Can I switch my dog's food proteins often, like fish, chicken, duck?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The most common food protein allergen is chicken. I tell clients they can try 2 different over the counter novel protein diets for 2-3 months each before trying a prescription hydrolyzed diet. A novel protein diet means the protein or meat is one that the dog or cat has never eaten before. Only pick one at a time. Examples are Venison, duck, fish, rabbit with green pea, sweet potato, etc. The animals need to eat this diet exclusively, meaning no table scraps, treats or bones, rawhides, greenies or pig ears. The only treats you can give the pet are ones that contain the new protein. You need to give the diet 2-3 months before trying a different protein. There are prescription novel protein diets as well. Hydrolyzed diets are prescription only. The protein is broken down to a very small protein size that isn't recognized as as an allergen by the immune system. Examples are: Hill's z/d, Royal Canin HP and Purina HA. If you find the correct protein that your dog is allergic too then she should only give that diet. Some dogs have food allergies and environmental allergies or atopy. So sometimes food isn't always the perfect fix. But if it is then yes it can help prevent skin and ear infections as long as they don't get anything else to eat that they may be allergic too. I hope this helps! Good luck!

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

I am sorry to hear about Azul! It is possible she could eat duck or turkey without issue but I would probably try offering it in small amounts and monitoring her closely. With food allergies we must be very careful because over the counter diets can be contaminated with other protein sources due to being produced in the same factory or due to poor quality control. In cases of severe allergy then prescription veterinary diets are recommended. With these diets, the entire factory is dedicated to a specific diet and all equipment is cleaned to ensure there is no cross-contamination. I would not recommend jumping back and forth between diets with different protein sources as this can lead to us not having any protein sources to resort to if a dog develops an allergy to their current one. I would stick with a diet if it is working for Azul until/unless a problem arises.

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.

It's best to stick to one protein source. That's because switching food too often can lead to GI upset in the form of vomiting and diarrhea. Dogs will get all the nutrients they need from a high quality dog food.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would just transition to the new food that is not chicken based right away. There is no need to transition slowly to prevent vomiting since he already vomits on the original diet. I would start a new diet with a different meat protein such as salmon, venison, rabbit, etc. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further!

If your kitties are on their current diet because of suspected allergy, and the current foods are well tolerated, i would not switch. If they are both balanced diets then you don't necessarily need different protein sources. It they like the food and are maintaining weight with no tummy upset then it's a great diet for them. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!