Is Authority dog food discontinued? Discover great replacement options your dog will surely love.

Okay, let me tell you what happened when I found out they stopped making the Authority dog food my buddy was eating. It was a bit of a scramble, honestly.

So, I went to the pet store like I always do, heading straight for the Authority aisle. My dog, Duke, he's been on their Lamb & Rice formula for, gosh, maybe three years? Found his spot on the shelf, and... nothing. Empty space. That sinking feeling started, you know?

I looked around, checked the end caps, thinking maybe they just moved it. No luck. Flagged down one of the workers there. Asked him, "Hey, where's the Authority Lamb & Rice bag? The big one?" He gave me that look, the one that says 'bad news'. He checked his little scanner thing and said, "Yeah, looks like that specific one's been discontinued by the manufacturer."

Discontinued. Just like that. My first thought was, "Oh great." Duke has a bit of a sensitive stomach. Switching foods is always a gamble. Didn't want to upset his system.

Finding a New Food

Alright, no point complaining. Had to figure out what to do next. I still had maybe half a bag left at home, so I had a little time, but not much.

• Checked ingredients: I immediately started looking at other brands right there in the store. Pulled out my phone, looked up the old Authority ingredients list I had saved somewhere. Tried to find something with similar main ingredients – lamb as the first thing, rice, no corn or soy if possible.
• Looked at protein/fat: Tried to match the protein and fat percentages roughly. Didn't want anything too rich or too lean compared to what he was used to.
• Read reviews (quickly): Did a quick search on my phone for reviews on the brands that looked promising, specifically looking for comments about sensitive stomachs.
• Considered price: Authority was pretty reasonably priced. Some of the other options were way more expensive, had to keep the budget in mind too.

Spent maybe a good 30 minutes just comparing bags right there in the aisle. Felt a bit silly, but had to do it.

The Switch

I finally settled on a different brand, I think it was one of the store's other lines that seemed close enough. Bought a small bag first, just in case Duke hated it or it didn't agree with him.

Got home and started the transition process. This part is key. You can't just swap food overnight, especially with sensitive dogs.

I started by mixing just a tiny bit of the new food, maybe like 10%, with his old Authority food. Did that for two or three days. Watched him closely. How were his poops? Was he eating it okay? Any weird signs?

Everything seemed fine, so I upped it. Went to about 25% new food, 75% old food. Kept that up for another few days. Still good.

Then I went 50/50. Then 75% new, 25% old. Each stage lasted about 3-4 days. The whole process probably took almost two weeks. Yeah, it's slow, but it's way better than dealing with messy stomach upset.

Success! By the end of the two weeks, Duke was fully on the new food. Thankfully, he didn't have any major issues. Maybe his stool was a tiny bit softer for a day or two during the switch, but nothing drastic. He eats the new stuff just fine, seems happy and healthy.

So yeah, finding out Authority discontinued his specific food was annoying. Caused a bit of stress and extra work comparing labels and doing the slow switch. But we managed. Just took a bit of patience and careful observation. If you're in the same boat, just take your time finding a similar replacement and transition slowly. It usually works out.