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Raw and kibble together?


blackas
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I am about to get a new puppy and as it has been 10 years since a puppy burst into our life, I have been reading up on puppy diets and it would seem the more I read the more confused I get!!

Firstly, I will follow the breeders advice but would like to eventually introduce raw food into the diet if not already on it. Is it okay to MIX dry/kibble with raw for any age dog or should these be fed at separate times of the day. Our puppy will be a Dobe and am wondering if the suggestion by some to feed raw say in the morning and kibble/dry in the evenings is to avoid bloat? 

The choices for dog food out there now on the market are unbelievable! Great because we can be more discerning, but all I want is what's going to be best for my puppy. How do I know what and how to feed?

Edited by blackas
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Exciting!!! 

 

Despite all the dire online warnings about mixing dry and raw there is not one scrap of evidence that it is a problem. 

 

I generally dont because they are 2 different feeding paradigms...so I might put dry food in a food dispensing toy or scatter it on the lawn for a younger dog or mix with a dollop of yoghurt/sardines/egg and lots of water for an older, highly active dog or a lactating bitch. Most of the raw I feed is as edible bone so chicken frames, lamb necks, turkey wings etc and they are fed outside. Sometimes I might add a bit of mince to dry food and use it to stuff a Kong with. My girl has a litter of pups at the moment and she's eating huge amounts. I have no issue with adding some extra protein to her dry food meals. 

 

Most critically with puppies is to not delve into raw unless you are very experienced. Especially a large breed. You only get one chance to grow them right. I recommend my puppy people feed a high quality fit for all stages dry food for the most part and raw, meaty edible bones for about 10-20%. Add different taste experiences to the dry food (sardines, egg, yoghurt etc) and you can use cheese, choppped raw chicken necks, lamb heart, chopped cooked chicken meat, healthy commercial treats etc for training. The Ca:P ratio in growing puppies is so so critical. And keep them lean. 

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We feed kibble (usually Black Hawk) for breakie & raw for dinner usually (big dog, chicken bones or homemade). Sometimes if we don't have enough raw we'll add a little bit of kibble. Our dogs have never had an issue with that. Our dogs both have pretty much iron stomachs though thankfully. 

I'd consider feeding a dobe puppy whatever the breeder says for the first fortnight or so, then maybe kibble mostly. Sometimes things like poultry bones, and a premade balanced raw mince. (E.g Leading Raw or Big Dog) every now and then. I'm no expert but I feel this is a safer bet for large breed pups (unless you're an amazing experienced raw feeder) 

Edited by Scrappi&Monty
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What Spotted Devil said. 

 

Stick to a high quality dry like Canidae until pup is grown. With respect to the prior poster - Black Hawk is a pretty average food in the scheme of things.  If budget is a concern then look at Stay Loyal or Meals for Mutts. 

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Meant to say that I feed Artemis - mainly because the ingredients suit my Dalmatian (low purine diet is critical) and the Springers do well on it too. It's easier for me to buy it in bulk at breeder rates. I also like that they won't sell in pet shops that sell puppies and kittens. Candidae is good stuff too. 

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2 hours ago, Danois said:

What Spotted Devil said. 

 

Stick to a high quality dry like Canidae until pup is grown. With respect to the prior poster - Black Hawk is a pretty average food in the scheme of things.  If budget is a concern then look at Stay Loyal or Meals for Mutts. 

Yeah, I forgot to say that not every food works well for every dog. I said the brand just to say what we feed, not saying OP has to feed it too. 

I am aware that the ingredients for Meals For Mutts are really good, the ingredients in Black Hawk are still decent. Could be better, but for the price it's good (considering brands like hills are so exxy but full of rubbish). 

My dogs did poorly on MfM (which is a shame), but have done very well on Black Hawk for the past few years. They did well on SavourLife too, despite the average ingredients. So every dog does differently. :) 

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Wow! How supportive have you guys been? Thank you so much.

As an aside, in a search for the best dry foods, I came across an American site and boy were there some scary scenarios about what went into dry food ie road kill, dead farmstock etc. Must admit it freaked me out somewhat. With my last Dobe I fed raw (Billingshurst BARF) and only human grade organic raw chicken but my boy had significant spinal/rear complications and as he was prone to putting on weight, our Vet suggested RC weight/obesity mix. Reluctantly used it and the weight came down but I was always uneasy about it. I like to know what exactly goes into my dog's food.

