What's the best way to feed my dog: rotate protein or one food?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is actually not accurate. The reason is that most dogs are very sensitive to diet changes and it is best to stick with one good high quality balanced diet longterm instead of switching them frequently. Some examples of high quality balanced diets include Purina Pro Plan and Science Diet foods. Once you are feeding a balanced and complete diet, there is no need to add other ones or switching them. This will avoid the gastrointestinal issues that would come with changing diets on a regular basis. Good luck and have a great day!

While some dogs can tolerate switching between protein sources well (chicken to lamb, etc.), other dogs can have issues and develop GI upset with the change. Nutritionally there is no need to switch protein sources, and dogs can have an allergy to one protein source versus another. If you do switch, I would recommend a slow transition over a week to see how she handles it

It's actually not a bad idea to feed variety of food if she tolerates it well. The most important thing to do is transition the food slowly. This means that you add the new food into the old food slowly. You can do this over the course of a wee; where you increase the amount of new food until it is 100% by the end of the week. It may also be beneficial to add probiotics to the food while transitioning. This can be found at most pet stores. If you notice diarrhea and vomiting while transitioning food, then stop the new food and only feed the old one. You can attempt the transition again when the diarrhea stops. If she gets diarrhea or vomiting again, then it's best to avoid that particular food. It's up to you how often you want to do this (6wks vs every 3 months), because I don't know of any strong reason to do it more or less frequently. I've included a link below to a short article that may help you in selecting the best foods and gives good advice about feeding your dog. https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-to-look-for-when-choosing-your-pet-s-food/ I hope that helps.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is best to stay with one type of diet as that can avoid gastrointestinal issues. Dogs just have a more sensitive stomach and respond better to one diet at once. Good luck and have a great day!

Rotating food certainly isn't bad, but sudden diet changes can lead to GI upset in some animals, triggering vomiting and diarrhea. If you choose to change foods monthly, try gradually mixing the foods together for 5-7 days to ease the transition. Another option if you prefer offering a variety of diets would be to choose 2-3 diets and mix them together at all times. Make sure Mysti eats a puppy food that is formulated for growth until she is 1 year old.

This is a great question and the answer depends on the dog you are feeding and whether or not they have a food intolerance or allergy. Typically, in a normal dog, feeding different protein sources to should not cause any problem. If the food is switched too quickly however, it may cause some GI upset like diarrhea and vomiting. If you are feeding a mixture of the proteins all at once this will probably cut down on tummy upset because you aren't switching back and forth. The only problem I can forsee is if the dog has an allergy to one of the proteins you are feeding her. Food allergies typically cause problems with the skin, ears and anal glands. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Yes that can work, but I would advise against rotating flavors and brands. That's because sudden changes in food can cause GI upset in the form of vomiting and diarrhea. It's best to stick with one brand and flavor. Dogs do not need their food changed :-)