# confused on how to transiiton my dog to grain free



## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

ok so i was planning on doing 25 new for 2 days, 50 new for 2 days, 75 new for 2 days, then 100 new....

but i know you feed less total on grain free...so if im feeding 2.5 cups a day of regular canidae now...do i just feed 2 of the grain free? the grain free is less calories than the regular but has more protein so im confused?

also when doing the transition do i opt 2 cups food or 2.5 cups? like would i put for day 1?

option 1- 1.5 cups regular .5 cups grain free

option 2- 2 cups regular .65 cups grain free little more than .5)

is canidae grain free a lot better in comparison to reg canidae...

sorry for another thread. oh and i think i asked before but was grain frees formula changed in 2008 or was that just als? or was it every canidaes form.


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## SaltyDog (Mar 10, 2010)

I'm also confused at how the grain free has less calories than the regular as well???


When I transitioned in the past between brands, I always took 14 days. Going to grain free is about the same thing

A true premium grain free food should have over 400 K/cals per cup


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

I would just do the transition normal, like with any other kibble, and worry about adjusting to the perfect amount after transition is complete. 
A week or two of "off" portions isn't going to be the end of the world, ya know?
Good luck with transitioning! Just remember if you see loose stools, slow down. other than that, I don't think there's any one set "time" that works for every dog.


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## harrkim120 (Feb 2, 2010)

^^^ Agreed :biggrin:


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

i think im gonna do

day 1 and 2- .5 cup GF 2 cup old
day 3 and 4- 1 cup GF 1.5 cup old
day 5 6- 1.5 cup GF 1 cup old
day 78 -2 cup new .5 cup old
day 9 and 10-2.5 cups new.

i just dont know if thatll be to much to feed him,but i dont wanna starve him either. hes 75 pounds,turns 7 in june 17, but hes an indoor dog due to the weather(whcih wil lchange hopefully) he eats 2.5-3 of canidae now though. canidae is more calorically dense..but ive heard grain free feeds less?

so whats more important calireis or protein? or are they equal here? just feed the same?


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## harrkim120 (Feb 2, 2010)

RCTRIPLEFRESH5 said:


> i think im gonna do
> 
> day 1 and 2- .5 cup GF 2 cup old
> day 3 and 4- 1 cup GF 1.5 cup old
> ...


It really is difficult to give and plan solid numbers. All of this isn't a science. You have to go by how the dog is doing. Even with your concern of feeding too much...you could feed him the same amount of grain free as regular ALS. If he starts looking overweight, then cut him back. If he starts looking underweight, then feed him more. It's that simple.

Don't plan, just go by your observations. :smile:


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

well i mjust making an outline..kind of like theres an outline of 25.50..75..100

just a transition outline. my dog usually tolerates new food well. ive been giving him wellness core, and wellness supeer 5 large breed kibble as treats and hes not ahving rpoblems(got samples)

but as a general outline i think my plan looks slow and smooth?


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## harrkim120 (Feb 2, 2010)

RCTRIPLEFRESH5 said:


> but as a general outline i think my plan looks slow and smooth?


I would say it's definitely a good place to start.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

It doesn't have to be so broken down. 
Just start with 75% what you were feeding, and 25% new food. Stick with the portions you've been feeding, and you can worry about adjusting to the prefect amount of grain free later. 
Really, planning anything past a starting point is useless. What I used as a measuring stick when I fed kibble was after three days of solid poop, I upped the amount of new food. Those three days sometimes came immediately, and sometimes i'd have three or four days of looser stools before getting the solid stools i was looking for. My point is, anything can happen. You might get a week long bout of diarrhea starting tomorrow. The transition might go perfect. You really don't know. 
So jsut start where you're at, and go from there. 
To satisfy your question. Sure. Outline looks good. But stick closer to gaging how your dog is doing than some laid out plan. 


whew, I'm so glad raw feeding isn't nearly as technical as this. I hate numbers!! lol


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

CorgiPaws said:


> It doesn't have to be so broken down.
> Just start with 75% what you were feeding, and 25% new food. Stick with the portions you've been feeding, and you can worry about adjusting to the prefect amount of grain free later.
> Really, planning anything past a starting point is useless. What I used as a measuring stick when I fed kibble was after three days of solid poop, I upped the amount of new food. Those three days sometimes came immediately, and sometimes i'd have three or four days of looser stools before getting the solid stools i was looking for. My point is, anything can happen. You might get a week long bout of diarrhea starting tomorrow. The transition might go perfect. You really don't know.
> So jsut start where you're at, and go from there.
> ...


well i think this is actually less broken down than using percentages. i mean taking 25 percent of 2.5 cups is .625 or so cups so i just said .5 instead..and decided every 2 days raise the new food by .5 cups and lower the old by \.5. i thought it was a good idea at least :

i really hope i dont get him on diarrhea. i hope im making the right choices. youre old thread about how grain free foods arent any better than regular makes me question whether i should do it haha.

btw i posted this thread in advance im not switching till around april 1st. i still have some food that will last until then!!!

raw feedings harder than kibble after the transition phase =p.

and you still have to feed your fostered dog kibble =p.


