Getting a dog accustomed to new food is more complicated than it is for humans, for example, since dogs have fewer bacteria in their stomach. This makes it more difficult for them to synthesize and metabolize nutrients.
For this reason, changing our dog's diet radically can cause diarrhea and upset our best friend.
Discover how to switch dog food step by step in this in this AnimalWised article so they accept it well and have no problems with their intestinal transit. Keep reading!
Why should we switch dog food?
Changing their diet can be good in many different situations. Firstly, it is important to note that changing a dog's diet depends on their age as adults, puppies and young adults do not have the same nutritional needs. Nor do different breeds depending on their weight or their physical activity.
It is also a good idea to change the type of food if we want to give them a higher quality one. Let's not forget that balanced, quality feed or food ensures an excellent state of health. It also gives them a healthy, shiny coat, making them look rejuvenated.
Lastly, remember feed that is prescribed by a vet helps treat certain diseases. Examples include specific feed for dogs with heart problems, kidney problems or allergies.
Switching their diet gradually
For this process to go properly and smoothly, ideally, you will switch from one food to another gradually. To do this we need a little of both foods, the new and the old.
Below we have included a small table so that you can see how simple it is to change their diet in only 7 days. The estimated time can vary, if you wish it can be shortened to 3 days. However, a week is a more suitable as a good adaptation period:
- Days 1-2: 75% old, 25% new
- Days 3-4: 50% old, 50% new
- Days 5-6: 25% old, 25% new
- Day 7: 100% new
Some tricks to change your dog food
Although the idea of gradually changing their food is simple, it is not always easy. Some dogs carry out the painstaking work of separating the two types of food and they end up only eating food to which they are accustomed, ignoring the new food, or do the impossible to find food they like from elsewhere (such as begging to family members).
If you notice your dog does not want to eat the new feed or is eating absolutely nothing, you must go to the vet to rule out the possibility of a disease. Once the specialist confirms that it is simply going through a stage, try the following tips to change your dog's food:
- Do not leave the food in the bowl for long. Dogs that are used to eating at any time find changing food more difficult than they do when getting used to eating at fixed times. Try putting food out at a certain time of day (after your own dinner, for example) and remove it after an hour. The dog may be reluctant for the first few days, but will soon become accustomed.
- When you go from organic food to dry, you can soak the dog food in warm water or unsalted chicken stock to make it more appetizing. You can also heat it up a bit and add some organic food, but never give your dog food very hot food. If you heat the food, make sure it is warm only lukewarm when giving it to your puppy.
- You can pour some melted butter (not too much) on the new food to make it more appetizing. The smell of butter is usually very attractive for dogs.
- Do not put food on one side of the container and the other elsewhere, but be sure to mix the two types of food well. So your dog will find it more difficult to separate them. If the original food (the "old" one) includes some kind of mash, you can put pieces of the new food inside.
Also, take note that if you're going to change the food of a dog that is sick, taking nutritional supplements or is pregnant, you must call your vet to avoid any complications.
If you want to read similar articles to Switching Dog Food Step by Step, we recommend you visit our Healthy diets category.