Understanding the Benefits of an All Life Stage Food
What is an All Life Stage (ALS) Food?
An ALS food is precisely what it sounds like. It's a nutritionally balanced and complete food designed to support your dog from puppyhood throughout adulthood and into their senior years. It meets the nutritional standards established by FEDIAF (European Pet Food Industry Federation) for all stages of a dog's life, meaning it has the right balance of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals that your dog needs at every stage of their life.
Why do some companies make individual puppy foods, adult foods, senior foods etc?
Animals in the wild don't eat different foods, they just eat a different amount. To understand why some companies do this we need a deeper dive into the FEDIAF guidelines and what they specify for different foods.
FEDIAF has established guidelines to ensure pet food manufacturers produce balanced and safe food for dogs. Whilst formulating any dog food requires careful consideration and expertise to ensure it is balanced and meets the dog's nutritional requirements, it is arguable that formulating a dog food that meets the nutritional requirements for adults is less complex than formulating puppy or All Life Stage (ALS) foods. This is primarily because adult food doesn't need to cover the more stringent nutritional demands of rapidly growing puppies or the wide spectrum of life stages that ALS food needs to meet.
All Life Stage in detail
For a food to qualify as an ALS food under FEDIAF guidelines, they must meet or exceed the minimum nutritional levels as well as not exceed the maximum levels for certain nutrients.
For example:
- Protein and Fat: ALS foods need to balance protein and fat levels to support a puppy’s growth and an adult dog's health. They generally have higher protein and fat levels than foods designed only for adult maintenance.
- Vitamins and Minerals: ALS foods must contain the appropriate levels of vitamins and minerals for both growing puppies and adult dogs. This includes crucial nutrients such as calcium and phosphorus, which are vital for bone growth in puppies and maintaining bone health in adults.
- Amino Acids and Fatty Acids: Certain amino acids and fatty acids are essential at all life stages. For instance, linoleic acid, an essential fatty acid, should be adequately present in the diet.
- Energy Density: ALS foods often have high energy density to support the rapid growth of puppies and active adults, feeding amounts are reduced as the dog ages or becomes less active as an adult or senior.
Surely having more of everything is better?
Wolfworthy has excellent proteins and no fillers. However, when it comes to vitamins and minerals the balance needs to be right. The level of calcium in particular is crucial.
The FEDIAF (European Pet Food Industry Federation) sets the following guidelines for the calcium content in dry dog foods at different stages of life:
- Growth stage (Puppies): The recommended calcium content for puppies during their growth stage is 1.2% as a minimum and up to 1.8% as a maximum on a dry matter basis.
- Adult Maintenance: The recommended calcium content for adult dogs is 0.5% as a minimum and 1.6% as a maximum on a dry matter basis.
This is not easy to do and is exactly where Wolfworthy shines with a calcium percentage of 1.3% per 100g of food.
These guidelines ensure that puppies get enough calcium to support their rapid growth and bone development, while adults receive sufficient calcium to maintain their bone health without exceeding levels that can lead to health problems.
It's important to note that feeding dogs a balanced diet that falls within these guidelines is crucial to their overall health. Too little calcium can lead to bone disorders, particularly in puppies. Equally, too much calcium can also lead to problems, especially in large breed puppies, who can develop skeletal issues if they ingest too much calcium.
With an All Life Stage food, the calcium levels are carefully balanced to meet the needs of both growing puppies and adult dogs. If you want to check your dogs current food look at the Analytical Constituents on the back of the bag and make sure it is suitable for your dog at their stage of life.
How does this work when the Puppy changes to an Adult?
Its simple. Once your dog reaches their full frame you will reduce the feeding amount based on our feeding guide. Puppies need more food relative to their weight because not only are they maintaining their body but growing new tissue. An Adult dog is not doing this and does not require the same ratio of food to body weight. You can read more on this here.
The benefits of an ALS food like Wolfworthy
- Consistent nutrient profile: No swapping foods and risking upset tummies when life stage changes.
- Simplicity: Avoiding complex feeding routines if you have dogs of different ages in the same house.
- Save space: Fewer bags of food to store as all dogs are eating the same.
- Consistency: Fussy feeders not coaxed to change.
- Cost effective: Instead of buying different foods for each life stage, you're investing in one high-quality product.
In conclusion, Wolfworthy's ALS food offers a convenient, nutritionally balanced, and natural choice for your dog — no matter what stage of life they're in. It is also an excellent alternative to raw feeding. We believe in feeding dogs as nature intended, and our ALS recipe reflects that. Try Wolfworthy, and let your dog enjoy the benefits today!
Wolfworthy 60g Sample
FREE Delivery
Based on the whole-prey diet of the Grey Wolf, Wolfworthy has many of the health benefits of a raw food diet, such as better skin & coat condition, smaller firmer poos, healthier weight, few allergies & intolerances, reduction in joint inflammation and stable energy levels; but without the hassle of cold storage, remembering to defrost, long prep times, clean up or worry when travelling. Now you can feel satisfied you are feeding your dog a diet that they will thrive on with the added convenience of kibble. Wolfworthy, because feeding your dog a great diet without any added rubbish doesn't have to be a hassle.
Wolfworthy costs only £1.07 per day for a 14kg dog when you subscribe including FREE UK mainland delivery straight to your door. Click Here to see how much it would cost to feed your dog.
TIP: Our 60g sample is great as a taste test to ensure your dog loves Wolfworthy but for a longer trial, our 1.5kg bag is much better value. Click Here to order a 1.5kg bag instead.
Suitable for Puppies, Adults and Seniors
Rated One of the Best British Dry Dog Foods by AllAboutDogFood.co.uk
THE DRY FOOD ALTERNATIVE TO FEEDING RAW