from the dog health hub
The 7-day switch, done right
Switching a dog's food isn't complicated, but rushing it is the fastest way to a rough first week. The gut's bacteria are tuned to the old menu and need a few days to catch up with the new one.
Day by day
- Days 1 and 2: a quarter new food, three quarters old.
- Days 3 and 4: half and half.
- Days 5 and 6: three quarters new.
- Day 7: fully switched.
That's the standard week-long switch vets recommend. If your dog has a properly sensitive stomach, stretch the same steps over ten days to a fortnight. Slower is never wrong.
If you're switching to a cold-pressed food
- Keep fresh water down at all times. Cold-pressed food is dense and dogs tend to drink more with it.
- Fussy starter? A splash of warm water over the bowl softens the food and wakes up the smell.
- Poos often come out smaller and firmer once fully switched. Don't be alarmed - most owners take it as a win.
What's normal in week one
A couple of soft poos or a gassy day early on is normal while the gut adjusts, and it should clear within about three days. If it happens, hold the mix where it is for a day or two before stepping up again. There's no prize for finishing the switch on schedule.
ring your vet if
Vomiting, blood in the poo, refusing food for more than two days, or soft poos that aren't settling after three days - stop and ring your vet. That's not a normal diet-change wobble.
And if you're doing this as a proper food trial: from day one it's the new food and water, nothing else. No treats, no scraps, no flavoured chews. The flavoured flea chew is the big one - the full list of trial-breakers is below.
the food behind the guide
One novel protein.
None of the usual suspects.
Some Grub is a cold-pressed, hypoallergenic dog food built around insect protein — a protein most dogs have never met, which is the whole point of a food trial.
See the food →