Week 32 min read
The sneaky seven: things that quietly break a food trial
by Ben, co-founder
A food trial has one rule: only the food and water. Easy to say, surprisingly hard to live. When trials fail, it's usually not the food - it's one of these seven, ranked by villainy.
- Flavoured flea and worm chews. The number one silent trial-breaker. That meaty chew from the vet is, as far as your dog's immune system is concerned, food. If a dose is due during the trial, ask your vet to switch to a spot-on or an unflavoured version for now.
- Treats. All of them, including the hypoallergenic ones from another brand. One a day is enough to muddy eight weeks.
- Table scraps and plate-licking. The crust here, the gravy-dipped finger there. It all counts.
- Dental chews and rawhides. They read as chews, but they're food.
- Flavoured toothpaste, supplements and medicines. Check the labels - chicken flavouring hides everywhere.
- Other people. Grandad's sausage is the classic. Brief the whole household, and make feeding one person's job so nothing slips in unnoticed.
- Scavenging. Bins, cat food, mystery pavement finds. Cat food is the big indoor one - move it somewhere the dog genuinely can't reach.
If a slip happens
One stolen sausage doesn't mean starting the eight weeks again. Note the date, mention it to your vet or to us if that week's picture goes muddy, and carry on. What does wreck a trial is a steady drip - a treat here, a chew there - because then a "no change" result tells you nothing at all.
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