Mixing raw and kibble

Conventional wisdom has dire warnings about mixing raw and kibble. I'm working my way through the heap of different reasons that people have come up with to explain why is so awful but I'd also like any first hand experiences - anyone ever tried it?

The reason for asking is that Millie is in one of her fussy moods. We were 100% raw till just over a year ago when she decided she wouldn't touch meat, so we went over to kibble which she gobbled up. Although I think the raw diet is great for dogs, being a veggie it was always a bit difficult for me so one part of me was happy with the switch for all of them.

Now Millie won't eat just kibble. She will eat beef or lamb mince, not fish, and she will have kibble mixed in. As Chaos and Nola are still on kibble, one option is to go with this. It's been 6 weeks or so and Millie's fine. She's not dropped weight, she's not put on weight, she's not had upset stomachs, she's not spontaneously combusted. The only difference I've noticed is that she's not licking her bottom so much, which she did a lot before, so I'm wondering if it actually suits her better.

Any thoughts?

I think it all depends on the individual dog.

I did hear that the standard reason for not mixing was that raw was digested quicker than kibble & it can upset the digestive tract. However, they've now found that it's the other way around!

my only reason for not mixing is that you can't guarantee that your dog is getting the right amount of nutrients. if you mix kibble & raw you obviously don't give the same amount of kibble that you would if on a kibble only diet, so SOME nutrients are missing. how can you be sure that the raw meat you add has exactly the right mix & amounts of nutrients that the extra kibble would have had?

I think I can safely say that Millie's digestive tract hasn't been upset, if anything the opposite. As well as licking her bottom less, I think she's also less farty (and I say that with more than a slight sigh of relief!).

It sounds like you've been reading the same articles as me, re the digestion rates. That was always the standard reason I heard before and it's now the first one I'm disregarding. There are also dire claims of imbalancing stomach acidity, enzymes, etc, but with no evidence that I can find.

And then there are sensible sounding people like this

http://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/mixing-fresh-food-with-kibble/

Re the nutrient levels, that's actually the main reason for adding the kibble and not feeding her straight raw. The kibble (Millie's Wolfheart) should go at least part way to supplementing the nutrient levels of the meat.

I am a fairly 'wing it' person when it comes to feeding. I don't weigh, I judge by how my dogs look, and I have never sat and worked out exact ratios of things even when they were all fed straight raw. I think we animal owners can get over-obsessed with fine detail for them, while we stuff our faces with all sorts of crap!

There's just this niggle in the back of my mind that the myth of mixing foods might have something in it that could come back and bite Millie's cute little bum later down the line, which of course would not be good!

Gus is on raw but still has treats that aren't raw. We've not had any problems yet.

Would the ancient rule of not mixing raw and kibble be due to people alternating raw and kibble during feed times and hence mixing longer and shorter digestion, which can certainly do funny things to digestion ? This because people don't know how much to give so go raw portion for one meal and kibble portion, thinking the meals remain balanced.

I would have thought that as you're mixing both at each meal, it is much more balanced in nutrients, as well as digestion considerations.

If it's any help, my first cat used to eat whatever he caught and lots of kibble together. He was a magnificent cat and everyone said so

At the end of the day, can't see how mix of raw and quality kibble can ever be as bad as bad kibble/tinned food ?

i think it mostly comes down to how your individual dog looks & acts. If your dog is lively, bright & healthy then you're obviously doing something right!

Go with what works at the time! I think too many dogs are fed the exact same thing for their whole life...i don't think any kibble/wet/raw will give any dog everything it needs for life unless they are varied now and then. A banned member im sure a few know who i am talking about had the raw thing sussed...every meal was different, had different nutrients, different supplements etc...but also fed kibble if the dogs had a poor day or just chicken and rice. Sometimes not staying the same is better.

The concept is nice, hell I wouldn't want to eat the same meals for the rest if my life !
But don't you risk creating a fussy dog by changing the food as much ?
And what about tummy upsets ? Is a dog equipped to deal with as much chop and changing of the diet ?

I personally think the canine stomach is equipped much better than we think. I wouldn't be surprised if the 'stick with one food and gradual change' comes from pet food manufacturers - it's in their interest to hook you. Plus, we don't half like to spend ages worrying about our dogs and trying to do the best for them!

I know feral dogs can have all sorts of problems, including starvation, but by and large they get by eating what they find. And I'm sure they're not picky! I'm sure you could teach a dog to be picky if you allowed it to turn its nose up at a lesser food in favour of something hot and yummy but giving different raw foods and kibble shouldn't if you handle it right. Having said that, Millie is one of the funniest dogs with food (not ha ha ha) and when she goes off something she's actually become afraid of it, hiding and shaking. Most of the time, if you give her meaty bone she'll carry it around for several hours until either she eats it or until one of the others gets it. I've given up trying to understand our Mills!

Lexi was never fussy in her life, would chow down anything and eat her own dry kibble then attempt to eat the other two dogs kibble if they had not yet finished. Literally the day they died she stopped eating kibble, and of course we gave her a bit of leeway for grief, but she never since that day has eaten dry kibble again. She HAS to get something mixed in (or did before she was put onto no kibble at all diet)

What I give to my staffy cross is one handful of dry food and one handful of beefheart twice a day. She is 4 years old and is in perfect condition.I give her fairly expensive dry food, ie no grains etc. I do this because my two previous staffies died one with cushens disease and one with cancer, and I really suspect it might have been due in part to the cheap foods.More so I hear of many Staffies having cancer, and I suspect it might be food related. Nevertheless I will now only buy the best food I can, in the long run its cheaper than vet fees.

as far as I know, Cushings disease is NOT related to food.

However, many other conditions are, including hyperactivity & some cancers.

Feed the best you can afford & you shouldn't go far wrong.

I’ve just been reading an interesting article on things that can be added to kibble meals, including the debate on mixing raw with kibble.

https://therawfeedingcommunity.com/2017/02/12/simple-ways-to-improve-your-dogs-kibble/

They also say there’s no proof it isn’t good

That's a helpful and sensible article! Isn't it odd how these myths develop and then perpetuate, with most of us innocently accepting for years.

Does this mean you're thinking about some raw for Nifty?

Interesting article, thanks for posting!

I just want what’s best for Nifty.
I came across the site whilst trying to understand what raw is all about.
They even did an article about kibble, admitting that not everyone can do raw.

I do like to keep an open mind and whilst I can’t see us going full raw in the near future, I like the idea of adding some to kibble for Nifty’s pleasure and well-being

The thing is, not every dog or every owner can do raw.

When it comes down to it, what's best for you and your dog is right!