Going from GO! Grain Free to BB Chicken & Brown Rice

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Mikos_Mom

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My new puppy, Niko, is arriving home tomorrow. At the moment, the breeder is feeding him GO! Grain Free. Admittedly, the GO! isn't the perfect choice for an 11 week old puppy, but she's feeding a few different ages at her house and tried to pick something "neutral".

He's likely going to have a bit of an upset tummy just from the move & the change in water, so I definitely have no intention of even starting to add in a new food for the next few weeks. But I'm wondering how long I should wait to slowly start adding in a new food... ie. is 4 weeks ok, or should I not even think about it for 8 weeks?

I'd like to switch him to Blue Buffalo Puppy - Chicken & Brown Rice... I'm just wondering if going from grain free to a food containing grain is going to be even more upsetting to his system than a switch btw 2 foods with/without grain?

TIA!!
 
Nikos_Mom said:
My new puppy, Niko, is arriving home tomorrow. At the moment, the breeder is feeding him GO! Grain Free. Admittedly, the GO! isn't the perfect choice for an 11 week old puppy, but she's feeding a few different ages at her house and tried to pick something "neutral".

He's likely going to have a bit of an upset tummy just from the move & the change in water, so I definitely have no intention of even starting to add in a new food for the next few weeks. But I'm wondering how long I should wait to slowly start adding in a new food... ie. is 4 weeks ok, or should I not even think about it for 8 weeks?

I'd like to switch him to Blue Buffalo Puppy - Chicken & Brown Rice... I'm just wondering if going from grain free to a food containing grain is going to be even more upsetting to his system than a switch btw 2 foods with/without grain?

TIA!!
Click to expand...


Well I transitioned Jasper pretty much within the first few days of him being home.I did that because I was not able to get the puppy kibble he was on.Tractor Supply did not even have it on the shelf.

He was 9 weeks old when he came home.With in a short amount of time,he was transitioned to TOTW.Thank goodness his belly took the grain free diet change well.I was fortunate.As it is a huge change.

Typically I take a long period of time to transition.At the minimum 3 weeks.

Trapp has been on TOTW since he came home also,with the exception of a slight time,as all of a sudden about a month or so ago,he decided he was going to play fussy.So we switched over to Merricks.

He is now being slowly put back on TOTW,and is doing well.

We now have Mia,our new addtion,and she came to us from a rescue home.She was on Iams. She has been with us a week yesterday.I started her transition to TOTW her very first meal home (4-5 pieces in her dish,plus the Iams)
And is doing wonderful.There is now more TOTW in her dish than Iams,and I have had no problems.But slowly is the key.Hopefully with in the next 2 weeks she will be totally off Iams.
 
I think great deal depends on what and how your breeder fed his dogs. My breeder was feeding them Iams puppy food but with addition of all kinds of baby foods, meats and veggies so his tummy was adjusted well.
I pretty much gave Leo small chicken neck next day after arriving and he ate it like a champ. I removed his kibble within a week and now he is on raw and my kibble Life Abundance, all done by choice without missing a bit. He got liver, pork, beef, hot dogs as treats and is a little chowhound.
So slow transitioning might be needed if your pup was not taught various foods from the get go.
 
You can help reduce the change in water tummy upsets by bringing a gallon jug with you to the breeders when you pick the puppy up. Ask the breeder to fill it up with water.

Use this to give your puppy water. Pour out the water from the jug and then fill it back up with tap water from your faucet. This will slowly transition your pup over to the new water. After about a week or so he should be able to drink straight tap water.

As for transitioning to a new food...I transitioned my pup 3 weeks after I brought him home. I initally added a teaspoon of new food to his old food and then 2 teaspoons ect. I made little sandwich baggies all mixed and labeled (week 1, week 2, week 3, ect) so that I wouldn't be tempted to back track on the transition schedule when I was in a hurry to get to work or somewhere else.

All told it took 4 weeks to transition him over, at the time i was being cautious because of some other tummy upsets he was having. I think I could have lowered it to 3 weeks or maybe even 2 1/2 and been fine.
 
Since the pup is flying over, there's not much you can do about water, unless you can figure out a way to ship some water too.

As for transitioning food, I'd play it by ear. If food and bowel wise Niko seems well adjusted you could start a week or two after he arrives. Because he's so small, I'd transition very slowly, over the course of at least 4-6 weeks.
 
Thanks for the advice!!

As it turns out, he has a tummy bug now and is presently eating plain chicken & white rice.... Perhaps when I transition him back to kibble, I'll transition him to the BB Natural Chicken & Brown Rice puppy food... I'm thinking that it would be easier for him tummy than going back to the GO!

Anyway... I'm taking him to the vet tomorrow, so I'll ask his advice and go from there.

Thanks again!
 
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