# Switching from Royal Canin to Barking Heads



## 3boys1pup (Jan 13, 2013)

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## Skyesdog (Jun 7, 2012)

Yes, BH portion sizes will be smaller because it has fewer fillers to pad it out. I transferred Lola to BH when she was about 10 weeks and did 25% increments each day so by day four she was 100% BH. You will need to give it a little bit on 100% BH before you see the full benefit. I have to say I am really happy with it. Lola got a bit bored with the puppy food at about 8/9 months but is now loving the adult food. Good luck!


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## susanb (Jan 19, 2012)

I did this same change over too - from Royal Canin to Barking Heads. I did it over 10 days, changing 10% each day and I weighed it out to the nearest 2g each time. I had tick charts to follow until the change was done! But at least I felt like I was doing it the right way....although it was tempting by about day 6 to just go all the way onto Barking Heads! I had hoped to see an immediate improvement....but it did take a few days after being on the 100% Barking Heads. On Royal Canin, Gisgo was doing soooo much poo and it was all very soft Mr Whippy type poo. We were so pleased to start getting some proper solid poos once we were over onto the Barking Heads (I never imagined that I could be so pleased to see a dog poo!). The number of poos per day reduced also, and they became more predictable.....so it was well worth the hassle of changing. And yes, you feed a bit less barking heads as there is less "waste".


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## 3boys1pup (Jan 13, 2013)

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## susanb (Jan 19, 2012)

3boys1pup said:


> Does 75g a day sound ok to you?
> 
> X


 I think Gisgo was going onto 100g a day when I changed him over, which made the 10% change per day a bit easier to work out. I can't remember for sure, and he was a large puppy! I would certainly have gone by what it said on the food packet. I know someone on here got the 15g per kg per day figure by ringing Barking Heads, and I think Gisgo was on a bit more than that at the time. Its really hard to know how much to give them. When I was researching ways to try to get his poo a bit firmer, I did find out that overfeeding them can make their poo runny......so that is somethign to watch out for. If you find that Coco is still putting weight on steadliy then you probably have it about right. Don't forget that you are probably also giving treats which makes up a bit more weight too. Also, as she gets heavier then you need to re-calculate her daily amount of food......it was much easier feeding my kids when they were babies...never needed a calculator for that


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## 3boys1pup (Jan 13, 2013)

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## susanb (Jan 19, 2012)

At our vets, they encouraged us to bring Gisgo in regularly to have his weght checked - which they did for free. This also got him used to going in the vet's place, getting a treat and coming out again.......so he has not bad associations with the vet at all. Gisgo used to wolf his food (I was even going to buy him one of those special bowls to stop them eating too fast)....then he turned picky, and then once he was neutered he became greedy dog again!!! The trick is to see if you can feel their ribs, but there should be a "covering" over their ribs.


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## glitzydebs (Jun 10, 2011)

3boys1pup said:


> Yes, baby weaning was easier than this.
> 
> I think Coco is a piggy dog and she wolfs down her food however much we give her. She goes nuts for treats too. She's very solid and I think will be a chunky dog which is what we wanted. But there's a fine line between chunky and fat!
> 
> Xx


Oh I am so glad your dog is a piggy too. So many people say their dogs leave their food sometimes. I would faint if that happened or worse think Pushca was ill. Pushca turbo eats her food: I swear she can't be tasting it! So then I think she's starving as she will come to the kitchen all the time looking for treats. She's not fat at all but like you say it is a fine line


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

When Dudley was younger I fed him quite a lot more than what was on the packaging (and it was BH) - He has always been very active and was obviously burning it off, I kind of went by the feel of him more than anything else - when I cut down or fed more I could feel the difference in him by the next day.
The runny poo will be just because you are changing food, it takes a little while to settle down.


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## Kody&Beau (Aug 18, 2012)

My two were on Royal Canin and I had the same problem with loads of poo's, I switched to Barking Heads and they did improve in the toilet department but unfortunately they grew bored with the food so I had to change again to another food but so far so good x


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## JoJo (Mar 2, 2011)

New recipes and flavours on the way from Barking Heads very soon .. more choice for our lovely cockapoos to enjoy soon  yummy


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## kippaxlady (Feb 19, 2013)

Jojo I know you're extremely knowledgable, but I just wondered if you think Barking Heads is a good food for me to transfer Wilf onto? At the moment he's on Wuffitmix which was given to us by our breeder.


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## Lottierachel (Mar 3, 2013)

Have found barking heads to be brilliant. Tilly has been on it for a week now, she is enjoying it so much more than what the breeder recommended and the biggest difference (however gross....) is her poos! Usually 3 a day, sometimes only 2 and perfectly firm. Good luck with your swap over - how is everything else going with Coco? X


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## 3boys1pup (Jan 13, 2013)

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## Lottierachel (Mar 3, 2013)

Tilly is 12 weeks today, born on 4/1/13 so I think only a few days younger than coco? We are on 2 or 3 accidents a day too, I'm glad I'm not the only one!

We are still working on stopping biting, but there is definitely a slight improvement on a week or so ago. I am learning to relax a bit more and enjoying her more all the time! Glad your switch to barking heads is going well


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## 3boys1pup (Jan 13, 2013)

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## 3boys1pup (Jan 13, 2013)

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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

3boys1pup said:


> Hmmmm, well we've been on BH now for about a week and whilst her eyes are better, her poos were hard for about 2 days and now are runny again. She does loads and they're always soft and very very smelly.
> 
> I'm really disappointed and rather regret messing with her food to change her over.....
> 
> X


Shame it is taking a while, but hang on, some dogs take longer to adjust than others, I'm sure it will improve soon. (If not it maybe something other than food that is the problem), maybe worth trying chicken and rice for a day or two - mixing a little more Barking heads into each meal.


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## wilfiboy (Sep 18, 2010)

Have the Royal Canine and BH been chicken based some dogs are sensitive to chicken x


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## RachelJ (Oct 5, 2012)

3boys1pup said:


> Hmmmm, well we've been on BH now for about a week and whilst her eyes are better, her poos were hard for about 2 days and now are runny again. She does loads and they're always soft and very very smelly.
> 
> I'm really disappointed and rather regret messing with her food to change her over.....
> 
> X


Is Coco still on barking heads? How is she getting on with it now? I changed Darcie over about a month ago and at first poos seemed solid maybe even struggling abit to go and then ive noticed the last week or so shes been very runny and struggling to finish - she seems to do a normal bit and then spends a minute going round garden doing very tiny running bits?? Any ideas guys? x


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## 3boys1pup (Jan 13, 2013)

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## RuthMill (Jun 30, 2012)

Lottie I'm sure she is but is she up to date with wormers? Other than that I would reduce her portions a little and add some sweet potato or pumpkin to get her settled again.


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