Transitional Plan

If you don't have a transitional plan you run lots of risks with Home Cooking for your dog. First of all the pup may not actually like home cooking so you have to ween him on. I've never actually heard of that happening, but I suppose it's a possibility. 

More importantly is the pup needs time to adapt to new foods. Believe me, Chuki has enough stomach issues as it is, I wouldn't want to add one to your pup! So go slow and be aware. You're looking for anything out of the ordinary. Keep your eyes open for vomiting, diarrhea, dullness of coat or glassy eyes. Warning this is kind of gross: You will probably see a change in his poop for the first couple of days, maybe even a week. It will probably be softer and not pellet like. What you don't want is pure liquid coming from his bottom end. Just be mindful of it.  

The simplest way to transition is to make 3 cups of our Basic Meal but without any vegetables (one serving) and to mix a couple of tablespoons in with puppy's regular food for 1 week. Start with adding only 1 tbsp the first day, then 2 the next, 3 the next, and so on and so on. Slowly decrease his kibble and increase the home cooked food. 

The second week make about 3 servings (12 cups) of the Basic Meal with one simple vegetable, like green beans or grated carrot. Keep increasing the home cooked food and decreasing the kibble. By the end of the second week there should be very little kibble in his food (the reverse of the first day in week one). 

The third week make a 6 servings of the Basic Meal and only give him a tbsp or two of kibble a day. By the end of the third week you can stop giving him any kibble. 

During the whole process you need to be aware of his reaction. The reason we only add one vegetable at a time is so that you, the owner, can see his reaction. You can tell if he likes it or if he doesn't. You can tell if he's able to process it (you've got to look at his poop a lot these three weeks). Most importantly, you can tell if he's allergic to it. RULE OF THUMB: Always only add one new food at a time. If the pup does have an allergic reaction, you'll be able to tell within 5 minutes of eating the new food. He'll start to itch everywhere and then start to swell real fast. The best thing is to take him to the vet for a shot of antihistamine. Believe me, we've been down this road too many times! 

Chuki and Ryan during one of his many emergency trips to the vet because of an allergic reaction. 

Hope this helps! Remember... your dog will love it and it will be much better for him but there's no reason to make it stressful on yourself!