The right way to change your dog's food

There are many different reasons for changing your dog's food but the rule for getting the change to a healthy food right is simple: Do it slowly & keep a close eye on your dog! That's because your dog, or to be more precise, their digestive system, has to get used to the new ingredients first. We have some tips for you on how to make the change as easy as possible.

A variety of reasons

There are different reasons for changing to a healthier food. While it is sometimes medically necessary, there are other good reasons for changing your dog's food:

Switch from junior to adult food or from adult to senior food
Switch from wet food to dry food/ from dry food to wet food
Change due to intolerance or illness
Your dog is overweight
Personal preferences (e.g. switching to higher quality food)

When puppies grow up

One of the most common food changes is from a special junior food to classic adult food. In this case, experience tells us that this change is pretty uncomplicated if you simply change within the brand that you have already been giving to your dog. With our DOG'S LOVE Junior and Adult in particular, owners report that the switch goes smoothly and that the dogs do not exhibit any complications, such as digestive problems, excessive flatulence, or similar. We also receive a lot of positive feedback about the change to our senior food.

Switch from wet food to dry food or vice versa

You need to be careful with this change. In principle, it is an advantage if your dog is already used to and familiar with both types of food. This means their digestive system is not expected to do anything completely new. If you want to change your dog’s diet to dry food, we recommend using the dry food as a reward first.

Top tip: Weigh the dry food you are going to give to your dog and spread this amount out across the day. Make sure that you’re not giving your furry friend too much food! You should subtract the dry food from the wet food you are still giving them.

How long does it take to change food?

It is important that your dog is comfortable with the change and that their digestive system continues to work well. Rather than switch over too quickly, it is better to make the change gradually step by step – after all, your dog’s digestive system and intestinal flora have to adjust. An absolute no-go when changing food is being too hectic or simply changing from one day to the next.

Step by step: To start off, you should mix a maximum of a quarter of the new food into the usual food. After 1-2 weeks, you can keep increasing the proportion until the change is successful. Even if you are changing due to intolerance or allergy, the process should not be too fast, otherwise your dog's digestive system will be even more challenged than it already is. When you dog’s bowl only contains the new food and they are generally fine, you can be proud: Together you have mastered the food change!

Did you know ...?

Unlike us humans, dogs do not need different food every day. While we get sick of the same food after 2 days, your dog doesn’t need this variety. What you can do is alternate different tastes within your favourite brand’s same range. For this, we can heartily recommend our DOG’S LOVE Adult Multipack. This will also allow you to see which type of meat/protein source your dog tolerates and likes best. Don't be surprised if your dog “changes their mind” and prefers the new beef to the usual turkey, for example. They also have minds of their own!