Guest CatsandGreys Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Hello, my new boy is coming soon, and I'm thinking about diet. I want to do an at least mostly raw diet eventually(and there's a great supplier in Portland!). But I don't have the money to do a 100% raw food diet (the meat in particular is too expensive for me). So I'm wondering, would it be better to feed kibble or something like rice with the raw food? Most affordable (for me) kibble has less than 20% protein anyways, so would trying to do 75% raw food and 25% rice diet be better than doing 50% raw and 50% kibble? Then it has less additives and I can control the portions? What are your opinions? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spottydog Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Not much nutrition in rice. Cheaper kibble still has to meet guidelines (at least in Canada) for essential nutrients and vitamins. Some will say you can't mix raw and kibble but science doesn't support that. It's all the same in a dog's stomach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chickenpotpie Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I do raw with IAMS kibble. Every evening she gets her turkey neck with a strip if beef liver or heart. My other half hunts and she will also get some wild game (if he catches anything ) On occassion if I can stomach it, she gets green tripe. Silly doofus the other day snatched a piece of mommy's sushi (if you give your pup fish you should cook it) I also feed her fruits and veggies (the ones she likes...lol, she can be picky the little stinker) As long as your dog tolerates it, there's no reason not to feed raw + kibble. At the moment I think you're overthinking it a bit (but I totally understand!!) Wait until your pup is with you, and then see what they tolerates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmdsmoxie Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 At the track kibble is mixed with their raw meat I posted a video of the dogs food being mixed with kibble and veggies a few weeks ago. However, I don't remember what thread it was part of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CatsandGreys Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I do raw with IAMS kibble. Every evening she gets her turkey neck with a strip if beef liver or heart. My other half hunts and she will also get some wild game (if he catches anything ) On occassion if I can stomach it, she gets green tripe. Silly doofus the other day snatched a piece of mommy's sushi (if you give your pup fish you should cook it) I also feed her fruits and veggies (the ones she likes...lol, she can be picky the little stinker) As long as your dog tolerates it, there's no reason not to feed raw + kibble. At the moment I think you're overthinking it a bit (but I totally understand!!) Wait until your pup is with you, and then see what they tolerates. Thank you! I'm pretty sure I'm overthinking things. I'm definately a worrier. I'm definately interested in finding out what varieties of raw food everyone here feeds their greys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greyhound_in_LA Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Raw is digested a lot faster than kibble. Twice as fast even. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeylasMom Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I don't think you're overthinking. I think you're trying to do your due diligence researching options, which anyone who is going to feed a home cooked or raw diet (even partially) should do. Are you certain you can't afford to do 100% raw? Many folks save money by buying meat in bulk when it's on sale and freezing it. The initial investment of a chest freezer (a 5 cu ft one would be sufficient for one dog - I found mine of Craigslist for $100) is well worth it. Also, you're not just feeding meat, but meaty bones and organ meat, which are often cheaper. I like to feed a high quality meat (not commercially raised, grassfed when I can get it), which is more expensive, but I still find ways to save money. For instance, I order my chicken quarters from Whole Foods in advance by the case, which gets me a 10% discount. If you can't, I would probably do the kibble/raw mix. Just feed kibble for one meal and raw for the other, or feed kibble and then just throw in raw meals when you can. I will give one caveat - dogs who have been eating kibble for some time can often have trouble adjusting to digesting large amounts of bone initially. I think it helps to start with a ground bone in product first, then switch over to meaty bones, saving the more bony ones for later just so they can adjust. I've always transitioned my dogs to 100% raw so not sure how feeding both might affect this. By the way, you don't need to cook fish. Some fish (like salmon) can have parasites that you need to watch out for, but a deep freeze (and most store bought fish has already been frozen) will kill them. I've fed raw salmon, herring, mackerel and sardines. You do want to be careful with certain fish that you buy that it's fresh (avoid cloudy eyes) as some rotting fish can develop a toxin. Note that cooking won't necessarily make the fish safe to eat in this case so it's better to just get your fish from a reliable source. Quote Jen, CPDT-KA with Zuri, lab in a greyhound suit, Violet, formerly known as Faith, Skye, the permanent puppy, Cisco, resident cat, and my baby girl Neyla, forever in my heart "The great thing about science is that you're free to disagree with it, but you'll be wrong." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CatsandGreys Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I don't think you're overthinking. I think you're trying to do your due diligence researching options, which anyone who is going to feed a home cooked or raw diet (even partially) should do. Are you certain you can't afford to do 100% raw? Many folks save money by buying meat in bulk when it's on sale and freezing it. The initial investment of a chest freezer (a 5 cu ft one would be sufficient for one dog - I found mine of Craigslist for $100) is well worth it. Also, you're not just feeding meat, but meaty bones and organ meat, which are often cheaper. I like to feed a high quality meat (not commercially raised, grassfed when I can get it), which is more expensive, but I still find ways to save money. For instance, I order my chicken quarters from Whole Foods in advance by the case, which gets me a 10% discount. If you can't, I would probably do the kibble/raw mix. Just feed kibble for one meal and raw for the other, or feed kibble and then just throw in raw meals when you can. I will give one caveat - dogs who have been eating kibble for some time can often have trouble adjusting to digesting large amounts of bone initially. I think it helps to start with a ground bone in product first, then switch over to meaty bones, saving the more bony ones for later just so they can adjust. I've always transitioned my dogs to 100% raw so not sure how feeding both might affect this. By the way, you don't need to cook fish. Some fish (like salmon) can have parasites that you need to watch out for, but a deep freeze (and most store bought fish has already been frozen) will kill them. I've fed raw salmon, herring, mackerel and sardines. You do want to be careful with certain fish that you buy that it's fresh (avoid cloudy eyes) as some rotting fish can develop a toxin. Note that cooking won't necessarily make the fish safe to eat in this case so it's better to just get your fish from a reliable source. I'm looking at more inexpensive ways to buy raw, but I don't think i can feed 100% raw yet. I also have cats that I want to give raw food as well (still researching that part). It might also depend on what my grey will/won't eat and how much he will need (I'm not even sure how big he is yet). So for now, I'm looking into healthy additives for his food. I hope to switch to 100% raw eventually. I'm trying to feel out my options before I give it a go! Hearing first hand experience is one of the best resources! I also don't have a chest freezer, but hopefully will have one in the future (for personal use as well). I'll probably have to keep some food in my dad's bait freezer! Thank you so much for your detailed answer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedHead Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I do a "mostly" raw and kibble mix as well because of cost and convenience of it. It works out well, the dogs do great on it. I make my own raw mix that I put right in the kibble (it is a myth that you can't mix the two...greys eat a raw/kibble mix on the track) and then I feed whole meaty pieces separately. Some ground mixes have a lot of bone in them though, and like Neylasmom said, that can lead to a LOT of poo output at first (although they are firm poos!!). And don't feel bad about overthinking things, far too many people IMO just jump into raw without doing the proper research and reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmdsmoxie Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 The first few minutes of this video will show you what they eat the track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandiandwe Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I schmooze with my butcher (and buy him cases of beer regularly) and he sells me my dog meat at 1.50 a kilo. He charges everyone else $4. I do buy in bulk and buy regularly, but it's definitely worth asking, and maybe seeing if anyone else around wants to do it so you can buy more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wasabi303 Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Hey catsandgreys, who is your provider in portland? Trying to find a cheap way to go raw myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busderpuddle Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Hey catsandgreys, who is your provider in portland? Trying to find a cheap way to go raw myself. I am interested too Quote Karen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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