Here’s How to Change Your Dogs Food Quickly!
We often hear that you should not change a dog’s food too quickly as it could cause their stomach upset and temporary diarrhoea. But sometimes due to extenuating circumstances you can’t change it as gradually as you may wish.
People change dog food for many reasons. Often when you first bring your puppy home you will want to change the dog food they were being given before to a brand that suits you.
Other reasons include switching to a cheaper brand, you might want to include more nutrients into your dog’s diet, you also might be trying to encourage a fussy dog to eat more by mixing up their diet or your regular dog food might have gotten discontinued.
Whatever your reasons, we’re here to provide some help and advice on how to change dog food quickly!
Introduce the new food gradually
- Over the space of 5 days feed your dog his old food, along with adding 20% of the new food every day.
- Add 20% of the new food on the first day and then add an additional 20% extra on the rest of the consecutive days.
- By day 5 your dog should be getting 100% of their new food.
This is a good way not to shock their system or having them instantly dislike it by giving them the new food all at once.
If you don’t have the luxury of 5 days then introduce the food gradually in small meals during the day and monitor your dog’s reaction.
If you need to do this faster you can apply the same method to a number of small meals over a few days and see how your dog goes.
Follow the 1-week rule
It shouldn’t take longer for a week for a dog to adjust to new food and if it has been longer than 7 days and they’re stomach is still unsettled you should take them to see a vet. But if you follow these steps on how to change dog food quickly, you dog should adjust pretty quickly.
Be flexible
Be aware that although you want to change your dog’s food quickly, it may not work out. Monitor your dog’s reaction to the food and if they have a negative reaction. If their stomach is too upset then you might have to bring them back to their old food first, and then try them on another food to see if that will suit them.
Find a similar dog food formula
Try to change their food to something that isn’t too far off from their old food. Like matching up some of the same ingredients so the taste isn’t too different.
If possible stick to the same consistency of food, such as canned or dry. If you are switching from dry food to canned, introduce the wet into the dry food over a number of small meals throughout the day, adding more each time until its all wet food.
Best of luck!
