The Change, Part 1

This post is a follow-up to my teaser post from just before Thanksgiving, which you can find here.

Just a quick note about the reason for the change. After four months of continual disappointment in the quality of the food I’ve been giving the girls for nearly four years – a lot of “fours/fors” in there; hmmm – I decided I had to change. Not just for the dogs’ sakes, but for my own sake as well. I was finding myself dreading the process of preparing their meals on a daily basis. Plus, I was getting more BS every time I contacted the manufacturer to ask what they were doing to improve the quality.

So, what food have I chosen for my dogs? Well, after great reviews from my friends Jan – the Momz of the Wag-n-Woof Pets crew – and Maggie Marton – the author and owner of the Oh My Dog! Blog – I decided to give The Farmer’s Dog a try. I also asked our vet to check out the website and give me his opinion. When he gave his approval, I placed our trial order through the link in Jan’s review post.

The dogs are now on Day 7 of the transition. They both seem to be handling the transition quite well.

Ducky has been on a half new/half old mix since Saturday. I’ve seen some birdseed in her stools from the start; but that’s normal for her. The crazy little stinker likes birdseed, especially when it smells like squirrel breath. 🙃

Shadow started her half-n-half mix this morning. She’s only had one soft stool since before starting the transition; and that soft one was from the stress of hubby having a temper tantrum on Sunday afternoon. Otherwise, her “output” has been steadily improving.

Barring any unexpected backslides, I’m hoping to have both Ducky and Shadow fully transitioned to The Farmer’s Dog (turkey recipe) on Wednesday of next week. Then I can call Chewy and get a refund on the unused cans and kibble of the “old” food. Honestly? I wish I could make that call this week; but on the vet’s recommendation, I’ll play it safe.

18 thoughts on “The Change, Part 1”

  1. Behr's mom says:

    Sounds like you found a good food for your furbabies 🙂 You have so much on your plate with caring for the pups, (who like toddlers are totally dependent on you) and the hubby! At least this takes one thing off of the list for you.

    Don’t forget to somehow take care of yourself.

    Liked by 1 person

    • My Golden Life says:

      Thanks, Monika! Day 10 (today) is the start of the 75% new/25% old. Shadow had an “off” morning today, but she did finally eat her breakfast about 10 minutes ago. So I have to watch her “output” for the next several days. If need be, I’ll leave her on the 75/25 mix an extra few days to a week. I still have 2 full cases of the old food, plus 1/2 a bag of kibble.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Jan K says:

    I am SO happy for you and the girls that this is working out so far! I hope the good news continues. I got so tired of every pet food company I liked getting bought out by a bigger company that I did not like. We’ve had other options that have been good too, but The Farmer’s Dog is SO easy, with simple ingredients, we are totally hooked! Thanks for giving us credit, and Maggie’s opinion holds a lot of weight with us too! ♥

    Liked by 1 person

    • My Golden Life says:

      Thanks Jan! It really IS easy now that I’ve figured out the right amount to mix in with the “old” food.

      The fact that Shadow seems to be transitioning as easily as Ducky – given her super-sensitive tummy – is what really impresses me about the quality of this food. All the times in the past when I’ve tried to get her to eat by giving her supposedly better food – which just ended up upsetting her system again – really made me skeptical about her being able to make the transition in less than 4 or 6 weeks.

      I keep telling Sam “I can’t wait to get rid of this old food!” Only a week to go!

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  6. easyweimaraner says:

    we cross our paws that the food change goes smooth and you will love the results… berd seed smells like squirrel breath? oh wo… we will check that as soon as the bird feeder is in action ;O)

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Pamela says:

    So glad to see it’s working well for you so far. It is so hard to find good food for our pups when companies we love keep getting bought out by others.

    Hope the Farmer’s Dog continues to work well for Shadow and Ducky.

    Liked by 1 person

    • My Golden Life says:

      Thanks Pamela! In this case, the food company is one of “the big four” and now thinks the only thing that matters is the ka-ching of the cash register.

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  8. Maggie says:

    I can’t wait to follow your progress with this. It’s been a life-changer for Cooper and his belly!! Fingers crossed you experience the same! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  9. Sue says:

    Will be interested in how your girls do on this. I talked to them about food for Rudy, but their formulas have too many ingredients not good for a diabetic dog. So I’m transitioning him to Dr. Harvey’s Paradigm.

    Liked by 1 person

    • My Golden Life says:

      Aw, poor Rudy. I’ve been thinking about y’all. How’s he doing with his transition? Does he like the Paradigm?

      That article you shared about being pet caregivers almost had me in tears. I found myself wishing I could reach out to that teacher whose boyfriend moved out and let her know there ARE people out here who understand and who care.

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