Training Adventure Dogs

Did you know that every dog’s diet should include a variety of animal protein sources? Protein should be the majority of your dog’s daily intake of food and it impossible for one protein (regardless of the quality) to provide all of the nutrients needed for your dog to thrive.

The benefits of rotating your dog’s proteins regularly are vast because feeding a variety of animal proteins:

1. Help reduce the chance of your dog developing food intolerances
2. Increases nutrient absorption
3. Promotes healthy digestion
4. Creates a more balanced diet
5. Provides a variety of essential nutrients
6. Provides meal time interest for picky eaters

Small changes in how and what you feed your dog have a big impact on your dog’s overall health. Here are some easy and effective ways to incorporate variation in your dog’s proteins. *these are general guidelines and tips for healthy puppies and dogs. If your dog has any kind of health condition, disease or known illness, please consult your veterinarian and/or a certified canine nutritionist prior to introducing new products and proteins into your dog’s diet*

1. Replace a quarter of your dog’s daily meals with a different protein. The easiest way to do this is by feeding 1/4 of the meal with raw or freeze dried raw because they do not contain filler ingredients that are often the cause of digestive upset.
2. Meal toppers are a very cost effective and simple way to provide various animal proteins! Freeze dried, dehydrated and raw foods are the best way to incorporate high quality and healthy foods into your dog’s daily meals. Single ingredient dehydrated foods such as chicken or duck hearts / feet, beef lung / liver, etc. are also great additives!
3. If daily meal toppers is too expensive for you, simply use freeze dried and/or dehydrated raw products as your dog’s treats and training foods so that you can still rotate protein sources into your dog’s diet.
4. Regardless of what you feed (kibble, raw, canned food) simply rotate the protein source each time you need to restock.
   • If you feed commercial dog food, it is often easiest to start by choosing a different protein within the brand that you are currently feeding.
   • Pro tip: start incorporating the “new” protein by mixing with the current protein before you run out to help reduce potential digestive upset.
5. Do you exclusively feed kibble or canned food? You should rotate the brand that you buy. Not only will this provide more variety in your dog’s protein but it will also ensure a healthier diet. Behind the scenes of dog food brands – they are constantly being bought and sold, each batch can have ingredients sourced from different places or countries and many of the most popular brands have numerous FDA recalls annually. So, rotating the brands you buy is the best way to keep your dog healthier long term.
6. Have a limited budget or does your dog need a limited ingredient diet? Simply add nutrients to your dog’s diet by rotating in eggs and fish! When possible, rotate the animal source of your eggs – chicken, duck or quail. For fish, canned fish are great – as long as they’re stored in water with NO salt. Mackeral, sardines, or white fish are easy additives. If you feed whole fish – make sure it is COOKED and DEBONED.

I have 4 Tips for starting rotational feeding:

1. Add 1-2 TBSP of 100% pumpkin puree to each meal. The fiber content is extremely beneficial for digestive health. You can also start rotating in a probiotic like Non-fat Plain Greek Yogurt to aid in longterm digestive health
2. Stick to similar proteins. Red meats and higher fat meats like beef and duck will be an easier transition for your dog. Same with leaner meats like lamb and turkey. IF YOU FEED KIBBLE – you MUST READ the ingredient list! The majority of kibbles may say “Beef and Rice” on the front of the bag but the ingredient list will show that there are numerous proteins. Why is this important? If your dog already has a known food intolerance, you need to read the ingredient list to know what you are feeding your dog.
3. Freeze dried raw or single ingredient dehydrated products are an easy way to begin providing variation in your dog’s diet because they are whole ingredients, no fillers and much less processed than kibble.
4. Alternately, canned food can be an easy add in for rotational feeding. Canned food has a much higher moisture content, little fillers and preservatives and therefore is easy to rotate in.
   • I would start with a small portion like a TBSP and then increase from there
   • You can also start with the current brand that you are feeding, just choose a different protein source. Eventually, you want to rotate brands to optimize rotational feeding options

Looking for a brand to start with? Bixbi Pet is a small business sourced and made in the USA and has a great variety in proteins for freeze dried, kibble and canned food. The freeze dried Rawwble is a favorite amongst all of my client and personal dogs! Check them out at: www.bixbipet.com and use our code: PACKLIFE2020 for 10% off your entire order!

Healthy dogs are the happiest dogs because they feel their best! Your dog’s diet directly affects their behavior, energy level, longevity and more! We hope this inspires you with easy tips on how to make small changes in your dog’s diet that will have a big and positive impact on your dog’s health.