What to do if my dog doesn't like Forthglade food?

Welcome to our Feeding Troubleshoot Guide. We understand that introducing a new food to your dog can sometimes be a bit tricky, especially if they’re a little hesitant at first. If your dog isn’t quite taking to Forthglade just yet, don’t worry! In this guide, we’ll share some FAQs to ask yourself to make the transition smoother, ensuring your dog enjoys every bite of our natural, nutritious meals. Let’s get started!

The importance of switching correctly

Dr James Greenwood

"When transitioning your dog onto a new diet, it is particularly important to do this gradually and to avoid any sudden changes. This allows your dog’s digestive system to adapt with the switch and remain in balance. As a minimum, allow 5 full days to gradually reduce their current diet whilst simultaneously increasing their new food with each meal. For dogs with sensitive tummies, go even slower and transition over 1-2 weeks"

Learn More About Switching

FAQ - Feeding Forthglade

Below, we’ve answered some frequently asked questions about transitioning to a new food. Discover how to mix up your dog’s diet by trying different food options, store their meals properly for the best eating experience, and identify signs of food intolerance. Plus, you'll find plenty more helpful tips along the way!

Should I try changing how or what I feed?

When changing a pet’s diet it’s crucial to do it gradually in order to be gentle on their digestive system.

Ideally the new diet should be added to their current food in very small portions over a 5 day period, increasing this small amount each day until eventually you are feeding your pet 100% Forthglade.

Here is some advice from Dr James Greenwood, Media Vet and Forthglade Ambassador:

"When transitioning your dog onto a new diet, it is particularly important to do this gradually and to avoid any sudden changes. This allows your dog’s digestive system to adapt with the switch and remain in balance. As a minimum, allow 5 full days to gradually reduce their current diet whilst simultaneously increasing their new food with each meal. For dogs with sensitive tummies, go even slower and transition over 1-2 weeks"

Absolutely.

Most of our customers like to mix wet & dry food together at mealtimes, so you’re not alone!

You can use whichever split of wet vs dry food suits your dog best, but as a start point if you’d like to feed a 50:50 mix of Wet and Dry food – simply feed 50% of the daily recommended allowance of Wet Food alongside 50% of the recommended daily allowance of Dry Food over the course of the day.  

Complete' means that you can feed the meal to your dog without needing to mix it in with anything else - all the nutrition your dog will need is contained within the one packet.

A complete meal contains everything your dog needs to stay happy & healthy - so it simply means that you don't need to mix it with anything else for your four-legged friend to get all the nutrition they need from their dinner. Most of our recipes are complete, with the only exception being our 'Just 90%' range which is a complementary food.

A complementary food is designed to be fed alongside something else for a balanced diet. Feeding a complementary food alone will not give your dog the balanced meal and nourishment they need - so you have to add either your own selection of carbohydrate and fibre filled vegetables or a good quality mixer.

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I think my dog has a food intolerance

We spoke to media vet and Forthglade Ambassador, Dr James Greenwood to get his insight on what you should do if you suspect your dog has a food intolerance.

‘One of the main reasons dog owners suspect their dog has a food intolerance is because of itching or poor digestive health. Whilst a food intolerance may be the cause, there could be other factors to also rule out such as environmental or infectious causes.  It’s important to first properly establish the root cause of any ill health or adverse reaction in our dogs. To truly understand what is causing the problem in your dog, it’s important to work closely with your vet so you can follow an elimination diet as well as ruling out any other causes that may be to blame’.

Dr James Greenwood, Media Vet and Forthglade Ambassador

All of our wet recipes are hypoallergenic. This means we carefully select our ingredients to ensure that our recipes are of the best quality for your four legged friend. We use simple, quality ingredients with no junk or nasties. This means delicious and nutritious recipes that are kind and gentle to your dogs tummy.

  • It reduces the risk of adverse effects in your dog by avoiding artificial colours and preservatives.
  • Forthglade recipes contain added vitamins and minerals that help to support your dog’s overall health and wellbeing
  • Our recipes do not contain any artificial colours, preservatives, additives or chemicals that can be difficult for dogs to digest
  • All our recipes are made with natural ingredients and high-quality proteins with clearly labelled ingredients
  • Single-source protein diets make it easier for you to identify any proteins your dog is intolerant to

For a food to be truly hypoallergenic for your dog, it’s important to understand what their intolerance is. A product may be labelled as hypoallergenic but if it contains ingredients your dog is sensitive to, they may still experience an adverse reaction. For this reason, we ensure all our ingredients are clearly labelled including proteins e.g. if it states chicken on the front, this will be the only protein in the recipe.

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Do I need to feed the right lifestage?

In the short term, you can of course feed a puppy recipe to your adult dog, however we would recommend moving to an adult recipe when it is convenient to do so to ensure that your dog is getting the tailored nutrition they need for their current life stage, which is a little different to young dogs in their first 12 months.

In the short term, you can of course feed an Adult recipe to your Senior dog, however we would recommend moving to a Senior recipe when it is convenient to do so to ensure that your dog is getting the tailored nutrition they need for their current life stage and to avoid any unwanted weight gain.

In the short term, you can of course feed a Senior recipe to your adult dog, however we would recommend moving to an adult recipe when it is convenient to do so to ensure that your dog is getting the tailored nutrition they need for their current life stage and to avoid any unwanted weight loss.

