Changing the dog’s diet: how to do it?

More often than not, dogs are less demanding animals than cats when it comes to food choices. In any case, it will be inevitable and necessary a change of food in the dog throughout his life due, for example, to his growth or the presence of pathologies.

A change in the dog’s diet, when the body is used to regularly taking the same type of food, can cause some disorders such as, for example, food intolerance or bad digestion.

Here’s everything you need to know about changing your dog’s diet, step by step!

How to change your dog’s food?

Before finding out how to change the diet of our faithful four-legged friend, that is, if you want to make him switch, for example, from dry food (kibbles) to wet food (pâté) or vice versa, or if you add a new food to the diet of the dog, you need to pay attention to some important aspects concerning Fido and food.

1. Know the suitable and forbidden foods for dogs

The first thing to do is to get well informed about the foods to ban for dogs so as not to cause health problems for our pet, or sometimes cause even serious illnesses.

Being “related” to the wolf, the dog is an animal carnivorousfor which meat, both fresh and in the form of industrial food, must be the main food in its diet.

The dog also eats cereals (well done), herbs and vegetableswhich is why the correct diet of the dog must be, if possible, varied and of high quality, in order to make our dog take on a balance of nutrients.

Most of our canine friends follow a balanced diet, but if for any reason we need to change our dog’s food, the animal’s diet will need to be adapted.

2. Familiarize yourself with the different types of dog food

There are several methods of feeding dogs: industrial or home.

• the industrial diet, which can be dry (in the form of croquettes) or moist (pâté and morsels in jelly). This is present on the market in different ranges and more or less high qualities;
• the BARF diet (acronym of Bones and Raw Food or Bones and raw food): an industrial diet, but with less processed products during preparation;
• the domestic or home diet, that is home cooked.

3. Consult a veterinarian before changing your dog’s diet

Before making any changes to your pet’s diet, it is essential to consult a veterinary surgeon.

In this regard, the professional will inform us for example if our faithful companion is suitable for the change of diet or will indicate to us which foods to include and which to avoid in dog nutrition.

At what month should you change your dog’s diet?

After having received the advice of the vet, if you want or need to change the diet of our beloved dog, you have to gradually introduce him to the new foodso that his digestive system gets used to new foods.

You should therefore never totally or suddenly replace the dog’s diet with the new one, even if prepared at home.

How to change your dog’s diet without doing damage?

Gradually switching feed means distributing, ideally on one ten daysthe new food little by little along with the old.

Veterinarians often offer these indications, applicable in three stages (consisting of 3 or 4 days each):

1. 75% of old food and 25% of new;
2. half the old food and the other half the new;
3. 25% of the old power and 75% of the new.

After that, you can definitely switch to the new regime.

What is the purpose of food transition in dogs?

Food transition allows you to switch from one diet to another, and, at the same time, the digestive tract to adapt. The digestive tract (stomach, intestines, liver), in fact, is trained during the digestive process, depending on the food it receives.

The more the four-legged follows a varied diet, the better it tolerates a sudden change of diet. And conversely, a dog that has been eating the same food for a long time will be more sensitive to changes.

It is very important to know how to make an adequate food transition with each change in your dog’s diet! Even if your canine companion has followed this diet in the past, he needs to get used to digesting it again, so you have to start a transition again.

What does the change of diet involve in the dog?

A change of diet in the dog, in the case in which you only change the type of croquettes for example, usually does not lead to complications.

If, on the other hand, the type of food is changed radically, passing for example from dry food to wet food or vice versa, or when one passes from an industrial diet to a domestic diet, the dog may have difficulty in digesting it and therefore it is necessary to be very careful during the transitional.

Combining dry food with homemade or wet food has different digestion times, which could cause intestinal problems for your pet.

Do probiotics help during the change of feed in the dog?

Being about food supplements, probiotics bring some microbial diversity to the digestive tract, making it more suitable for food transition. They can therefore be offered daily to the dog, or used as therapy before, during and after food transitions.

Your dog will more resistant when changing diet if taking good quality food supplements.

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Article written for Todocat.com by

Stephane Tardif
Veterinary doctor