How to safely transition my new golden retriever puppy's food?

Ideally anytime there is a diet change you want to do it over a week. You gradual mix the two foods and add kore and note if the new food each day until at 7 days you are 100% in the new food. Grain free is not really a problem for dogs... good for you!

Hello, it is definitely something to consider when continuing to feed your pup grain free diets. Becuase the link between grain free diets and DCM is still not understood it’s impossible to tel you if an additional week of the grain free diet would make a difference on Phoebe if any ever. Some dogs are fed grain free diets all their lives and have never developed DCM. It’s therefore likely that Phoebe will benefit more by having a slow transition than an abrupt one that can cause her GI tract to become upset. Hope this helps and best of luck

Rather than using a 50/50 mixture for a diet transition, I would instead ideally recommend starting 75/25 old/new food for 2 days, 50/50 for another 2-3 days, then 25/75 old/new food for another 2 days. Chloe is more likely to experience gastrointestinal upset without the more gradual transition. That said, it is possible that she could be perfectly fine with a more consistent 50/50 transition over 7 days. If she does not normally have a sensitive GI tract, you can try a 50/50 mix for 7 days, but if she does develop signs of a GI upset (vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite), a more gradual transition will be necessary. I hope this helps clear up any confusion!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Charlie. First, it is fine to switch dog food brands, but you will need to transition slowly. You should mix the foods and gradually change the proportions of old and new. This will help to prevent any vomiting or diarrhea from the the change. Next, he should eat a large breed puppy food to best meet his nutritional needs. Personally, I use Purina, Hill's, Royal Canin or Iams. These are large companies with veterinarians on staff to research and formulate their diets. They also tend to offer of a variety of products to fit different budgets. I hope this information helps!

Hi there. In general, if you're making a change, it's best to gradually start mixing in the new food over the course of at least 2-3 days rather than switching all at once - this helps to avoid GI upset related to a sudden diet change. As long as you do this, it's fine to switch to a different flavor or brand if you want to.

Hello, thank you for your question about Bran. The most important tip to remember when choosing a diet for a puppy is to ensure that the diet is specifically designed for puppies. As a general rule puppy foods tend to have higher calorie content and a higher percentage of important minerals such as calcium. Every veterinarian has their own opinions on various dog food brands. Personally, I find that Royal Canin is a good choice, because they have veterinary nutritionists on staff that ensure their diets are nutritionally balanced. I have very limited experience with the Arden Grange company, but in my research I do not think this is a bad type of food. If you would like to transition Bran to this brand of food I would recommend making a slow transition over 3-5 days, slowly increasing the amount of Arden Grange offered (and decreasing the amount of Royal Canin). If Bran develops diarrhea or does not seem to tolerate the new brand of food, I would recommend switching him back to Royal Canin. Hope this helps, good luck!

Hi there! You can transition her like you would normally with other diets. The key is going to be to do it slowly which is always true for dogs. What I typically recommend is to do it over 4 days as follows. Feed 25% of new diet and 75% of the old diet on day 1. Feed 50% of each on day 2. Feed 75% of new diet and 25% of the old diet on day 3. You can start feeding the new diet entirely assuming that the transition has been well-tolerated and has not resulted in any gastrointestinal signs such as diarrhea, nausea (manifests as drooling, lip smacking and/or decreased appetite), vomiting or anorexia. This approach usually works very well. Good luck with Chloe! I bet she is super cute!