New puppy? Wanting to change their food?
Here’s what you must know when changing your puppies' food?
First, Work with your vet to find a food that is proper for your puppies age, and breed. Different breeds of dogs have different requirements to keep them healthy.
As you are transitioning food, watch for signs of gi upset in your puppy (upset stomach). This can be diarrhea, mucus in stool, or even vomiting. If your puppy experiences any of these symptoms remember to consult with your veterinarian. Your puppy might need a few days of a bland diet, and a good probiotic to help reset the good bacteria in their intestines.
As your puppy transitions their food, monitor your puppy's stool. Your puppy should have formed a stool, similar to the texture of a tootsie roll. If your puppy is not tolerating the new food you may notice mucus, abnormal odor, soft texture, no form to stool, or in some cases blood.
Make sure to consider these questions when transitioning.
Have you transitioned your puppies food slowly?
(We recommend transitioning your puppies food over at least ten days, this helps their intestinal biome (gut bacteria) adjust to the new food.
Have the puppies been eating both foods or are they picking out one or the other
(Some puppies may try to just eat one food over the other, encouraging them to eat both as they transition , to help their gut adjust to the new food properly.)
How quickly is the puppy eating? Are they taking time to chew?
(If your puppy is transitioning food, and eating too quickly it can be an overload on their gut and cause soft stool. You may need to use a slow feeder, or you can put a couple of tennis balls in their food bowl to help them slow down when they are eating.)
How much have I been feeding my puppy? Is it within the recommendations per my vet, and dog food bag?
(If your puppy is eating slow, and eating both foods when you are transitioning, the next question you should ask is “how much should I be feeding my puppy? Puppies that overeat can have soft stool, make sure you are feeding according to vet/dog food recommendations)
Has my puppy been wormed recently? Or do they need to be wormed?
(The change of puppies food can cause stress in the puppy which can cause worms to be apparent, make sure your puppy is current in their worming, and if they haven’t been wormed make an appointment with your vet to do so)
Check out our diagram below to help you visualize what percent of food should be added in over the ten days!
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