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Raw and kibble at the same time?

This is a dedicated place for all of your questions and answers about Raw Diets. There are also some really cool groups like "Raw Fed" on the topic you can join. This forum is for people who already know they like the raw diet or sincerely want to learn more. Please remember that you are receiving advice from peers and not professionals. If you have specific health-related questions about your dog's diet, please contact your vet!

  
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Chewy

Tall,Dark, and,- Handsome		 
 
Barked: Mon Oct 8, '12 3:51pm PST 
I've done some reading that kibble and raw should never be given in the same meal, but it wasn't exactly made clear why. Something said the raw digests faster than kibble, but that was all I found.


Is there anything bad that can happen, or is it just not recommended?

If only a few pieces of raw meat were fed with the dogs kibble could that be harmful?


Any info would be great, thanks.
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Conker - CGC, CA

OBEY ME!		 
 
Barked: Mon Oct 8, '12 3:57pm PST 
I have never had something actually bad happen when I fed raw and kibble together. Lots of people do it, mushers do it all the time, and if it was really bad to do that, then there would be hundreds of dead sled dogs all over the place.

Anyways, some say that raw and kibble digests at different rates and that's why you shouldn't feed them together, but really, it's not enough of a difference to warrant not feeding them in the same meal. I find that some raw items (eggs, for example) increased kibble digestion in my dogs, so it's beneficial to do that than to separate them.
The worst thing I've had happen was loose stools, but that was with my Shiba who's got a very sensitive digestive tract. If your dog handles it fine, then go ahead and feed raw and kibble in the same meal. I do it all the time with no problems.
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Cookie

the chi-weenie		 
 
Barked: Mon Oct 8, '12 5:15pm PST 
I haven't heard news of anything bad happening either, but I still advise against it. I've read things like, what you've said, raw digest faster.
well, truthfully, raw digest at a normal speed. it's kibble that has to stay in the body longer because it's hard to digest.
raw meat is made to go through the short digestive track quickly, helping to shed any extra bad bacteria or parasites out in stool before they can harm the dog. (just what I've read)

and I also recently read something that said, when you have kibble in your dogs system, a lot of effort is being put into making enzymes to break down the starches when they reach the small intestine, and this takes away energy/focus from production of enzymes to digest the protein and bones in the stomach.

I just don't like kibble in general, there will never be a kibble out there which I think is as perfect as Cookie's raw diet.

but overall, people aren't worrying too much. I even feed my dog leftover kibble in the form of treats in the afternoon for training (she eats her raw in the morning)
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Rexy

I dig in mud- puddles!		 
 
Barked: Mon Oct 8, '12 9:25pm PST 
I know quite a few folks that claim that horrid things will happen if you feed both at the same time.

I personally err on the side of caution and don't mix the two in a meal, but then I will also feed kibble as training treats in class, and head home and feed Rexy her (raw) dinner just a couple of hours later. I've never had any problems with that.

I think it's another "know thy dog" situation. I'm sure that for some dogs, there is no issue whatsoever, while with others, it could cause an upset stomach.
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Jackson Tan

Lad about town		 
 
Barked: Tue Oct 9, '12 3:42am PST 
I mix it sometimes. Never had an issue. shrug
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Kolbe

Where can I run- today?		 
 
Barked: Tue Oct 9, '12 8:10am PST 
Know Thy Dog. I've done it.

Edited by author Tue Oct 9, '12 8:11am PST

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Charlie

The world is my- food bowl!		 
 
Barked: Tue Oct 9, '12 11:56am PST 
Back when I first started feeding raw, the general consensus on this forum was to not mix them because they digest at different rates. In the last year or so, Dogster's raw feeders have talked it over and decided that there isn't really much difference in the stool as long as the dogs are used to it.

Now that ours eat half kibble and half raw, we tend to top their kibble meals with heart, egg or meat every once in a while and there is zero change in stool.
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BlackJack

1245004		 
 
Barked: Tue Oct 9, '12 5:14pm PST 
I think the issue pertained to feeding raw and kibble WITH grains.
If its raw with grain-free kibble, it is fine.

As previously mention, Know your dog. Know what works for them and doesn't.
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Conker - CGC, CA

OBEY ME!		 
 
Barked: Wed Oct 10, '12 12:30am PST 
Eh, I tend to disagree with that.
I've fed grain-free kibble and raw meat, grain-inclusive kibble and raw meat, any kind of kibble with raw meat and/or oatmeal/rice/quinoa/millet/etc type of grain, and again, my dogs do fine with it.

My Shiba has a long and stressful history of digestive problems, and at one time, he was one of those dogs that COULD NOT mix any type of food together, let alone even eat processed foods. With a lot of research, careful planning, and a bit of experimentation, I have gotten his problems under (relative) control and he can now flip-flop between food types without a hitch.

But that Know Thy Dog thing really is what it comes down to. Don't just take any random person on the internet's word as law (including mine) and proceed with caution when attempting something new, even if your dog has an iron stomach.
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Saya

I want to play!		 
 
Barked: Wed Oct 10, '12 12:11pm PST 
"I think the issue pertained to feeding raw and kibble WITH grains.
If its raw with grain-free kibble, it is fine."

Why feeding raw with kibble with grains be an issue, but grain free ok?

My home made dog treats has some grains not much, but still..

Saya also gets grain inclusive and grain free kibble for low value training treat she does fine with both.. The grain inclusive kibble is good kind not cheap kind.

I just don't get how so many grain free kibble tout how their grain free kibble is good as raw or designed to be like raw..

Ziwipeak is closest I've found to commercial dog food that is close to raw since it has meat, organs and so on and low to no veggies I forgot the full ingredients..

Bella gets raw egg on her kibble and sometimes a bit of chicken heart, liver or deer or chicken foot or turkey foot. No issue

She also had kibble in am and raw meal in pm no problem. I slowly worked up to the variety for while all she got was chicken quarters for her raw meal then I added bits of boneless meat with it then organ.
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