Our puppy recipes contain a tailored mix of vitamins & minerals specifically designed for puppies, and include Salmon Oil which is rich in Omega-3 and widely recognised to support your puppy’s growing joints and cognitive development. We carefully selected proteins to match your bouncy puppy's needs.

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Am I storing my food correctly?

You can safely store your opened trays of Forthglade wet meals in the fridge for up to two days after opening, without any compromise to quality or flavour.

Forthglade wet meals can be frozen, but we recommend transferring the contents into a freezer-safe container and using within three months.

Each pack whilst unopened has a shelf life of 18 months from the date it was made, and you can find the use by date printed on the short side of each individual tray.

We don't recommend freezing any of our other products.

You can check the use-by date on the box, trays and bags of food. On average, our dog food lasts 18 months from the date of manufacture.

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General Feeding Advice

When changing a pet’s diet it’s crucial to do it gradually in order to be gentle on their digestive system.

Ideally the new diet should be added to their current food in very small portions over a 5 day period, increasing this small amount each day until eventually you are feeding your pet 100% Forthglade.

Here is some advice from Dr James Greenwood, Media Vet and Forthglade Ambassador:

"When transitioning your dog onto a new diet, it is particularly important to do this gradually and to avoid any sudden changes. This allows your dog’s digestive system to adapt with the switch and remain in balance. As a minimum, allow 5 full days to gradually reduce their current diet whilst simultaneously increasing their new food with each meal. For dogs with sensitive tummies, go even slower and transition over 1-2 weeks"

All Forthglade meals are natural, full of wholesome goodness and gentle enough for all dogs from 2 months+.

We do specifically produce complete wet meals for puppies which contain additional glucosamine & chondroitin to support the growth and development of your dog.

Elderly pets have specific dietary requirements as they have smaller appetites, burn less energy and benefit from highly digestible foods.

All Forthglade meals are natural and full of wholesome goodness and gentle enough for all ages. We produce complete wet meals specifically designed for senior dogs (7 years+) which contain additional glucosamine & chondroitin to support their joints & bones.

All our recipes are wonderfully nutritious, so ideal for nourishing pregnant or nursing pets. Many breeders across the UK are proud to both use and recommend Forthglade.

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Tailoring how much to feed your dog

Feeding your dog is a bit of a science, and although there's a wide range of nutritionally-balanced dog foods available with a rough guide as to how much you should feed, you'll have to tailor the amounts to your own dog's individual needs. You know your own dog better than anyone else, so you're the perfect person to make a judgement on what is too much or too little. Breed, size, age, lifestyle & health can all make a difference:

Smaller breeds have a faster metabolism, which means they burn energy at a much higher rate. Depending on their body condition and activity levels some may need twice as many calories every day as larger breeds

Generally speaking, puppies need more food than adult dogs to support their overall health & development during the early months of their lives

Larger breeds may have slower metabolisms, but they definitely have larger appetites! Be careful not to give in to those 'puppy' eyes too often as you could be unknowingly over-feeding your canine companion

If your dog is particularly active or is a working dog, you may want to consider feeding a little more than recommended to make sure they have enough energy to keep up

If your four-legged friend is expecting a litter of puppies you may want to feed a little more to ensure that she, along with her pups are getting all the nutrients they need

Less active dogs don't burn as many calories, so you may want to consider feeding a little less than recommended to avoid any unwanted weight gain.

Once your dog is settled on to a food, keep an eye on his weight as this is the easiest way of telling whether or not the feeding amounts are correct. Compare your dog's body shape to the dogs pictured below. Your dog is at his ideal weight when you can feel, but not easily see, the last two or three ribs and when there is an easily identifiable waist line when looking down from above.

Hearts together

Find My Food

We know that every dog is different, and so we've created a quick and easy questionnaire to help make it easier than ever to find the perfect food for your four-legged friend.

Doug

1 Tray of wet, 1 Cup of dry

per day

Max

2 Trays of wet

per day

Dave

3 Cups of dry

per day

Start Questionnaire
Find my food
Step 1 of 8
What is the name of your dog?
What name is your dog?
What breed is Rufus?
What breed is your dog? What breed is your dog?
What age is Rufus?
When is their birthday?
What age is your dog?
How much does Rufus weigh?
Current weight
kg

Max 70kg

How much does your dog weigh?
What is Rufus's feeding preference?
Feed preference Wet
Feed preference Dry
Feed preference Mix
Feed preference Topper
Does Rufus have any favourite flavours?

If you don't select any, we'll assume they love all flavours.

Does your dog have any favourite flavours?
How active is Rufus?
Optional info about
Passport photo
I am...
I have...
fur siblings at home
Pet Bio
Instagram Handle
Tiktok Handle

You will be able to update and add to your Pet Passport within your account area.

Warning icon
Unfortunately we aren't able to make a recommendations around this type of product, please take a look at our full complementary range instead.
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Unfortunately we aren't able to make a recommendations for puppies at the moment due to their changing weight and needs. Please contact our friendly customer service team for a tailored recommendation.

Need some more specific help or advice?

If you'd prefer to speak to someone, please contact us using the link below where a member of our friendly UK-based customer service team will be happy to help.

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