The first sign of a dog food not working out is indigestion, because the real proof lies in the poop. Healthy poop is medium to dark brown in colour, firm yet moist, scoopable, and segmented. If your dog’s poop is consistently missing this mark, there may be something off with their dog food. Other accompanying signs could be a dull coat, lack of energy, weight issues, and reduced appetite.
However, do not be too hasty to judge if you’ve introduced a new dog food to your dog. Feed 1–2 months and then analyse the results, unless they could be allergic to the food or have a bad reaction to it. If issues with digestion, skin and coat, energy, etc. persist beyond that, your dog probably needs a different diet.
Why does this matter?
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Feeding your dog a diet that isn’t suitable for their needs for the long term may cause nutritional deficiencies, worsening of allergies or sensitivities, or even chronic illnesses. That’s why changing a diet that isn’t working out for your dog is crucial.
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Getting your dog on a better diet will not only fix their existent issues, but also provide better nourishment and protection. To do that, identifying the problems with the current diet is very important, so the next diet can be an improvement upon it.
What do vets generally agree on?
The signs of a dog food not working out is usually first seen in the poop. This is because it is harder for dogs to digest food that is filled with fillers, chemicals, and low quality ingredients. Now, indigestion of food means less absorption of nutrients and a disbalance in the gut microbiome. This then slowly starts showing up in other aspects of health: coat becomes dull, skin gets flaky, there is excessive shedding, low energy, and an aversion to food. This is a chain reaction.
When to be careful?
Sometimes pet parents are too quick to judge a pet food and continuously keep changing diets. That is also unhelpful for dogs. To begin with, a 9–10 day period of diet adoption is necessary. Otherwise, even good dog food may end up causing an upset stomach due to sudden change. Apart from that, 1–2 months of consistent feeding should be done to see whether the food is actually unsuitable for your dog, unless you suspect allergies or your dog has severe reactions. This is to give the ingredients time to show their effects. BLEP dog food is 100% natural and contains zero preservatives or fillers, so it is highly digestible, and may even make their poop less stinky, which is a sign of good absorption of nutrients.
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