# When To Swtich From Puppy Chow To Dog Chow?



## Omega_Brindle_Pit_Bull (Feb 6, 2008)

I have a pit bull puppy that is just about 1yr old. I have been feeding her puppy chow since I got her about 9 months ago. She just finished up her first heat, and weighs like 65-70lbs.

When looking on the bag of food, it says for large and extra large breeds, to feed them puppy chow for 2yrs. It calls a large breed dog 51-100 lbs. It says to feed all the other dogs puppy chow for 1yr. 

Now I wouldn't consider a Pitbull a large breed dog, and she is not "large" by any means. But she is muscular, and weighs well over 50lbs and will still be putting on weight for like another 6 months. Should I continue with the puppy chow for a while longer since she is still growing? Or should I switch it up to the regular dog chow? 

Thanks for the help.


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## blackrose (Oct 7, 2006)

I personally have always switched from puppy food to adult food at six months of age. 

I'd switch her to an adult food. But if you don't plan on getting her spayed, I'm not sure if a bitch in heat's nutritional needs are any different than a spayed one.


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## Acadia (Aug 6, 2008)

Don't most dog food brands let you know typical age/weight suggestions on the can or bag? You could check those out, at least to give you a general idea of when to switch.

You could check out books about your dog breed and see if they mention recommended age or weight for food. Again, just to give you a general idea of what to give your dog when. 

Or you could ask your vet and get a more personalized answer about your dog.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 22, 2008)

Omega_Brindle_Pit_Bull said:


> Should I continue with the puppy chow for a while longer since she is still growing? Or should I switch it up to the regular dog chow?
> 
> Thanks for the help.


It really makes no difference about switching because as with most companies, the adult food and puppy food are almost the same stuff. Only a few ingredients have been moved around on the ingredients list but it's nutritionally the same stuff.

Purina uses a lot of very low quality ingredients. I suggest you learn to read the ingredients list and learn what all those ingredients are. There are several places on the internet to get that information.


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## Spicy1_VV (Jun 1, 2007)

Omega_Brindle_Pit_Bull said:


> I have a pit bull puppy that is just about 1yr old. I have been feeding her puppy chow since I got her about 9 months ago. She just finished up her first heat, and weighs like 65-70lbs.
> 
> When looking on the bag of food, it says for large and extra large breeds, to feed them puppy chow for 2yrs. It calls a large breed dog 51-100 lbs. It says to feed all the other dogs puppy chow for 1yr.
> 
> ...


Here is what I said in response to a similar question. 



> I think it depends on your breed and what you feel is necessary. I don't believe most pups typically need actual "puppy food".
> 
> I've not used puppy food often and haven't had any problems with growth/health associated with this. I've used it a few times for some really young pups because of the small kibble size or the dogs I got were fed puppy food by the breeder but I didn't continue to feed what they were fed.
> 
> Some have been weaned straight to raw eating pretty much no different then an adult. Some others that were fed kibble as pups depending on breed and such were fed adult, large breed adult, or performance/high energy formula.


I wouldn't follow those directions I don't see the benefit or reasoning. Secondly as you said you don't consider Pits to be a large breed, they are a medium size breed. While the bag says 51-100lbs for large breed I'm sure it means breeds that are generally that size at standard weight. Desirable weight for Pit Bull females in good condition is 30-50lbs. Even if she was a breed that is normally 75lbs I wouldn't follow those feeding instructions on the bag. A lot of large and especially extra large - giant breed owners don't feed puppy food. Everyone has what they consider large I think as far as weight goes in general 65-70lbs is considered a large dog. Although she might not grow much more at all, some grow fast then slow down considerably hardly growing much.

Are you satisfied with the results of the food? Do you have any pics of her? Do you feel she is at a good body weight? Coat is nice? Puppy Chow/Dog Chow isn't a very high quality food but I have seen dogs do pretty well on it. I've seen some dogs do horrible on it too. A couple of times I have been amazed at the results with good body weight, nice muscle tone and pretty good coat. One was in a female about your girls age. 

If you can for the adult food you could consider a food that is a bit more higher quality but close to the same price if available in your area. I'm not here to criticized your food choices especially if you are satisfied and its working for her so just a suggestion.


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## Omega_Brindle_Pit_Bull (Feb 6, 2008)

Thanks for all the replies.

When I was a kid and we had dogs, we would always just feed them the adult food no matter how old they were. This is my first dog I have had since I've been living on my own, so I am trying to take the best care of her I possible can.

