I’m always hesitant to write about food or nutrition because the internet has some STRONG ideas about these topics, but when it comes to rotational feeding for dogs, we’ve had enormous success for many years. And, a recent question on Facebook (thanks, Kerri!) reminded me that our experience might be helpful to someone else.
So, with that said, please remember that I’m not a vet, a vet tech, a nutritionist, a doctor, or any other credentialed profession for food and nutrition. This post is for informational purposes only and shares our personal experience.
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Imagine you’ve only ever eaten Hot Pockets. You’ve spent your entire life microwaving those little sleeves of ham, cheese, and dough. Then, one day, you decide to try a salad, so you load up your plate with spinach, broccoli, chickpeas, carrots, and fresh feta.
You’re gonna have a tummy ache.
So, why have we been conditioned to believe we need to choose one single brand and one single formula to feed our dogs forever? As my dear friend Jodi points out, a lot of it is simply a marketing strategy to create brand loyalty among us consumers.
Let’s clear up one thing first: There is no science-based reason to feed your dog one food and one food only for his entire life.
However.
If your dog has only ever eaten a single bag of a single formula and you’ve decided to start rotating, start slowly. You truly don’t want to upset your pup’s whole system at once. Start small. I include lots of tips throughout this post.
What are the benefits of rotational feeding?
A Balanced Diet
Dogs are mammals, like us. And mammals benefit from a varied diet that includes a spectrum of nutrients that you simply can’t get from eating a single food all the time.
A balanced diet is crucial for bone and heart health, a strong immune system, better digestion, healthy skin and coat, and even a longer life.
No one bag of kibble can do that for your dog.
So, the benefits of rotational feeding include an overall healthier dog with the added potential benefit of a longer life.
Convenience
If your dog’s body is conditioned to eat a variety of foods, you’ll never be stuck running to the store just before dinner because you forgot the dog food bag was empty. You can whip up something homemade or pull from another can or whatever else you have on hand.
You’re no longer tied to only feeding one thing and one thing only.
Savings
Another benefit is that you can find some foods you and your dog like and watch for sales. You can buy bags of dog food or fresh ingredients (more on that in a moment) when they are a price that fits your budget, then work them in when it’s convenient. Without being beholden to a single company, you can shop around and price compare–and buy when / what fits your family’s budget.
Which, at the end of the day, is my entire philosophy: You should feed your dog the best food you possibly can that fits within your family’s budget. Check out this post for more on that.
How do you rotate your dog’s food?
Transition from different kibbles.
If you’ve only ever fed one food, you want to start slowly. One of the easiest ways to start is to buy a small bag of another food and follow the transition guidelines on the bag. Slowly transition from your old food to this new food, then before it runs out, repeat the process with a third bag. Once your dog has successfully eaten three different kibbles, you can start to mix it up among those three.
Buy small bags of lots of foods instead of the huge bags. That way, you can switch back and forth without risking any food going stale or bad.
Make sure you’re mixing up the protein and carb sources so you’re hitting a variety. We’ve been using Wellness for ages, along with Merrick and Taste of the Wild. I tried Acana, but it did not sit well with my girls, which is an important reminder that not all foods will work for all dogs. That’s why I suggest small dogs and experiment slowly!
Add in prepared fresh food.
Buy a pre-made fresh food designed for dogs. Start to use it as a topper, adding a small scoop and building up. We get a box of The Farmer’s Dog each month with three different formulas. We use this as a topper to the kibble we rotate.
This is an especially good food to have on hand for stuffing and freezing food puzzles. The puppy eats almost entirely out of slow feeders or food puzzles right now, and The Farmer’s Dog makes that so convenient.
Another option we always have on hand is The Honest Kitchen. And I mean always. I love the long shelf life, the healthy ingredients, and the versatility. I use it as a topper, as a base mix, as a food-toy stuffing, and as little meatballs for pills.
