Hi, All-

I just wondered about whether cooked add-ins are a good supplement w/a kibble diet. My dog will be on Orijen dog food as soon as my order gets here. In the meantime, he's on Canidae until then. I saw Connie said cooked add-ins were ok for dogs who ate Honest Kitchen, if the owners weren't ready to go raw (I don't remember where I saw her post). Anyway, is the same true for dogs eating a kibble diet?

I've been giving Kodee a scrambled egg once in a while, with his salmon oil on top (he isn't a huge fan of the oil, it seems). I also have given him a little bit of cooked chicken breast here or there (if that's what I'm cooking for dinner). I give it unseasoned of course, no breading or anything. I won't give cooked bones, of course, but other meat/maybe dairy, if it's ok. I was thinking about getting some plain yogurt when I go to the store.

Are add-ins ok w/kibble diet? If so, how much, and do I need to feed it separately from the kibble, like I would w/raw? If separate, I would probably give it as a snack in the middle of the day, as I don't plan on giving him enough to make a whole meal, and he may not get add-ins on a daily basis. Last question - this may sound dumb, but if he ate an egg everyday, I don't need to worry about cholesterol in a dog, do I??? (I'm embarrassed to even ask, but I feel I should).

Thanks for you input!!!

No, cholesterol is not a problem for dogs, who do get some kinds of heart disease but not the arterial disease that humans get.

I believe that both fresh foods and variety are very important. I don't agree with people who maintain that dogs should never get "people food."

Food is food.

I think that a kibble diet is improved with fresh food. I think you're fine.

About dairy: Dogs tolerate fermented dairy well (like yogurt), but regular milk is probably a bad idea.

You don't want to give significant amounts of boneless meats (so as not to overdo phosphorous with no calcium), but by "significant" I mean something like a third of his meal on a regular basis. I'm sure that's not what you meant.

I also think that real bits of meat are a far superior treat to the pet-store varieties.

JMO.

P.S. I think plain yogurt with live active cultures (probiotics) is a good thing.

Thanks, Connie! Today I gave him some plain yogurt (about 1 Tbsp. w/live active cultures) and cooked ground beef, and he went nuts. I hate the idea of feeding the same thing (kibble) to a dog every meal of their life w/no variety. I appreciate your advice! (And so does Kodee!). LOL!

Good deal.

It's not possible to cover all the nutritional bases with the same food every meal for life. It would be like us choosing one meal and a multi-vitamin and deciding to eat it three times a day forever.

JMO.

 Quote: connie sutherland

Good deal.

It's not possible to cover all the nutritional bases with the same food every meal for life. It would be like us choosing one meal and a multi-vitamin and deciding to eat it three times a day forever.

JMO.

Or we could always just start eating "People Chow" since, according to the so-called "experts" we are incapable of putting together reasonably balanced meals for our dogs and should only feed commercial dog foods and nothing else. If we can't do it for our dogs how can we possibly feed ourselves correctly? LOL

And, thank you, Connie for saying food is food. That is my mantra everytime someone goes on about not feeding dogs "people food". Food is food. Some is good for your dog (or you) and some is not.

Edited by Elaine Haynes (10/24/2007 10:30 PM)
Edit reason: missed an end quote.