As some of you have suggested, I will certainly follow the breeders recommendation as I have visited his breeding kennel and seen first hand his magnificent healthy animals many of whom are titled and all health tested.

Think I'll have to quit the obsessive dry food research as it's doing my head in??!!

Very grateful however for all your input with your tried and true accounts.

Edited by blackas
not sure about using links
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Don't believe everything you read - especially coming out of the US.  I have never heard of road kill or dead live stock from farms being used in dog food.  Stick to quality reputable brands and you will be fine. 

 

Of course your vet recommended a RC prescription diet - they stocked it and know very little about diet in the scheme of things. Go look at the Balanced Canine on FB and her truth about kibble series, especially what you see in prescription diets.  A dog's weight can easily be managed on raw - just feed less! 

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We have the occasional litter of working Koolies ... they do very well on  natural weaning / supercoat puppy kibble and HEAPS of large meaty bones .. plus a mix of raw food.

Every pup/dog is different, as is every budget and lifestyle :)

usually dogs only get  excess fat from their humans feeding too much food ..no matter what the food . ;) 

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  • 2 weeks later...

i feed raw and kibble, only because my girl wouldn't touch the raw when i got her without kibble mixed as breeder fed kibble, now its just a small portion of her meal, Supercoat weight management.

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When I first got my girl she was on dry so I kept that in for about a month then started reducing the dry and adding in raw. She is now 9 months and is on half raw half dry. I'd love to do full raw but I just don't understand enough about it and I did purchase I think it was Barf or something and she stunk so damn bad lol. The combo I do now seems to be the kindest to her stomach. I am looking at switching her to adult dry and raw now though

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  • 4 weeks later...

I've always (44 years) fed a combination of raw and kibble together. I only feed once a day and have no issue with mixing the two.

Basically it is a matter of working out what suits you and your dog. There is no right or wrong way in my opinion.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We don't use dry food. We wean pups from 3 weeks of age on raw food.
Have personally done a huge amount of research into dog diets (independent research from the manufacturers) and it really boils down to the fact that dry food is crap... We are being conned by the Manufacturers who have bulldozed the vets into following their marketing. Regardless of what you pay, the kibble is all basically all the same - they are only a filler food but also are filled with many ingredients which offer little if any benefit to the dog... and many can be harmful to the dog in the long term. Ask questions and consider the following points....
1.  Read the ingredients and google what they mean..... how many are salts and sugars?

2.  All nutrient information on the packaging is related to PRIOR to cooking.... the nutrients change from cooking!

3.  Dogs on raw diets have been tested to have a gut pH of around 2 - highly acidic and capable of breaking down food and killing off bad bacteria

4.  Dogs on commercial food have been tested to have a gut pH of around 6 - neutral hence does little to help break down.

5.  Clean diets (with no salts and sugars) produce clean saliva that coats the teeth and gums to prevent the build up of tartar... Dry food contains salts and sugars!

6.  Strong questions are now raised as to the increase in cancers because of dogs being fed commercial foods....

Don't get pulled into the marketing bullshit - companies don't care about your dog, they care about their profits.



 

 

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5 hours ago, alpha bet said:

We don't use dry food. We wean pups from 3 weeks of age on raw food.
Have personally done a huge amount of research into dog diets (independent research from the manufacturers) and it really boils down to the fact that dry food is crap... We are being conned by the Manufacturers who have bulldozed the vets into following their marketing. Regardless of what you pay, the kibble is all basically all the same - they are only a filler food but also are filled with many ingredients which offer little if any benefit to the dog... and many can be harmful to the dog in the long term. Ask questions and consider the following points....
1.  Read the ingredients and google what they mean..... how many are salts and sugars?

2.  All nutrient information on the packaging is related to PRIOR to cooking.... the nutrients change from cooking!

3.  Dogs on raw diets have been tested to have a gut pH of around 2 - highly acidic and capable of breaking down food and killing off bad bacteria

4.  Dogs on commercial food have been tested to have a gut pH of around 6 - neutral hence does little to help break down.

5.  Clean diets (with no salts and sugars) produce clean saliva that coats the teeth and gums to prevent the build up of tartar... Dry food contains salts and sugars!

6.  Strong questions are now raised as to the increase in cancers because of dogs being fed commercial foods....

Don't get pulled into the marketing bullshit - companies don't care about your dog, they care about their profits.



 

 

Those are very strong claims.  Please provide sources.  Eg, I find it hard to believe that dogs on raw diets have gut pH that's 10,000 times more acidic than those fed kibble.

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