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Accidentally Bought Small Breed Dog Food – Can I Still Use It?

We all live busy lives these days and when we go to do our weekly shopping we have 101 things that we have to do in a short period of time and on top of that, we are all human so we make mistakes.

That’s why it is so understandable that people accidentally buy small breed dog food by accident when they have a medium or large breed dog.

On top of the time constraints, many food brands also have very similar labels for their food products so it is an easy mistake to make.

We have seen a surprising number of dog owners reaching out worried due to buying small dog breed food so we wanted to publish a dedicated article going over the topic.

Our hope is that we are going to be able to help put the minds of as many of our readers at ease as possible!

What Is The Difference Between Small Breed And Regular Dog Food?

The first question that we are going to answer is what is the difference between small breed and regular dog food?

As you can probably imagine, one difference is in the size of the kibble. Small breed dog food has smaller pieces of kibble than regular dog food because small dogs have smaller mouths and teeth.

This really is not much of a problem for medium or large dog breeds and at worse, it may just need them to take a couple more mouthfuls of kibble to finish their meals.

Although rare, some small breed dog foods do have a slightly different macronutrient profile as well as a slightly different vitamin and mineral count. It is still very close to what you get in regular dog food though and contains the vast majority of what the average dog requires.

For the most part though, when it comes to the nutritional profile of small breed dog food, it is exactly the same as the other dog food options on the market for an adult dog, just with a small kibble size that may also be in a different shape.

Can Big Dogs Eat Small Breed Food?

Technically, there is no reason why a big dog could not eat small breed food.

Some people who do keep a large dog breed will intentionally purchase the same food product with the smaller kibble size for their dog if the large dog breed variant is out of stock.

This allows them to keep the taste and smell of their dogs food the same to make sure that their large breed dog will eat it with minimal issues. As we mentioned above, for them most part, the only thing that changes is that the larger breed dog will have to take more mouth fulls of the kibble.

We have seen some wet dog food products out there that are marketed as being for small breed dogs but we really can’t see a difference in the actual product. We would guess it is just a way to increase the prices for the exact same food but there may be small differences in the macronutrient profile or vitamin and mineral content that is not labeled.

Can A Medium Sized Dog Eat Small Breed Food?

The vast majority of the time there is no problem with a medium sized dog eating small breed food. The difference in their jaws is not as much of an issue as it is for a large dog breed eating the smaller kibble size of small breed dry dog food so there really isn’t much of a difference anyway.

As we mentioned before, the only difference is going to be in the kibble size and a medium sized dog will still be able to eat it without any issues. In most cases, a medium sized dog breed will not even have to take that many more mouth fulls of their kibble to finish their meal either.

Just like with a large breed dog, there are some medium breed dog owners out there who will intentionally purchase the small breed variant of their preferred dog food if the medium dog breed variant it out of stock to maintain the same scent and taste for their dog.

If I Accidentally Bought Small Breed Dog Food Can I Still Feed It To My Dog?

There really is no serious reason why you can’t feed small breed dog food to a large or medium breed dog.

Although some people on social media do try and make this a much bigger deal than it actually is, for the most part, it really is not something that you have to worry about.

If you really want, you can try to take your small breed dog food back to the store and exchange it for a large or medium breed dog food but this is not practical for everyone. Some people live in remote areas where the store they do their shopping at can be over an hours drive away.

The last thing that you want to do is waste the money that you use to purchase the dog food so just feed it to your dog.

If you do notice any obvious problems with your dog being able to eat the small breed dog food then stop immediately but the chances of there being any problems really is minimal and we doubt anything will happen.

Are There Any Dangers Of Giving Small Breed Dog Food To Other Dogs?

As we have already mentioned, there really is no serious danger in giving small breed dog food to another dog.

The chances of there being any problems is extremely minimal and if you accidentally give your large or medium breed dog small breed food, then don’t worry about it too much.

Of course, if you start to notice any problems with your dog after accidentally giving them small breed food then you should stop immediately and take them to the vet just to be on the safe side but we doubt that will happen.

The bottom line is that you really don’t have anything to worry about if you accidentally give your large or medium sized dog small breed food. Just don’t make a habit of it and try to get the right food for your dog from now on.

Thanks for reading and we hope this article has helped to put your mind at ease.