Transitioning From Dry To Wet Dog Food
Although kittens often start on wet food, puppies typically start with a high-quality dry food kibble. However, sometimes our pups dont love the dry options we are providing them. As our dogs age, they may also need the transition to a softer food option. No matter the reason, if youre looking to switch up meal time offerings, trying wet dog food can be a great choice.;
There are some considerations with wet dog food. Wet food is a great way to keep your dog hydrated due to the moisture content. This can help aid your dogs digestion and overall health. Most dogs also prefer wet food to dry because of the texture and the flavorful taste. You do want to ensure you choose a high-quality, natural wet dog food option to avoid unnecessary fillers or excess calories in your dog’s meals. To help keep your pup’s teeth clean while feeding wet food, work in a natural daily dog dental chewy like WHIMZEES.
When transitioning your dog to wet food, introduce the food slowly. Just like humans, sometimes new foods can upset our stomachs. Add a little wet food each day to your dogs bowl while slowly reducing the amount of kibble. Within a week, you should have fully transitioned to their new diet.
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.
Changing Your Pet’s Food It Should Be Done Gradually
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This Is A Good Choice For Pet Owners Who Have Always Fed A Homemade Cooked Diet But Who Want To Transition To Raw
How fast you transition from cooked to raw depends on how your dog is handling it. You many need to extend this transition schedule.If your dog has issues with a decrease in cooking, wait until digestive upset resolves before moving to the next step. You can wait it out at the current level or return to the previous level for a few days.If youre unsure how long to cook a percentage of your dogs daily serving, time how long it takes to cook through on the first day. Then, use that time frame as a guideline for reducing cooking on subsequent days.Only cook meat, NEVER edible bone. Cooked bone is prone to splintering and should;not;be fed to dogs.With that said, you can cook a premade, ground raw dog food if the bone in that formula is small enough. Dr. Peter Dobias says, In this situation, you can cook packaged meat with ground bone in it. The ground bone fragments must be smaller than 1/2 cm . Such small fragments of cooked bone do not pose a threat to your dog if fed mixed in the rest of the meat. If youre unsure, ask your raw food manufacturer. I know a lot of premade raw brands will, like Darwins, for example will instruct new customers to initially cook their food
General Parameters For Transitioning Dog To Raw Diet And What To Watch For
- Fast first Fast your dog for 24-hours before you start any transition to raw as this will help detox their digestive system and ensure that they are hungry.
- Eliminate the typical treats during the transition process.
- Raw progression should be to start with raw ground meat, then move to muscle meat with bones such as a raw chicken leg or thigh and then move into organ meat.
- Watch their stools. These should change for the better and get smaller and firmer as the dogs body absorbs more of the wholesome and nutritious raw food and has less bad waste to eliminate. You may also see a slimy film around the stool which is ok as this is evidence of the dogs body cleansing and eliminating toxins.
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Monitor Your Dogs Reaction Closely
Dogs who have sensitive stomachs, food allergies or other gastrointestinal diseases may need more time to switch foods. Every dog is different, so monitor your dogs individual response. If your buddy shows changes in appetite, vomits or has diarrhea, transition even slower. If your dog still has an upset stomach after switching slowly, tell your veterinarian. He or she may advise a different type of diet completely.Pro Tip: The best way to monitor your dogs digestive health is to evaluate his bowel movements. Minor variations in stool color and consistency are normal, but tell your veterinarian about any major changes. No matter what, if you follow the slow and steady approach to switching dog food, your best buddy will most likely be enjoying his new food soon. Bone-appetit! ;
What If The Dog Loves The New Food And Therefore Eats It Too Fast
Dr. Slome: Id recommend putting the food into a Kong toy or puzzle-type dish that makes it harder to binge. You could also ration the portions to slow them down.
The Ollie blog is devoted to helping pet parents lead healthier lives with their pups. If you want to learn more about our fresh, human-grade food, check out MyOllie.com.
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We Recommend 2 Methods To Transition From Dry Food To Raw
Out With The Old Food In With The New
There are several reasons to change your pets food dietary recommendations, changing nutritional needs, product discontinuations, price changes, etc.
Sometimes your furry little gobbler doesnt appreciate the change of menu, or their intestines dont! So heres a great way to help ensure that the new food is accepted and that it doesnt wind up on your carpets.
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What To Expect When Switching To Raw Dog Food
This will occur mainly through the bowels and skin. During detox, your dog will act normal, be happy, bright and alert. But you may notice the following symptoms: Runny Eyes Earwax or debris produced from the ear Dry skin Chronic or periodic skin conditions may briefly worsen Mucus coating your dogs stool
How Can I Help My Dog Get Through His Tough Tummy Times
Try mixing half of your dogs Nom Nom meal with an equal portion of rice or potato.
Put your dog on a temporary fast to help his digestive system reset. Pull food for 12 to 24 hours, then try giving your dog half a meal. Remember to limit treats during this transition and to plan around any medications.
Remain consistent about feeding your dog at designated meal times.
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The Cold Turkey Switch
Compare this to smoking or eating junk food. Should you wean off the potato chips or throw out the bag and start fresh? The latter is how many dog owners feel.Granted, it can be more complicated than thatBut once their eyes are opened to the shortcomings of processed pet food, these dog owners chuck the old food. They march straight to the store, buy;prepackaged raw dog food; and never look back.No instruction is needed. Throw out your old food and start with raw ASAP.
