Is it bad to keep switching food?

[bananas123]

My vet told me to feed my dog Royal Canin, so I went to purchase it but found out that there are many different varieties to choose from. Three of them caught my eye and I want to feed all of them to my dog. So I was wondering if it was ok to switch my dog's food maybe once or twice a year so that he'll get the health benefits from each type of dog food. But if this is unhealthy, then I'll just choose one to feed him. Did that make sense?

[MrsRottie]

As far as I know there's no problem in changing your dogs food when you feel like it. But make sure that when you do change it you do it gradually, 1e 10% new food 90% old for a day, next day 80/20 etc over about a week.
Going straight from one type to the other can shock the digestive system and give them the runs...

When you mention the health benefits from each food what exactly do you mean? Do they have added minerals etc?

[lassie]

if i were to change my lots food it would have to be done gradually over a long time. Any change for this breed and id end up with 5 dogs with very bad cases of the runs. Very unpleasant with long coated dogs:rolleyes:

Do you type or flavour???

[livin4thelord8]

Gradual is the key and I'd make sure you give each kind a good long chance to show it's benefits. It might take awhile before you see any difference. Hope you find the right one and God bless!

[bananas123]

thanks for the responses!

when i say health benefits, i mean that some are specifically made to help the immune system, another type is to keep the heart healthy, another is designed for fussy eaters, etc.

[Becky]

I personally think most of those foods are not much more than a gimmick. I would just switch up between the healthiest food you can afford. Just for yucks, if I were to switch around it would be something like:

Innova Adult -> Canidae -> EP Fish & oatmeal -> Wellness\


Edit: I also switch cold turkey unless I have enough of the old food sitting around to do a 50/50 mix until it's all gone. Some dogs can handle this, others (like lassie's collies) cannot.

[pittiegirl]

Vets are not necessarily the greatest source of nutrition advice. Royal Canin is a mid-grade food with a super high-grade price. You could do much better. Use www.dogfoodproject.com to learn to read ingredient labels and make the decision that is right for your dog's personal needs.

In answer to your original question, rotating foods is fine, in fact it is usually recommended. It's a good idea to stick to about the same protein/fat percentages and just rotate protein sources. Don't get out of hand with the rotating though, you do want to leave some protein sources unexposed in case you ever have allergy problems pop up.