How to Transition to a Raw Diet
One of the questions we get asked the most is... HOW DO I TRANSITION MY DOG TO A RAW DIET?
The answer is... it varies according to your dog and it depends on you as a pet parent. There are 2 schools of thought when it comes to transitioning.
Go cold turkey. Just stop feeding kibble and serve 100% raw. Just like that. It is said that dogs use different digestive enzymes to digest wet and dry food. So going cold turkey is really the recommendation of most raw feeders. This works if: your dog isn’t a picky eater, is a puppy who hasn’t tasted processed food yet, or if your dog can easily adapt to change without feeling thrown off guard. The downside: your dog hesitates and refuses the new food and variations in the poop.
Gradual transition. This involves mixing your dog’s current diet with the raw food for a couple of days. I’ll attach a photo of the transition guide that we give our clients. Gradual transition allows your dog to gradually adjust to the change in their diet. This works if: your dog is a bit picky, your dog is aging and needs time to adapt to change, and if you’re new to raw feeding. The downside: it disregards the thought that dogs use different digestive enzymes to digest dry and wet food.
As pet parents, we do the cold turkey method. From the breeder our dogs immediately eat KBD raw food and we’ve witnessed varying reactions to the cold turkey method. But, we remain firm on it only because we know our dogs, we know our food, and we know ourselves as pet parents.