Transitioning Your Dog To A Fresh Diet
If you’re switching your dog's food from dry kibble to fresh and home cooked meals for dog, you could to take it slow.
However, transitioning your dog from processed food to a fresh, wholesome cooked diet, will always be safe and healthy for your dog.
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Below are a few simple steps, to simply guide you through the transition process and you can always adapt to your dog's style and personality.
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ADD FRESH FOOD GRADUALLY
Plan a gradual break-in period for the fresh food. Slowly wean your dog off the old food while gradually introducing the new.
Days 1-3:
Start by putting three quarters of a typical serving of your dog’s current food in the bowl.
Then, fill out the final quarter of the meal with the new food, like plain boiled chicken for dogs.
Watch your dog get excited, and notice how your dog seems to feel after meals over these first few days.
Days 4-7:
Ask yourself: Did my dog handle the switch to cooked, moist dog food well during days 1-3?
If no, or your pet’s stool seems too loose, take a step back and introduce the fresh diet more slowly. Maybe feeding just fresh bone broth with dry kibble would work better for your dog.
If yes, then feed a bowl of fresh food for their morning meal. And then the old/ current food for their evening meal or vice versa.
Days 8+:
Ask yourself: Did my dog handle the new food well during days 4-7?
If no, give transition more time by staying in the day 4-7 pattern.
If yes, you’ve successfully transitioned your dog to balanced home cooked dog food! You can now feed fresh foods for both meals and enjoy introducing different meats at different meals, in a few more weeks.
CHECKING YOUR DOG'S POOP
Wondering how to tell whether your dog is handling a new diet well? Check the poop. You want to see firm, healthy looking stools, however, a slightly softer stool can be expected and is normal during your pup’s transition phase to fresh diet.
However, if your dog’s stool is too loose, you may want to slow down the transition to give your dog’s digestive system more time to adjust. Preferably, do not stop the transition, but continue in smaller quantities of fresh food like broth, cubes of cooked meat, cooked rice with some curd.
The size of your dog’s poop is likely to reduce when you switch their diet from kibble/ processed dog food to balanced home cooked dog food.
INCLUDE A PROBIOTIC
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For pets with severe digestive and/or gastrointestinal upset, we recommend adding a digestive enzyme or dog safe fermented foods, like curd/ yoghurt, to aid with the switching process from kibble to home cooked meals for dogs.
For dog’s with digestive issues, you may want to consider splitting their meals to 3 times a day, in equal intervals, ensuring the quantity of food to be digested is lesser at a time, making it easier on their tummies.
If you’d like recommendations of the quantity of fresh food for your dog, please visit https://www.hungryeyes.in/fresh-dog-food-guide
And before you start cooking fresh food for your pooch, explore our recommendations, for yours and your dog’s journey into a healthy, fresh meat based diet.