Practice Scenario

healthy aged golden retriever dog

Meet ZIVA 

An 8-year-old, spayed-female Golden Retriever

  • Ziva is presented for a 6-month senior wellness examination and routine blood and urine tests.
  • Her owner reports that Ziva seems active and healthy. Her body condition score is 5/9.
  • For several years now, Ziva has eaten the same brand of commercial dry dog food mixed with small amounts of canned foods from various brands.
  • Ziva’s owner is wondering if a diet change is appropriate now that Ziva is getting older. The owner would like advice on choosing an appropriate food because the extensive selection of available dog foods is overwhelming.

Changing Diets

Switching Pet Foods - Dogs

Gradually transitioning onto a new diet will minimize the risk of stomach upset or other issues. In order not to overfeed – check the feeding guidelines on the new food and the recommended amount for the dog’s weight (assuming the pet has a good body condition score).

Gradually replace ¼ of the current food with the ¼ of the new food every 2nd day. After 7 days, the switch over to the new food is complete.

If a pet is susceptible to stomach upset, it may be beneficial to transition over 10 days.

switching pet foods graphic