# Dog Food and Real Food Mixed. Is that OK?



## bella_2009 (Dec 23, 2010)

Hello, 
I have a 13 months old female Cane Corso. I have tried different Dog Food Brands but she does not like to eat her dry food. She would starve and not eat it, and i dont want her to loose weight. So i decided to give her Dog Food mixed with real home food (cooked), meat, soupe etc... and now she eats well. But is that OK for my dog?

Also, is it ok to give her coocked (boiled) big bones (not baked)? She loves them?


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## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

I don't see the harm in adding cooked meat/soups to her food - as long as you realize you run the risk of creating a fussy eater. One day she may turn her nose up at her food even though you have added in the extra 'treats'. Be prepared for that - what will you do then?

Regarding the bones - NEVER give boiled/cooked/baked bones. Raw bones only.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Here is a guideline on what sort of thing to try. http://www.dogaware.com/diet/freshfoods.html
I went from kibble to cooked to raw without using fresh food with kibble but understand that you can substitute up to about 25% fresh food calories for kibble calories without needing to worry about an unbalanced diet. If he gets 4 cups of 400 calories per cup food a day then you could give up to 400 calories of fresh food along with 3 cups of kibble for instance. 

Try raw beef bones. 38 pound raw fed Max is getting three raw beef ribs left in a mini rack for Christmas dinner, 20 pound Artie kibble fed is getting one. Or pig feet left whole. Or whole pork or lamb bones. A bone needs to either be safe to break up and swallow or well covered with meat so the dog is full and doesn't want to try to break the hard bone and eat it.


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## john47 (Apr 5, 2010)

adding human food to dog food will create a fussy eater. a dog will not starve themselves. i would give him his food. if he dosen't eat it within 10 minutes take it away and he gets nothing untill his next feeding time. it may take 2 or 3 days of this but he will soon catch on and he will eat when he gets hungry enough. also no treats untill you know that he is going to gobble up all his food. don't give in to him. this does work, it just takes time and patience. and don't over feed.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Artie is kibble fed and I mix in bits of meat sometimes and give him a raw meal every once in a while and no fussy eating but he wasn't fussy to begin with. He got a giant beef rib last night, kibble this morning and was trying to con me out of more kibble when I got up!

Young adolescent dogs are lanky as most of the skeletal growth is done but the muscles haven't developed yet. The fat layer is actually just fine. You may be forcing too much food and she isn't that hungry.

Adding fresh food is good for dogs but as john47 wrote it might be for forever! Even scraping out your leftover scrambled egg along with some water is probably good enough if you are strapped for time and/or money some days though.


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## bella_2009 (Dec 23, 2010)

Loki Love - Well, i dont know what would i do... am doing this bcz she doesnt eat well when only dry food. 
What the difference, why not boiled, cooked bones but raw?

John47 - tried to take her food away, when she refuses to eat, and than next day she eats some, but not enough... only maybe half of what she should be taking a day. I did that for days. And than i see her loosing weight, and i feel bad about it so I start giving human food mixed with her dry food.


Kathyy, am sorry but i dont understund your comment (my english isnt that good) BUT thank you for trying to help me.


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## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

bella_2009 said:


> Loki Love - Well, i dont know what would i do... am doing this bcz she doesnt eat well when only dry food. I tried to take her food away, when she refuses to eat, and than next day she eats some, but not enought... only maybe half of what she should be taking a day. I did that for days. And that i see her loosing weight, and i feel bad about it so I start giving human food mixed with her dry food.
> 
> Kathyy, am sorry but i dont understund your comment (my english isnt that good) BUT thank you for trying to help me.


I can completely sympathize with what you're going through. My Loki is a fussy eater (and even worse because we catered to it!). He would eat well with some add ins and then start turning his nose up at it. It got to the point that it didn't matter what we added to his kibble.. it just wasn't interesting enough for him to eat it. He lost weight.. and is still underweight.

We have finally switched to raw and I can tell you that he hasn't skipped a meal yet and is actually excited to eat. I'm not sure if that's an option for you?


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## bella_2009 (Dec 23, 2010)

And yes, i know its probably a bad habit giving human/real food and dog food, for so many reasons, money wise, time etc bcz now i have to buy her food plus cook for her when theres no left overs... but is it bad for her health, thats my biggest concern?



Loki Love said:


> I can completely sympathize with what you're going through. My Loki is a fussy eater (and even worse because we catered to it!). He would eat well with some add ins and then start turning his nose up at it. It got to the point that it didn't matter what we added to his kibble.. it just wasn't interesting enough for him to eat it. He lost weight.. and is still underweight.
> 
> We have finally switched to raw and I can tell you that he hasn't skipped a meal yet and is actually excited to eat. I'm not sure if that's an option for you?


Your saying you switchet to raw meat, mixing with dog food or just raw meat?
And what about Bones, why only Raw Bones?


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## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

bella_2009 said:


> Your saying you switchet to raw meat, mixing with dog food or just raw meat?
> And what about Bones, why only Raw Bones?


