Guest jschwe Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 So I have always been partial to the idea of feeding raw, albeit overwhelmed by the amount of information and the apparent variety of options and decisions that come with it... As much as I would like to feed an all raw diet, I am not confident that I currently have the time or budget to successfully support it. Not to mention, I KNOW I don't have the freezer space. However, I would like to substitute some of his food with raw bits. I have seen here and there that some people do this. So far we have only given him turkey necks a couple times, which he completely loves, and seemed to have no digestive problems with. I guess these are my questions: 1) What are some good 'treats' or easily accessible raw foods that I can add to a mostly kibble diet? 2) How can I find an easy way to figure out how much kibble to remove from a meal if I give something like a turkey neck/other raw food? The past couple times I've just eyeballed it, but I really don't know how raw converts to kibble, so to speak. 3) I am not sure if this is an issue, but is there a risk of throwing off the balance of his diet by feeding the wrong things/too much of something? I have found tons of information on all raw diets, but am having trouble finding info on feeding only SOME raw, so I am hoping someone has experience with this or knows where I can find some helpful tips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greybookends Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 I feed raw and Kibble. Mine are about 65 pounds +/-. I give 12 oz. of leg quarters and 1 cup of kibble once a day. They have great coats and maintain a good weight. I give a cookie in the morning with a fish oil capsule, another cookies and capsule after dinner and a cookie before dinner. The cookie is a size for a med. size dog and not for a large breed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tydyelady Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 Toley gets a turkey neck piece (3-4 inches) every day when we get home from work, after his walk. I get them already cut up in pieces from an ethnic grocery store around here. Other than that, he gets his regular kibble breakfast and dinner, with canned add ins, and a chunk of meatloaf that make and freeze. I will introduce him to chicken wings and feet too. Our Opie used to love those, so I'm sure Toley will too. Quote Mom to Toley (Astascocita Toley) DOB 1/12/09, and Bridge Angel Opie (Wine Sips Away) 3/14/03-12/29/12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHead Posted February 15, 2013 Share Posted February 15, 2013 You can easily feed the two together. There are lots of ways depending on how you want to do it. You can either feed one meal kibble, one meal raw, or two meals of kibble/raw mixed. Most days here I do a morning ground/chopped raw mix in with kibble, then the evening meal is usually raw or sometimes cooked leftovers. Lew Olsen has a book called "Raw and Natural Nutrition" with recipes for mixed diets, kibble add-ins, all raw and cooked. Ideally, at least half of your meat would be boneless, so feeding turkey necks all the time would be too much bone. But..if you mix in some ground meat, stewing meat, heart, organs, eggs, that helps to add in the boneless stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rennina Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 I was told not to mix kibbles and raw. The reason is something to do with different digestion rates. But mine was doing fine on it. She's now on a half/half diet (kibbles for breakfast, raw for dinner). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cdholl Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 I read that not feeding raw and kibble together thing...I guess the thing I don't understand is us humans eat all different kinds of food together - salads, meat, desserts, etc...that digest at different rates, and we survive...I like the raw feeding, and recommend it to anyone who can do it, but it seems to me that any amounts of raw would be a great supplement to a kibble diet. IMHO. As far as amounts, I just keep an eye on weight. If they are getting thin, give them some more. Super scientific of me, I know. haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHead Posted February 16, 2013 Share Posted February 16, 2013 For the most part, it is fine to feed raw and kibble together. I think it is a bit of an "old wives tale" started by some raw die hards who make up a lot of theories. Many dogs are successfully fed this way, including racing greyhounds, and sled dogs who almost all eat a kibble/raw meat mixture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoundHeavenAZ Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 My kids get both - not quite half and half but usually a raw meal every other day or so. Turkey necks, chicken necks, backs, feet, thighs, beef hearts or liver - just depends what I can find on sale. I also cook veggies and meat for them as well. Their teeth look great and you can outputs are MUCH smaller and easier to pick up. In my area there is a ethnic market that will order by the case for me and the prices are usually