Rotation feeding and how to make switches?

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Hi All, Rippley is 16 wks now and I have been reading about the benefits of rotation feeding. He currently likes his Annamaet Salcha, moistened with a little chicken broth, but I'd like him to benefit from other textures and nutritional sources. Just not sure which direction to head. Is canned ok with all the BPA tslk? Can anyone recommend a next step for us, and how to gradually go about this so that he can benefit and enjoy the changes? Thanks!

[Vivian & Mojo]

All canned chicken broth and bullion has onions and onions are toxic to dogs. I make my own fresh when I need to give broth to my doodle.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Wow! Didn't realize this, I will check the ingreds on my boxed version... Thx!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

He's a little young for rotation feeding right now. Most brands that make separate adult and puppy formulas don't make a large variety of puppy formulas for the purposes of rotation. 

With a rotation diet, you don't gradually switch foods, you just buy another formula of the same line of food the dog is eating; new formula with each bag. An example would be rotating between Orijen's three adult formulas (poultry based, fish based, and red meat based) each time you get a new bag. With adult dogs who have healthy, mature digestive systems, this is not a problem. 

The chief benefit of a rotation diet is that it is believed that a dog is less likely to develop food sensitivities or allergies if protein sources are rotated rather than feeding the same one month in and month out for years. But you don't have to worry about that until a dog has been eating the same protein source for a minimum of 6 months, and a year or more is more likely. 

You can provide other textures and varieties of food with carefully chosen treats, but I'd hold off on the rotation diet until he's older. 

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Thx Karen - the stuff I read said it is good to start rotation "young" - but who knows what that means!?! I am happy to wait if you think that is best. At what age do you recommend we should try a variation?

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

We started after Luna switched to adult food, so starting at 10 months (she's a mini).  Whenever she gets a new bag of food we buy a different formula within the same line.  Luna gets Acana and we rotate between three of the regionals formulas (grasslands, ranchlands and pacifica).

[Kristen and Chewbacca (Chewy)]

Hi Cindy, a few days ago I just started mixing a tiny amount of orijen puppy along with the Annamaet Salcha--things have gone well so far--in a couple of months I'll switch to Orijen completely as it is difficult to find Annamaet in stores around here. I just purchased the seafood mix of Annamaet and will start giving it to him in a week or two. The reason I wanted to try new things is b/c I don't want him to get finicky about his food. I also give a small amount of plain organic yogurt or small pieces of boiled chicken as a topper occasionally and he devours it.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Kristen, the way for him NOT to get finicky is not to let him dictate what he eats and not to entice him.  If he doesn't eat in about 15 minutes you pick up his food until the next meal and you don't put toppers on to 'get' him to eat or he will learn to out wait you until you get 'better and better' toppers. Use toppers, if you so choose, but use them because you want to add them, and not because he won't eat without them. Some dogs are food oriented and gobble just about anything while others don't care so much about food.  It is those dogs who are less interested in food where we often fall into the topper or food switch trap.  Those gobble-up-food dogs would eat any food any time in any amount.  I have a dog who will eat anything, one who is average in food eating and one who is not food oriented.

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Nancy, about them waiting for better toppers, that cracked me up because these dogs are SO smart! If we don't train them, they will surely train us, eh? Kristen, I am thinking of trying the seafood Annamaet as well - I just order from Chewy, it is so easy that I haven't even shopped around here yet! At least this will get him used to having different tastes and rounded nutrition early. Our breeder's info said as soon as they can chew solids we should start rotation feeding, so I figure this could be a safe way to start. Besides that, whenever we are at a friend's house (they all seem to leave their dogs' food bowls down while I prefer to take up soon as he stops) he samples as much as he can before I swoop in to remove. :) so, I actually don't think he is taste finicky yet, lol!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

:-}

[Kristen and Chewbacca (Chewy)]

Hi there, let me clarify, that when I said I didn't want him to get finicky, I meant I didn't want him to only prefer poultry (vs. meat, fish) as a protein, etc. The brand I had been feeding him since we got him is a poultry formula, and I wanted him to eventually try other types of protein so he wouldn't develop a preference to only poultry (2 out of my three human sons are very finicky eaters, and I don't want my dog son to end up that way:-)). Chewy will gobble up anything in his food bowl, whether there is a topper or not. He eats anything so fast, we got a couple of slo bowls, but they're too big for him now. Cindy, I've given him some of the Aqualuk to try, and he loves it just as much as the Salcha and Orijen Puppy. Keep us posted on Rippley's progress!

[Leslie, Yogi & Maci Bear]

Kristen,
Maci is 12 weeks and 10#'s. Just wanted to let you know she is using the slo bowl. Works great and slows her down. I do just spread the food around the edges where the ridges aren't as high.