Transitioning away from wet food?

[rosecloud]

I have recently adopted a 8 month old poodle x Pomeranian puppy. He has settled in well and we adore him.

His previous family were feeding him low grade biscuits/kibble and raw meat (a mix of beef, heart and horse) morning and night

He isn’t interested in his biscuits at all but scoffs his meat like no tomorrow.

I’d like to transition him to higher quality biscuits and lessen his wet food intake significantly.
I started by cutting the wet food in the morning; he still doesn’t eat his biscuits in the morning, might graze on them throughout the day, then demolishes his meat in the evening and again, leaves the biscuits.

I’d love some advice on how to do this transition for him. Do I reduce the amount of wet food he has each day or just cut it out completely? Do I keep his bowl out for only 15 minutes? Should I add a topper or meal mixer to the biscuits to make it more interesting for him?

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

Thank you

 

[legend28]

@rosecloud I would try soaking the kibble in water. Use hot water, let it soak 10-15 minutes. Mix in just the tiniest bit of wet food for flavoring the water more.

 

[rosecloud]

@legend28 Thank you so much!! I’ll give that a go!!

 

[freerangechristian]

@legend28 Great advice! Exactly what I did when I adopted my pup who was having an appetite issue due to several health issues (kennel cough and 2 parasites, all common to street/shelter dogs), on a bunch of stomach upsetting meds, and starting a brand new food with us in his new home. The hot water both softens the food and brings out the aroma, making it more appetizing. And being that soft it’ll mimic the texture of wet food somewhat. And a little splash of olive oil because of the omega 3 & 6 fats it provides. Little by little I lessened the amount of hot water and the length of time it soaked. Until I was adding the tiniest amount of hot water (which cools down almost immediately once it hit the cool bowl) and serving it right away. I still do add a splash of olive oil and the tiniest bit of hot water just because dry food tends to be dehydrating and dogs health benefits greatly from added omega fats, olive oil being a great unsaturated fat type of source of those essential omegas! Good luck!!

 

[aaroncody]

@rosecloud Normally you'd want to transition slowly if you go from kibble to kibble, but if he's not eating it, I'd say transit right away without mixing, wait for his body to settle again and then lessen the raw meat. You could also leave the raw meat out entirely, as it is not unheard of to do so when transitioning to kibble.

Of course, the best thing to do is to consult with your vet but things should go over rather smoothly

 

[rosecloud]

@aaroncody Thank you very much