I am fairly happy with the food. She hasn't been fed anything else though, so I really don't know. The place I got her from was feeding her Pedigree and I just assumed that Purina being owned by Nestle and all would have a quality food. A while back, some one asked me what I was feeding her because her coat was so shiny. 

Her dad was 1/2 Blue Pitbull, so he is not your average size pit. He is taller than most blues and weighs probably 100lbs. The mom was only half pit and half golden retriever or lab, so she is only 3/4 Pitbull. She is already bigger than her mom. I think that the fact that she has Blue in here and lab or retriever is what is adding to her size. I don't consider her large at all, but a lot of people tell me she is big. She just looks like a big baby to me. 

I just took some pics of her today. I am the only one here, so it is tough to get a good pic of her since she just wants to follow me around when I am trying to get a shot from a different angle. Let me know what you think.

Also, if you could reccomend a better quality food that will not break the bank, I am all ears. I want her to


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## Acadia (Aug 6, 2008)

Omega_Brindle_Pit_Bull said:


> I have a pit bull puppy that is just about 1yr old. I have been feeding her puppy chow since I got her about 9 months ago. She just finished up her first heat, and weighs like 65-70lbs.
> 
> When looking on the bag of food, it says for large and extra large breeds, to feed them puppy chow for 2yrs. It calls a large breed dog 51-100 lbs. It says to feed all the other dogs puppy chow for 1yr.
> 
> ...



Hmm, not sure on that one. I'm not familiar with large breed dogs, but have you talked with your vet about your dog's nutritional needs? Like the other poster, I think females in heat need more nutritional needs than a female who isn't. Your vet would probably be able answer questions that relate more specifically to your dog.


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## Spicy1_VV (Jun 1, 2007)

How much does the Puppy/Dog Chow run? That way I can get an idea of a suggestion. If you are shopping at wal mart or have a wal mart in your area Maxximum Nutrition is fairly decent and not really expensive. It might not be premium but would still be a step up last I read ingredients. 

You are right Pedigree is terrible and last ingredients I seen was ground corn as 1st ingredient same with Black Gold. Both would be considered very low quality. 

I'm not really familiar with the quality of Nestle products. I know I've eaten some of course. 

I've not seen a half blue Pit unless they were about half blue and half white. I had a blue male here some months back was in the 40s. There are a lot of considerably large pit bulls these days because people breed for size, mass and cross other bulldog or mastiff breeds which are larger into their gene pool. So there are certainly some big ones out there but I don't think they need the puppy food, especially not until 2yrs old. I think I remember you mentioning about when you first got her with her being 3/4 just didn't remember the whole story but now its coming back to me. 

She's got a cute baby face. I think when your around them everyday you just don't always notice the size, even when they grow. I will have one get big but they still don't seem too big to me. I will just notice when I weight them or sometimes finally notice oh man they really are taller or they've started to fill out. If its one I co own that I haven't seen in awhile I'll notice they are big but the other owner really doesn't notice so much seeing them everyday. Anyway she is so cute, her face is just darling! Of course I love brindles too.


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## Omega_Brindle_Pit_Bull (Feb 6, 2008)

Thanks again for the replies.

I get a 34lb bag for like $20. And the first ingredient on the bag is ground corn and the second is like chicken by product. I guess I am buying garbage. I don't mind spending $20 a bag on a decent size bag. 

Everyone at the dog park always tells me she looks like one solid muscle and she is so big. But to me, she barely looks any bigger than when I got her. But when I look at pictures of her, I know she has gotten much larger. When she was having some issues with allergies and I had to take her to the vet a couple of times, she put on 10lbs in just under a month.

I still have like 1/2 a bag of the Purina Puppy Chow, I think I will start weaning her off of this stuff, and start mixing it with a better food. This is kind of why I asked this question. I was wondering if I should buy another bag of the puppy chow or adult food. I think I will go out and buy a bag of adult food and just start mixing it now.

So like I said, I am paying like $20 for a 34lbs bag of food. So anything in this price range, or even a little more, I can afford. Any suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks.


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## Spicy1_VV (Jun 1, 2007)

You can check out your wal mart and see I don't think the MaxxNut is much more expensive then that and it is better for sure. Your money would be better spent if its a decent price in your area. 

I was thinking Purina Pro Plan was decent but guess Dog Chow is the lower grade of their feeds. 

