# Adding raw meats to kibble



## Masterjedi688 (Apr 27, 2009)

I'm thinking of adding some raw food to my dog's food Natural Balance. I'm not going to switch him to RAW completely, but I'd like to add some RAW meats to his diet. Benji is only about 18 pounds. I plan on adding only chicken gizzards and hearts to his diet. Doing this half and half diet is fine? Are there any others here who do the half and half diet for there dogs?


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## Erin2854 (Feb 23, 2011)

I feed all raw but I do know alot of people who do it half and half. Any raw is def better than no raw at all!! My only suggestion would be not to feed rawand kibble together at the same meal. Raw and kibble digest at different rates, so I've heard it's best to serve them at least 5 hours apart from eachother. I'm sure some people feed them together and it's fine, but I know thats supposed to be the general rule.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

If you do 50/50 it is best to balance the diet with a bit of bone and organ or you risk unbalancing the diet. And 50% by calories, not weight or cup measure. 26 calories per ounce for gizzards, 46 for hearts.

People have always mixed raw and cooked food. It works fine for some and is a disaster for others. Whatever you decide go slow, one more bit of fresh stuff a day. I would think your dog would just pick out the fresh chicken. I would attempt to grind them together and add with a little water so the kibbles get good and smelly too. Or if the dog's digestion doesn't like raw and kibble together use the fresh stuff for training or treats away from normal meals.


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## Masterjedi688 (Apr 27, 2009)

Kathyy said:


> If you do 50/50 it is best to balance the diet with a bit of bone and organ or you risk unbalancing the diet. And 50% by calories, not weight or cup measure. 26 calories per ounce for gizzards, 46 for hearts.
> 
> People have always mixed raw and cooked food. It works fine for some and is a disaster for others. Whatever you decide go slow, one more bit of fresh stuff a day. I would think your dog would just pick out the fresh chicken. I would attempt to grind them together and add with a little water so the kibbles get good and smelly too. Or if the dog's digestion doesn't like raw and kibble together use the fresh stuff for training or treats away from normal meals.


I fed him chicken wings along with his kibble today for dinner and no gizzards or hearts. I chopped up 1 wing into like 4 small pieces and he devoured it and his kibble. I don't think I should have given him 4 small pieces. I should have given him only like 2 instead. He really enjoyed munching on the meat and bones. Will see how it goes tonight and tomorrow when I take him out for his potty breaks. I'm hoping everything turns out ok. I still have fears about adding some raw meat to his diet. Can you give me some more advice to calm my fears please?

Would it be better to boil the chicken a bit because of my concerns for bacteria like salmonella?


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## Erin2854 (Feb 23, 2011)

What are your fears? If you are worried about salmonella, it's VERY rare for a dog to get it. ROP for info to ease your mind
http://www.rawfed.com/myths/bacteria.html


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## BobSD (Feb 1, 2008)

I read it some where, some time ago, and cannot remember exactly how it goes, but they said that dogs that are fed kibble there natual body enzymes are dormant, there is no real food to digest only this dry kibble, so when you change to real meat, chicken etc, the natual enzymes start to rediscover themselves, but mixing the is not a good idea, because the digestive system cannot go back and forth with out problems occuring. I would not do it.


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## katielou (Apr 29, 2010)

I wouldn't feed raw with kibble.
I know some people say its fine and others don't but i have seen trouble come from it.

If you want to feed 50/50 feed raw in the morning and kibble in the evening.


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## Masterjedi688 (Apr 27, 2009)

Today was and is the last day I'll be feeding Raw food to my dog. From now on I will boil the chicken meat without the bones in it. This is starting to scare me and confuse me. Thanks for the input everyone.


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## FilleBelle (Aug 1, 2007)

There's nothing to be scared of. What, exactly, is your fear?


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## momof3 (Nov 24, 2007)

I was a little taken a back at first with the whole idea. Especially when I wanted to do strictly raw but I just took it slowly and started with raw being treats,now I offer raw or cooked for 1 meal a day and kibble for the other. Lots of times I just cook some chicken thighs with bones, then debone once its cooked and I put the bones in the compost. I use the broth as a gravy for the kibble and I use the skin and meat as the meal or I will boil some rice and add cooked hamburger or turkey,maybe add and egg maybe not. I am also not super stict on myself about the exact amounts of this or that, might not be the true proper way to do it but its working for us.


