Diet Change Questions

Hi everyone,

How long should one wait after changing kibble to see positive results, if any?

My dog was chewing her paws with her old kibble and I switched her about four days ago. She's still chewing her paws, maybe a bit more, I can't tell. I stress the word "maybe".

Can I safely say that this new food is also not agreeing with her? Or is this too short of a period of time to tell?

How long would you give it?

(I know about the whole food allergies, novel protein, grains vs no grain-free stuff, but with the strict criteria we have to stick to, it's a nightmare finding the right food, so I'm just giving it a shot for now.)

Thanks in advance.

You need to give it a good 8-12 weeks for a food allergy trial such as what you are describing (with the paw licking/chewing). That also means absolutely zero treats and you should even switch to another version of heartworm preventative if your dog is getting the liver chewable Heartguard.

Although in most cases you'll see an improvement before that time period, that's really what it will take to know.

Thanks!

I wouldn't say this is exactly an elimination diet. It's basically a change from one kibble to another. I suspect she might have allergies to some grains, but don't know exactly which, or it might not be the grains at all and something else in her old food. Yet she can't be on a high-protein, grain-free kibble because she has liver problems. Also, she has to stick with a fish-based food AND she has allergies to chicken, turkey, and eggs. See what I mean by very strict criterias?

So it's basically a trial and error at this point as anything in the food could cause a reaction, especially one with grains. So it's one kibble with grains to another with grains.

Does that change your answer to my initial question?

It's usually a month minimum before you start to notice changes, but you still need to eliminate or use a single protein treat to know if it's truly the food change that's working or not working.