How to Transition your Dog to New Food #HEBBeyond
There comes a time in every dog’s life when a new food may be introduced to them for their health or just for their owner’s peace of mind, so today, as part of a sponsored post for H-E-B Stores, I am bringing you tips on how to transition your dog to new food. All opinions are my own.
Although I may not talk about them as much as I do about Benjamin, I have two other children in my home who hold my heart. They are my fur babies and they love some Mommy time. Every night when I get home, they are sitting by the door, tails wagging, and they jump on me for a few pets and a little playtime. Every time I go to the restroom, they are right there for another pet and a kiss on the face. Every time I move from my work spot in the bed with my laptop, they are jumping up to see where I’m going and if they can go, too. They are my loves, Molly and Abby, the only other females in the home besides me, and they keep the ratio of male-female in check.
Because I love Molly and Abby so much and I want to keep them healthy and vibrant for a long time, I always look to give them nothing but the best. That is why I choose their food wisely and not just grab the first food I can find. At time, though, I learn about new food for my dogs and I choose to change things up. As you may know, you can’t just transition your dog to new food overnight. It’s a process and I’m going to share my tips for transitioning so you won’t put your dog through any unneccessary stress.
1. Why are you changing foods?
When considering switching foods for your dog, you should always consider the reason you are switching. If you’re switching because your puppy is growing up and needs adult food, do your research and make sure your pup is old enough to transition. If your dog is getting older and needs something for her bones or skin, talk to your vet about what type of food to switch to for her health. Ensure you are switching to the kind of food that you are going to stick with for a while because you don’t want to switch back and forth several times and have your pet endure unneeded stress.
2. What food are you choosing?
Again, do your research and know what you’re switching to before you transition your dog to new food. Pick a food that is good for teeth or bones or skin. Pick a flavor that your dog has been known to love. Peruse the dog food aisle or talk to your vet about what food you are going to choose.
We have recently switched Molly and Abby over to the Purina Beyond Grain Free Tuna & Egg Natural Dog Food, available at H-E-B stores, and they are in love. Molly is a “secret” eater and will only eat when nobody is home or nobody is looking. She doesn’t eat a lot, but when she does, she likes to eat in private. Abby is a “grazer”. She will eat a piece or two of food every ten minutes all day long. She grabs up the pieces and takes them to another place (like the bathroom or the laundry room), drops them, and then eats them one at a time. When we introduced the Purina Beyond food to them, they abandoned their eating eccentricities and just ate it all in one sitting! It was quite hilarious to see them and I was surprised that they liked it so much (Although, I’ve always heard good things about Purina, so I shouldn’t have been surprised).
Purina Beyond is made with all natural ingredients such as real meal, fish or poultry. It has no corn, wheat, or soy, no poultry by-product, and no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. I can say that with this new food our dogs are probably eating better than we are…we need to get on the ball! Purina Beyond is now available at H-E-B grocery stores at a great, affordable price and my budget thanks them for that. Learn more about why you should choose Purina Beyond.
We love to visit the H-E-B grocery store that is 30 minutes away and we are excited to be getting a brand new H-E-B in our home town in the next year! H-E-B always has great prices and great selection, something that we don’t always get at our current local stores. We tend to shop there once or twice per month to stock up and now we can stock up on the NEW Purina Beyond at H-E-B as well!
3. Transition to the new food
Now that you have researched and chosen a new food, you’ve talked to your vet if your dog has health issues, and you’re ready to transition, you will simply need to slowly introduce the new food into your pet’s daily diet. Some sites recommend starting with 20% new food to 80% old food, then up by 20% each day until you have replaced the old food. Other sites recommend 25%/75%, then 50%/50%, and so on. Whatever percentage you choose, slowly introduce the new food mixed with the old food until you have completely replaced it.
4. Stop if there’s trouble
If your dog experiences vomiting or diarrhea, stop the food or slow down the transition while her tummy gets used to the new food. If you don’t have to transition for health reasons, consider sticking with what’s working for your pet, but there are times when the food is for health reasons so just slow down and let her tummy have a rest for a day and then try again.
This post about How to Transition your Dog to New Food is sponsored by H-E-B stores and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about the availability of Purina Beyond at H-E-B Stores, but Going Crazy! Wanna Go? only shares information I feel is relevant to my readers. H-E-B is not responsible for the content of this article.
Haha that is funny that your dog likes to eat in private. Mine is the opposite and only likes to eat if we are home. Great tips!
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