When Switching Dog Food Is Not Recommended
There are situations where changing a dogs diet is not recommended. One such situation is switching a dogs food to prevent food allergies. Currently, there is no evidence to support this concept.;
Since food allergies develop because of a dogs genes, and not because of the number of foods they have been exposed to, it is best to keep your dog on the one food they do well on and manage any allergies if/when they become prevalent in your dogs life.;
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Option : The Cooked For Raw Swap
Our last method for transitioning dog to raw diet is a good option for older dogs, dogs used to cooked meats, and dogs with chronic health issues or weak immune systems. If your dog is very old, has GI disease or other issues, you can delay the time to transition based on your pets stools and overall reaction. Cooking should be restricted to raw meat. NEVER COOK BONES.
If your dog has digestive issues, stay with each step until its stools normalize.
How To Properly Switch Your Pets Food
by Pet Pros Staff | Mar 26, 2020 | cat, dog, health, pet food
As a pet parent, you may find yourself in the position of needing to switch pet foods for any number of reasons. Perhaps its time to switch from puppy to adult food or from adult to mature food. Or maybe youve decided you want to switch to a healthier food. Rotating your pets diet on a regular basis is actually a good idea. You wouldnt want to eat the same food over and over again and neither does your pet! Here are a few other reasons its good to switch it up as well as 4 steps to follow to ensure a smooth transition.
Out with the old in with the newNo one dietary formula, no matter how complete and balanced it is, can meet all of an animals nutritional needs over an extended period. For optimal health, rotating between at least three different protein sources is ideal. This helps prevent food sensitivities and improves gut health as well as providing your pet with some much-appreciated variety in his or her diet.
Ready to rotate?As you are getting down to the bottom 25% of your current bag of kibble, go get the next bag dont wait until you are almost out! Then, follow these 4 steps to make a smooth transition from the old to the new.
3. Include a digestive aid. Adding a digestive supplement to your pets food can help keep tummy troubles at bay. Here are a few that we recommend and are readily available at your neighborhood Pet Pros ask any of our team members to learn more.
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Catering To Your Dogs Preferences
What To Feed Your Dog
There is no single food that fulfills all the dietary needs of dogs. Feeding him the same thing day in and day out in order to impose a kind of diet stability is therefore wrong, especially if processed foods are used. Similarly, excessive supplementation can be harmful to the pet.
A complete and balanced diet, meaning one that provides all the nutritional needs of pets, can be entirely reached through homemade foods. This way, you can control the cycle of meat, raw meat, vegetables, and other foods.
If you cannot possibly find the time to cook varied, homemade food for your dog, attentively reading dog food labels becomes paramount. The primary indicator that separates good from bad quality dog food is the main ingredient. As a rule, dog foods that are based on corn or grains are less beneficial than the ones with meat as the first ingredient.
Some various diets you may decide to transition your dog to include:
- Low Fat Dog Foods useful for overweight and obese dogs
- Grain-Free Dog Foods to favor healthy fats and proteins over cheap and simple carbs
- Hypoallergenic Dog Foods limited ingredients to limit the risk of allergic reactions
- Vegan Dog Foods for those who prefer to do with a plant-based diet
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A Few Words About Portion Control
Just as an example, take a look at the calories in these popular dry dog foods:
- Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets Chicken & Brown Rice Dry Dog Food: 322 kcal per cup
- Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Adult Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food: 378 kcal per cup
Thats a 16% difference in the calorie content between 2 chicken and rice dog foods!
So, when you switch dog food, always reassess the portion size. If you were to simply keep feeding the same amount, youd risk overfeeding , causing weight gain .
If the dogs waistline has widened, this is a good time to reduce the number of calories and put your dog on a diet. Your veterinarian or vet tech is an invaluable resource for those who arent sure if their pooch is pint-sized or outsized. Take the advice of a veterinary healthcare professional when in doubt.
Raw Transition Considerations For Life Stages
Puppies tend to have a healthier digestive system, which is why they can tolerate a rapid switch in diet.;Some puppies can handle a raw transition in 1 or 2 days with little issue. Young dogs and puppies can be transitioned with;any;method and are great candidates for the cold turkey switch.With that said, if your puppy is not healthy, I recommend a gradual transition option.
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Reasons For Changing Dog Foods
Its okay to switch dog food. In fact, at some point, it may be necessary. Here are a few reasons you may need to switch up your dogs food:
- Age: Around their first birthday , puppies need to transition to an adult dog food. Around age seven, most dogs are considered senior and may benefit from switching to a senior formula.
- Weight: If your dog is not his ideal body condition, your veterinarian may recommend a weight management formula. Not all weight changes need to be addressed through a change in the food itself. It may just require feeding more or less of the current food. Your veterinarian can help you determine whats best for your dog.
- Activity Levels: Dogs who participate in shows, sporting or agility events or who have demanding jobs may need a formula to support those activities. These types of dog foods often have higher levels of protein and calories. As dogs retire from these activities, they may need to switch to a lower-calorie food to avoid unnecessary weight gain.
- Health: Some foods have been formulated to help veterinarians nutritionally manage certain health conditions. For example, your veterinarian may prescribe a therapeutic formula to help support the unique nutritional needs of dogs with GI conditions.