That is crappy corn then chicken by product is like left over beaks, feet, ect from what I understand. I guess that explains the smelly and gritty looking poops on some of the dog chow dogs I know. Although several of them look pretty good. Some of the worse smelling poops out there are pedigree and duralife I think. I find with these type of foods the poop is dark looking or light and gritty. So I guess it depends on how each dog is able to digest what is in it, some handle it better then others. (as with any food even premium kibble different dogs do better on different feeds)

She doesn't look that big to me either. She isn't like huge or anything. Really for her weight she doesn't seem that big at all. People just have different views also. To me she doesn't look really muscular or anything, but I can see some muscle definition, nicely coming along in the shoulders and a little waste line too. She doesnt' seem too heavy or too thin. A lot of people are probably used to seeing dogs that are a bit too heavy which of course won't show too much muscle definition, some not all because they are too fat. Then again I've seen obese dogs called ripped and still can't figure that one out. She looks pretty good, I think she will mature into a pretty but still sweet looking girl. She just has a really sweet face and soft looking eyes which is a good thing IMO.


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## Acadia (Aug 6, 2008)

The FDA states that by-product should not be in human food, that it's not fit for human consumption. By-product food is the "left-over" from animals. In other words, it's gross and I don't understand why it's in pet food. My point is don't by food that has this ingredient in the food. 

When looking for food, you want to look for meat (actual meat) as either the first ingredient or as the second ingredient. Avoid food that has water as the first couple ingredients (no nutritional value). Also look for food that provides lots of nutrition, such as vegetables.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 22, 2008)

Acadia said:


> By-product food is the "left-over" from animals. In other words, it's gross and I don't understand why it's in pet food.


Because it's cheap.



> When looking for food, you want to look for meat (actual meat) as either the first ingredient or as the second ingredient.


Yes, but the meat should be a named meat, not just "meat". It should be chicken or beef or lamb, etc.



> Avoid food that has water as the first couple ingredients (no nutritional value).


I don't know of any kibble that has water listed. Most kibble is just under 10% moisture. Canned dog food has a lot of water but it is necessary. Any meat is ~70% water.



> Also look for food that provides lots of nutrition, such as vegetables.


Dogs are carnivores ... veggies are not nutritious to them, meat is. The more meat in any kibble (therefore less vegetables), the better quality the kibble is.


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## Criosphynx (May 15, 2008)

Acadia said:


> The FDA states that by-product should not be in human food, that it's not fit for human consumption. By-product food is the "left-over" from animals. In other words, it's gross and I don't understand why it's in pet food. My point is don't by food that has this ingredient in the food.
> 
> When looking for food, you want to look for meat (actual meat) as either the first ingredient or as the second ingredient. Avoid food that has water as the first couple ingredients (no nutritional value). Also look for food that provides lots of nutrition, such as vegetables.



Not all by-products are "bad", pretty much any part of the animal thats not a muscle meat is considered "byproduct" including the organs...
I honestly would be more worried about the food being full of corn then it having "byproducts" because they are at least _mostly_ meat.


Just because Meat is the first ingrediant doesn't neccessarilly mean its a meaty food. If The first is say, chicken, but the next three ingrediants are grains, the food is actually mostly grains. Alot of foods split corn into corn meal, corn gluten, and ground yellow corn and then "hide" them in the list.


and yep, they use it because its cheap.


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## Acadia (Aug 6, 2008)

I think another poster mentioned what is in by-product ingredients, but by-product is the leftover stuff that isn't normally included in good quality food. (Would you feed your dog beak? Or feet? That's by-product, too. You shouldn't give your dog meat just because it's meat. It should be good quality.)

When I mentioned water, obviously that's not found in dry food; I wrote it just in case the poster (or anyone else) was looking for different kinds of food. 

It's difficult to find meat only dog food (beyond raw food--and even some raw food menus include a vegetable or two), at least in my experience. So when looking at the other ingredients listed, between grains and vegetable, vegetables are better.


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## Criosphynx (May 15, 2008)

Acadia said:


> I think another poster mentioned what is in by-product ingredients, but by-product is the leftover stuff that isn't normally included in good quality food. (Would you feed your dog beak? Or feet? That's by-product, too. You shouldn't give your dog meat just because it's meat. It should be good quality.)
> 
> When I mentioned water, obviously that's not found in dry food; I wrote it just in case the poster (or anyone else) was looking for different kinds of food.
> 
> It's difficult to find meat only dog food (beyond raw food--and even some raw food menus include a vegetable or two), at least in my experience. So when looking at the other ingredients listed, between grains and vegetable, vegetables are better.


You missed my point. We are discussing low quality foods. If i had to choose between low quality foods I'd choose one with by products over corn any day.


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## Omega_Brindle_Pit_Bull (Feb 6, 2008)

I am going to look into the Maxx Nutrition or what ever its called from Wal Mart. Thanks for the help there. 

