[topterrier]

My dog eats canned food and I buy different brands to give her variety.But someone told me that you are supposd to give the same brand all the time,because giving different brands all the time is bad for them.
Is this true?

[plutoxxx*]

yes, once the type of food has been decided, you should not change back and forth. Pick one type (or types) and one brand and stick with it. Changing from different types or brands of dog food can upset the dog's system and lead to vomiting or diarrhea.

[luvmyprechielu]

Hello, I'm glad I was lookin around and I spotted your question, Im also very curious about what you asked because I for one feed my doggie different kinds of doggie food so heres hopeing I haven't been doing something wrong that could cause my baby any harm....hopeing to come back and hear a update soon...great forum glad to be a part of it...

[PitBullLvr]

yes, once the type of food has been decided, you should not change back and forth. Pick one type (or types) and one brand and stick with it. Changing from different types or brands of dog food can upset the dog's system and lead to vomiting or diarrhea.

I completely agree with this. I have only changed brands a couple times because of research that I did. It lead to diarhea both times. So please stick to one brand.

[for_dogs_sake]

If you want to give variety, why not try feeding raw? Google the terms 'BARF' 'RAW" and 'Prey model" diets.
I understand how you feel about wanting to give variety, i mean, i wouldn't want to eat the same thing day in day out, but i agree with the others. Although it won't cause permanent damage, your poor pooch could suffer with sickness and diarrhea which won't be very nice for him.
Dogs have sensitive stomachs and any change in diet should be transitional.

[crassus]

I heard that changing dog foods can make the dogs finicky and selective as to what they will and will not eat.

[bandit_starr06]

We recently tried a new type of dog food and both dogs ended up with diarrhea & were obviously not feeling good. They would lay around all day, and rarely barked, which is totally not normal for a hyperactive puppy & a husky mix that thinks he's a puppy. We switched them back to their usual food & they are back to normal, running all over the back yard & harassing the birds again.

[lvz2fsh]

I say dont switch....and if you must just dont make it a habbit. Most of the time you can compare the ingredients and try and stay close to the same. The percentages are important too. I also think dry food is better. The friction in the chewing helps clean the teeth

[cymk]

It is perfectly fine to rotate foods for variety. Many dogs are quite sensitive to food changes, however, and need to be changed gradually over several days or weeks. This does not mean that changing food is bad, it just means that the transition period can be troublesome for certain dogs. To combat loose stools, you can add a bit of canned pumpkin.

A lot of people feel there are benefits to giving your dog a varied diet. Making sure your dog gets balance over time from many healthy food sources can be a great way of ensuring that your dog does not suffer from nutritional deficiencies, for example. A lot of dogs also just plain like variety, just as many humans do. Not wanting to eat chicken and rice every day for the rest of your life doesn't make you a finnicky eater, it just makes you normal.

Kibble does not clean dogs' teeth any more than eating cereal cleans yours. Most dogs don't chew food kibble anyway; it is not what their teeth are designed to do. Canned is actually considered healthier by many due to the water inclusion and different processing.

[for_dogs_sake]

Originally Posted by cymk

Kibble does not clean dogs' teeth any more than eating cereal cleans yours. Most dogs don't chew food kibble anyway; it is not what their teeth are designed to do. Canned is actually considered healthier by many due to the water inclusion and different processing.

Cymk has a point, the only way that you are going to clean your dogs teeth is to do it manually a couple of times a week or feed raw, the bones bring their gnashers up a lovely pearly white!!