# Large Kibble vs. Small Kibble



## jade5280 (Feb 20, 2013)

I decided to try By Nature dog food because I haven't been able to find anything that agrees with Ryker's stomach. The kibbles are teeny tiny, like cat food size. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to small kibble size? I was thinking maybe they could choke on it if they inhaled it, but wouldn't smaller kibble be harder to choke on? 

I was just very surprised by the size difference between this kibble and the huge Farmina kibbles that we were feeding.


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## DGerry (Sep 12, 2014)

I honestly don't know, but my guess is that smaller kibble is easier to digest for dogs who refuse to chew. As for choking, I'm really not sure. Some kibbles just seem to be fairly large while others are quite small. At first I thought maybe it was a puppy food thing but the puppy version of Performatrin Ultra has kibble almost the same size as the adult version; They're thinner, but still the same basic size.


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## jade5280 (Feb 20, 2013)

DGerry said:


> I honestly don't know, but my guess is that smaller kibble is easier to digest for dogs who refuse to chew. As for choking, I'm really not sure. Some kibbles just seem to be fairly large while others are quite small. At first I thought maybe it was a puppy food thing but the puppy version of Performatrin Ultra has kibble almost the same size as the adult version; They're thinner, but still the same basic size.


Thanks. I've been feeding it for a couple days and it doesn't seem to make a difference with how fast they eat it.


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## Damon'sMom (Aug 2, 2011)

I know that some dogs just prefer smaller kibble. Mason will refuse to eat larger kibble, even now at 4 months old. I really doubt he will ever eat "normal" or large kibbles.  

I hope this food does well for Ryker's tummy.  What kind of issues were you having with other kibbles?


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## gingerkid (Jul 11, 2012)

Larger kibble _might_ be better for their teeth because the hard surface of the kibble will surround more of the tooth, but I'm not entirely sure if the "kibble is better for teeth" thing isn't a myth anyway (at least for non-dental-formula kibbles).

While Snowball doesn't care, I personally like smaller kibbles because it means I get more rewards for training out of one meal.


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## Kyllobernese (Feb 5, 2008)

I know Susie who is a big dog seems to choke on the really small kibble. I think maybe because she takes a mouthful of it, it is harder for her to chew it up enough before she tries to swallow it.


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## jade5280 (Feb 20, 2013)

Damon'sMom said:


> I know that some dogs just prefer smaller kibble. Mason will refuse to eat larger kibble, even now at 4 months old. I really doubt he will ever eat "normal" or large kibbles.
> 
> I hope this food does well for Ryker's tummy.  What kind of issues were you having with other kibbles?


He always has inconsistent stools. It's off/on between solid and diarrhea. We've done 2 fecals to rule out any parasites. I add a small spoonful of pumpkin to his food and this helps a lot, but I feel like I shouldn't HAVE to add it in order for him to have normal poop. I've tried all TOTW flavors, Solid Gold Wolf King, Innova, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance LID duck, Farmina low grain, and now the By Nature pork and sweet potato. It's too early to tell if it is any better since I just started transitioning. 



Kyllobernese said:


> I know Susie who is a big dog seems to choke on the really small kibble. I think maybe because she takes a mouthful of it, it is harder for her to chew it up enough before she tries to swallow it.


Yeah I was a little worried that they may just inhale it like a vacuum. So far it seems okay though.


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## R3DOGS (Jun 29, 2014)

*I find that with my dogs small kibble is easier to digest than large kibble . The kibble they are eating now is the size of cat food kibble .. I always add a little warm water and never had a problem with choking ..*


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