, trying so called "better" brands than Proplan. I finally decided rather than listen to what anonymous websites and people say, I am going to listen to my dogs and put them back on the food they did great on, Proplan. BTW, one of the foods I tried was Canidae, regular and grain free and what a disaster that was, the dogs did awful on it, coats were terrible. It may work for some dogs but did not work for mine.

I have a litter on the TOTW puppy Pacific stream right now. The pups look great, nice firm stools, but I had a hard time with runny stools when I first increased the food. It can be a rich food for some of the little ones. Important to follow the feeding guidelines as close as possible on the bag

I use ProPlan Performance for all my dogs, from puppies to seniors.

Curious, anyone know what the calcium level is in the TOTW puppy? They do not list it on the website.

Never mind, found it:
The High Prairie Puppy contains 1.4% calcium and 1.0% phosphorus on an as-fed basis.

The Pacific Stream Puppy contains 1.3% calcium and 1.0% phosphorus on an as-fed basis.

Fine for large breed puppies.

I have used PPP Chicken and Rice for years. Always nice pups. It it ain't broke, don't fix it ! These who go out and use all these new foods are just making the dealers richer.

I will never switch from Pro Plan. It is a good, readily accessible food. When people send their pups home on Nature's Best Holistic Organic Grain Free All Natural Buffalo And Kangaroo, the odds are pretty high that the pups will be switched in their pet homes the first time the pet owner tries to find it. Pro Plan is popular, so it is always fresh on the shelves. Sometimes those less used foods are full of worms and moths. Yuck.