Switching Foods Faster Than Recommended

[MissMetric]

Okay, I know you're supposed to switch foods slowly, but my puppy's breeder was feeding him small breed Eukanuba which is just absolute trash in addition to not having the right nutrients for a large breed puppy. Obviously just to get the puppies to look big and gain weight and because it's cheap, I'm sure.

Well I'm switching him to Orijen, and I've been introducing it slowly and so far so good. I've also been giving him two teaspoons of canned pumpkin with dinner to ease that process, but, I'd really just like to get him off of the Eukanuba as quickly as possible and wonder if there's any way to speed up the process or if it's TOO terrible to just switch him off of it.

As it is, I feed him his Orijen food out of a treat ball/puzzle ball, and he loves that. So much that unless he's really hungry he's refusing the Eukanuba and picks out the Orijen (the size, taste, and everything is incredibly different).

[Ken Clean-Air System]

Every dog is different, and some will tolerate food changes better and faster than others. Switching too fast can cause digestive upset and in most cases a bout of diarrhea, which, especially with a puppy that has to go out frequently even without an upset tummy, can be no fun at all.

Start increasing the amount of new food each day, and if you see signs of any digestive issues then back off a bit and give it a little more time. A few extra days of feeding Eukanuba isn't going to do your puppy any harm.

[m1953]

Gsd pups tend to have sensitive digestive systems. I would take it slow. At least a few weeks. See how it's going. Start at 10% new food go a few days if all is normal slowly increase by a few percent at a time.

[frillint1]

I agree take it slow. I had to suffer feeding my rescue dog pedigree and I wanted to just get him to the EVO and get it over with, but he was getting diarrhea, so I had to suffer through the bag. I cussed at it every time I had to get some of it, as if that helped anything. Just do it slow he will be off it soon. Save him the upset tummy.

[ankittanna87]

Yeah I learnt it the hard way! Kaiser was on RC at the breeder's & I kept him on that but then he started hating it & wouldn't take a bite.. So I started feeding him home cooked meal (rice & chicken mince, chicken breast & the like).. A lot of people told me to go back to kibble since it's a complete nutrition for a puppy.. so I switched to TOTW.. and yes, he did have 2 bouts of diarrhoea.. and this charlie's lactose intolerant.. not milk products, just plain milk.. So I'm assuming that was also the cause.. So I'll suggest, go easy on the switch.. At least Eukanuba's better than Pedigree! LOL..

[AngieW]

I've done my transitioning over a two-week period without any problems. I tried Nature's Variety with Kylie, but about the time that I got her completely switched over to it from Nulo, I noticed that she was starting to get eye boogers. The vet couldn't find any reason for it and gave me eyedrops to try. The eye boogers continued until I got her switched back over to Nulo completely again. I did the switch back to Nulo over just one week. I also noticed that her coat lost its shine while she was on Nature's Variety, but it came back again on Nulo.

[Cassidy's Mom]

When I switch foods I usually do 2 or 3 meals at each stage or 2 or 3 days, depending on the digestive system of the dog - 75% old/25% new, 50%/50%, and then 25%/75%. I would do a slower switch with a puppy or adult that has a more delicate system, but I don't worry about it that much with a puppy or dog that does not have any digestive issues.

I got a small sample bag of food recently at about 1/3 the normal price and wanted to try it out. It was enough for only a couple of days for 2 dogs, so I did it cold turkey. They went from 100% their usual food to 100% the sample food, then 100% back to their usual food when the other food ran out, in about 3 days. Both of them had normal stools the entire time. Obviously if your puppy does not have perfect stools that wouldn't be a good idea, but it's not the end of the world to switch foods quickly, especially if you're not starting with a quality food to begin with.

[jewels04]

I would do as others suggested slow and steady. You may not like the food your baby is on now but you'll end up doing more harm than good switching over too quickly. I know my schnauzer was on Eukanuba when we got her and I was so anxious to get her off the small breed Eukanuba that I did cold turkey switch to Solid Gold...lets just say it was not pretty and I quickly went right back to Eukanuba and I had to leave her on that food longer to get her tummy resettled. Had I just did a slow transition she would have been off her Eukanuba a lot sooner.