running_dog
Honored Member
Zac has a habit of becoming intolerant to what we feed him. He doesn't handle wheat, chicken or rice well, he needs low fat too. He's been on a salmon and potato kibble for a year or so and has done well on it as long as we add extra potato (otherwise it upsets his tummy), his coat has been great and he hasn't had flaky skin. I haven't risked varying his diet because of his digestive problems though I've been worried about the amount of starch he's been consuming.
In the last month or so he has started shedding a lot, he's sometimes very itchy and he has a lot of flaky skin. If I feed him some home cooked ham (shop bought cooked meat makes him ill) his itchyness often subsides so whether it is a deficiency or an intolerance I am not sure. His digestive problems have not been so bad since he got medication from the vets so I'm hoping I might be able to introduce some more variety.
I've ordered two different types of food to try him on, one is lamb and maize and kind of cheap the other is more expensive than his current food and is chicken and oats (the chicken is a risk but it is a low fat food and the chicken is organic so I think it is worth trying), both are lower fat than the food he is on currently, the chicken one is higher protein so might be too rich but I won't know until he tries it. What I was hoping to do was to rotate the foods so I feed him a different food each day, he gets 3-4 meals a day (because he needs small meals or his gut gets overloaded).
Given his digestive problems should I'm thinking of introducing the foods like this:
Day 1: replace treats with new food 1, ordinary kibble for meals (treats equate to one meal usually)
Day 2: replace treats with new food 1, ordinary kibble for meals
Day 3: use ordinary kibble for treats and meals
Day 4: replace treats with new food 2, ordinary kibble for meals
Day 5: replace treats with new food 2, ordinary kibble for meals
Day 6: use ordinary kibble for treats and meals
Day 7: replace treats with new kibble 1 and make meals 50/50 mix of new kibble 1 and ordinary kibble
Day 8: use ordinary kibble for treats and meals
Day 9: replace treats with new kibble 2 and make meals 50/50 mix of new kibble 2 and ordinary kibble
Day 10: Use ordinary kibble for treats and meals
Day 11: replace treats with new kibble 1 and make meals 50/50 mix of new kibble 1 and ordinary kibble
Day 12: replace treats with new kibble 2 and make meals 50/50 mix of new kibble 2 and ordinary kibble
Day 13: Use ordinary kibble for treats and meals
Day 14: replace treats and meals with new kibble 1
Day 15: replace treats and meals with new kibble 2
Day 16: Use ordinary kibble for treats and meals
If there is a huge problem with the new kibbles it should flag up at the treat stage. By breaking up the new kibble days with a day of ordinary kibble I hope I'll be able to know which one if either of the kibbles causes a problem. One of the things with Zac's bilistasis is that a food might be okay for a while and then something builds up in his system and he has an episode, by rotating the foods this might actually be avoided completely. Obviously if problems arise I'll adjust the plan.
To those of you feeding a rotation diet does that sound okay as a plan? or am I going way too fast? Should I only introduce one at a time?
In the last month or so he has started shedding a lot, he's sometimes very itchy and he has a lot of flaky skin. If I feed him some home cooked ham (shop bought cooked meat makes him ill) his itchyness often subsides so whether it is a deficiency or an intolerance I am not sure. His digestive problems have not been so bad since he got medication from the vets so I'm hoping I might be able to introduce some more variety.
I've ordered two different types of food to try him on, one is lamb and maize and kind of cheap the other is more expensive than his current food and is chicken and oats (the chicken is a risk but it is a low fat food and the chicken is organic so I think it is worth trying), both are lower fat than the food he is on currently, the chicken one is higher protein so might be too rich but I won't know until he tries it. What I was hoping to do was to rotate the foods so I feed him a different food each day, he gets 3-4 meals a day (because he needs small meals or his gut gets overloaded).
Given his digestive problems should I'm thinking of introducing the foods like this:
Day 1: replace treats with new food 1, ordinary kibble for meals (treats equate to one meal usually)
Day 2: replace treats with new food 1, ordinary kibble for meals
Day 3: use ordinary kibble for treats and meals
Day 4: replace treats with new food 2, ordinary kibble for meals
Day 5: replace treats with new food 2, ordinary kibble for meals
Day 6: use ordinary kibble for treats and meals
Day 7: replace treats with new kibble 1 and make meals 50/50 mix of new kibble 1 and ordinary kibble
Day 8: use ordinary kibble for treats and meals
Day 9: replace treats with new kibble 2 and make meals 50/50 mix of new kibble 2 and ordinary kibble
Day 10: Use ordinary kibble for treats and meals
Day 11: replace treats with new kibble 1 and make meals 50/50 mix of new kibble 1 and ordinary kibble
Day 12: replace treats with new kibble 2 and make meals 50/50 mix of new kibble 2 and ordinary kibble
Day 13: Use ordinary kibble for treats and meals
Day 14: replace treats and meals with new kibble 1
Day 15: replace treats and meals with new kibble 2
Day 16: Use ordinary kibble for treats and meals
If there is a huge problem with the new kibbles it should flag up at the treat stage. By breaking up the new kibble days with a day of ordinary kibble I hope I'll be able to know which one if either of the kibbles causes a problem. One of the things with Zac's bilistasis is that a food might be okay for a while and then something builds up in his system and he has an episode, by rotating the foods this might actually be avoided completely. Obviously if problems arise I'll adjust the plan.
To those of you feeding a rotation diet does that sound okay as a plan? or am I going way too fast? Should I only introduce one at a time?