The Importance of a slow diet change
One of the things we preach to customers is “Transition your animal to Muenster SLOWLY!”….So many time our poor dogs get the food switched on them with no warning or transition period. We take for granted that most of the time our dog is fine, but at the end of the day, there can be a war going on in their stomach & intestines.
Extra side of “chin” anyone? Mitch with an extra 30lbs on him….
A dog’s stomach is made up of hundreds of trillions of “microflora”, these are the good bacteria found in the stomach that we refer to as probiotics. When an animal is eating the exact same thing for a month, their “microbiome” will adjust accordingly in order to become efficient at breaking down the specific diet the body has become used to & will populate accordingly.
When we switch the food with no transition period, the dog’s stomach has to figure out what to do on the “fly.” It doesn’t get an opportunity to “learn” how to digest this new diet….it just gets thrown into the fire and has to figure it out as fast as possible! What does this lead to……..? Most of the time, a liquid brown substance that finds it’s way to an area of the carpet that you don’t want painted brown.
By transitioning slowly, and mixing in some fasting, you allow your dogs microbiome an opportunity to rest & slowly learn how to digest and break down the new nutrients being introduced. Think about it, at some point in your life, you ate clean or unclean for over a month before switching gears…..What happened the first time you switched from Salad to Pizza? Or, the other way around….?
When we let our dog’s system rest, and then slowly introduce a new food, it will start to rebuild its microbiome to digest the “new” diet/recipe in the most efficient way possible. In fact, if your dog has any digestive trouble at all with your new diet, one of the best things you can do is let your dog “fast” for 24 hours. This will give your dog a reboot (much like restarting a computer), and it will likely handle the diet better and without the mess the next feeding.
How did I get the first-hand experience in this? Well, I slowly introduced small handfuls of kibble throughout the day on day 2, along with drinking A LOT of water & some chunks of Freeze-Dried for dinner. It’s worth noting that I had my first bowel movement of the 30 days today….and overall: not that bad ;). Had I gone crazy and eaten too much, I can promise you the wife would have had me cleaning the carpet!
