You’ve probably heard a lot of good things about raw dog food diets: how many nutrients they provide, how they can improve your dog’s health, and other extremely appealing benefits. On the other hand, you may also have heard about how tough raw dog food can be on dogs’ stomachs at first.
Almost every dog can successfully transition to a raw diet with the right approach. Follow the steps below to gently guide your dog into his new raw diet.
Weigh Your Dog and Decide How Much Food He Needs
Before you can start your dog’s raw diet transition, you need to figure out exactly how much food you should be feeding him. His portion should be around 1-2% of his body weight based on activity levels and health status as well as whether he needs to gain or lose weight. Weigh your dog using a calibrated scale and calculate how many grams of food you’ll be feeding him.
Start the Transition
Once the prep work is out of the way, it’s time to start introducing your dog to his new raw food.
- Replace 20% of your dog’s allotment of food with the equivalent in raw food. This first step is extremely important to get right. If your dog shows any signs of indigestion like vomiting or diarrhea, don’t move to the next step right away. Give his system as much time as it needs to get used to the raw food.
- If the 20% mix is tolerated, bump it up to 25% the next day. If your dog still seems to be struggling, you can also consider adding digestive enzyme supplements to his diet. These will give his digestive system a little boost to help him process the new food.
- If all is still well, you can switch to a 50-50 mix of regular and raw food. You may need to remain at this level for several days while your dog’s system adjusts.
- After a few days with no tummy troubles, you can go up to 75% raw food. At this stage, your dog should be mostly used to his new raw food.
- If your dog readily eats the raw food you offer him, you can officially put him on a 100% raw diet.
Once your dog is accustomed to eating raw food, it’s a good idea to rotate proteins every week or so. This will help him get used to richer, fattier proteins like beef and help you identify any potential allergies more easily.
Get Your Raw Food Essentials Today
Stop waiting for the right time to start feeding your dog raw food – the sooner you begin the transition, the more your dog will benefit from the switch. You can find all the raw food and supplements you need in our online store and at our Windsor location. Drop by and stock up on raw dog food essentials today!
