While Many People Are Apprehensive About The Idea Rotational Feeding Has Many Wonderful Benefits For Dogs
Eating the exact same food day after day can lead to food boredom, limit the spectrum of nutrients that your dogs body could benefit from, and even increase the risk of food sensitivities. The fact is that pets can benefit from a diet with variety just as humans and most wild animals do! Just because our canine animal companions have been domesticated to live in houses, doesnt mean they should consume a monotonous diet without any variation.
Switching up your pups menu with a range of different foods can broaden their palate and allow them to benefit from a wider spectrum of nutrients and ingredients. This type of diet is most commonly called rotational feeding. It can take many different forms and may involve varying their menu on a daily, weekly, or other routine basis. Variety might come in the form of alternating proteins, switching between whole grain and grain free recipes, varying food formats or simply mixing in a few dog-safe people foods into your dogs bowl from time to time.
Recommended Serving Size For Homemade Dog Food:
The amount of homemade dog food that your dog will require is dependent upon how much your dog weighs and how active he or she is. This amount varies from dog-to-dog. I suggest talking to your vet and getting their advice on a good starting point.
You can also monitor your dog to make sure they are maintaining their weight and staying happy and active.
This recipe makes about 6 cups of food, which is 3 days worth of food for Charlie who is about 45 pounds. You can easily adjust this amount based on the weight of your dog. Also, feel free to scale this recipe up and double or even triple it, if you wanted to cook less often.
When Do I Need To Take My Dog To The Vet
If your pet is vomiting or has diarrhea for more than three days, or has symptoms accompanied by lethargy, you should talk to your vet about the transition.
If your dog suffers from a serious medical condition, such as advanced kidney disease or pancreatitis, they may require a more stringent diet, and Nom Nom may not be the right fit. Remember to consult your veterinarian before changing his diet.
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Transition From Puppy Food To Dog Food
For most people, the first time you change dog foods might be when your dog goes from puppy to adult. Growing puppies require some additional nutrients, but once your puppy is full-grown, switching to a maintenance formula will help keep your dog lean and healthy.
This switch can be done as slowly as is needed, and the diet changes are typically less drastic between puppy and adult formulas of the same brand.
How Often Should I Rotate My Dogs Food
Many people get nervous that changing a dogs diet might lead to upset stomach, and in some cases, this is true. But when you introduce a rotational feeding schedule properly, therell be fewif anytummy troubles to worry about. Its all about a smooth transition between foods. At first, dont switch your dogs diet suddenly start slowly and increase the amount of new food while decreasing the old gradually, over the course of a week.
Once your pups system is used to digesting different sorts of food, itll gradually become stronger and stronger and will eventually be just as capable of accepting and embracing meal time changes as you, or his wild counterparts.
Over time, building a strong intestinal system will improve nutritional absorption and overall well-being. When youre looking at what to include in their rotational feeding plan, aim for a variety of proteins if your dog can tolerate them, and mix between different types of fruits and vegetables in order to get widest array of phytonutrients like beta-carotene, lycopene and lutein, found in orange red and green foods respectively. If you feed your dog a commercial food, not only can you try different recipes within a line, but also incorporate different food form factors.
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How To Pick An Adult Dog Food
Here are a few guidelines to help you choose an adult dog food when the time is right:
- To make the transition as smooth as possible, consider keeping the brand of adult food consistent with the brand of puppy food you were feeding.
- It is important that the food is complete and balanced so that your dog will receive all the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients they need in the correct proportions to support a functioning body.
- Make sure you are happy with the ingredients list. If you have any concerns, speak to your veterinarian.
- Be sure you are happy with the price tag. Since your dog will be on this long-term, make the food fits within your budget .
Once you have found the right food for your young adult dog, be sure to follow the diet transition schedule above to minimize stomach upset.
How To Switch Your Dog’s Food
Switching your dog’s food gradually is not difficult. It’s just a matter of adding the new kibble to the old kibble a little at a time.
