How often should I rotate protein sources?

[Crystal]

Hi there!

I switched my monkeys to Nature's Variety Raw Instinct recently to help Archie with his crystal issue.

We started with the lamb and after a couple of weeks we needed to reorder, so I bought the beef. I've heard that you should rotate the protein sources to prevent allergies to the protein.

Well, this morning, Archie had his first meal of beef and politely puked it back up. His tummy is really sensitive.

Did I switch proteins too fast or should I have made it more gradual even though the food is designed for rotation?

Any ideas would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

I rotate every bag with no problems, however Archie may be sensitive to the beef, or it could have just been a coincidence. I would keep at it for a few days with the beef and see if this is a regularly occurring event. If so, eliminate the beef flavor from your rotation.

I got a bag of the bison flavor the other day and it had a really yucky texture. I'm not sure if all the bison is that way, or if I just got a batch that was ground finer.

Take care,
Lisa

[Crystal]

Thanks, Lisa. He puked up dinner last night, too :( Poor thing. If it keeps happening, I'll eliminate the beef.

Thanks for your help! I'm new to the rotating thing :)

[Estrella_Luna]

Awww poor guy. I started Phoebe on the NV Beef and noticed that she was really itchy. Now, this was in the middle of winter so she could have just had dry skin. However, I switched her to lamb after that. She would sometimes puke after she ate that so I then switched to the venison which she did really well with. I actually gave her that for about 2 months straight but I have recently switched her to chicken. So far so good. I didn't know how often to rotate protein either until Lisa told me on one of the posts I made. I hope you find something that agrees with Archie.

[6 Beautiful Pugs]

You might try feeding him a small "meatball" at a time over the course of a half hour and see if that helps. he might be eating too quickly, or flood the food with water and stir it up so it makes a watery soup that he is forced to lap up.

However, if he didn't throw up the chicken flavor, but did with the beef, it's likely that for some reason beef doesn't agree with him. my dog's favorites are the venison, lamb and rabbit flavors, but I don't give them rabbit anymore since I found out the rabbits come from China. So I dropped the rabbit and have added the organic chicken, bison and beef. I also feed Stella & Chewy's Duck. Duck, Goose....but it is more expensive and the dogs don't like it quite as well as they like the NV.

Take care,
Lisa

[Crystal]

Thank you both so much! He kept breakfast down. Yay! He could have been eating it quickly because Edith finishes in 5 seconds. Yep, I timed it. And then she goes right to his bowl... I have to tell her no, and then she just stares at him. He's eating more slowly now. If he starts woofing it down again, I'll flood the food. He HATES that ;)

I'll keep you updated and thanks for the advice! I thought maybe I was doing something wrong...

[Pugpillow]

I rotate protein sources daily, but then I feed raw. Today they had pork. Yesterday they had turkey. Day before they had beef. And every breakfast is checken-based Breakfast Slop.

[ahuff]

If a dog has sensitivities to chicken in dry dog formula, would he be sensitive to it in the NV brand?

[pugzrule]

Do you HAVE to rotate protein sources????

[Crystal]

Just wanted to give an update. Archie puked up the beef three times, so I went and bought him the lamb. So far, he's been doing fine. Edith is still eating the beef and doesn't seem to have any issues.

Because these guys were rescues (I don't know their history) and they seem to have horrible allergies, I think I'll keep away from the chicken and beef ;)

Thanks everyone for your help!