Seven days, four stages. That is the whole method and it works for almost every dog.
- Days one and two: a quarter new food, three quarters old
- Days three and four: half and half
- Days five and six: three quarters new, a quarter old
- Day seven: all new
Mix them together in the same bowl rather than feeding them separately. A dog who can pick will pick.
Why sudden changes cause trouble
The bacteria in a dog's gut adapt to what they are regularly fed. Change the food overnight and that population has to shift, which takes days. In the meantime you get loose stools, wind and a dog who seems a bit off.
This is not an allergy and it is not the new food being wrong. It is a transition, and the seven day ramp exists to make it gradual enough that the gut keeps up.
What normal looks like during a changeover
Softer stools than usual, especially around days three to five when the mix is most even. Some extra wind. A slightly reduced appetite for a day or two, particularly if the new food smells different.
All of that settles. If you are on day four and things look a bit loose, hold at that ratio for two extra days rather than pushing on. There is nothing magic about seven.
When to stop
Some things are not part of a normal transition:
- Vomiting more than once
- Blood or mucus in the stool
- Watery diarrhoea rather than soft stools
- Lethargy, or a dog who will not eat at all
- Loose stools still going past ten days
Any of those, stop the changeover, go back to the old food and ring your vet. Persistent diarrhoea dehydrates a dog faster than people expect, and small dogs and puppies faster again.
Slower dogs
Some need fourteen days rather than seven. Just stretch each stage from two days to four.
Worth going slow with: puppies, dogs over about ten, any dog with a known sensitive stomach, dogs recovering from illness or a course of antibiotics and any dog who has had a bad reaction to a food change before.
There is no downside to going slower. The only cost is that you need enough of the old food left to do it, which brings us to the awkward one.
When you have run out
It happens. The bag is empty, the shop is shut, and the seven day plan is not available.
What to do:
Feed less than usual for the first two days. Around two thirds of the normal amount, split across more meals. A smaller volume of unfamiliar food is easier to cope with than a full bowl.
Add something binding. A spoon of plain pumpkin purée or plain boiled white rice mixed in helps firm things up. No butter, no salt, no seasoning.
Keep water available and watch it. A dog with loose stools loses more fluid than usual.
Build back to normal volume over three or four days.
Expect a rougher few days than a proper changeover. Most dogs come through it fine.
Better still, do not get here. When a bag is a third gone, order the next one. Free delivery over €49, and if you order before 2pm Monday to Friday it goes out with DPD the same day.
When the dog refuses the new food
Usually a smell problem rather than a taste one. Dogs decide before they taste.
Things that help:
Go slower. Start at ten percent new rather than twenty five and creep up.
Warm it slightly. A splash of warm water on kibble releases the smell. Warm, not hot.
Take the bowl away after fifteen minutes. Leaving food down all day teaches a dog that waiting produces something better. Most healthy dogs will not starve themselves over a change of brand.
Do not top it with something tasty. You will teach the dog that refusing food produces gravy, and you will be doing that forever.
A dog who genuinely will not eat for more than a day, or who is off water as well, is a vet call rather than a fussiness problem.
When the food is discontinued
You do not always get to choose the timing. A line gets dropped, a recipe changes, a supplier goes.
If you have warning, buy one extra bag and do the changeover properly. If you do not, use the run-out method above and pick the closest replacement you can, same protein, similar fat and fibre, similar kibble size. Changing one variable is easier on a dog than changing all four.
Bring the old bag into either shop and we will find you the nearest match. That is easier to do with the label in front of us than over the phone.
Related: How to choose dog food in Ireland | Dry dog food
