Food samples - what to do?

This may be a dumb question but I have to ask :) We're going to switch Stanley to a new food. I have a bunch of bags of free samples that I've gotten from a high end dog food store. But what do you do with the samples to determine if your dog likes the food? I mean I can't exactly conduct a food taste test. I can't imagine him NOT liking every food and I know you have to slowly transition your dog into a new food. Should I just give him a handful of each and see which one he eats?

Jenny

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on April 28, 2009 at 10:19am

he he he..... i think the important thing is the poop test, is it firm or runny, in good shape or gooey, frequency of poop...etc. you can blend in the food with a 1:3 ratio. Good luck :)

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Permalink Reply by Stanley & Charlotte on April 28, 2009 at 10:27am

It always goes back to poop eh? LOL.

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Permalink Reply by John Wolff on April 28, 2009 at 3:33pm

That's why we have to eat.
If you don't eat, you don't poop.
If you don't poop, you die.
IMHO raw meat makes the best poop.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah, Sadie & Dexter on April 28, 2009 at 4:14pm

If even after you transition your dog and you still are not sure from the samples, since I am sure they are small samples; I have noticed that most stores will give you a full refund for the opened dog food if your dog suddenly doesn't like it or it causes them to be sick. Give any reason and most stores will let you return the food.

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Permalink Reply by Amy on April 28, 2009 at 10:06pm

I have a ton of those small sample bags from Wellness because I don't know what adult food to get for my Maggie. My Maggie gets 1/2 cup of food in the morning and a 1/2 in the evening so what I am doing is giving her the sample bag with 1/4cup of her puppy food in the morning. That way if she gets sick its not during the night. It also gives me a chance to see if she picks those pieces out and just leaves her puppy food behind.
Like someone else has mentioned you can purchase food and return it. I know for sure that Petco and Petsmart both will return opened bags of food with no questions asked. I asked both stores this past weekend and both said they have a no questions asked policy on returning pet food opened or not. So it made me feel better about trying out the different flavors of Wellness with Maggie.
Another thing you can do with the sample bags is to use them as treat/rewards for training.

I wish that these companies would sell 1lb bags of food so you can "test" them out on your pet. The only company I know that does that is Merrick. Wish the others would follow.