There comes a time in our pet’s lives when transitioning them to a new food is necessary. Be it a change in their age group, lifestyle, medical history, or preference, making the transition doesn’t always have to be a challenge. In fact, introducing them to a new food can be smooth sailing with the proper resources. If making the switch is on your horizon, keep reading for our tried-and-true tips on how to introduce a new food into your pet’s diet.

Slow and steady wins the race, or in this case, saves your pet from getting an upset stomach! As easy as it would be to swap your pet’s food cold turkey, doing so can be more harmful than helpful. Before you make the full transition, you are going to want to plan accordingly. Make sure that you have enough of their old food on hand to gradually mix with the new food for a little over a week’s time. If you’re unsure of how to do this, here’s a little schedule to help you out with the process:

• For the first three days of the transition, mix ¼ of the new food in with ¾ of the old food. Combining the two foods allows your pet to not only get used to the flavor, but it alleviates the likelihood of shocking their system as well. 
• Over the following three days, you should increase the ratio to ½ new food with ½ of the old food.
• After three more days, you should increase the new food to ¾ with ¼ of the old food.
• Give them a couple of days of that final ratio before allowing your pet to be fully transitioned from the old food to the new. Pretty simple and straight forward, right?

If you find that your pet is missing meals or showing lack of interest in the new food, give them a couple more days to adjust. It could even be beneficial to add a splash of warm water to the new food to bring out the enticing smell and flavor. If the problem persists, we recommend contacting your pet’s veterinarian if you have any questions or concerns.

Do you have any helpful tips of your own to add? Be sure to share them with The Missing Link’s community of fellow pet lovers in the comments below!

This article is for informational purposes only. Please always discuss any health concerns with your vet.