What is Rotational Feeding?

What is rotational feeding? It is the process of changing the variety of your pet's food on a semi-regular basis. This can be as simple as changing the protein source within the same brand of food every time you need a new bag. Rotational feeding can also mean adding different types of supplements to your pet's dry food, such as wet (can) food, goat's milk, bone broth, or other popular toppers, or switching their type of diet completely to a canned food, dehydrated, freeze-dried or raw diet. For example, feeding your cat a wet food, such as a packet or can, every fourth meal increases the moisture content in their diet. This helps felines drink more water, increasing their moisture intake even more, and can help decrease the risk of kidney and urinary problems.

Why use rotational feeding? Changing your pet's diet has multiple benefits. As mentioned above, changing the type of food your pet eats can be a holistic way to have a more well-rounded diet and solve problems before they start. Rotational feeding introduces your pet to different types of tastes and textures, as well as different nutritional sources. With new food types on a semi-regular schedule, your pet's digestive health will be more robust and can be resistant to developing a food allergy compared to only using one type of food for an extended period of time. Rotational feeding also keeps your pet engaged in their meals and adds excitement to dinner time. Just try a sprinkle of freeze-dried raw on the top of your dog's kibble to see their "happy dance"!

What if my dog has a food allergy or sensitivities? Luckily, you can still offer your pet rotational feeding with a limited ingredient food. Zignature is a fantastic option for dogs with special dietary needs, and all of their recipes are grain-free, potato-free, and chicken-free. Even with these ingredients excluded from their diets, Zignature offers 16 different recipes of dry food for dogs! That makes rotating foods very easy and less boring for your dog. Zignature also offers cans of food to match the dry diets with the same limited ingredient principles, so you can add wet food to the mix as well. They also have limited ingredient treats too!

We’re not veterinarians. Treats Unleashed staff are well educated, and our writing is well-researched, but neither the advice of a Treats Unleashed staff member nor reading Treats Unleashed's written materials can substitute for visiting a veterinarian. We offer carefully chosen, natural solutions, but we believe that veterinary conditions should be diagnosed and treated by professionals