How Often Should You Rotate Dog Food?

Everyone needs dietary variety, not just for culinary pleasure but for good health. Dogs are no different. Rotating your dog's foods on a relatively set schedule helps ensure he gets a wide range of nutrients, and can help him stay nourished and interested in his food across long time spans.

  1. Why Rotate Your Dog's Diet?

    • Rotating your dog's diet will help avoid nutritional deficiencies or excesses caused by eating the same food every day. Feeding different protein, fat, and carbohydrate sources helps your dog get a variety of necessary nutrients. As with all mammals, dogs do better nutritionally when they consume a wide range of foods. Further, feeding the same food every day for long periods can actually cause a dog to develop allergies to that particular food. Rotating foods helps avoid this.

    Weekly Rotation Throughout the Month

    • The dog's diet should be rotated at least every three months to ensure proper variety. However, more is better, and rotating on a monthly schedule can be easier for you to track. One way to do this is to feed the same food for a week, and then switch. Throughout each month, your dog will have had four different meal plans. This approach is good for dog parents who want to buy or cook bigger batches and use throughout each week.

    Daily Rotation Throughout the Week

    • For even more variety, rotate several different meals throughout the week. With this approach, feed one meal plan for two days, another for the next two days and so on. Feeding two to three different menu plans throughout the week results in a total of about 8 to 12 meal plans throughout the month. This method is good for dog parents who are comfortable tracking a broader range of foods, and wish to provide their dog with increased variety.

    Random Rotation

    • As long as you rotate your dog's diet at least every three months, and you know he is getting an adequate variety, you can be more random than every month or every week. For example, you may choose to rotate the food each time the can or bag runs out, or if you home cook, rotate after your latest batch is gone. Or, you might offer your dog different ingredients you're cooking, for example a piece of fish you're grilling.

    Important Considerations

    • Some dogs don't have an issue with switching it up, but others experience tummy troubles with rapid dietary changes, or too much new food too soon. Gradual changes, especially at first, are recommended. Once your dog's body gets used to the new foods, he will likely adjust. In the beginning, try mixing the new food in with the old. Over the course of a week to a month -- depending on your dog's reaction -- slowly reduce the old foods as you add the new.