How to Transition Your Pet's Food to A New Diet

If you plan to introduce a new food for your dog it's always a good idea that the change is a gradual transition. This is because you do not want to suddenly upset your dog's digestive system with diarrhea or vomiting. Rather you want your dog's digestive system to gradually adjust to the new food.

This is done by slowly mixing a small amount of the new food into the old food while decreasing the amount of the old food over the course of a week or so.  There is no exact number of days this transition will be complete as each dog will adjust at his/her own individual pace.

If your dog has food sensitivities, tummy issues or if at anytime your dog does not do well when more of the new food is added, the transition may need to be more gradual. Take a step back and continue at the point where your dog was doing well with the mix of the old and new food. Allow sufficient time to elapse before moving forward with more of the new food and always monitor your dog's progress.

Here is a general guideline of how to change your dog's food:

Day 1: Feed 75% of the old food & 25% of the new food

Day 2: Feed 75% of the old food & 25% of the new food

Day 3: Feed 75% of the old food & 25% of the new food

Day 4: Feed 50% of the old food & 50% of the new food

Day 5: Feed 50% of the old food & 50% of the new food

Day 6: Feed 25% of the old food & 75% of the new food

Day 7: Feed 25% of the old food & 75% of the new food

Day 8: Feed 0% of the old food & 100% of the new food