Novel protein dog food for Springer Spaniels

So your vet has already done the hard work of confirming a food intolerance and pointing you toward novel protein — that's actually a really solid starting point. The next step is just picking the right protein your Springer hasn't been exposed to before, which is where things get specific. To help narrow it down: what has he been eating up until now, and what proteins have featured most in his diet? Also, has he shown any preference issues with certain textures or formats — wet, dry, mixed?

Perfect — that actually makes this quite straightforward. Chicken is almost certainly the culprit, and salmon has already been ruled out practically. That leaves you with a clean run at a genuinely novel protein. Duck is usually the first choice in this situation: it's well-tolerated, widely available in quality single-protein formats, and most dogs who've lived on chicken have never encountered it. What does he weigh roughly, and is he otherwise healthy — good energy levels, normal appetite?

Good — an active, healthy weight Springer at 22kg with a confirmed intolerance and no other complications is exactly the profile duck-based food works well for. My recommendation is Canagan Free-Run Duck dry food. It's a high-meat, grain-free kibble with duck as the single named protein source, no chicken, no salmon, no common allergens. The ingredient list is clean and simple, which matters a lot when you're trying to isolate a protein response. The grain-free formula also tends to be gentler on digestion for dogs who've had ongoing gut issues. At 22kg you'd be looking at the 2kg bag to trial it first, which is sensible before committing to a larger size. Give it a full four weeks before judging — the first week or two can involve some adjustment as his system settles into the change.

Transition gradually, even with an active stomach problem — it's counterintuitive but a sudden switch can cause a flare that muddies the picture and makes it hard to tell whether you're seeing an intolerance reaction or just a diet change response. Go about 25% new food to 75% old for three or four days, then 50/50, then 75/25, then full switch over roughly two weeks. If he's particularly sensitive you can slow that down further. The goal is a clean read on how he responds to duck once he's fully on it.

If duck doesn't resolve things after a proper trial, the next step would be venison or rabbit — both are novel proteins for most UK dogs and available in comparable single-protein formats. Worth keeping a brief food diary during the duck trial noting stool consistency and any vomiting episodes — it makes the conversation with your vet much more useful if you do need to go back. But duck is genuinely the right first move here, and it works well for most dogs in exactly this situation.