# Transitioning to Purina Pro Plan



## luvsvacations (Mar 13, 2017)

Hi - I have been reading this forum for several years now. We have a golden retriever, female, 2 years old - healthy and 60#. Due to what I have been reading here and other sites, I would like to transition her to PPP. But, when I look there are so many choices to make for her. If I am reading correctly it seems quite a few use the sensitive stomach and skin. I was just wondering why?
I started to do this about 4 months ago, went into the pet store and was talked out of it. I am currently feeding her Taste of the Wild. I then called my vet to ask and was told to stick with TOTW - as there was not enough evidence to make the change and the testing was on a few dogs. So, I would also like to know how to make the transition - how much to give her each meal and for how long???
Thanks for your help.. Confused in Michigan


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

I feed the Sensitive Skin and Stomach formula simply because I wanted to feed my dog a salmon based food. She had been on Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy (chicken) and then Adult Chicken and Rice (not the shredded one) and thrived. It was simply the salmon that made me switch her. She has done even better on this formula.


If you are going to switch, take a month to do it. First week: 3 parts TOTW, one part PP (for each meal). Next two weeks: a 50-50 mix of the two. Fourth week: 1 part TOTW, 3 parts PP. This will help make the transition easier on your dog's system, help ward of diarrhea, etc.


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## luvsvacations (Mar 13, 2017)

Thank you -
I am wondering why is salmon better? Does it have more of the taurine I am concerned about?


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## Maggie'sVoice (Apr 4, 2018)

All depends on the dog. The number one thing that impacts digestive health (diarrhea in this case) is the change in fat type and percentage. 

Dogs with a good stomach and isn't a dog that gets upsets easily you can change over 7 to 10 days. Do a 25% to 75% ratio of new to old for 2 or 3 days, 50/50 for 2-3 days and 75/25 for 2-3 days. If your dog is a sensitive dog then take 2 weeks to make the switch. Just do each ratio for 5 days. 

You can do it over a month but totally unnecessary for 95% of dogs. That's a dog with an extreme sensitive system.

As far away TOTW The study on the grain free issue with low taurine and DCM it's not based on a few dogs, the number I saw that Dr. Stern put out there is info based on over 8700 dogs. So until the study is published and recommendations released, is stay clear of grain free food with high legume content. There are plenty of food to switch to and Pro Plan is one of them. Just don't get a performance food unless you did is in the field working for at least 3 or 4 hours a day

Edit:
Sorry, now thinking about it, the 8700 dog study I think was from the spay/neuter early or late (+/- 12 months of age) and the effects of cancers and CCL tears. Though the DCM study was from a large number but can't remember how many at this point.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

We switched from Whole Earth Farms Grain Free to Purina Pro Plan Large Breed over a week. Rocky was about 12 months and Max was 8 years old. No problems. They have been eating PPP for about 6 months and are doing very well.


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

luvsvacations said:


> But, when I look there are so many choices to make for her. If I am reading correctly it seems quite a few use the sensitive stomach and skin. I was just wondering why?


I'll bet the reason why is a lot of those people were feeding grain free for a reason. They have dogs who have various issues that they were convinced was caused by grains and filler that's in regular food.

So with everyone having a COW over this DCM thing and spending any amount of time on the crazy facebook pages where everyone is pushing 1-3 brands of food and piling on when anyone tells them to stop analyzing ingredients and making up stuff like that dentist guy on Dog Food Adviser - that's where people are jumping on the PPP bandwagon.

I've fed PPP. My puppy got regular PPP focus (not large breed) kibble for a couple months before transitioning to the adult food my other boy is eating.

I do not feed PPP to my adult dogs - primarily because what I observed when feeding 1-2 bags of a mixture of SS&S and Performance to my dogs a few years ago was a LOT of poop. 

W/R to TOTW - I would switch off that food anyway. Have fed it to my guys when traveling (I buy small bags) and the dogs were not that crazy about the food. 

That doesn't mean you have to switch to PPP. There's other brands out there which people have been feeding a long time. Regular dog food that's not grain free. They don't have to be specially approved by random facebook people.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

If you do a gradual transition over the course of 7-10 days, you shouldn't have any stomach upsets. 

Here is info from Purina Pro Plan's website for transitioning-

https://www.proplan.com/dogs/dog-care/making-the-transition-to-purina-pro-plan-dog-food

You can check with your Vet to see what he/she recommends for transitioning too.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

luvsvacations said:


> Thank you -
> I am wondering why is salmon better? Does it have more of the taurine I am concerned about?



I've been feeding Pro Plan almost since my pup came home - never fed grain-free so I'm not worried at all about taurine, not a member of any FB groups. It's just a high quality food. Many people who compete their dogs in various dog sports feed it. Most people in dog sports who I know feed either Pro Plan or Eukanuba. 

The salmon is not necessarily better. It's what I chose for my dog because I wanted the extra omegas. But there is nothing wrong with the chicken formulas. 

And, yes, my dog does have a tendency towards diarrhea, so I am careful when I transition foods. :smile2: It probably does sound like overkill for people whose dogs have stronger systems.


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## luvsvacations (Mar 13, 2017)

Thanks for the help and clarification.


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## luvsvacations (Mar 13, 2017)

Decided to go with the PPP-SS and she loves it - no problems so far.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

luvsvacations said:


> Decided to go with the PPP-SS and she loves it - no problems so far.



Good to hear, I've been feeding the PPP SSS for 8 years.


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

We rotate different Pro Plan formulas and Sensitive Skin & Stomach is one that we have been using for about the past 10 years with excellent results. None of our dogs have any food sensitivities or allergies, but we simply love the results that we get from it as far as skin and coat condition. This is the formula that we tend to use during the fall and winter months when our dogs aren't quite as active and don't require as much protein and fat. We actually just had 90 pounds of it delivered last week. In the spring and summer, we typically feed Pro Plan Sport 30/20. For seniors, we use the Pro Plan Bright Minds. I highly recommend the Sensitive Skin & Stomach formula. It's an extremely popular food and has been for many years. In fact, Purina just added a 41 lb bag option for this formula (30 lbs used to the biggest you could get for the longest time). You really can't go wrong with Pro Plan; however, I would avoid any of the shredded blends as those contain soy.


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