Now that people are mentioning veggies and whatnot, Omega loves raw veggies. I dropped some broccolli on the floor one day while I was making juice, and she jumped on it. She ate the whole piece, so I gave her another. She likes carrots, zuccini, and all kinds of other veggies.

Are these ok to feed to her? Are there any I should stay away from?

Thanks.


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## GreatDaneMom (Sep 21, 2007)

Acadia said:


> (Would you feed your dog beak?* Or feet? *That's by-product, too. You shouldn't give your dog meat just because it's meat. It should be good quality.)


actually there are a lot of people that i know that give their raw fed dogs chicken feet as a treat....




Acadia said:


> So when looking at the other ingredients listed, between grains and vegetable, vegetables are better.


then why not just buy a grain free food?



Acadia said:


> I'm not familiar with large breed dogs, but have you talked with your vet about your dog's nutritional needs? Like the other poster, I think females in heat need more nutritional needs than a female who isn't. Your vet would probably be able answer questions that relate more specifically to your dog.


truthfully, vets know very little about nutrition....


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## Cheetah (May 25, 2006)

Apparently, Diamond makes a corn/wheat/soy/by-product-free food (Diamond Naturals) that is like $20-26 for a 40 lb bag (depending on whether it's chicken, lamb, or beef I suppose), and their ingredients are far superior to anything Pedigree or Purina makes.

And if you have a Costco around, there is Kirkland, also made by Diamond, which is basically the same thing (but you need a Costco membership).

Dogs can eat fruits and veggies, as long as they stay away from certain ones, like grapes/raisins, onions, any seeds/pits from fruit etc.


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## Spicy1_VV (Jun 1, 2007)

Omega_Brindle_Pit_Bull said:


> I am going to look into the Maxx Nutrition or what ever its called from Wal Mart. Thanks for the help there.
> 
> Now that people are mentioning veggies and whatnot, Omega loves raw veggies. I dropped some broccolli on the floor one day while I was making juice, and she jumped on it. She ate the whole piece, so I gave her another. She likes carrots, zuccini, and all kinds of other veggies.
> 
> ...


Yeah they are ok but she can't digest them. Mine like carrots as a treat toy type thing. They play with and eat them. 



Cheetah said:


> Apparently, Diamond makes a corn/wheat/soy/by-product-free food (Diamond Naturals) that is like $20-26 for a 40 lb bag (depending on whether it's chicken, lamb, or beef I suppose), and their ingredients are far superior to anything Pedigree or Purina makes.
> 
> And if you have a Costco around, there is Kirkland, also made by Diamond, which is basically the same thing (but you need a Costco membership).
> 
> Dogs can eat fruits and veggies, as long as they stay away from certain ones, like grapes/raisins, onions, any seeds/pits from fruit etc.


Prices seem to vary by region.. 

Here Diamond Naturals is $29 or $31 for 40lbs. I suppose its still not too costly. 

You just reminded me there is also Premium Edge made by Diamond too. Here it is $31 for a 35lbs bag also. It like Diamond Naturals has fairly good ingredients.


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## Omega_Brindle_Pit_Bull (Feb 6, 2008)

After looking at the Diamond Naturals website, I think that I am going to go with this brand. The chicken one has the first ingredient as chicken, and is grain, by product, etc, free.

I found it on a website for like $22 for a 40 lbs bag, but I will just check my local feed store. It is listed as a retailer. I am going to go buy a small bag tomorrow and start mixing it with the purina. I think this is going to be a lot better food for her. I never realized the huge differences in dog foods. I thought they were all pretty much the same.

Thanks for all your help.


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## Spicy1_VV (Jun 1, 2007)

It desirable to have a meat meal as the 1st ingredient as chicken is 70-80% water. Ingredients are listed in order of weight and after all the water is out you will be left with a lot less chicken in the food. It should really be further down on the list of ingredients but they are allowed to list it as first ingredient because they weigh it before processed. If meat meal is the 2nd ingredient then that is still ok, although not most desirable, meat meal, then meat is better to see. 

*Do you have a link on the food ingredients?* The Diamond Naturals we have here with Chicken isn't grain free (I don't think any of them are) it is a Chicken & Rice formula and also contains barley. Barley listed as an ingredient can be up to 20% other grains to still be within AAFCO standards. 

It has by product/filler beet pulp and filler cellulose.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 22, 2008)

Spicy1_VV said:


> It desirable to have a meat meal as the 1st ingredient as chicken is 70-80% water.


Hey Spicy, this is a common misconception perpetuated by the dog food industry. Chicken meal is not just dehydrated chicken. It wouldn't make economical sense to go to the expense of dehydrating chicken when it's going to be dehydrated anyway during the kibble manufacturing process.

