Introducing adult food
Now that your puppy is nearly full grown you should start to
think about transitioning him from his regular puppy food, to a
more grown-up food more suited to his needs.
A new food should always be introduced gradually, even if
your dog appears to like it. This will help reduce the chance
of him developing a stomach upset following the food
change. Changes to diet affect different animals in different ways,
so it is important to manage the change carefully. In general, dogs are creatures of habit. Your dog may
require some help changing foods, especially if used to having
just a single type of food. Another example would be if he is
used to a varied diet, but the vet has recommended a more
controlled diet due to allergies, kidney disease or needing to
lose weight.
You might like to try some of the following suggestions to
ease the transition between foods:
- Gradually introduce the food over 5-10 days
- Introduce approximately 10% of the new food each day,
mixed in with the old food. Increase the proportions by 10%
each day until you reach the full amount of the new food.
- Avoid feeding chilled foods
- You can change the texture of canned food by adding a
small amount of warm water to soften it and make it easier to
mix the old and new food types together
- Don't be tempted to add human food titbits to the new
diet. Most dogs will end up eating the human food instead and
this can develop into a bad habit long term
- Keep a bowl of clean fresh water available at all
times.
- No dog should be starved whilst trying to introduce a
new food.
- If you are really struggling to change your dog's
food, speak to your veterinary surgeon or nurse to see if they
have any extra behaviour tips to help you.
Your dog may require a change in food to help manage a
medical condition. If this is the case, it is important to
follow any advice given by your veterinary surgeon. Appetite
can be affected by disease, so speak to your vet to see whether
there is any special feeding advice for your dog.