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## Masterjedi688 (Apr 27, 2009)

FilleBelle said:


> There's nothing to be scared of. What, exactly, is your fear?


I've decided not to feed raw mixed with kibble or raw completely. I'll boil the chicken and add it to his kibble instead.


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## Wimble Woof (Jan 16, 2007)

Remove the bone if you are boiling it. Cooked bones are far more scary then anything to do with raw.
Some people really like to complicate raw feeding by getting extremely technical.
As a treat raw here and there is not going to cause you any problems and you really dont have to worry about unbalancing the diet ( how balanced are jerky treats right?)
We do not eat completely balanced every day so it will NOT harm your dog to be a little unbalanced once and a while. I dont balance every meal every day. I feed completely bizzare compared to how other raw feeders feed and its been working for 5 years.
Sorry you got worried about raw, it happens to many.
Salmonella really doesnt stand much of a chance in a dogs digestive system, my dogs will bury their chicken and dig it up a few days later... if that doesnt scream bacteria I dont know what would. 
Since you are now going to cook meats many of the benefits of home feeding will be reduced but all in all, its better for your dog than kibble. Just remember biggest thing with cooked is NO bones.


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## Masterjedi688 (Apr 27, 2009)

Wimble Woof said:


> Remove the bone if you are boiling it. Cooked bones are far more scary then anything to do with raw.
> Some people really like to complicate raw feeding by getting extremely technical.
> As a treat raw here and there is not going to cause you any problems and you really dont have to worry about unbalancing the diet ( how balanced are jerky treats right?)
> We do not eat completely balanced every day so it will NOT harm your dog to be a little unbalanced once and a while. I dont balance every meal every day. I feed completely bizzare compared to how other raw feeders feed and its been working for 5 years.
> ...


Thanks Wimble Woof and EORE(your avatar LOL). I do remove the bones after boiling them. As for the bacteria/salmonella, I know dogs hav a high level of Hydrochloric Acid in the digestive tracts and a ph of 1% I think. I'm still giving him kibble along with the boiled chicken mixed. Sooner or later, I'll add some other stuff like chicken hearts and gizzards and some turkey.


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## FilleBelle (Aug 1, 2007)

Masterjedi688 said:


> I've decided not to feed raw mixed with kibble or raw completely. I'll boil the chicken and add it to his kibble instead.


Which, of course, didn't answer my question. 

I would say that cooking the chicken would tend to reduce the benefits of feeding it, so it would seem to me that you're going to go through the trouble of cooking and deboning chicken for a result that is going to be fairly similar to that which you would obtain from a high protein, grain free kibble and a can of Merrick's Wingaling. 

Perhaps if you told us what your concerns are, we could suggest a route that would preserve the benefit of feeding chicken without freaking you out.


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## MagicRe (Jan 8, 2010)

gosh, maybe you'd best start feeding cooked food for your dog. there have been more reported cases of salmonella and e. coli from kibble than from raw.


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## JuneBud (Feb 17, 2010)

Not to say it's not true for some or many dogs, but I can't get my mind around the thought that different kinds of food cannot be mixed in the same meal. Do dogs who can eat carrion in the wild actually have "sensitive" digestive systems? Just wondering out loud.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I wonder that as well JuneBud!

If a dog has been fed the same food for years on end then adding a can of sardines will put the gut into a tailspin. We read of outraged consumers when a dog food company dares to change a formula and the dogs get sick - those changes are minute.

If you want to add fresh to kibble, GOOD! But do it bit by bit. I introduced raw liver to Max in toothpick sized bits when he had happily been eating liver cookies for years. If I mixed raw egg with kibble I would probably make scrambled eggs for the family and scrape the egg left on the mixing bowl into the dog's kibble so he got about 1/4 a whole egg at most.

And substitute kibble calorie for fresh food calorie. If Max eats 600 calories a day and I ADD a fresh egg I might be adding 80 calories. Doesn't sound like much but if he has consistantly been eating the same amount and all of a sudden he is getting 113% his usual he might have soft stool.


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