# Need advice for problem in switching food



## Houseboo (Aug 21, 2009)

Hello,

I'm new here. I just adopted a rescued 2 yr. old female ACD (Australian Cattle Dog). Her previous owners had her on Beneful. I also have a 4 year old pug who's on California Naturals. I would like the dogs to be on the same food and would like to get rid of the Beneful anyway (ick!).

I tried to gradually switch over the ACD to CN when we first got her and she simply quit eating and starting to vomit bile after a few days. I put her back on the full amount of Beneful for a week and she got back to normal, starting eating well again and having regular stools (as regular as they can be for a Beneful diet anyway). She has been back on her Beneful diet for a week and doing well, so I decided to start very gradually (again) moving her over to CN, by mixing 3 parts Beneful to one part CN. She did eat it, but wound up vomitting up her entire breakfast.

How is it that she can't tolerate even a tiny morsel of CN??

Please help! I don't want to keep her on Beneful but I don't know what to do!

(Edited to add: this is in regards to kibble food)


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

Houseboo said:


> I tried to gradually switch over the ACD to CN when we first got her and she simply quit eating and starting to vomit bile after a few days.


The bile vomit is a normal reaction to an empty stomach. If the dog is otherwise feeling and acting happy and energetic, she is ok.



> I put her back on the full amount of Beneful for a week and she got back to normal, starting eating well again and having regular stools (as regular as they can be for a Beneful diet anyway).


Because stomach wasn't empty any longer.



> She has been back on her Beneful diet for a week and doing well, so I decided to start very gradually (again) moving her over to CN, by mixing 3 parts Beneful to one part CN. She did eat it, but wound up vomitting up her entire breakfast.


Try feeding less total volume. Maybe half her normal amout for a few days then gradually up the amount to normal. Hopefully this won't cause bile vomit again. Also keep her on the 3/4 - 1/4 mix for a week then 1/2 - 1/2 another week then 1/4 - 3/4 still another week.



> How is it that she can't tolerate even a tiny morsel of CN??


I don't know why but she will probably adjust if you go slowly as described in the previous paragraph.


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## sganow (Apr 16, 2009)

Dogs like Beneful because it's loaded with sugars and flavorings to make it appealing to dogs. Dogs don't understand nutrition, they just understand taste. Maybe you could try a more gradual transition... mostly Beneful with just a few kibbles of CN mixed in and slowly add more of the CN as time goes on. Good luck.


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## lorih1770 (Jun 17, 2008)

I compare dog foods such as Beneful, Iams, etc. to potato chips or donuts.

If you give your kid a choice of a donut OR a piece of fruit and a hard boiled egg for breakfast, of course they are going to choose the donut!


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

How gradual was the transition? Sometimes if you go too fast, dogs don't take to it very well. You could also try a different brand of food, maybe she's just not too fond of the CA Natural and want's something with more flavor like Innova Evo or Orijen (better foods anyway). If you can get samples, I'd say try that or get small bags of a couple and see if she likes any of them, and/or do the "tough love thing" where you simply don't tolerate her not eating, but wait her out till she gives in. 

Either way, good luck!


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## tpdtopcop (Jul 22, 2009)

+1 for Orijen kibble and EVO 95% canned. My dogs love it.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

Beneful is one of the worst foods. Purina is not good for dogs at all! The Main ingredients in beneful are fillers, by-products and animal digest! The first 5 ingredients are ground yellow corn~ chicken by-product meal~corn gluten meal~whole wheat flour~ animal fat. The market the product in a pretty package and are selling absolute JUNK food for your precious pet! Yep horrible JUNK!
CA is a great food so transitioning slowly is your best bet!
There are some really great foods out there premium lines! Good luck hope the pup really gets aclimated to the new food!:smile:


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## whitewlf00 (May 28, 2009)

*Cold Turkey*

Personally when I switch food, I usually switch cold turkey and not mix..i had a bad experience when i mixed diets in the past would lead to blowouts.

Sometimes fasting overnight and then feeding the new food in the am helps too. 

Also switching from a low quality to high quality sometimes it takes time to adjust. Also make sure you are not overfeeding the new food. 
also switching from grain to grain free is upsetting as well.


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## Guest (Sep 17, 2009)

wags said:


> Beneful is one of the worst foods. Purina is not good for dogs at all! The Main ingredients in beneful are fillers, by-products and animal digest! The first 5 ingredients are ground yellow corn~ chicken by-product meal~corn gluten meal~whole wheat flour~ animal fat. The market the product in a pretty package and are selling absolute JUNK food for your precious pet! Yep horrible JUNK!


Right! Try telling that to the millions of dog owners everywhere who have made Purina very wealthy over the years by buying Purina crap.

Sad, isn't it.


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## wags (Jan 31, 2009)

LabbieMama said:


> Right! Try telling that to the millions of dog owners everywhere who have made Purina very wealthy over the years by buying Purina crap.
> 
> Sad, isn't it.


It is very sad! They like all big companies Iams, Yuckanuba, have a very wide marketing (advertising) range and that is what most people see those magazine ads the TV ads, Billboards, and they think woohoo this is great stuff look at how much they advertise never realizing that they are advertising junk! People think then it must be great!
We live in a visual (picture) world. If only people would read the ingredients! Oh well I see dog food bags out on garbage day and ewwwwww! But people are hard sold when it comes to big Names!:frown:


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

It's tragic to see the big $$ marketing winning over common sense and logic


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I don't think that common sense and logic can be to blame for it all...misinformation is also really to blame as well. People are not going to go out of their way to research their dogs food when it seems to do the trick. 

What most people don't realize is, is that cheap, poor food like that will make their pets perpetual visitors of the vet's office. I see it all the time. I always ask what people feed their animals. If I hear that they are feeding total and utter crap...I try and get them to realize that they should really do some research into what they feed their animals. I am especially taken aback when the clients at work here pull up in their BMW's or Mercedes or Lexus and then tell me that they feed ol Roy...and then also complain about the prices of vet care.


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## Guest (Sep 17, 2009)

danemama08 said:


> ...... I am especially taken aback when the clients at work here pull up in their BMW's or Mercedes or Lexus and then tell me that they feed ol Roy...and then also complain about the prices of vet care.


I once fostered a very sweet female Golden mix for about 2 months. She was adopted by a rich family that owns horses and lives on 6+ acres in a huge house and drove fancy cars. A few weeks later the family took the dog to the vet and it was discovered that the dog had a bad hip and would need surgery. The family claimed they loved the dog but didn't want to pay for the surgery. They asked the rescue group to do some fundraising to assist them in paying for the surgery. I would understand completely if it was a poor family but this is not a poor family. They just weren't that invested in the dog. I never understood why they adopted the dog ... maybe for the kids. They feed the dog cheap Purina Dog Chow, even after I told them I was feeding her Wellness while she was here with me and I even suggested they visit the Agway store that carries all the premium brands. Nope, they just went to the supermarket and got a 40 pound bag of Dog Chow. I love that dog dearly (and I visit often!) but can't stand the family.


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