Food changes for your dog should be implemented gradually. Adding the new brand of dog food with a low amount of the old brand over five to seven days reduces the chance that your dog may become ill or refuse to eat. But what should you do if you need to immediately swap your dog’s food due to a food recall or other unavoidable circumstances? You must take a few essential actions to reduce the possibility that your dog may respond negatively to the sudden change in diet. Select dog treats that closely match the ones you previously fed your pet. Read the list of ingredients carefully. The foods will be comparable if the first few ingredients can be matched. Analyze the assured analysis for both labels as well. When possible, keep the ratios of protein, fat, and fiber from changing significantly. Here will look at how to shift your dog to a new food brand by trying a seven-day switch:
Tips when switching your dog’s food
- Puppies can generally switch to adult dog food at 12 months to ensure they are getting the proper nutrient levels for adult dogs.
- To ensure their unique requirements are met, large-breed and small-breed puppies should switch to a large or small-breed adult dog diet.
- Around the age of 7, small and medium-sized dogs should switch to mature adult or senior dog food that ensures they get the proper nutrients for that older life stage.
- To ensure that their unique nutrient needs are addressed, large-breed dogs should convert to mature adult or senior large-breed dog food when they are five.
- Make sure to switch your dog over to puppy food at this time because pregnant or nursing dogs require foods that are high in calcium and are energy-dense. However, large breed dogs should transition to a standard puppy meal, not a large breed puppy food, during pregnancy or nursing.
- Take the time to go over changing the dog food in great detail if your doctor has suggested dog food for a particular health issue. To guarantee success, there can be a few unique considerations and recommendations.
Go easily digestible
Consider switching to an easily digestible formula and gradually introducing small amounts of the new, long-term food a few days later if you must make a sudden diet change for your dog and they have a particularly sensitive stomach. When your dog’s diet suddenly changes, probiotic pills help decrease the chance that your dog will experience diarrhea.
Introduce the pet dog gradually to new food
If new food is introduced to your dog’s digestive tract gradually, your dog will have greater tolerance for it.
Day 1: Give only a small bit of the new pet food, and keep feeding the old food, which should make up 75% of the overall diet.
Day 2: A 5% increase in the portion of new food and a 5% decrease in the amount of old food.
Day 3: The daily dog diet must include 60% original food and 40% new food.
Day 4: Give your dog equal amounts of the old and new food.
Day 5: Maintain the old food brand’s share at 40% while increasing the new one to 60%.
Day 6: The dog should only receive 25% of the old food and 75% of the new food.
Day 7: On day 7, only the new food should be consumed if the dog is adjusting to the new diet without any stomach problems. At this point, the old meal can be fully stopped.
Dogs can occasionally be very selective when trying new foods, especially the first few times you give the food to them. If your dog refuses to eat, pick it up and wait to offer the new food for around six hours. The pet can get a little hungry during this time and that will help.
Final Thoughts
Dog owners frequently change their dogs’ diets. Though there may be difficulties, the process is usually simple. So, it is best to consider the tips mentioned above and the steps to change the new food for the dog within seven days intervals.