Tips to change your dog’s diet correctly

Are you thinking about changing your dog’s food? Is your puppy getting older and it’s time to switch to an adult food? Are you feeding your dog wet food and want to switch to dry food? Do you want to switch to a product you can trust?

If you have a dog and you have asked yourself any of these questions, Picart would like to give you the best advice when changing your dog’s diet. Discover in our nutritional search engine which is the product that best adapts to the nutritional needs of your dog, depending on its breed, age and state of health.

Changing your dog’s food

The first thing to consider is that dogs normally eat a single food, such as dry food, for example. This way, their gastrointestinal tract is used to working with a single food, unlike humans, who have a more widely varied diet.

Sudden changes in their diet can cause diarrhoea and discomfort. Therefore, they need a period of adaptation, to help them get used to the new food without causing them any harm.

You have to make the change from one food to the other progressively, gradually, over the course of a week in which the two foods, the old and the new, will coexist on their plate. Here is the schedule:

Day 1. 80% old and 20% new Picart food.
Day 2. 70% old and 30% new Picart food.
Day 3. 60% old and 40% new Picart food.
Day 4.50% each.
Day 5. 40% old and 60% new Picart food.
Day 6. 30% old and 70% new Picart food.
Day 7. 20% old and 80% new Picart food.

From the eighth day onwards, 100% of your dog’s food will already be the new Picart food.

What to do if your dog rejects new food?

It is also possible that, especially in the beginning, your dog will eat only the old food, to which he is already adapted, and leave the new food in the bowl.

• The trick to avoid this, is to mix the two types very well, making it more difficult for him to eat some kibble and leave the others.

• Even so, it is important that you always feed your dog at the same time and never leave the bowl out for more than an hour. This way, he will know that he only has that time to eat if he is hungry. This should be done every time you feed your dog.

Now for the question: how many times a day should a dog eat? Well, it depends on their age and its lifestyle, but it ranges from 1 to 3 times a day. For adult dogs, 2 meals a day is about right. Find out more about how many times a day a dog eats.

• Another trick is to warm up the food a little (at room temperature, so that it doesn’t burn) if you are feeding wet food, or soak the new kibble in water or broth. Although Picart dog food is already very tasty and highly palatable.

• With these simple steps you will certainly be successful. Keep in mind that a quality food such as Picart’s Select, Nutribest and Megabone ranges will not only keep him happy and fed, but will also maintain him strong and healthy, just like his coat, which will be shinier than ever.