# How often do you rotate kibble



## SanDee (Oct 30, 2011)

If I choose 3 different kinds, how often should I rotate? Every 3 months? My dog is about 65 pounds. I buy 25-35 pounds. Maybe I should switch after 2 bags?


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## ksbsnowowl (Apr 30, 2010)

I buy two brands and mix them. Rotation all in one!

I mix Taste of the Wild and Iams Lamb and Rice, though I am soon to be changing out the Iams for Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

I would feed a "different" kibble every day. Usually, I'd have 3 bags to rotate through. But from what I've learned, it can depend on how "delicate" your dog's system is.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

ksbsnowowl said:


> I buy two brands and mix them. Rotation all in one!
> 
> I mix Taste of the Wild and Iams Lamb and Rice, though I am soon to be changing out the Iams for Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice.


You would be MUCH better off getting a couple of the TOTW foods and using them!!:wink:
But yes, PLEASE DITCH THE IAMS!!! uke:


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## Little Brown Jug (Dec 7, 2010)

I rotate every new bag. A 30lb bag does me about 6 weeks with my two. I also give them turkey necks 3 days out of the week when I can find them and canned, so sometimes the bag stretches a little longer.


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

I rotate every meal. And, every meal is a different protein. I did this with my dog when she ate kibble and do it now with my cat. But, from what I've read some dogs stomach's can't handle doing this. I guess you need to know what your pup can handle and take it from there.
I'd also get off the Iams asap and maybe rotate with the different proteins of TOTW.


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

I rotate every bag. I only buy the small bags because my puppy is small and the smaller bags lasts her 5-6 weeks. I like to switch it up that often so she doesn't get tired of any one food. She is only 5 months old but I have rotated her through Simply Nourish, Blue Buffalo Wilderness, and now on Castor and Pollux. She hasn't had any significant digestive upset so far. Her stools were a bit softer going to the BB but I expected that since it had way more protein than the Simply Nourish.


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## Feedingtime (Oct 21, 2011)

Do you know how foolish rotating foods is?


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## Little Brown Jug (Dec 7, 2010)

Why do you go around acting like someone stuck a stick up your arse? 

What harm does rotating do? None. I'd hate to eat the same thing every day for the rest of my life so I rotate, why wouldn't I do the same thing for my dogs?


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

i read that even though rotating is fine, it's not good to mix two different kibbles in the same meal because the percentages of stuff in them are different. So you may not be giving the proper proportions of nutrients.


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## kennyk (Sep 17, 2011)

Feedingtime said:


> Do you know how foolish rotating foods is?


my mind said "WTF"?... Please answer your own question. Site some sources if you can. THanks


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## imthemonkey (Aug 8, 2011)

Feedingtime said:


> Do you know how foolish rotating foods is?


Point taken. Do you mind sharing? I don't know the answer..

Thanks.


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## DogLuver (Oct 19, 2011)

I was informed by another member that "FeedingTime" has been here under several other names, and has been banned. We should all definitely just ignore any posts by "FeedingTime" so that all threads don't just become arguements. His/her comments are clearly useless and have no knowledge to them what so ever. Let's not waste our time. I'm sure he/she will be banned again soon.

Back to the topic. I heard too that rotating food is fine, but mixing them at the same time disturbs the "balance" that each kibble has. Not sure if that's true or not? Anyway, I do rotate, I have 2 dogs that eat different kibbles all the time, I buy them each their own 30lb bag, and then when they're done, I buy a different kind. I stick with Orijen/Acana and rotate between flavors (only certain ones are appropriate for my 4.5mth old Great Dane, that's why they don't always eat the same food) A 30lb bag lasts about 3wks or so....so after 3wks they get a new flavor


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## SanDee (Oct 30, 2011)

I have read that not only is rotation fine, it is recommended and optimal for your dog.

Thanks for your help. I think I will rotate with each bag. 

My dog is not really wild over the Orijen Adult like I thought she would be, so I am going to try Regional Red next.


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## DogLuver (Oct 19, 2011)

SanDee, Trooper wasn't too into the Orijen Adult either actually, he likes the 6-Fish, or Acana Grasslands best (I like Ranchlands, but the local shop I buy from doesn't carry it yet?), my Great Dane Gus likes pretty much anything lol.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Why wouldn't it be fine to mix kibbles? All (at least all good) kibbles are supposed to give your dog the nutrition it needs.. so mixing two shouldn't matter at all? Mixing a 32%/15% and 28%/20% protein kibble 50/50 would just give the meal 30% protein/17.5% fat, right? I don't see how it would upset anything.


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## DogLuver (Oct 19, 2011)

Again, I'm not sure if it's true or not, but I heard the reason that kibble shouldn't be mixed is that each bag of kibble is properly balanced, and when you mix them together, the balance becomes....well unbalanced. I was able to justify this in my own mind, because when looking for a dog food, we're always told to make sure the calcium/phosphorus ratio is appropriate and such...so mixing 2 different kinds would cause a new calcium/phosphorus ratio???...this could be total hocus pocus...but it's just what I've heard, so I decided to not mix kibbles together, but to each their own of coarse! And if mixing kibbles is working just fine for your dog...I wouldn't say stop? There are too many myths out there, this could be one of them? I dunno.


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

I don't rotate kibble: Zio's system is too sensitive to change & it took a while to get the "right" kibble for him (EVO Turkey/Chicken).

However, we do rotate additional protein that we add into the kibble: chicken, pork, salmon, lamb.... But no beef as he's allergic.