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

RCTRIPLEFRESH5 said:


> well i think this is actually less broken down than using percentages. i mean taking 25 percent of 2.5 cups is .625 or so cups so i just said .5 instead..and decided every 2 days raise the new food by .5 cups and lower the old by \.5. i thought it was a good idea at least :


haha it is a good idea, I'm jsut saying, don't get too stuck on it, you have no idea what will happen!



RCTRIPLEFRESH5 said:


> youre old thread about how grain free foods arent any better than regular makes me question whether i should do it haha.


I can't say they aren't better. (there are too many variables and unknowns in kibble to determine actual quality anyway. Notice the analysis is always listed in minimums and maximums, you actually have no idea what's really in there)
I just question if they are "better enough" to justify crazy prices, is all. It's a topic i don't give much though, as it doens't concern me much.



RCTRIPLEFRESH5 said:


> raw feedings harder than kibble after the transition phase =p.


highly debatable. I have one kibble fed dog. 
I scoop his kibble every morning. 1.5 scoops into his bowl. 
I jsut dump a baggie in the grass for the other three. 
hardly complicated.
But that's an entirely other topic, for an entirely different thread.:wink:


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

Right now I am changing my older GSH Pointer to a new food. I know that some dogs are more sensitive than others and I am probably lucky because Lucky (hahaha) is a pretty tough ole' girl. 

Literally what I do is just eye ball it. Give her the majority of her old food and just add a little new food for the first few days. The next week I just take away more of her old food and add more of the new. I just slowly phase out the old food over a week or two depending on how she is doing. I don't measure anything, just make sure that she is getting a cup total in the AM and a cup total in the PM. Once she is totally on the new food then I watch her weight and if she needs more or less I adjust then. She is 10 years old and has changed foods many many times during her life and she has never once had diarrhea.

I am sure your guy will be fine. If he does end up with a bit of diarrhea, that's okay and it may happen. Just watch him and adjust as you go. :smile: He's lucky to have such a caring dog mom! :smile:

And, just my opinion, but feeding raw seems pretty easy....take meat out of fridge and give to dog. I like the sound of that.....:biggrin::wink:


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

saraj2878 said:


> Right now I am changing my older GSH Pointer to a new food. I know that some dogs are more sensitive than others and I am probably lucky because Lucky (hahaha) is a pretty tough ole' girl.
> 
> Literally what I do is just eye ball it. Give her the majority of her old food and just add a little new food for the first few days. The next week I just take away more of her old food and add more of the new. I just slowly phase out the old food over a week or two depending on how she is doing. I don't measure anything, just make sure that she is getting a cup total in the AM and a cup total in the PM. Once she is totally on the new food then I watch her weight and if she needs more or less I adjust then. She is 10 years old and has changed foods many many times during her life and she has never once had diarrhea.
> 
> ...


thanks sara!

im a guy though lol.


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

RCTRIPLEFRESH5 said:


> is canidae grain free a lot better in comparison to reg canidae...
> 
> sorry for another thread. oh and i think i asked before but was grain frees formula changed in 2008 or was that just als? or was it every canidaes form.


i still am curious if the grain free formula is the same formula its always been. we all know canidae ALS changed formulas in june 2008. did the grain free?


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

RCTRIPLEFRESH5 said:


> thanks sara!
> 
> im a guy though lol.


Opps!! Sorry! :redface:
What I ment to say was your dog is lucky to have such a caring dog dad! :biggrin:


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

RCTRIPLEFRESH5 said:


> i still am curious if the grain free formula is the same formula its always been. we all know canidae ALS changed formulas in june 2008. did the grain free?


I don't think so, but either way what does it matter if you like the current formula?


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

Transitioning to a grain free higher protein conent,probably takes from a 2 to 4 week period. If you switch to fast the dog can get diarrhea. So going slow is the best. I have always gone the 75% old with 25% new ~then in a few days 50% 50% old new ~then a few days later 75% new then 25% old ~then after so long all new 100%. Just have to go slowly.


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

i got a reply from canidae..
heres my email i sent them....

''i am curious if the grain free formula ALS is the same formula its always been. we all know canidae ALS changed formulas in june 2008. did the grain free? is the regular canidae ALS (with grains) the only formula that was effected by the change in june 2008?''


heres the response....

Thank you for contacting CANIDAE with your question. The Grain Free ALS has not had any changes. There hasn't been any changes to any of our grain free formulas or the Beef & Fish formula. All of our other formulas had the changes back in the summer of 2008.


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## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

saraj2878 said:


> Opps!! Sorry! :redface:
> What I ment to say was your dog is lucky to have such a caring dog dad! :biggrin:


its cool..........


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