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July 27, 2022

How to Transition Your Dog to a New Food

  • Dry Food
  • Dog Food
  • Can Dogs Eat
  • Wet Food
  • Ingredients
  • Protein
Labrador dog with three bags and bowls of NOW FRESH kibble

Are you considering switching your dog’s food to something new and want to know how to do so safely? Whether you’re looking to switch for health reasons, improved palatability and taste, or to improve the quality of your furry companion’s diet, we’ve got you covered with a step-by-step transition guide.

Why is it important to switch your dog to new food slowly?

Making a change in your dog’s food can cause an upset stomach, resulting in vomiting, diarrhea or constipation if not done carefully. To minimize this, we recommend switching over to the new food slowly over a period of at least 10 days to give your dog’s body time to adjust.

Instructions for Safely Transitioning Your Dog's Food

  • Day 1 & 2: Feed 80% of your dog’s old food with 20% of the new food

  • Day 3 & 4: Feed 60% of your dog’s old food with 40% of the new food

  • Day 5 & 6: Feed 40% of your dog’s old food with 60% of the new food

  • Day 7, 8 & 9: Feed 20% of your dog’s old food with 80% of the new food

  • Day 10 & so on: Feed 100% new food

Dog feeding transition guide

Sometimes, the timeline looks different for dogs depending on how sensitive their stomach is. A good way to judge is to carefully monitor how your dog is reacting with the transition. If you notice that your dog is showing signs of constipation, diarrhea, or a change in appetite, you need to take the process even slower.

Some helpful tips to help the change go smoothly are:

  • Making sure your dog is always hydrated
  • Limit treats and other outside food during the process
  • If you can, don’t mix raw and dry food

In Conclusion

Dogs are curious creatures - they like new smells, sights, sounds and tastes. Carefully switching up their meals from time to time is a great way to keep things interesting for them. At Now Fresh we don’t want mealtimes to be boring, which is why we offer a range of different textures and flavours for dogs to enjoy!

NOW FRESH Recipe for Adult Dogs and Shredded Chicken Recipe Tetra Pak

Our Recommendation

Now Fresh Recipes for Dogs

Hungry dogs of every shape & size can enjoy our perfectly balanced Now Fresh recipes, made with fresh meat & fish.


Author

Now Fresh Team

Now Fresh Team

A Team of Dedicated Pet Parents & Nutrition Experts

We all want our cats and dogs to lead happy, healthy lives. We’re here to help you, with easy-to-understand information about your pet's daily care and feeding.