Diet Transition - Dogs & Cats

Transitioning your pets diet can feel like a daunting task, the possibility of GI upset worries everyone. It shouldn’t though, no living being was meant to survive off of the same food day in and day out for years at a time. Even if that food is labeled “complete & balanced” it may provide the minimum requirements of certain nutrients for your pet to survive, but they cannot thrive. No single food can possibly contain all of the antioxidants, and phytonutrients out there. The body craves diversity. The idea that we should feed our pets the same diet for the entirety of their lives stems from the commercial pet food industry, and that notion is WHY so many of our pets experience GI distress when trying new foods.

The gut hosts up to a thousand different strains of bacteria known as the microbiome, the microbiome has a hand in nearly every bodily function including; digestion, immune system function, and hormone production and control. Every one of these microbes has a function in the body, and they survive off of prebiotics aka fiber. Different bacteria strains thrive on different foods. When that food is not provided, those strains essentially starve and die off. The strains that do like the food being provided thrive, growing into an unhealthy over-abundance in some cases. Not only leaving the microbiome weakened, but ill prepared for different bodily functions. Imagine a car, each part has a function, you cannot use windshield wiper fluid as brake fluid and vice versa. When you introduce new foods, or foods that have not been fed in a while it is normal (not natural) but normal, for your pet to experience some loose stool, diarrhea or even nausea the first few days. This is because your dogs gut has become so accustomed to breaking down one type of food, that it takes time for the necessary microbes to repopulate.

This brings us to your current dilemma, how do you transition your pets diet in a way that will cause the least digestive stress. Unfortunately, that is dependent on each pet and there is no way of knowing for sure which method will work best for your pet. What I can tell you, is that in my 8 years of helping pet parents transition their pets diet, these are the two methods that prove the be the most successful in mitigating symptoms, and with a series of defining characteristics you can choose which category your pet falls under and the method most suited for them. The two methods I am noting are the gradual transition and the “cold-turkey” method. The gradual transition is rather self-explanatory and my preferred method for pets who have been fed the same diet for several years and/or pets with sensitive stomachs, or cats. The “cold-turkey” method is much faster, usually entails a 24 hour fast, and is best chosen for dogs with food sensitivities, and puppies, to ensure they are eating a balanced diet, which is pertinent for development. No matter what option you choose, you should expect SOME form of stool changes, at least temporarily. This is unavoidable 8 times out of 10, it is part of the process. There are some things that can help mitigate the symptoms your pet experiences, which we will discuss later…

The Gradual Transition

This method usually takes anywhere from 3-7 days, sometimes I will recommend a transitional period of 2 weeks for special cases but anything longer is not recommended, as technically your pets diet is not “complete” during this process. The longer you take, the less symptoms your pet is likely to experience. The idea behind this is that you are giving your pets digestive system a chance to get accustomed to the new food in small incremental changes. Below you will find a general guide on a 5 day transition, you can adjust this as you would like for your own pet. Do not spend too much time obsessing about exact proportions, it will be okay. Remember that if your pet has specific health conditions or dietary requirements you should be working closely with both your vet AND a nutritionist. We do offer custom 1:1 nutrition counseling services and specialize in disease management diets and functional food therapy. For help schedule a consultation with us here. For more information on those services, click here.

Day 1: 90% old diet, 10% new diet

Day 2: 70% old diet, 30% new diet

Day 3: 50% old diet, 50% new diet

Day 4: 50% old diet, 50% new diet

Day 5: 30% old diet, 70% new diet

From here, your pet eats entirely the new diet.

Cold-Turkey Transition

Using this method you will fast your dog for 24 hours, allowing the previous food to move it’s way out of the GI tract and give the digestive system a break. Fasting has many benefits for dogs, especially those with pancreatitis and IBD. During fasting periods the pancreas actually regenerates. After the 24 hour fast you will simply introduce the new food, no combinations or slow introduction. Fasting is never recommended for cats, or for dogs with BVS.

Helpful additions…

There are several helpful supplements that can aid the body during both methods of diet transition. These additions aid the digestive system in breaking down the new food and can help combat loose stool and diarrhea. I recommend adding digestive enzymes for the first two weeks of a new diet, increased digestive enzymes can lessen the workload on the GI tract and ease the change, adding high quality probiotics to the diet can also be extremely helpful, remember your pet does not necessarily need probiotics indefinitely. We recommend using this combination supplement from Adored Beast Apothecary which contains digestive enzymes and both pre and probiotics. The final supplement, which I always keep on hand for any GI upset is; Psyllium Husk. This is an insoluble fiber that absorbs excess moisture in GI tract, it can help to bulk and bind the stool and mitigate diarrhea. Psyllium Husk can be located at most drug or health food stores, make sure psyllium husk is the ONLY ingredient with no added flavors. The Psyllium Husk should be mixed 1 part psyllium husk to 2 parts water - it is THIRSTY, you will see this as you mix the water in. You want the psyllium husk to form a gel, not a paste, add small amounts of water to it as needed. For a visual example, watch our instagram video on Psyllium Husk here. I recommend giving one dose in the AM and one dose in PM before bed. Psyllium Husk can cause constipation if too much is given, if this occurs, simply cease use for a day and incorporate a couple smashed blueberries to the diet to move things along. Due to this, we always start at the lower end of dosing and increase the psyllium as needed depending on each pet. Below you will find conservative doses, you can increase these as needed after assessing how your pet responds.

10lbs and under: 1/8 tsp per serving

10-20lbs: 1/4 tsp per serving

20-30lbs 1/2 tsp per serving

30-50lbs 1 tsp per serving

50-70lbs 1.5 tsp per serving

70-90lbs 2 tsp per serving

Going into your new diet, approach nutrition with a focus on variety. For otherwise healthy pets, there is no reason to stick to one brand/formulation with no variation. Offer additional bowl toppers, do not stick to the same 3, checkout our seasonal bowl topper guides if you need inspiration. We post new ones seasonally so make sure you are following us on instagram. Mix it up, the more variety you offer your pet, the more diverse their microbiome will be and in-turn the stronger their GI tract and health. For a video on microbiome health and diet transition, watch here.

Keep in mind that changing a cats diet can prove rather tricky. As a survival instinct, cats imprint on the foods they are introduced to at a young age, they do this in order to protect themselves from harm. Therefore it can be difficult to change their diet. Often times the transitional period can take a long time and some creativity. Unlike healthy dogs, some cats will starve themselves and long periods without protein can actually be detrimental to their health, so take your time with diet transitions for cats, and don’t allow them to go past 12 hours without sources of animal protein and healthy fats.

FULL GUIDE on cat diet transitions coming soon….

Written By:

Autumn Somers

Cert. Canine & Feline Nutritionist

Dog Trainer & Owner of A Balanced Canine

Autumn has worked in the Pet Industry for nearly a decade and has been nutrition counseling for 8 years.