In regards to proper pet care, when choosing the best possible dog food formula for your dog, it may be hard to make a decision as to which kind is best for your dog’s health. As a result, you may have to experiment with feeding your dog several different dog food formulas before you find one that works best for your dog. Some dogs have different tastes, and may not consume a ‘healthy’ dog food formula if they do not find it appetizing. Switching between dog food formulas is actually not as easy as simply replacing your dog’s food from meal to meal. In reality, there is a slightly involved process that needs to be followed when switching dog food brands.
Once you have chosen the dog food brand that you wish to feed your dog instead of their current formula, there are a few things that you need to consider. One of these considerations is the difference in the ingredients between both of the formulas. For example, when switching your dog from a high-grain, inexpensive dog food formula to a grain-free, high-protein dog food formula, you need to exercise a bit of caution. An abrupt change in dogs nutrition diet is usually not received well by a dog’s digestive system, and this can be made worse if the two formulas are extremely different. Begin by reading the ingredients label on both formulas, and comparing the ingredients. The first five ingredients in a dog food formula usually make up the bulk of the food, so these are the first ingredients that you should look at. The ‘Guaranteed Analysis’ percentage contained on every dog food formula label is also worth noting, since the ratio of protein to fat could be slightly different between formulas.
For proper dog pet care, once you have noted the possible differences between the formulas, it’s time to start the transition. Begin by offering a small amount of the ‘new’ dog food formula to your dog in combination with their old formula. You can mix the new formula in with their old formula, or you can offer it as a very small portion on the side. If you offer the new formula separate, you can gain a general idea of if your dog finds the new formula appetizing or not. However, when switching dog food formulas, it is generally advised to mix the two formulas together in increasing ratios during the transition.
It’s very important to only start out by mixing a very small portion of the new dog food brand in with your dog’s old dog food formula. Over the course of several days, gradually increase the amount of the new dog food formula as you decrease the amount of the old dog food formula that you feed your dog. This needs to be done gradually, especially if you have noted extreme differences in the ingredients of both dog food formulas. If this is done gradually enough, your dog may not even notice the difference as the old dog food formula is switched out, and the new dog food brand is incorporated into their diet.
