Do you ever get bored of the food you eat? Sometimes, we get into routines of having the same meals or foods every day. After having the same thing over and over again, we start to dislike that food or crave something new. It’s no different for dogs and cats!
Pets can get bored of the food that they eat every day. That’s why veterinarians recommend regularly switching up your dog or cat’s feeding routine.
What is rotational feeding?
Rotational feeding is as easy as it sounds! It’s simply changing up the way your pet eats their meals or the actual food they consume. This includes changing the time of day that you feed them, trying different proteins, switching from kibble to wet food, and more.
The best thing about rotational feeding is that it’s flexible. You can choose when to switch your pet’s food. Most brands recommend changing out food every three months or so. But the best way to know when to start a new rotation is to pay attention to how your pet eats.
How can my pet benefit from rotational feeding?
Both cats and dogs can benefit from rotational feeding. It can keep them interested and excited for their daily meals! This is especially helpful if your pet is a picky eater.
Rotational feeding is great for your pet’s digestive and immune system, according to PetMD. Many pet food formulas are made to be complete and balanced nutrition for your pet. But adding in new ingredients to their diet helps your pet absorb amino acids, vitamins, minerals and fatty acids that they don’t get in their normal recipe.
Trying new foods can also build up your pet’s tolerance to certain ingredients. Consistently feeding your pet the same food causes some pets to develop allergies or intolerance to ingredients like chicken, beef, wheat, corn or soy. Rotational feeding helps their stomachs get stronger!
Trying new textures like wet food and freeze-dried raw food can also increase your pet’s water consumption. Most dogs don’t drink enough water, so adding in water to freeze-dried raw food or dry food can help keep them hydrated, along with giving them an exciting new texture to try.
Transitioning Dog & Cat Food with Open Farm
Open Farm is a great example of how to healthily rotate your pet’s diet. They have recipes for dogs and cats with a variety of textures and ingredients.
For example, you can start out feeding your dog Open Farm Grain Free Homestead Turkey & Chicken dry dog food. If you notice your pet start to get picky or bored with their food, first try changing the texture of the food. You can add any Open Farm Bone Broth directly into their food. This gives their dry food even more flavor and a change in texture.
You can also try Open Farm’s Freeze-dried Raw dog food recipes. These recipes can be served as a topper or complete meal! You can also serve the freeze-dried raw recipes dry or you can rehydrate them into a wet food with some water.
If you think your pet would benefit from a complete change in food, Open Farm has a variety of wet and dry food for dogs and cats. Switch out the protein featured in your dog’s food with Open Farm recipes like Harvest Chicken, Grass-fed Beef, Pasture-raised Lamb, Wild-caught Salmon & more! Many recipes have a grain-free and grain-inclusive option, too.
How do I start rotating my pet’s food?
Open Farm recommends starting slowly with rotational feeding. Take about a week or more to fully introduce a new food. This will help your pet’s stomach healthily adjust to the new ingredients rather than causing an upset stomach.
They recommend starting in 25% increments. This means replace 25% of your dog or cat’s typical food intake with the new product and leave 75% of the normal food. You can slowly increase to 50% and 50% of each, removing more and more of your pet’s normal food.
PetFlow always recommends consulting your veterinarian before making any changes to your pet’s diet. If you are curious about Open Farm or rotational feeding, feel free to give our dedicated customer service team a call. You can reach us at 1-888-316-7297 seven days a week!