How to Transition Your Dog onto A New Diet

Written by Zoe Russell, BSc (Hons), ANutr, 

Nutrition Officer, Skinner’s

If you are thinking of moving over to Skinner’s, or your dog enjoys an occasional flavour change within our range, it’s important to change diet correctly. Although some dogs have quite robust digestive systems, changing diet too often or too abruptly can upset their stomachs. Therefore it’s important changes are made slowly and gradually to minimise the risk.

Making the change

When moving your dog onto a new diet, we recommend that the transition is done gradually over 7-10 days.  This allows the digestive system to adapt to the new food and perhaps new ingredients and can help to minimise digestive upset.  It is however normal during that time, for your dog to experience some flatulence and loose stools as the digestive system adapts.  Our suggested transition over ten days; 

Why is it important to change over slowly?

Firstly, dogs have a complex gut microbiome, made up of a vast collection of microorganisms. The gut microbiome has many different impacts on the health of the host and is associated with immune health, digestion, metabolism and more. There are many factors that can influence the maintenance of a healthy gut microbiome including age, diet and environmental factors. In terms of diet, changing a dog’s food too often or too abruptly can disrupt the balance of the microbiome and subsequently contribute towards digestive upset.  

In addition, if your dog is quite fussy or very selective in the way they feed, a slow dietary change can minimise the likelihood of them refusing the food. By mixing it in gradually, they can slowly adjust to sensory properties of the new diet.

Lastly, health conditions such as Addison’s disease and diabetes mellitus can be adversely effected by sudden changes in diet and feeding regimes. Therefore if your dog has been diagnosed with a health condition, it’s important to speak with your vet before changing diet to determine the right food and the right way to change.

When should I NOT change diet?

There are circumstances where we don’t suggest changing diet. For example if you have just brought a new puppy home or have perhaps adopted an older dog and recently bought them into your household. This can be quite a stressful time for dogs, so it’s important to minimise too many changes in their life. Therefore if the previous owner or breeder has provided some of their original food, then it’s important to keep them on this for a at least a few weeks while they settle in.

Contact us

If you need any information regarding your dog’s diet, then our nutrition team are on-hand to help. Contact us at nutritionsupport@skinners.co.uk or drop us a call on 01379 384247.