How to Switch Your Dog Over to Eating Raw

If you have a dog at home, you may have already heard about the benefits of raw feeding and perhaps you’ve decided to make the switch. However, switching your dog’s diet should always be done with the right care and attention to ensure that it is pleasant for your dog, doesn’t stress them out with any drastic changes in their routine, and doesn’t cause any stomach upset. Thankfully, there are different safe and effective options to consider if you want to change your dog’s diet to a more natural, raw one. 

Why Make the Switch?

First of all, why switch to raw feeding? In the Bella & Duke press release on their website, they go through results from over three thousand happy customers with over 90% of customers seeing an improvement in their dog within just weeks of making the switch. Dogs switched to raw food saw improved weight, skin, and overall health. Bella & Duke is an ideal choice of brand if you want to switch your dog to raw feeding. They offer readily prepared, nutritious raw meals and plenty of advice to follow. 

Making a Clean Switch:

In many cases, it is safest and best to cleanly switch your dog straight over from his regular food to raw food. Give your dog their normal food for their evening meal on the last day, then start with a raw food meal the next morning. This approach will work well for the majority of dogs and it’s a quick and easy option for you too. Just be sure to keep an eye on your dog for the next couple of days to ensure that they don’t experience any digestive problems as a result. 

Gradually Switching:

Making a gradual switch of your dog’s diet to raw feeding might be necessary if they are prone to an upset stomach. However, this option should always be done with great care since kibble and raw food require different pH levels in the dog’s stomach to be digested. Since kibble takes longer to digest, mixing it with raw food means that the raw food may stay in the gut for longer and end up making your dog sick. Go as slowly as needed and get advice from your vet if necessary. 

Treats First:

If you are worried about the impact of gradually switching the food on your dog’s digestive system, it might be worth considering using the treats first method. With this option, you feed raw food to your dog as a treat while giving them their usual food at mealtimes. Keep your eye on their behavior, health, and the condition of their poop as you continue to up the amount of raw food treats that you give your dog and decrease the amount of food in their meals until your dog is ready to start eating raw food meals instead. 

Combining the Food:

This method of switching your dog to a raw food diet is only usually advised for dogs who are already on a grain-free diet. It allows your dog to get used to their new food gradually and might be helpful for dogs that are having some trouble adapting to their new diet since the new food is mixed in with the food that they are already used to. Start by mixing just a small amount of the new food into your dog’s usual meals at first, and gradually adjust the ratio of new to old food as you go along. 

Avoiding Feeding Kibble and Raw Together:

If your dog is currently on a diet of kibble, it is a wise idea to avoid having your dog eat kibble and raw food at the same time due to the impact that this can have on their digestive system. Since both types of food take different amounts of time to digest and will require a different gut pH level for digestion, mixing kibble and raw food can have a higher risk of causing stomach upset for your dog. This is why it is usually always best to change your dog’s food with a straight swap. However, if this is not possible, you may want to feed your dog their old diet and new raw food each day but in separate meals so that they are not digesting the two different types of food together. This will help to decrease any risk of digestive problems or stomach upset in your dog while helping them get used to their new food gradually. 

Getting your dog used to a new diet isn’t always easy, especially if you are dealing with a fussy dog or one that does not adapt well to change. A raw food diet can seriously benefit your dog, so consider the different ways to make the switch and choose one that will benefit your dog the most.