[pugmomsandy]

I have several dogs. I have 2 or 3 bags open at once. So technically, they are eating 2 familiar foods when I open a new bag. I used to only have 2 bags at once, but with fosters, they allow me to open 3 bags (I use about 300 cups a month). Even using only 2 foods, you wouldn’t need to transition since one of them will always be something “old” when you add food #2 because I’ve never had 2 bags of food go empty at the same time, there’s always one “old” food in there. I usually make a “mixture” so I can make it how I want – the amount of “old” food and the amount of “new” food. It’s like always being in transition, I guess. When I’m too busy to make a “mixture”, they get a scoop directly out of one bag so that would be just that food, no mix. I also have fosters so they don’t get a food transition at all. I give probiotics/enzymes, ground psyllium for loose stools and they just have to eat what I give them which is 4.5 to 5 star foods. I just don’t want you to be discouraged if there is tummy troubles. A switch can be done, quickly or slowly. And poor quality foods can have sugar and MSG or other addicting ingredient which can make transitioning difficult when they refuse to eat the new food! You can do a mix of our old food with some new food until they can get off of the old food. I can’t seem to give up Ramen noodle with at least 5 sources of MSG in it!! Bad, I know!! My dogs have been eating mixes for at least 2 years so they can eat single foods any time. They actually eat different kibbles, different canned foods, raw food, dehydrated food, anything, no problem. That is (hopefully) what you can achieve by starting to rotate. I even got a 13 yr old foster that was eating Hill’s W/D when I got him and I put him straight to my regular food, supplements and he’s fine. He’s 14 now and still eats 4.5 to 5 star kibbles and wet food (canned, dehyrated). Seniors should get more wet foods BTW. Sometimes I give ground psyllium or chia seed with canned foods to make the stool more formed (solid formed vs soft formed). I have 5 fosters right now who did fine with no transition. BUT some dogs do have trouble with it.

• This reply was modified 12 years ago by pugmomsandy.