How to Transition a Sensitive Dog to a Raw Diet

One thing I’ve learnt over the years is there is no one size fits all! No black and white and no right or wrong way of transitioning dogs to raw.

All dogs are individuals so what’s important is figuring out the best way to transition the dog in front of you.

Most healthy dogs will do just fine with a straight swap, however there is a small number of super sensitive dogs that need a different approach.

In my experience the best way with the super sensitive dog is to go very slowly! Go cautiously! otherwise you can find yourself in a world of trouble and an owner that is to scared to try raw again! And no one wants that…

First I’d make sure the dog wasn’t getting any chemical flea and worming treatments, being over vaccinated or drinking tap water and the owner isn’t using lots of chemicals around the home and garden, all of these factors can effect the microbiota which could then lead to the dog having a more sensitive gut.

Initially I would recommend doing some work on the gut before even considering changing the diet, my go to would be a good quality soil based probiotic and slippery elm.

Generally starting with a light protein like turkey, chicken or rabbit is best but finding out what proteins, if any, that the owners know their dog is ok with would be the best to use initially. These are known as “safe proteins”. I’d start adding in small amounts of safe proteins, very lightly cooked and one at a time to their current food, if the dog is known to be ok with certain veggies they can be added too. If this is tolerated well, I would then start to decrease the current food and increase the fresh cooked food over a period of time at a pace that suits the individual dog.

Once the dog is stable on a mostly cooked diet you can then very slowly start introducing small amounts or raw to lightly cooked food. Normally starting with a safe protein, with super sensitive dogs often feeding an offal free pet mince may work best for the initial swap.

If the raw is tolerated well, increase at a pace that suits the dog until the dog is on a fully raw diet. This can take weeks and even months for some dogs. It’s not a race its the end goal that is important.

Remember when trying new proteins go slowly, and feed the same one for a week, this way if there’s any issues to that said protein, you know exactly what the culprit is and to avoid it in future.

Guest Blog by Karla Pearson - NO BULL Just Natural Health For Dogs