Hi all My 10-month old puppy Cassie is on Pro Plan Optistart Medium Puppy with Chicken. I ordered (as normal) a 12kg bag nearly two weeks ago. I had to use a supplier I’d never used before as it was unavailable where I normally buy it. It was apparently dispatched (by Royal Mail) last Saturday and was due to arrive on Tuesday, but it hasn’t turned up yet. I’m really hoping it’s just a short delay due to the crazy level of online orders people are having to make now and it will arrive by the weekend. However I’ve calculated I only have enough food to get us through to Tuesday. So I really don’t know what to do if her food runs out before it arrives. I know when changing dog food you’re supposed to gradually introduce it over a number of weeks, but that’s clearly not going to be possible. So although Cassie has never exhibited signs of having a sensitive stomach I’m worried about what will happen with a sudden change and what I can do to prevent/reduce that. Would trying to buy something from the same brand help? Or flavour? And I’m assuming she’s still too young to consider switching to adult? Any advice would be really appreciated, as I really don’t know what to do! Thank you Sharon
Hi Sharon, Sorry to hear that your pups food is taking so long to arrive. I have to order my pups food tomorrow and hoping that there isn't too much of a delay. Firstly I would contact the seller to see if they have a tracking code and if it has been lost they might be able to send out a new bag. For switching to adult you should follow what the brand advises, having a quick look at the Pro Plan it advises 12 months. We have been lucky as never gradually transitioned and had no issues. I would suggest that if you can get something from the same brand or possibly one for a sensitive stomach Cassie should be okay. When we changed Luna's food we gave her the old for dinner and then started on the new one at breakfast. Hope you manage to sort something out!
In an ideal world, you'd switch brands by mixing a little of the new brand in with the old on day 1, then one third new, two thirds old on day 2, half and half on day three, and so on. But nothing is normal right now, and the chances are, if you have to make a quick switch, it won't upset your 10 month old dog's tummy. If necessary you can safely feed a 10 month old dog adult food. And if you run out of dog food completely you can feed your dog on a raw diet of eggs, chicken wings, etc.
Thanks Christina - it's funny, I'm not at all concerned about what will happen if my husband or I can't get enough food, but tell me my beautiful monster might run out and I stress like you wouldn't believe ! That's a good suggestion to try to find something for a sensitive stomach at least, I hadn't thought of that. There's a local farm shop near me that sells the brand that I'm pretty sure is still open as they mainly sell groceries and pet food, so if my delivery doesn't arrive by mid-afternoon I'm going to go out and see what they have so I've got something as a back up. Just frustrates me that I may have to do that as I've been so careful not to be selfish and panic buy - my buying that could mean that another puppy who normally needs the sensitive food can't get hold of any, and so it goes on As an aside rant, I did have a check on ebay this morning just in case anyone had any stock and found a bag of it for sale for £90 - that's almost a 3 times price increase over what it normally costs! And they weren't the only seller doing that. So angry at opportunists taking advantage of this situation Thanks anyway, fingers crossed my delivery will arrive today....
And thanks Pippa, that's comforting to hear, I was genuinely worried that I would be introducing a sensitive stomach to my dog that I'd spend much longer trying to settle down. So it definitely sounds like I've got some options, thank you very much
I am the same, don't care about me or my husband as we will find something but if I can't get food for my crazy pup I will be stressed like I don't know what! I know how you feel, I fell guilty about buying the last of anything just now as I think do I really need it, someone else could need it more ... I hate that people are taking advantage of the situation and things have been rationed because of stock piling. I usually do one big shop and get everything for the month but now because of restrictions I will need to do more shops!
Quick update: I heard back from the supplier I ordered our regular food from yesterday and they said there's approximately a week's delay on top of the normal delivery due to the backlog of deliveries their delivery company now has. So my food will likely run out before my new supply arrives. But good news - I did manage to find some suitable alternative food at my local farm shop. It's the same make and brand (Pro Plan Optistart Medium Puppy), but instead of the normal chicken it's for Sensitive Digestion in Lamb flavour. I did a 50/50 mix with her evening meal and again this morning and so far so good. She ate it without any hesitation (not that was *ever* going to be the problem, she is a Lab after all!). Normal stools last night and this morning so it doesn't appear to have had any negative impact on her at all. Phew ! I'll continue the 50/50 mix today and tomorrow and increase that to 75/25 Sunday/Monday then by Tuesday we should be fully transitioned to the new stuff. Definitely a much quicker transition than I would have liked but I guess better than a complete switch. Still feel a bit bad for having to buy sensitive food when she normally wouldn't need it and potentially depriving another puppy of it who does need it, but there was one full 12Kg bag and plenty of smaller bags left in the shop, so at least I didn't take the last one Thanks all for the advice and support, and hope everyone else manages to keep their puppy and dogs fed over the next few months.
I'm pretty convinced that this insistence on brand loyalty is for the benefit of manufacturers not dogs. My first dog was fed whatever was on offer in the shops( plus whatever she found in the woods). I have a new 5 year old rescue dog who I've just done an overnight switch to raw with no problems and he's had a few Rocco tins which he also loved. Humans don't eat the same thing everyday so why should our pets. Even if I did feed kibble I would definitely rotate brands they all have strengths and weaknesses..
I understand what you're saying, but speaking for me personally it had less to do with loyalty to the brand and more to do with loyalty to my dog . My thinking (rightly or wrongly) was that the same brand would use similar/same ingredients and that would lower the risk of causing any digestive problems. I absolutely would have looked at other brands if I had to but without first knowing that my dog wasn't going to be one with a fussy stomach, if I could do something to prevent that then I'd do it.
We don't change foods willy-nilly, but when we have changed either temporarily or long term, it has never been a problem. If the food you are using now works well, I would try to get a similar one. Our dogs seemed to appreciate some variety over the years though.
