too late for proper growth?

ok here it goes, i had adopted an 11 mths old dog from the pound, he was abused and neglected. to me he seems a little bit on the skinny side. but not much. hes already 52 lbs..now my question is, is it too late for him to develop properly? i mean, i am still feeding him puppy food. he is now 12 mths old. should i start with adult food? or can i keep giving him puppy food. will the nutrients in puppy food restore what he had been missing out on???? meaning, will his bones get bigger etc..

I'm going to move this down to the Food forum where Mordy will see it

helloooo??? anybody??????
-Miss Impatient-

I would think a good quality adult food for him would be best. What brand are you feeding right now? Innova is a very good food for dogs. At his age he would be able to eat the Adult Innova or Innova EVO. They would both nutritionally have what a dog needs. I hope this helps.

Feed him Innova Evo or Adult Innova...that is probably the best food you can give him. As far as growth goes...for the most part he is done growing at the age he is now, but you can keep him healthy by giving him a good diet etc. Remember not to let him become overweight. A lot of rescue dogs are allowed to become obese because their new loving owners feel so bad for them. Your dog is a mix of two athletic breeds and needs to remain lean and healthy. You can determine if your dog is overweight by the ribs. To determine ideal weight, you should be able to VERY easily feel the ribs without having to push to find them. When you look down at your dogs back you should be able to see an indent where the waist is...they should not look like a tube or foot stool LOL On the athletic breeds you may see the last rib. Good luck and you will be a great mom for him

i couldnt agrre more with barb, puppy food wont give back the growing he missed out on from being malnutioned (sp?)
yes a good good quality food im guessing would still give him the best nutrients to mature but hes a dog now not a puppy so i would say thats the best

thank you. i guess he's not underweight. i'm going to get beat up for this, but in a different forum people recommended "IAMS, puppy food for large breeds" so i feed it to him, but i'm thinking about switching.
this is what he looks like...

From the picture, his weight looks ideal. Keep him where he is at, he is an athletic build and has a waist...no more fat on those bones, he looks good!!! On another note, please change his food to a better quality food. Visit www.naturapet.com and choose one. Iams is not a good food. Look for Innova or Canidae, or Solid Gold. Those 3 are my top choices. By the way...I really hope you do not leave your dog chained like that as is can lead to many behavioral problems and aggression. It is also very dangerous to leave a chain on a dog...I have heard many stories of dogs choking or strangling themselves. Very sad I am not trying to pick on you, as I know you are a good mom, but I just thought I should mention it.

the only reason i chained him up was to take this picture.i am afraid he would run away. i dont believe in tieing up dogs. i walk them more than 4 times a day ....no offense taken though. we use that chain for our bikes

I am glad I did not offend you...I knew you were a good mom

He's a handsome boy. What's his name?

you never know what is too late..i had a kitten once that did not grow... we thought of it as a midget cat because she played, eat and defecated so nothing seemed wrong. Eventually we found a home for her. They took her to the vet who x-rayed her tummy and found the tip of a baby bottle nipple in her intestine. It was only partially blocking so that is why the stool was still eliminated. The new owner had it removed and she finished growing into a complete and normal sized cat.. so you never know..best to give every chance possible.

his name is PHOENIX, thank you

Oh, I like the name Phoenix.