When Willie first came home to live with us we were somewhat embarrassed by the fact that we hadn’t thought to bring food home for him. A veterinary hospital full of Hill’s Pet Nutrition food, and no puppy food for the baby!
Hidden away on top of the refrigerator was a bag of Purina Dog Chow we had gotten for Pearl when we were desperate to get her to eat anything. Later, we discovered that the lady we’d adopted Willie from had also sent some Eukanuba food along with him. We then assumed that’s what he had been eating since he was weaned.
As a matter of course we always recommend that pet owners make a gradual transition from a pet’s old food to new. I resolved to bring home some Healthy Advantage Puppy Formula when I went back to work the next day, but, meanwhile, the boy had to eat! We gave him a few bites of Dog Chow before we discovered the Eukanuba, then added a few bites of Eukanuba so he wouldn’t have to be hungry overnight and the next day.
When I first brought home the Hill’s Healthy Advantage, I was impressed by Willie’s eagerness to dive into it. At first, I wrote it off as him getting used to his new home and resuming a healthy little boy’s appetite.
Our routine in making a smooth and easy transition from one food to another is to take about ten days to make a total change. The first day the pet should eat 9/10ths old food and 1/10th new food. The next day 8/10ths and 2/10ths, etc., until the full transition is made.
However, as each day went on, I noticed that Willie left more and more Eukanuba, picking out the Hill’s food. preferring it over the Eukanuba. Eventually, he rejected the Eukanuba totally, and refused to eat any of it.
Now, as the photo shows, he’s a full-fed Hill’s Healthy Advantage kind of guy.
See you tomorrow, Dr. Randolph.
MMDIET
My personal experience has been that once a dog or cat is introduced to Hill’s, they won’t eat anything else. A few years ago, in a budget-cutting mode, I bought a good quality, but less expensive name-brand cat food for my two cats. They both refused to touch it and were eating the dogs’ Hill’s food instead. After two weeks, I gave up, bought a big bag of Hill’s cat food, and fed the “Brand X” to the wildlife in the back yard.
What a great testimonial, Janet!