I'm in the process of adding raw food to my dog's diet (Thanks Cindy <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ). I give her some kibble, and add the raw to it. I don't know if I'm ready to go full raw yet, but I would like to get more educated. I'm looking for some good, but brief articles on the subject. Maybe some weekley or monthly menus, pitfalls, important vitamins ect.. I give her California Natural kibble with either: egg, groung turkey (raw), cottage cheese, yogurt, salmon, or mackerle. She also gets proboitic powder. I don't give vitamins. I'm new to Schutzhund so my training homework is VERY long. I wish I could spend more time researching, but I just can't squeeze everything in. If there are any good short articles/books/menus that will get me going on the right track, I can trickle in more information as time permits. I am most worried about vitamin suppliments. Thanks.
Originally posted by jeff predmore: I give her some kibble, and add the raw to it.
Hey Jeff,
Congrats on your conversion. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
Don't feed the kibble with the raw food - they digest them very differently. If you want to make a gradual switch - break your dogs food into 2 meals and feed only kibble in the first and only raw in the second.
Heather (or anyone), what is the basis for worrying about the digestion times of different food products? A dog that kills a rabbit and eats it also has that same issue - the bones and hair stay in the stomach a long time, other products move much more quickly out of the stomach and more easily thru the intestine. Why is this a concern?
There seems to be a lot of varying opinons on mixing the two types of food. For years I fed a mix of homecooked, a small portion of kibble, and raw meat all in the same meal with no upsets. The stomach is only the first stage of digestion, and does not work so that the meal only passes when it is all liquified. As any part of the meal is broken down into its smaller building blocks it will pass into the intestines for absorption. Kibble does take longer to digest, but even that can be helped along by soaking the kibble for a while before feeding.
I think the idea mixing the two was a no-no came from owners who had issues of digestive upset. I can say that I did experience more gas from my dogs when I fed the two together.
Jeff, if you haven't already bought and read Natural Nutrition for Cats and Dogs, I recommend that as a good starting point. Very simple read, not an epic novel. I think I read it in an evening, cover-to-cover...
Thanks guys (actually, gals). Rest assured I did not jump into this totally ignorant. I e-mailed Cindy and she said it was OK to add the raw to the Kibble but to watch out for stomache problems. She (the dog) is doing well. Deanna, thanks! I'll keep my eyes peeled. Debbie, I've been doing it for about 3 weeks now. While her coat seems better, and energy seems higher, I don't know if its psycholigical or if thats whats really happening. One this is definitely for sure, she goes crazy when its time to eat now. Before she could care less, often skipping meals. So for that fact its worth it. Dogs are with us for a very short period of time in our lives, I think we owe it to them to make them as happy as possible. Plus I'm hoping it will make her like me more so I can get more kisses.....
I didn't do the wean off thing....just started feeding raw. The main thing to be sure and give is yogurt or probiotic.
I,too, thought I was seeing a difference because I wanted to, but now realize these diferences are for real. Wish I had taken before and after photos of my schipperke! It's amazing! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
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