[Mommy2Odin]

As the title says I am wondering of it would be ok to do a raw/kibble diet? I am very rushed in the morning with getting ready for my classes and I feel like it would be easiest if I could just keep giving him his kibble.(Merrick Puppy plate) however his dinner time is much more relaxed and I would love to be able to give him a raw meal then. Is it ok to do both?

 

[pupluv168]

I am considering doing the same thing, but I have heard conflicting information about it... Anyone have a definitive answer?

 

[Wicked Pixie]

Yes, adding raw will improve any diet and lots of people feed both. They are digested very differently though, at different rates, so should be fed separately.
I have heard that once the dog is used to raw, it may start to refuse the kibble though.
Raw doesnt have to be complicated though. You could put breakfast in a small plastic lidded pot in the fridge when you are preparing dinner, then just put it down at breakfast time. If you have the freezer space you could make several weeks worth of meals in ready to serve plastic tubs. Remember that you dont have to balance each meal, as long as the dog gets a balanced diet over time. So you could just serve minces in the morning, it is really up to you how simple/complicated you want to make it.

 

[jesuschick]

You will not want to feed them close together since kibble and raw are processed at different rates in their bodies.

Several hours apart is perfectly fine.

 

[OzChi]

As Karen said breakfast and dinner should be far enough apart to avoid any issues. You could also try a dehydrated raw food like ZiwiPeak which you add water to so there is no issue with different digestion rates but it's as easy to feed as kibble. I throw a few squares in with my dog's raw night time meak and they have straight ZP for breakfast.

 

[KrystalLeigh]

I feed the odd raw meal, and I do it the same way everyone has suggested. One meal kibble/wet food and one meal raw. I also don't like to feed raw in the morning, because I'm pressed for time. It's easy enough to have something thawed for Odie, but it takes her a good half hour to get through her raw meal.

 

[Wicked Pixie]

My two hoover up mince in seconds....

 

[susan davis]

I feed raw premade off and on, and kibble most of the time, and canned too. I mix it up, and my dogs thrive on it. So go ahead and try the kibble in the am and the raw in the evening. I also remember that a dog that only eats raw and in an emergency might have to have kibble may not eat. Could be a problem. Just saying----. Sue

 

[pupluv168]

Thank you. I figured that this was the case, but wanted to make sure.

 

[Mommy2Odin]

As Karen said breakfast and dinner should be far enough apart to avoid any issues. You could also try a dehydrated raw food like ZiwiPeak which you add water to so there is no issue with different digestion rates but it's as easy to feed as kibble. I throw a few squares in with my dog's raw night time meak and they have straight ZP for breakfast.

I've looked into the ZP but I have to admit its to expensive for me right now. I'm in college, trying to get into a nursing program and I can't afford it. I would love to be able to get him it though...

As for the suggestion about making it ahead of time, I had considered this but I know it would take him awhile to get through the meal and I am not ok with leaving him while he's eat, raw esp. because of the bones.

I'm not to worried about him refusing kibble after raw because he's a little pig and will eat everything! I'll probably do this half/half diet in the next few weeks! Thanks everyone.

 

[Finn]

As Karen said breakfast and dinner should be far enough apart to avoid any issues. You could also try a dehydrated raw food like ZiwiPeak which you add water to so there is no issue with different digestion rates but it's as easy to feed as kibble. I throw a few squares in with my dog's raw night time meak and they have straight ZP for breakfast.

Those siggy faces are priceless!!!!

 

[ChiChiBu'sMom]

OMG i have been mixin raw and kibble....i feed there kibble with canned in the morning and at nite they chi gets half a meddallion with water down kibble the boston gets one meddallion with wattered down kibble my male boxer gets 2 meddallions with watered down kibble and my female boxer gets 1 meddallion with watterd down kibble...they dont get the raw meddallions every day...like every other day...i feed the Natures Variety duck or venesion meddallions which the natures variety rep told me was ok to mix kibble and raw and ive been doing it for a few month with no issues but now I have concernes..What to do

Lisa
New Jersey

 

[Brodysmom]

There is a difference of opinion on the issue of raw and kibble digesting at different rates. The latest I've been able to find says there's no concern at all. But the mantra "DON'T FEED RAW AND KIBBLE AT THE SAME TIME" persists. I tend to think this is a myth and feeding raw and kibble is fine.

If you look at it just from a common sense perspective, raw foods and processed foods don't digest any different for humans.... I'm sure dogs, who have a much stronger GI tract than we do, would be able to process them fine.

There used to be a train of thought that carbs (kibble) sat in the GI tract much longer than raw and that if you added raw on top of that - you might get a tummy upset. I tend to think that there's no problem at all mixing it up.

This is a case of knowing your dog, but I tend to think that most dogs can process raw and kibble together just fine with no problems at all.

I have fed cooked chicken and raw chicken together in the same meal with no ill effects at all. (Had some leftover cooked chicken and just threw it in with a raw meat meal.)