Since I don’t know how much you’re feeding your dog, because everything depends on breed and size, I’ll give a sample ratio:
- For every 1 cup of food you normally feed your dog, reduce that to 3/4
- Add 1/4 of the new food into the old food
- Continue this ratio for 2 to 3 days
- Over the next week or so, increase the ratio to 1/2 & 1/2 of each type of dog food
- After a week and 1/2 to 2 weeks, you should be able to switch completely over to the new food.
It’s a good idea to try to time your dog food switch with just the right amount of old food left in the bag. If you can measure it out using the ratio’s and time frame above, you hopefully won’t waste any food, or switch your dog over too quickly.
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Tips & Methods For Switching Dog Foods
It is important that your dog switch dog food gradually from his current dog food to avoid digestive upset or tummy trouble.
To transition, mix your dogs current food with his new food. Over 7 days, gradually decrease the amount of the current dog food while increasing the amount of new dog food.
To help you with the switch and dog food transition, refer to the 7-Day Transition Schedule below or view this video.
Remember these tips when switching your dogs food:
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Keep your dog healthy and fit with this easy peasy homemade recipe its cheaper than store-bought and chockfull of fresh veggies!
I never thought I would be one of those dog owners who made homemade human food for their pups. Not in a million years.
But when Butters recently fell sick with an upset stomach, our vet advised us to feed him a bland diet chicken and rice without any kind of seasoning. So thats what we did we poached a chicken, shredded it in a food processor, and mixed in some white rice and fed him this bland diet for 3 days.
Thats when I started to do some research on homemade dog food, and I have been so amazed as to how many different kinds of vegetables dogs can have. And with the help of Balance IT, you can create so many different recipes for your pup!
Now the best part about making homemade dog food just like making anything at home is that you know exactly what is going into the dog bowl, and not any of that questionable gelatinous gunk from the canned food.
But its important to note that dogs have different nutrient requirements than humans for their proportional body size, such as:
Now this recipe here has a balance of 50% protein, 25% veggies and 25% grains, but the ratios can easily be adjusted to suit your pups breed and/or needs.
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An Itch That Wont Quit
Allergies are common in pets, and food is just one of several possible causes. Regardless of the cause, though, allergic pets may benefit from a low-allergen diet that reduces the amount of potential allergens they are exposed to. Your veterinarian can recommend either a prescription diet or an over the counter sensitive skin diet, depending on your pets particular needs.
How To Feed Your Dogs Growing Needs
As your dog grows, their dietary needs change. Each blend of Just Right is uniquely crafted to support your dogs lifestage or lifestyle, so you never have to worry if you are missing an important dietary milestone.
Follow these tips for feeding your dog at each lifestage:
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Puppy food should help support areas like healthy brain and vision development, proper bone and muscle growth, and a strong immune system. · Now that you know when to switch from puppy food to adult dog food, keep in mind that adult dog food should help support their unique nutritional needs and lifestyle.
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Consider your dogs activity level, skin and coat health, body condition, and digestive health.
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As your dog grows, their metabolism changes can lead to weight gain or loss of lean body mass, so calories and type of diet should be adjusted accordingly.
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Dog food designed for the nutritional needs of your dog from puppy to senior should help support areas like bone and joint health, strong muscles, and changing activity level.
Ready to switch dog food? Create your dog’s personalized blend of dog food that grows and changes as your dog does. Start your dogs unique blend today.
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Which Is The Best Pet Food For My Pet
There is a bewildering number of pet foods available on the market today, and it can be hard to find the right one for your pet. Overall, the best dog or cat food is determined by the health and nutritional needs for your specific pet, which is why your vet is best resource when it comes to your fur kids diet.
But there is a difference between premium pet food and grocery store brandsand it has to do with more than just price. In general, premium pet food brands, such as Orijen and Acana, contain no fillers, synthetic colors, preservatives, artificial flavors, growth hormones or antibiotics.
