best approach to help someone switch foods

I bet you must have been mortified. I know I would be.

If this person is a good friend I would start off being right up front with her. Do you know what is in that stuff? Then provide her with the information for her to see for herself what poor quality dog food she has for her dog and give her information she can check out for herself what is a better quality dog food. That is what I have done in the past and it worked well for me.

I would explain to her what the benefits of a good quality dog food is compared to what she has her dog on now. Provide her the information she needs to make a better decision for her fur kid. That helped me in the past with clients feeding their dogs crap foods etc. Ultimately it is up to her. But if you provide her with enough information she will see for herself that Ole Roy is crap.

Normally, I am very direct.  They may get a little annoyed, but people always get over it. 

If they can't handle the truth then I try something like this:

"I used to feed my dog Ol' Roy too, and he would go through so much of that I spent have my day cleaning up the back yard.  A friend of mine turned me on to this food called Innova.  It's kind of expensive, but you feed so much less per meal that by the end of the month I have spent the same amount on food.  On top of that, there is MUCH less poop to scoop, there coats look better, and there behavior is better.  I'll bring you a sample so you can how much your dog likes it. It's definitely worth it."

Another option that I use is every time someone complains about there dog, and they are feeding there dog crap, improving the diet is always my first solution.

"My dog chewed up the couch"...
"What are you feeding him?"....
"Ol' Roy..."
"Try Innova...that will help"

"My dog keeps pooping in the house"
"What are you feeding him?”
"Ol' Roy…”
"Try Innova…It will help!”

"My dog can't walk on leash"[size=2]
"What are you feeding him?”
"Ol' Roy…”
"Try Innova…It will help!”

"My dog is digs in my back yard.."[size=2]
"What are you feeding him?”
"Ol' Roy…”
"Try Innova…It will help!”

You get the idea.  A proper diet helps ALL aspects of a dogs life, and should be the first change when trying to remedy most problems.

Hope this helps...[/size][/size]

You could be sneaky and pretend you didnt hear her.  Then bring in some brochures or computer printouts and ask her to help you choose which would be the best food for your dogs.  Make sure you have one from Ol Roy with the list of ingredients.  This might be a good approach if she is the type to get easily offended like my sister.  GRRR.  She still feeds Pedigree since it comes in the nice square bag that sits nicely on the floor so its Easier.

That is a tough one.  Lucky for me, my feed store stocks samples of all the good stuff.  If you can grab a few samples, give her some and tell her to compare ingredients.  I'd also include a sample of Nutro or something similar because even that would be a huge improvement.  She might not be able to afford the best food out there.  Sometimes you have to take baby steps!
 
Good Luck!

Mic, I know you're serious, but that still cracked me up. []

Candace, that's a great idea! 
 
What I actually did, that worked on 2 people - was use the whole Diamond recall to up the education anty for my friends/family.  You know, I acted all horrified that commercial dog food was actually killing dogs - then I came back with very basic, direct and even more horrifying (the 4 D's) information for them.  Under the guise that I was prompted by the Diamond scare. 

I'm glad I asked, those are some excellent ideas. Thanks.

I think I will incorporate ..." I "know" an animal behaviorist who changes his clients food which results in successful behavior changes."

I really like the 'help me choose' idea, too!

I'll let you know what happens.

ooh you could use both!  Say my behaviourist told me to change my food to help with such and such a problem.  Could you help me pick one?

Oh.. that's GOOD!  I'm going to start using that one myself.  You don't mind, do you Mic?  That we all know you and that you are advising all of us to change foods immediately?   
 
I'm seriously going to use this today..

I get samples and brochures and carry them to wherever the person is, and when they ask I tell them my dog digs in the yard, or she itches, or she poops on the floor. I'm going to try Innova, cause Mic said it'd help. Here, you want a sample?

LOL

Seriously, brochures and samples. We read ingredients lists together and act shocked together. It's delightful.  I got my mom to switch her dog from Alpo to Chicken Soup in less than five minutes. I brought home a can and said, "Look! What a cute name! I had to buy it! Do you think Toby will like it?" Then we compared the ingredients. *shockdistressalpoiscrap*

ORIGINAL: labcrab

Candace, that's a great idea! 

What I actually did, that worked on 2 people - was use the whole Diamond recall to up the education anty for my friends/family.  You know, I acted all horrified that commercial dog food was actually killing dogs - then I came back with very basic, direct and even more horrifying (the 4 D's) information for them.  Under the guise that I was prompted by the Diamond scare. 

You can do one better and cite the pentobarbital in certain foods from the meat and bonemeal, including Ol Roy.  [linkhttp://www.fda.gov/cvm/FOI/dfchart.htm]http://www.fda.gov/cvm/FOI/dfchart.htm[/link]

Unfortunately, further analysis by the CVM has determined that this *probably* will not harm the dogs, but you can skip that part and go with the original story.  [] [linkhttp://www.fda.gov/cvm/FOI/DFreport.htm]http://www.fda.gov/cvm/FOI/DFreport.htm[/link]

I also like Mic's approach.    Don't like the weather?  Feed your dog better, and the weather will improve.  lol

With the stuff I use to show my mom I pick out the different crappy foods they think are so good and I pick just one ingredient in there and print out some information about it.
 
Our last conversation was about Kibbles and Bits and propylene glycol.. here is the info I presented her with
 
HIGHLIGHTS: Ethylene glycol and propylene glycol are clear liquids used in antifreeze and deicing solutions. Exposure to large amounts of ethylene glycol can damage the kidneys, heart, and nervous system. Propylene glycol is generally regarded as safe for use in food. Ethylene glycol has been found in at least 34, and propylene glycol in at least 5, of the 1,416 National Priorities List sites identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
 
I never denied the fact it said it's safe for use in food.. I just kept asking her how it could be safe and that I can't imagine over time of putting it into your body what it would do to you.
 
Even if you focus on just one ingredient like that, you can point that out and then eliminate all the foods you bring her info about based on that one ingredient.. Then you can follow it up with another known bad ingredient they all share, etc. Process of elimination

Don't like the weather? Feed your dog better, and the weather will improve. lol

Or, just wait til tomorrow and it'll be 20° different, and you'll get a headache. But, hey, the weather's better