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## SanDee (Oct 30, 2011)

Another reason I have heard not to mix kibble is that if your dog develops a food sensitivity, it is harder to determine the ingredient that caused it. Rotation is better because your dogs gets the benefit of more protein sources, but if something goes wrong, it is easier to pinpoint what the problem is.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

i switch my dogs kibble from bag to bag. i use can food as
one of his toppings for his kibble. i have 5 different brands
of can food on hand currently. when one brand is finished
i grab other brand.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

maybe a dog is ok with eating the same kibble or can food at each meal. why
wouldn't they enjoy a change? i like switching my dogs kibble and can food.
i add can food to the kibble as a topping but i also add a variety of other things.
i just looked at my dogs treats. i have 5 different brands of treats.

Power to the Switch!!!!!



Little Brown Jug said:


> Why do you go around acting like someone stuck a stick up your arse?
> 
> What harm does rotating do? None.
> 
> ...


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

so, you mix brand A and Brand B (a 1/2 cup each). by proportion each 1/2 cup contains
the proper amount of nutrients (i think) so when you mix a 1/2 cup of Brand A with a 1/2 cup
of Brand B wouldn't that give you 1 cup of the proper nutrients??



xellil said:


> i read that even though rotating is fine, it's not good to mix two different kibbles in the same meal because the percentages of stuff in them are different. So you may not be giving the proper proportions of nutrients.


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## Javadoo (May 23, 2011)

I rotate foods daily.
My dogs get different foods for each meal.
I am currently rotating TOTW Pacific Stream, Fromm Surf & Turf, Fromm Beef Frittata, Nature's Variety Instinct Duck & Turkey Meal and Now!!
All are grain free. I like to rotate protein sources and protein levels.
I also rotate the canned food that I add.


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## ksbsnowowl (Apr 30, 2010)

xellil said:


> i read that even though rotating is fine, it's not good to mix two different kibbles in the same meal because the percentages of stuff in them are different. So you may not be giving the proper proportions of nutrients.


I mean absolutely no offense by my response, but this biochemist calls BS on this myth.

If there is a proper ratio of certain nutrients, then all good foods will be near the same, or a few will be far and away better than others. Since both Diamond Naturals and TotW have gotten decent reviews here and elsewhere, then one can assume they are both "okay." Given that both are in the "decent" category, then there must be an acceptable range of ratios between different components. The only thing that would determine the 'fit' of this ratio is biological processes and chemical reactions within the dog's system. If either of the two food's ratios are acceptable (representing two ends of a ratio spectrum), then any ratio falling between these two ratios will also be acceptable.

40# bag DN Protein/Fat/Carbs = 28/17/48
30# bag TotW = 36/30/36
Weighted Ave = 31.4/22.6/42.9



DogLuver said:


> Again, I'm not sure if it's true or not, but I heard the reason that kibble shouldn't be mixed is that each bag of kibble is properly balanced, and when you mix them together, the balance becomes....well unbalanced. ...this could be total hocus pocus...


Hoc Est Corpus confused people too.

It's possible that one food is more balanced than another, and mixing them will lower the degree of balance of the better food, but also raises the degree of balance compared to only feeding the worse of the two. There is no biological way mixing the foods can be detrimental to your dog, if feeding the two individually one day after the other is acceptable.


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## Christine_72 (Aug 1, 2018)

Caty M said:


> Why wouldn't it be fine to mix kibbles? All (at least all good) kibbles are supposed to give your dog the nutrition it needs.. so mixing two shouldn't matter at all? Mixing a 32%/15% and 28%/20% protein kibble 50/50 would just give the meal 30% protein/17.5% fat, right? I don't see how it would upset anything.


It makes no sense to me either. How can mixing one complete food with another complete food = an uncomplete food.

I have 3 different foods in my dog food container at the moment. I usually only mix 2, but a new food came out that i wanted to try and i couldn't help myself! Nugget goes through dry food so slowly, my impatience got the better of me, and i just couldn't wait!


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## beanoil (Dec 20, 2008)

I rotate with every bag. Never the same food twice. I mix with the last of the current food, moving into the new food. I'm not brand loyal, and look up every food I'm considering for reviews and comments.
Consider a wild wolf. He may get a rabbit, he may get a bird next. Not likely he waits and gets a rabbit every time, nature doesn't work that way.
It makes no sense to me to feed the same over and over (and over). Ideas change, food changes, manufacturers tweak recipes. You do the same old, same old, you could be way behind the curve and maybe missing out on something.


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## dogblogger (Nov 26, 2018)

I rotate with each bag, and sometimes alternate between two bags. I rarely mix when transitioning and my boys don't seem to have any digestive issues - and they like all of the different foods.


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## mikeviz (Nov 15, 2018)

I did that once and my vet advised me not to do it because it can harm the dog's digestion. I heard the opposite too... Maybe it is best to do what works for our dog!


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## Christine_72 (Aug 1, 2018)

mikeviz said:


> I did that once and my vet advised me not to do it because it can harm the dog's digestion. I heard the opposite too... Maybe it is best to do what works for our dog!


Feeding a variety of different foods "toughens" up their digestion. I can feed my dog anything and he handles it well, no tummy problems. This is because he is used to a large variety of different foods.

Of course there are dogs out there who have very sensitive digestive systems where a variety or swapping and changing every day wouldnt work. But for your average, healthy dog, variety is as good for them as it is for us.


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