Pets are similar to us in that they are what they eat. Feeding a premium pet food that meets guidelines for a complete and balanced diet as set forth by the Association of American Feed Control Officials a voluntary membership association of local, state and federal agencies to regulate the sale and distribution of animal feeds and animal drug remediesand that contains nutrients sourced from minimally and carefully processed high-quality ingredients positively impacts the health of your pet the same way eating whole, fresh foods instead of McDonalds french fries impacts your body. For instance, Orijen Original Grain-Free Dry Dog Food is made with 85% quality animal ingredients including fresh chicken and turkey and cage-free eggs, while Acana Free-Run Poultry Recipe + Wholesome Grains Dry Dog Food features free-run poultry and wholesome, high-in-fiber grains.
$25.99
How Can I Help My Dog Through A Food Transition
So, you switched your dogs food to a fresh food diet to give them a healthier and happier life. Great work.
That said, dietary changes of any type can cause temporary digestive distress to your dog, even when youre switching to a healthier option. The good news is that with an appropriate transition and some patience, your dog will be over the hump in no time.
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When To Change Goldendoodle Food To Adult Food
- When your Goldendoodle puppy is between 10 and 12 months of age you can start to change his food to an adult dog food. If your Goldendoodle is a medium size dog at this time you can feed him a good quality dog food for medium-sized dogs. If your dog is headed toward becoming a large breed adult dog, choose an adult dog food for large breeds.
Minimally, at least every three months.
But you can change more frequently than that.
If your dog does not suffer from digestive upsets when his food is changed, then you might even consider changing foods every time the bag runs out.
A Guide To Changing Your Dogs Food: How To Transition To Wet Or Dry Foods
10/30/2020
When it comes to our pups, we want to make them happy just like they do for us, but sometimes health or other restrictions get in the way. When these situations occur, it usually means a change in food. No matter the reason for this change, here are a few ways to make the shift easier on you and dog.
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Can Changing Dog Food Cause Diarrhea
One of the most common reactions to quick diet changes in dogs is diarrhea. This can range from mild to explosive diarrhea that can be both messy and very uncomfortable for your pooch.
When you change your dogs diet, especially when its a drastic change, it alters the pH of your dogs digestive tract. Your dogs body has a homeostatic reaction, meaning it will try to correct the change by flushing the intestines with water and diluting the pH.
This process may correct the problem, but it also causes two new ones. Firstly, it causes very watery, loose stool that moves quickly through your dogs lower intestines, known as diarrhea. The second problem is that this water loss can lead to dehydration, especially in dogs fed dry foods.
How to Stop Dog Diarrhea From Switching Food
Mild cases of diarrhea often correct themselves, but in the case of diet changes, the condition can be prolonged until your dogs body fully adapts to the new food. The risk here is with the dehydration factor.
If your dog isnt rehydrating, prolonged and consistent diarrhea can be dangerous, even life-threatening. This can be hard if your dog is eating dry foods because it is unlikely they will drink enough water to counterbalance the moisture loss.
The best way to manage diarrhea in dogs is to add fibre and moisture to their diet to soothe the digestive tract and prevent dehydration.
To learn more about feeding your dog pumpkin, check out the 10 Health Benefits of Pumpkin for Dogs.
Transitioning To A New Food Without Illness
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Switching Dog Food: Should You Do It
There are a few situations in a dogs life that may justify a food change.
These include:
- A transition from puppy food to dog food
- A transition from dog food to a senior dog food
- A transition from kibble to a canned version
- A transition to a veterinary-recommended prescription diet
Many pet owners will switch from a puppy-specific formula to an adult dog food formula as their puppies grow up. A food change may also be recommended when dogs enter the senior phase of their lives as nutrient and calorie needs change.
If your dog was born with a medical condition, or develops one during their life, a change in diet prescribed to address the condition may help your pet to feel better and even live longer. For instance, if your dog has digestive problems, your veterinarian may recommend switching to a dog food for sensitive stomachs.
What If My Dog Doesn’t Like The New Food
If you follow the 7-day transition process, its most likely that your pet will quickly adapt to their new diet. But if you notice your pet avoiding their food, it may be more to do with what they are eating outside of their bowl. If your pet is receiving too many treats, they may start to avoid their main meals. Its important that you avoid overfeeding them to ensure that they look forward to their daily meals to satisfy their hunger and keep them healthy.
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