good. I've never seen any bad reaction to raw here. If they had their way they'd prefer to have it EVERY day! Good luck. Quote Jody, Leah & JimmieYou left us much, much too soon Lima & Chip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FrankieWylie Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 While we feed primarily raw, there are times that we do kibble. For us, it is cheaper to feed our three hounds raw because the area we live in has cheap chicken and lots of hunters that give us venison. When we feed kibble, we just throw in some add-ins. Chunks of meat, sardines, eggs, etc. And we just don't give them a full serving of kibble. We've found that while they give you certain guidelines about percentages, it really is dog dependent. I have one pup that needs way more than 2% of his body weight to keep weight on. And one who needs less than 2% or he balloons up. So, we just eyeball everything and keep an eye on them. There's no exact method, just throw it together. If you pup starts to put weight on, then just adjust it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jschwe Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 Thanks for all the responses! It's nice to know that I'm not going to accidentally kill him or something. I think my biggest concern is that if I start supplementing I will throw off his nutritional balance, but I guess I will just do a whole lot more reading to get myself more familiar with the concept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rennina Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 I think feeding raw as supplements won't necessarily throw off the nutritional balance. But if you're switching him to complete raw feeding, there's some readings to do first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nycelle Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 I have been feeding a mix and they are doing great! Zone easily took off the bit of extra weight he came out of foster with & his teeth (which were gorgeous to begin with) are white. His only problem is that chicken makes him horribly gassy. Any thoughts on a good substitute? Do you think turkey would do the same? (I know every dog is different, but what have you guys experienced?) Hillary ( AKA "The Brindle that can do no wrong") is keeping her weight perfectly, and her teeth are no longer an embarrassment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmdsmoxie Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 I was told not to mix kibbles and raw. The reason is something to do with different digestion rates. But mine was doing fine on it. She's now on a half/half diet (kibbles for breakfast, raw for dinner). FYI: They have eaten mixed kibble and raw for most of their lives. at the track. Go forward to the 6:25 mark and you will see what they are fed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rennina Posted February 17, 2013 Share Posted February 17, 2013 FYI: They have eaten mixed kibble and raw for most of their lives. at the track. Go forward to the 6:25 mark and you will see what they are fed. Agree. I've been trying not to argue with people who tell me not to mix. I stop mixing because my girl became picky when given too many choices. I would say go with whatever works for your dogs and keeps them healthy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snoopycomehome Posted February 19, 2013 Share Posted February 19, 2013 Chicken hearts, ground meats, fish, eggs, livers and other organs, etc! We do raw and kibble mixed, because if we don't Gypsy would eat hers AND Dragon's...so we can't just throw chicken out back anymore. She is part greyhound and part piggie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sobesmom Posted February 22, 2013 Share Posted February 22, 2013 I have been a kibble feeder supplementing with raw for 6 years or so. For my 2 greys, and 14 fosters. They all did well with it. My life doesn't support me going all-raw. So - I buy a kibble I'm comfortable with, and supplement. My theory is - kibble is a fine basic diet - raw is the more "natural" food and when I can throw that in as a supplement I do. l do a mix that works for us. My raw for my dogs consists of what is on sale at the meat counter. If there's a super sale on chicken thighs, I'll buy a pack, and they'll get that. Whatever is a fabulous sale gets added in. Often, a super-sale on meat turns out to be less expensive than kibble. Also - if I'm making chicken breast for dinner - I buy bone-in - which is cheaper, de-bone it myself, and the dogs get the chicken breast bones and skin. As far as ratio and quantity - I eyeball it. If I give a dog a chicken breast bones and skin - that's not a lot, so I'd give 1/2 the normal dinner kibble as well. If I give a whole chicken leg, I probably woudn't give any dinner kibble with it. My raw supplement feeding also varies with the weather. I only feed something like a chicken leg outside. And I don't expect a dog to sit and knaw on that outside in the winter. So - my dogs get more raw in the summer. I think doing raw supplement to kibble is a fine way to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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