A new bag lands on the kitchen floor — a different brand, a formula your vet recommended, or simply the food your dog has grown into. The temptation is to fill the bowl and be done with it. Give it a week instead: the difference between a smooth switch and three days with a mop is almost entirely about pace.
Why the gut needs a runway
Your dog's digestion rests on a settled population of bacteria and a set of enzymes tuned to one recipe. Change the protein, the fat level or the fibre overnight and that whole system has to catch up at once — which it announces as gas, loose stool, or a skipped meal. The same food, introduced gradually, is absorbed quietly in the background.
The seven-day blend
- Days 1–2: 25% new food, 75% the old one.
- Days 3–4: half and half.
- Days 5–6: 75% new, 25% old.
- From day 7: the new food alone.
Mix the two properly in the bowl rather than layering them — a dog who can pick around the new kibble will. If your dog has a sensitive stomach, has had digestive trouble before, or is a puppy or a senior, stretch the same ladder over two to three weeks. There is no prize for finishing early.
What to watch
- Slightly softer stool for a day or two: normal. Stay at the current ratio until it firms up, then carry on.
- Repeated vomiting, watery diarrhoea lasting more than two days, blood in the stool, or a dog who won't eat at all: stop and call your vet.
- Itchy skin, recurring ear trouble or chronic gas that turns up weeks later isn't the transition — that deserves a separate conversation with your vet.
Three things that make it easier
- Measure both foods. Two scoops of “about the same” quietly add up to more calories than either portion alone.
- Pause new treats and table scraps for the week. If something disagrees with your dog, you want to know which thing it was.
- Keep fresh water available: a change in fibre or moisture content can leave a dog thirstier than usual.
Log the switch and your dog's stool in PawKit across those two weeks. Four calm days in a row and you'll know the new food has landed — and if it hasn't, you'll have the dates and details your vet actually wants.
