An abrupt switch leads to GI distress.
Roxy was on Wallmart chow because that was all we could afford then. She did all right on it but if she just got a whiff of something else everything went haywire.
At first I liked getting her a bit of a can food every now and then just to make things more interesting for her. But I had to stop because the outcome just wasn't worth it.
So this is one of the things written in stone.
Must switch foods gradually.
Here is the interesting bit, though. This seems to only be necessary with kibble-fed dogs. Dogs who are on raw or home-cooked diets don't have this problem at all.
Even Jasmine, who had irritable bowel disease, did not.have any problem going between different foods. She could be on turkey and green beans for a while, then have beef and sweet potato, then pork and cabbage or anything under the sun she wasn't allergic to and have no adverse reaction to any of that.
Cookie eats a broad variety of things.
She gets chicken, beef, turkey, pork, eggs (and whatever she catches on her own) combined with cabbage, carrots, broccoli, kale, green beans, sweat potatoes ... and, again, never gets any digestive issues from any of the changes.
Variety is natural. Eating the same thing, particularly in a highly processed form, apparently is not.
Why are we feeding most of our dogs that way, then?
What do you feed your dog? Do you have to transition slowly from one food to another?
Related articles:
"Natural" With Regard To Dog Nutrition (Part I): What Does It Mean And Does It Matter?
The Whole Food Philosophy: The Nutrients, And The Mojo
The Whole Food Philosophy And The Tale Of A Giant Sugar Beet
A Rant About Breast Milk And Dog Nutrition
Trying To Make "Bone Meal" From A Wild Duck
Cookie Is Transitioning Herself To Raw