Chicken meal is the left over carcass of the chicken after the human useable parts and the by-products have been removed. It is mostly bone and connective tissue and what little meat and fat that couldn't economicaly be removed. It is measured in dry weight because bones and connective tissue don't hold moisture like meat does. It doesn't have to be dehydrated as it is already basically dry.

The chicken processing plants sell chicken meal very cheap as it will be thrown away if the dog food companies don't buy it.


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## Omega_Brindle_Pit_Bull (Feb 6, 2008)

It looks like I mis read the thing. It is no by products, no corn, and no wheat.

And the ingredients are chicken, and then chicken meal. Is this going to be a decent food?


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## Spicy1_VV (Jun 1, 2007)

RawFedDogs said:


> Hey Spicy, this is a common misconception perpetuated by the dog food industry. Chicken meal is not just dehydrated chicken. It wouldn't make economical sense to go to the expense of dehydrating chicken when it's going to be dehydrated anyway during the kibble manufacturing process.
> 
> Chicken meal is the left over carcass of the chicken after the human useable parts and the by-products have been removed. It is mostly bone and connective tissue and what little meat and fat that couldn't economicaly be removed. It is measured in dry weight because bones and connective tissue don't hold moisture like meat does. It doesn't have to be dehydrated as it is already basically dry.
> 
> The chicken processing plants sell chicken meal very cheap as it will be thrown away if the dog food companies don't buy it.


I'm not sure why you have said it isn't just dehydrated chicken because I never said that it in the less. I said what you just did, the processing eliminates the water, that is why it weights a lot less and isn't actually the main or primary ingredient in the food once its all said and done. 

Yes that is what is mostly what is in the chicken meal, that is why most premium dog foods have chicken, beef, ect and not meal. However as I said it is weighted before being processed. Therefore weights a lot more then it will once its actually added to the food. So it shouldn't even be the first ingredient, your dog isn't getting that much chicken. If it has multi meat sources and/or very little to no carbs/grains, ect that is much better then a food that has chicken/chicken meal and then a bunch of grains. The food is mostly grains in that case.


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## amynrichie (Sep 3, 2008)

Omega_Brindle_Pit_Bull said:


> It looks like I mis read the thing. It is no by products, no corn, and no wheat.
> 
> And the ingredients are chicken, and then chicken meal. Is this going to be a decent food?


This food is obviously not the "Best" there is out there, (that varies depending on who you talk to and the dog involved,) but it is WAY above the purina.


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## Omega_Brindle_Pit_Bull (Feb 6, 2008)

Well I went with the Diamond Naturals for now. I found it for $25 for a 40 lb bag, which seems like a pretty good deal. They have the Nutro as well for like $10 more a bag she said. I may look into this kind as well.

The lady gave me almost 5 lbs worth of samples, so that was very nice. I put one of the small 6oz bags on top of Omega's Purina, and she went nuts. She tore up the new food, and when she got down to the Purina, she spit the whole mouthful out. It was hillarious. 

I just mixed about 3/4 Purina with about 1/4 Diamond Naturals. I will increase the amount I mix with it over the next week or so until it is all the Diamond Naturals. She was even picking at the bowl of food that has the foods actually mixed up, and was only eating the new food. 

I'm sure she is going to be much healthier with this food. Thanks again for the help.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 22, 2008)

Spicy1_VV said:


> I'm not sure why you have said it isn't just dehydrated chicken because I never said that it in the less. I said what you just did, the processing eliminates the water, that is why it weights a lot less and isn't actually the main or primary ingredient in the food once its all said and done.


We are having a hard time communicating here. You said (I think) meal was desirable because it was weighed in dry weight vs meat is wet weight therefor there is more meal than meat not counting water.

I am saying "meals" are never desirable because they are little more than bone and connective tissue. They are not processed in the least other than removing as much meat as possible. They are dry weight because bone doesn't hold water like meat does.



> Yes that is what is mostly what is in the chicken meal, that is why most premium dog foods have chicken, beef, ect and not meal. However as I said it is weighted before being processed. Therefore weights a lot more then it will once its actually added to the food. So it shouldn't even be the first ingredient, your dog isn't getting that much chicken. If it has multi meat sources and/or very little to no carbs/grains, ect that is much better then a food that has chicken/chicken meal and then a bunch of grains. The food is mostly grains in that case.


Now, this paragraph looks like we are saying the same thing. 

Anyway, I probably misunderstood what you were saying. I have seen so many people say what I thought you had said so many times before, I guess I didn't send to my brain, what my eyes saw.  Sorry for the confusion.


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