Guide To Transitioning Your Dog to Fresh Food: A 7-Day Plan

You’ve made the transition to fresh dog food! We love that you’ve made the switch over, and we know you must be asking the top-of-mind question, how do I transition my dog to fresh food?

Congratulations! You’re in the right place. In this short article, we’ll go over how to properly transition your dog from their previous diet to their new fresh food diet. Keep in mind that every dog is different and some may need more time to transition than others.

Transitioning My Dog To Fresh Food

 

Dog Standards recommends giving a minimum a 7-day transition period. This allows your dog’s stomach to acclimate itself with the new diet. 

Think of it this way… As a human, if you’ve been eating the same steak and potatoes for dinner every day and all of a sudden introduce a new protein, your body might take some time to get adjusted to the new protein. 

This is the same for our dogs. Although not all dogs will need a minimum of 7 days, we still recommend to ease your dog into their new diet. 

We’ve created a detailed diagram of how a typical transition might look for a dog who is new to a fresh food diet:

 

 

Recommended Transition Period for Fresh Food

 

Day 1 - 2: Feeding your dog 25% Fresh Dog Food and 75% of their previous diet

 

Day 3 - 4: Up your dog’s fresh food intake to 50% along with 50% of their previous diet

 

Day 5 - 6: Feeding your dog 75% fresh dog food and 25% of their previous diet

 

Day 7: Feeding your dog 100% of their fresh food diet

 

As mentioned previously, all dogs are different and have different sensitivities. Some dogs may take up to 14 days + with their transition. A good sign of whether or not your dog is adjusting well is to look at their poop. If your dog’s poop is solid and normal, this is a good sign that they’re adjusting to their new diet well. If their poop is softer and more liquid than usual, we recommend continuing to feed as per usual.

 

Ex. If you’re on Day 6 of your transition and your dog’s poop is more liquid than usual, continue to feed them 50% of their previous diet and 50% of their new fresh food diet until their poop has normalized.

 

Need more support?

We’re here to help, if you require more support with your dog’s transition, reach out to us!

 

 By Dog Standards