How to Introduce your Pet to Natural Foods Properly

© by Bree Weasner, PreciousPets.org LLC

All Natural and Holistic Pet Foods such as Life’s Abundance and other high quality pet foods are not only incredibly nutritious and appealing to your dog or cat, they are highly concentrated, promote better digestion and feeding will decrease 20-40%. Your pet’s breath will improve, you’ll have less waste to clean up and litter box odors will decrease.

Life’s Abundance is the leading Natural and Holistic Pet Food and after four to six weeks, your pet will have a sleeker coat, sparkling eyes, fresher breath and increased energy. As Life’s Abundance pet food is different from your typical market food, knowing how to introduce it to your dog or cat is important. You should introduce it to your pet slowly, this is especially important for cats.

Directions for Introducing Life’s Abundance or any high quality natural food to your Dog or Cat:

1. Over a 7-10 day period, add a small amount of Life’s Abundance to your pet’s regular food.
2. Each day, increase the amount of Life’s Abundance and decrease the amount of other food until you’ve totally switched.
3. Example, the first 2 or 3 days, mix 1/4 Life's Abundance and 3/4 of the old food.  The next 2 or 3 days, mix the foods 1/2 and 1/2. The next (and last) 2 or 3 days, mix 3/4 Life's Abundance and 1/4 of the old food.  During this switch, it is very important to keep an eye on your pet's poo, making sure it remains formed and not runny.
4. Be sure to start with less Life’s Abundance than your regular food so that your pet can get used to the change and develop bowel tolerance (firm stools begin to loosen).

Don't be surprised if you see your pet picking out their old food and tossing it aside OR eating the Life's Abundance only around their old food. 

Another Option for Introducing Life's Abundance to your Pet.

Another option of introducing Life's Abundance to your pet, according to several of my breeder colleagues, is to feed the last meal of the old food in the morning, then fast for 24 hours, and then start the new food 24 hours later. This way, both foods are not in the GI tract at once, which is what usually causes GI (tummy) upset when changing foods. This "quick switch" method has worked successfully for decades.

Whichever method above you decide to use is your personal choice. Your pet may experience loose or runny stools upon the switch to Life’s Abundance. This is completely normal and you should not be alarmed. Since Life’s Abundance pet foods are highly concentrated (nutrient dense) and highly digestible, you should be feeding your pet less. In addition, one or two tablespoons of canned pure pumpkin, that you can find in the pie filling aisle of your supermarket, (NOT pumpkin pie filling) administered to your pet will loosen hard stools and harden loose stools. After you’ve made the switch and bowel tolerance is back to normal, give your pet fresh fruits, vegetables, and meats as snacks between meals.

Life’s Abundance foods are formulated to help your pet’s body heal itself, it starts to self cleanse. Vitamins, chelated materials and nutrients and digested first in then stomach, and then absorbed into the blood through intestinal walls. This is one of the main reasons that the food should be introduced slowly into your pet’s diet because the cleansing process should take place slowly and this will help to prevent an upset stomach or diarrhea in your pet.

Lastly, be sure to add digestive enzymes/probiotics to your pet’s diet during the diet transition. Probiotics and enzymes provide your pet with good bacteria that promotes proper digestion, immune system support and overall wellness.

At Precious Pets, we recommend Natur’s Way MSE Pet Probiotics. Probiotics should part of your pet’s daily routine, regardless of a diet change.