I Accidentally Bought Puppy Food: Things To Do With It

Mistakes happen! We are all human beings. But what if you accidentally bought puppy food? You may be wondering whether you can feed puppy food to your adult dog or not! But wait, although you can feed puppy food to your adult dog, it is suggested not to feed any puppy food to your grown-up dog regularly.

There are a few reasons behind it. Stomach issues are the most common issues your grown-up dog may face after having puppy food. Puppy food comes with a lot of nutrients that are suitable for only puppies but, adult pet food ingredients are different compared to puppy food.

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So feeding the same puupy food to your adult dog may cause malnutrition or may provide your grown-up dogs with some extra nutrients that your grown-up dogs don’t need at all. Do not worry. We are here to help you deal with the situation.

This article will guide you on “what to do if you buy puppy food accidentally“.

Before anything, we have to understand why puppy food is not recommended for adult dogs.

As pet parents, we would like to tell you some important points.

Pancreatitis: If you start giving your adult dog puppy food, it may start feeling stomach pain and other gas problems. Even over time, your furry friend may develop pancreatitis, a serious health problem.

Kidney problems: Eating excessive puppy food may lead to kidney problems for your dog. As you already know that puppy food contains more nutrients than normal dog food, so when you feed your grown dog puppy food regularly, there may be a risk of growing kidney disease in your dog.

Weight Gaining: Daily consuming puppy food may lead to obesity. Puppy food contains high-packed nutrients. So when your dog eats this highly nutrient-packed food, it may increase its body weight drastically.

Joints pain: Puppy food contains high calcium value. So feeding your dog may cause excessive bone growth. And this condition may bring joint pain and skeleton problems to your furry friend.

What to do with wrongly purchased puppy food?

So there are many possible ways to use wrongly-bought puppy food. We will tell you some important tips that will probably help you.

Mix it with regular dog treats

If you mistakenly bought puppy food and are wondering whether your dog can eat puppy food, then let us tell you, yes, your dog can eat puppy food by following some strict instructions.

One of the easiest ways to use it is by mixing it with your grown-up dog’s food. While mixing the puppy food with your dog’s regular food, keep the ratio of the puppy very low.

The ideal ratio is 75% regular dog food and 25% puppy food. If you mix puppy food in this ratio, there will be no problem. But it is better to get feeding instructions from your veterinarian, especially when you include puppy food in your grown-up dog’s diet.

Ideally, healthy dogs do not face problems after consuming puppy food with normal food. However, after feeding your dog this food mixture to your dog if you see any abnormality, then you must stop feeding them. In rare cases, dogs face problems like diarrhea, gas, bloating, and some gastronomical issues. It is suggested not to include puppy food in your dog’s diet regularly.

Occasional treats:

If you have unintentionally purchased a puppy food item, you can use it as an occasional treat. This year, we bought puppy food unintentionally, but later we used it as a special treat for our dog.

So regarding that here I would like to share an anecdote with you guys, Jack, our furry pal, used to bark at nothing and roll on the dirt suddenly. We could not understand the exact reason.

Sara decided to give “no command” training to Jack”. So while giving this puppy training to Jack, Sara used that puppy food as a treat. Every time Jack listened to us and followed our instructions, we gave him a chunk of puppy food.

You also can use mistakenly-bought puppy food to treat your dog. Now you must be very mindful while using puppy food for your dog. But do not give it too often to your pal. It may make them sick and deteriorate their health abruptly without any symptoms.

Exchange with adult dog food:

If you have a friend who has a puppy and an adult dog at home, you can ask if they would be willing to exchange some puppy food with you. True friends are always there to support us through thick and thin, so don’t hesitate to ask for their help in this situation.

Give Away:

If none of the above options work, one novel way to make use of a packet of puppy food is to donate it to local pet care shelters that cater to stray dogs in need.

Return it:

If you do not want to do any of these, and wondering what to do with this mistakenly-bought item, then simply return them to the pet store from where you’ve got them. Sometimes pet stores do not have the option to pay; instead, they have a different return policy. In exchange for returning the product, they may ask you to buy some other products in exchange for the product. So purchase the right one in exchange for puppy food that you already purchased from them.

Store it in a dry and cold place:

If you plan to buy a puppy soon, consider keeping the puppy food for future use as these puppy foods’ shelf life is around 12 to 18 months, so you will not have any problem keeping this for future use. Make sure to keep this puppy food in a dry and cool place.

Here we would like to say if you accidentally bought wet puppy food and want to store it for the future, we suggest returning the food as early as possible. Because wet puppy food does not last long, returning it or exchanging it would be the right choice in this case.

Sell it online:

Many social media groups are available on the internet where people sell products. Just join those groups and discuss with group members. You will find someone from those groups who may want to purchase your product. In this case, they may ask you to reduce the price. Now it is up to you whether you want to sell it at a low rate or not.

How you can avoid buying the wrong product:

It’s possible to buy the wrong product unintentionally. With so many options on the internet, we often end up buying the wrong products. It happened to us many times. However, you can avoid these mistakes.

We have shared some tips that will help you avoid accidentally buying the wrong pet food.

Ask the shopkeeper:

One of the easiest ways to avoid buying the wrong puppy food is by asking the shopkeeper for the right one. Even in the supermarket, you will get a crew who will assist you in buying the right one for you. Tell them your little friends’ age, and they will bring you the right one.

Reading the product label before purchasing:

It may sound simple, but all dog food products look similar. If you notice carefully, you will see pet food labels written on each food packet and container. So before purchasing, you must check the age label to purchase the right food for your furry friend.

Keeping track of your dog’s age:

It is always better to keep track of your dog’s age. So that the next time you’re in a supermarket looking for dog food, you will automatically pick up the right one for your dog according to your dog’s age. Additionally, remembering their age is helpful when it’s time for their yearly vaccination and routine check-up at the veterinarian’s office.

Conclusion:

This article discussed whether you could feed your accidentally bought puppy food to your grown-up dog. While opinions may vary, having accurate information is crucial.

Being pet parents Sara and I always try to share and suggest the best advice for your dogs. All this information above is from our own experience. So if you accidentally bought puppy food, these solutions and tips may help. But before including puppy food in your grown-up dog’s diet, consulting with your veterinarian would be a wise choice.

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