{"id":3419,"date":"2017-10-31T06:25:24","date_gmt":"2017-10-31T11:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.diamondpet.wearewoodruff.xyz\/?p=3419"},"modified":"2026-02-17T10:08:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T16:08:19","slug":"transition-rescue-dog-new-diet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/blog\/health\/diet\/transition-rescue-dog-new-diet\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Transition Your Rescue Dog to a New Diet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cRescue Me\u201d is a recurring column by Samantha Randall, editor-in-chief at\u00a0Top Dog Tips<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0 She provides personal anecdotes and perspective about her life as a pet lover with a passion for cat and dog rescue. Today, she talks about her experience with introducing a rescue dog to a new diet.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>One of the more complicated parts of rescuing a dog is transitioning\u00a0them\u00a0to a new regular diet. It\u2019s likely that you won\u2019t want to feed the same diet that your dog was receiving at the shelter. Often, shelters use lower-quality foods, because it\u2019s all that they can afford. They also often use donated dog food, so your dog may not even have a \u201cregular\u201d diet when they come to you.<\/p>\n

Canines can form hard-to-break habits, particularly with food. If you attempt to transition your rescue dog to a new diet too abruptly, they may or may not take to it well and could refuse to eat. A gradual transition will ensure that your dog enjoys their new diet and that the new food does not upset their digestive tract.<\/p>\n

The first step to transitioning your dog to a new diet is to develop a plan and be patient. It may take a while for your dog to fully adjust to their\u00a0new food. The transition period is important, because dogs can get sick when their diet is changed too rapidly. Monitoring your dog and being flexible is key.<\/p>\n

Before you begin, you should speak with your veterinarian and do some research on high-quality dog food products that will meet your new pet\u2019s nutritional needs. Also, make sure to ask the shelter about the dog\u2019s previous diet.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be hasty<\/h2>\n

The first day that you introduce the new food, offer your pet a mix of the old food and new food. Begin with using only 25 percent of the new food and 75 percent of the old food for 1-2 days. After that, go up to a 50\/50 split for another 1-2 days. \u00a0Gradually continue increasing the percentage of new food by 10-20 percent every other day until you reach 100 percent of the new food formula. By that point, your dog\u2019s digestive system should be clean and his or her taste buds will be adjusted.<\/p>\n

If at any point in the transition process your dog becomes sick or refuses to eat, go back to the previous mixing percentage and continue to feed at that level for two more days. If your dog continues to get sick or refuses to eat for more than 48 hours, call your veterinarian.<\/p>\n

Be understanding of your rescued pet when introducing them\u00a0to a new diet. Don\u2019t scold them\u00a0and do not panic if they\u00a0refuse to eat the new formula. Set your expectations, because when you first begin this transition, your dog may be difficult. They\u00a0might be picky, only eat the old food, or not eat at all. Sticking to the plan for the transition period is important, so, don\u2019t give your dog any table scraps or dog treats to make up for not eating. When they are\u00a0hungry, they will eat. You can also try adding a small amount of dog food mixers and toppers to make the new food more appealing.<\/p>\n

Since you don\u2019t know how your dog will react to the new food, monitor them closely during the transition period. Make sure they are drinking a regular amount of water. Pay attention to your dog\u2019s feces. While it may sound weird to look at\u00a0their\u00a0stool, it is a good indicator of how your pet is adjusting to their\u00a0new diet.<\/p>\n

If the stool is runny, your pet could have diarrhea or be dehydrated. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, slow down the transitioning process. Give them\u00a0multiple days before increasing the amount of new food they receive. This should fix any of the problems related to a change in diet.<\/p>\n

Be patient and flexible<\/h3>\n

If your dog is just not adjusting to the new food, regardless of how slow you make the transition, it might be an appropriate time to consider switching back to their\u00a0old food to give them\u00a0a break while you look for a new formula. There could be something in the new dog food that their\u00a0body is having issues with, like allergic reactions to specific ingredients.<\/p>\n

When you go back to your dog\u2019s old food, do it as slowly as you did while transitioning to the new food. If you notice that the problems haven\u2019t gone away after switching back to the old food, it\u2019s time to consult a veterinarian for more advice.<\/p>\n

If you are transitioning from canned\/wet dog food to dry food, the process may take longer. At first, your dog will likely resist the dry food because not only is the taste different but so is the texture. The best way is to either mix a little wet food into their\u00a0kibble or add some water in the dry food to encourage your new dog to eat it. Keep doing this as you decrease the amount of wet food or water and completely transition them\u00a0onto dry food.<\/p>\n

Consistency is key<\/h3>\n

Rescues that have been in a shelter for a long time may seem like they have set-in-stone eating habits, but they are still adaptable. There\u2019s a high chance your dog may protest the new diet, thus patience and sticking to the plan is essential. The most important part of transitioning a dog\u2019s diet is consistency. If you give in to their wishes, they will never transition. That said, there are other reasons dogs don\u2019t eat their food, and a consultation with a veterinarian may be necessary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cRescue Me\u201d is a recurring column by Samantha Randall, editor-in-chief at\u00a0Top Dog Tips.\u00a0 She provides personal anecdotes and perspective about her life as a pet lover with a passion for cat and dog rescue. Today, she talks about her experience with introducing a rescue dog to a new diet. \u00a0One of the more complicated parts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5103,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"How to Successfully Transition Your Rescue Dog to a New Diet","_seopress_titles_desc":"Learn how to transition your rescue dog to a new diet with step-by-step guidance, including gradual mixing, monitoring health and adapting to their needs!","_seopress_robots_index":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[239,28],"tags":[161,167,10,162],"class_list":["post-3419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diet","category-health","tag-adoption","tag-diet","tag-dog","tag-rescues"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}