Truth be told, if I had to whittle down our feeding to two brands / food types, it would be prepared fresh food from The Farmer’s Dog and the dehydrated food from The Honest Kitchen. That’s not realistic for our budget, though, so we rotate and mix in with kibble and with fresh ingredients. Speaking of which:
Mix in fresh “people food” ingredients.
I’m also huge on this one. Fresh foods can be a cost-effective way to get a ton of variety in your dog’s diet. Some of the food that makes a frequent appearance in our household include:
- fresh berries
- green beans
- frozen mixed vegetables
- yogurt
- sweet potatoes
- pumpkin
- grilled chicken (used for training, mostly)
And lots more! In fact, check out this post with 15 dog-safe veggies.
These foods help your dog feel full while delivering big doses of antioxidants and other key nutrients.
In fact, a study of Scottish terriers–92 with transitional cell carcinoma and 83 without–found that adding vegetables to the diet a few times a week slowed the progression of the disease with the cancerous dogs and prevented the disease for the noncancerous dogs. (The veggies tested, btw, were leafy greens and yellow-orange vegetables.)
Do vets recommend rotational feeding?
First, you should always loop in your vet on your pet’s nutrition.
Second, if your dog has a medical condition, especially if it’s allergies or digestive issues, you should work with your vet before making any changes.
When our beloved Cooper could not eat anything at all without his body rebelling, the vet we worked with championed a home cooked meal that she helped us formulate. Could you home cook? Sure! Absolutely! It’s totally possible! It just takes far more time than I have available to me right now.
Third, of all the vets we’ve ever worked with, only ONE has said we should stick with a single food and only transition from that one food to a second food slowly. Every other vet, the conversation has been this:
“What do you feed your dog?”
“We rotate through some kibbles, like Wellness, along with dehydrated and fresh prepared from The Honest Kitchen and The Farmer’s Dog.”
“Okay.”
Truly, that’s been it. I’ve never encountered a vet who has actively campaigned for rotational feeding, but I’ve also never specifically or outright asked what our vets think of rotation feeding.
What is the best rotational feeding schedule?
If you’re just starting out and you want to add in a second kibble, the best schedule is the one recommended on the bag.
Start there. Super simple.
Maybe toss in a fresh green bean or a slice of cucumber now and then.
If your dog’s stomach stays steady, start mixing in a little more variety. Once your dog is used to getting a wide array of foods, the way I see it, you can then take one of two paths:
Path 1: Create a regular routine to keep yourself on track.
If you want to do it monthly, maybe weeks one and three you mix a kibble with fresh veggies or a bit of fresh, cooked meat. (These dogs LOVE ground turkey!) Weeks two and four you serve The Farmer’s Dog with the kibble instead. Then, week five or the first week of the next month you switch from one kibble to the next.
Path 2: Willy-nilly.
This is how we do it. It works for us because the dogs are used to eating something different all the time. We have our stash of The Farmer’s Dog in the freezer and a box of The Honest Kitchen in the cabinet, too. Currently, we have a bag of Taste of the Wild in the cabinet. In the fridge, I have some potato peels, some pureed pumpkin, plain Greek yogurt, and a bunch of berries and greens. What do I feed? Whatever I have time and space for in that moment, along with what I need to use up before it goes bad. In a pinch, I scrambled them eggs and stirred into a serving of steam-in-the-bag mixed veggies.
I’m sure there are schedules and rotations out there on the internet if you want something more formalized.
In conclusion
It’s my opinion that a rotational diet is the best choice to deliver all the nutrients my dogs need to thrive. We’ve fed our dogs this way since way back in Emmett’s and Lucas’ days, and it’s helped us deliver the best nutrition we can within our family’s budget.
Since we are brand agnostic, I will always recommend Wellness, Merrick, Taste of the Wild, The Farmer’s Dog, and The Honest Kitchen because all those brands in rotation have served us well. They won’t work for everyone, of course. (The links to TFD and THK will get you a discount on a trial.)
If you’re curious why I never mentioned raw food in this post, here’s why.
Have you ever tried this method with your dogs? Would you ever want to give it a try? I’d love to know what routines are working for you and your pups!
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