So is our dog considered as Medium or Small breed?

[Tuffy]

This is for treat and food shopping purpose. Most treats/food bags sais small breed up to 20lb full grown and medium 21lb-50lb full grown. Our frenchies are usually from 18-28lb in their adults weight. My puppy Tuffy is at 18.4lb at his 8MO of age. So would our dog eat Medium dog food/treats or Small dog food/treats?

[kasia]

personally i think these distinctions are mostly about marketing. the size of the dog does not necessarily have much to do with the shape and power of his jaws. any size kibble is probably mostly swallowed without being chewed by a frenchie (and most dogs really). my frenchie this morning ate a whole quail and chomped it maybe into 3 pieces before swallowing:) i'd pay more attention to what's in the food than its bite size. for treats, dehydrated liver seems to be a perennial favourite - nothing added, light to carry, all dogs seem to like it (the pieces are of various sizes and i haven't noticed that it makes any difference to any dogs).

kasia

[gmacleod]

I agree. Sometimes (not always, but often) the biggest difference between foods labelled for small, medium, large and even giant breeds is the packaging - and maybe the size of the kibble bits. LOL - in some cases, those are actually the *only* difference.

In any case, there is no evidence around to suggest that different breeds of dog require different foods.

Irrespective of all that, in most cases, when food manufacturers say "small" they actually mean toy. French bulldogs have far more in common with medium breeds, even so-called "large" breeds like boxers (so-called because it is only food manufacturers that consider boxers large, rather than the medium breed they actually are) than they do with breeds like chihuahuas ;)

Bottom line is read the ingredients and macro-nutrient breakdown, and choose a food suitable for your dog irrespective of the age, size or breed of dog indicated on the label. It is a lot more relevant ;)

[Tuffy]

Thanks for the info guys. I was debating about keep feeding him Eukanuba puppy small breed and trying Royal Canin puppy medium

[gmacleod]

Weeell - the royal canin is probably a better quality food than eukanuba. But both are toward the low end of the quality scale (i.e. mass produced, close to par with supermarket brands). There are many higher quality foods to choose from.

A couple of links you might find useful:
What's wrong with the food you're using: http://www.bornfreeusa.org/facts.php?more=1&p=359
Help for choosing an alternative - this site has info on the content of +1200 different dog food formulas, along with ratings and reviews. I'd suggest choosing from 4* and above (you'll find eukanuba / RC in the 1 or 2 * categories): http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/