What to watch for when you change your dog's food

Changing a dog’s food is a very controversial subject.  Many experts say you should never change your dog’s food as it causes many adverse problems.  Have you ever noticed every time you take your dog to the veterinarian because he is not feeling well they want to know if you have changed his diet?

Changing some dogs' diets can cause problems.  Some dogs will develop diarrhea and various stomach and intestinal problems.  There are other dogs that you can change their diet frequently and it does not seem to cause a problem.  These dogs seem to be able to eat anything at anytime.

Sometimes you have to change your dog’s food even if you really do not want to.  If your dog develops allergy symptoms the first thing that comes to everyone’s mind is that it is a food allergy and his food must be changed.  Follow your veterinarian’s instructions on changing his food. 

Sometimes people just decide they want to change their dog’s food to a higher quality dog food.  It seems like it would be a simple thing to change your dog’s food.  You just quit feeding the old food and start feeding the new food.  It is not that simple.  It does not bother some dogs but others do not take the change well.

Some dog’s digestive systems are quite sensitive.  Some dogs do not do well when their food is changed.  If you change your dog’s diet often it can damage his health.  Changing your dog’s food can cause many problems.  It can cause your dog to have stomach cramps, gas, heartburn, constipation, indigestion, diarrhea and vomiting.

If you are upgrading your dog’s food to a healthier food you must do it slowly over several days.  There are bacteria in a dog’s intestine that help the dog digest his food.  A sudden food change will upset the bacterial balance and cause the dog problems digesting his food. 

Your dog should be switched to his new food slowly.  It usually takes 7 to 10 days to get the job done safely with little to no side effects.

One method of changing your dog’s food that is accepted by the experts is to feed him a mixture of 25 percent new dog food and 75 percent old dog food for 3 days.  If he is not having any problems go to a mixture of 50 percent new dog food and 50 percent old dog food.  Feed this mixture for 3 days.  If your dog is doing fine on this mixture go to 75 percent new dog food and 25 percent old dog food and feed this mixture for 3 days.  If your dog is not having any problems you can switch him to 100 percent new dog food.  If your dog shows no signs of problems you have been successful in changing your dog’s food.

Article sources:

http://www.thedogbowl.com

http://www.dog-food-guide.com