How often do you change your dog's brand of food?

Question

How often do you change your dog's brand of food?

Answer 1

Whenever they get tired of eating the same thing.

Or if their coat or stools aren't good then I change foods.

I like to try different foods.

If the dogs start vomiting or get diarrhea from a food I change foods right away.

But I try to change up foods every few months.  It works for me and I have no digestive problems with my dogs. As long as I switch foods the proper way then my dogs are fine.

The onl time I have troubles is if a food doesn't agree with my dogs.

Answer 2

don't change the brand unless necessary.  if you change it, plan ahead and don't change it again unless you have to.  we changed ours once because we used the stuff from walmart.  we switched to blue buffalo (from petsmart) because it makes them poo much less and is much healthier.  they also eat less because it doesn't have fillers so we actually save money.  we give them wet food on saturday afternoons but that is it.  we change the flavor of the wet food but never the brand.  changing the brand causes their system upset.  it is hard for them to process change and can make them feel horrible....along with having diahrrea.  if you have to change their food, get the new food and mix 1/4 new and 3/4 old for 4 days, then do half and half for 4 days, then do 3/4 new and 1/4 old for 4 days, then go to just the new brand.  this will help their system adjust to the new food without making them sick.

remember, dogs can't always tell you when something you do makes them not feel well.  

Answer 3

It depends.  I kept her on Eukanuba for 2 years until I found a place that sold Canidae near me then I switched, she didn't do well on Canidae so I had to switch her to Iams Low Residue from my vets, until I read that Iams does animal testing so now I'm switching to Holistic food.  As long as she does well on the Holistic I don't plan on changing it again for a very long time.  I might change flavors but not brands, so I'd say I made three food changes within a year.

Answer 4

You should not change your dog's food often because it can give them stomach problems. If you do have to change your dog's food you need to transition them, don't switch immediately but rather mix the two foods together before switching. If you're think of switch your dog's food because you want to give him/her a variety you should think of buying a brand called Prairie. It's designed for what's called Rotation Feeding. This means that you can switch the different flavors of Prairie without transitioning them. It's a really good all natural food, look it up. You can look on the manufacturer's website or chek out wagnwash.com.

Answer 5

I just change the flavor when ever we run out of dog food, unless the store is out of merrick!!  

Answer 6

Constantly.  I feed primarily a raw prey-model based diet... and I also give a wide variety of high quality kibble as treats/training aids and occassional meals.  I probably have about a dozen types of kibble I've fed in the last 6 months... as well as a wide variety of meat/bones/offal/fish... plus some occassional dairy and a once a week clean out of my fridge.

My dogs have VERY good digestive tracts because they are USED to eating a wide variety of things---- unlike those dogs who eat only one thing constantly and that's all they can eat because their bodies can no longer adjust and they don't have the intestinal flora (bacteria) to cope with any variety.

Answer 7

Infrequently.

JJ was thriving on Solid Gold, but the supplier for England is currently out of stock and has been for some weeks now, so I have switched him to another brand.

I consider switching only if the kibble is a better quality product that the one I am currently feeding my Dobes. Initially I buy a medium size bag to see if it will agree with them, if it doesn't I donate to local rescue.

Answer 8

I don't change the brand, just usually the flavor.  Changing the brand can happen, but only like every other couple of months, give the dog something to look forward to. But sometimes the dog likes it's food, so why change it?

Answer 9

I changed it once...but get a new flavor ( I stick to my brand,Wellness Core) every other month

Answer 10

Every once in a while. If the pet store's sold out, or if I hear something good about another brand.

Coby's on Wellness CORE, and will be for awhile. We might switch to CORE Ocean, but I'm not sure.

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Answer 11

I don't anymore

we feed canidae als

but if we run out and our store is closed then we either make rice and chicken

or we had a small bag of beneful

Answer 12

Every few months.  I am changing it this time because I got a great deal on a food I know they do really well on.  

Answer 13

I don't anymore because my boy has a very sensitive stomach and my girl has sensitive skin.  I stick with what works...

Answer 14

MY dog is on his fourth brand of food,,as the first three did not agree with him,,the first two were vet recommended, to me but,,ran through him..the third was ok for a while,,then did not agree with him,,and now he is on Burns  which he is doing best on,,the first three had one common ingredient,,they all had Beet Pulp,which i guess does not agree with my dog,,,they were  science plan,,royal canin,,and arden grange,,so with the exception of giving him veg,,and occasional chicken and fish,,i won t be changing again,,

  

Answer 15

I have only had to change Cub's food once.  When we were trying out options to help his skin problems, the vet had me put him on a limited ingredients food but it was from the same company as the food he was already on, which unfortunately wasn't able to help him, but otherwise he has stayed on the same food as long as I've had him.

Answer 16

you really shouldn't switch brands often... unless the dog won't eat it, or has stomach/stool problems.

changing the food can cause diareah (spelling?)

if you do decide to switch, make sure you gradually mix it in with the old food.  

Answer 17

I make my pups their own food.After the recall I am not taking any chances ever again.

Changing brands unnecessarily can give a pup gastrointestinal upset and is not recommended.