Yes, I switched to raw meat only - no more dog food. Cooked bones are dried out during the cooking process which leaves them very brittle and dangerous for a dog to eat (the sharp ends can puncture the intestinal walls/stomach etc). Bones that are raw are much softer and safer for dogs to eat and digest.


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## bella_2009 (Dec 23, 2010)

Loki Love said:


> Yes, I switched to raw meat only - no more dog food. Cooked bones are dried out during the cooking process which leaves them very brittle and dangerous for a dog to eat (the sharp ends can puncture the intestinal walls/stomach etc). Bones that are raw are much softer and safer for dogs to eat and digest.


Ok, now i understund why raw bones, but why raw meat? Isnt meat safer when is cooked?
I cannot effort to buy meet to feed my Bella everyday.


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## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

bella_2009 said:


> Ok, now i understund why raw bones, but why raw meat? Isnt meat safer when is cooked?
> I cannot effort to buy meet to feed my Bella everyday.


Cooked meat may be safer for humans, but a dogs digestive tract is much different than ours. They can handle raw meat and in fact, it's a much more natural way of feeding (although, still debatable to some). There are lots of websites that go into more details about the benefits of raw feeding, my favourite in particular is : http://preymodelraw.com/


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## bella_2009 (Dec 23, 2010)

Bella is crazy for bones, but till now i have her cooked bones, now when i know that is very dangerous i dont give her anymore.
Last night i gave her raw bone, she didnt even wanted to touch it. This morning i found the bone untouched.
So, what i did is i took the bone, and put on boiled water for only about 7-8 minutes. Gave it to her, and shes eating it. Is that still ok? do you think for only 7-8 minutes cooking is is still dangerous?


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## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

bella_2009 said:


> So, what i did is i took the bone, and put on boiled water for only about 7-8 minutes. Gave it to her, and shes eating it. Is that still ok? do you think for only 7-8 minutes cooking is is still dangerous?


Yes, still dangerous.


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## bella_2009 (Dec 23, 2010)

Loki Love said:


> Yes, still dangerous.


I guess no bones for my Bella 
better safe than sorry.
thank you very much for yuor help.


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## philovance (Jan 7, 2009)

john47 said:


> adding human food to dog food will create a fussy eater. a dog will not starve themselves.


I've often heard this said but for the two dogs and six cats I've fed this hasn't been true. For myself I can't imagine feeding a kibble only diet for any length of time. I think that the fact that some dogs seem to "thrive" on a kibble only diet is more attributable to dogs' adaptability in general and the specific dog's genes than any inherent quality in kibble. It just makes sense to supplement a grain-laden heat damaged commercial food product that includes a relatively small percentage of mystery meat with recognizable nourishing fresh foods, cooked or raw. However, I agree that uneaten food should be picked up after a short while even if it means the dogs skips an occasional meal. This has never been a problem with either of my dogs; they eat what they're given so quicky I often haven't had time to open a can of cat food before they're done.


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## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

philovance said:


> It just makes sense to supplement a grain-laden heat damaged commercial food product that includes a relatively small percentage of mystery meat with recognizable nourishing fresh foods, cooked or raw.


You can find quality kibble that is not filled with grains now and is actually a high percentage of 'real' meat (as opposed to anything mysterious). Would you still supplement that kind of kibble with fresh foods, cooked or raw?


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

Loki Love said:


> You can find quality kibble that is not filled with grains now and is actually a high percentage of 'real' meat (as opposed to anything mysterious). Would you still supplement that kind of kibble with fresh foods, cooked or raw?


<G> I do  I've added eggs, yogurt, rice, meat, and vegetables to plain, high-quality kibble before. 
I don't think my dogs have ever had the "same" meal twice in the past couple of years, and they're far from picky or fussy. Dude went through a period where he WAS picky, but the more variety of fresh stuff I add, the less picky he got. Time was he wouldn't touch yogurt; now he gobbles it down like it's going out of style. But then again, he _is_ a little weird...
My real hope is that anyone who researches enough to realize it's not a complete sin to add fresh foods to their dogs's kibble will re-evaluate their food choice, and if they can do better, they will.


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## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

LazyGRanch713 said:


> <G> I do  I've added eggs, yogurt, rice, meat, and vegetables to plain, high-quality kibble before.
> I don't think my dogs have ever had the "same" meal twice in the past couple of years, and they're far from picky or fussy. Dude went through a period where he WAS picky, but the more variety of fresh stuff I add, the less picky he got.
> My real hope is that anyone who researches enough to realize it's not a complete sin to add fresh foods to their dogs's kibble will re-evaluate their food choice, and if they can do better, they will.


I'm completely envious then! Loki became ridiculously fussy. The more we switched things up, the fussier he would become. We have finally given up on kibble altogether and switched to raw because we aren't convinced he'll ever eat kibble properly!


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## philovance (Jan 7, 2009)

Loki Love said:


> You can find quality kibble that is not filled with grains now and is actually a high percentage of 'real' meat (as opposed to anything mysterious). Would you still supplement that kind of kibble with fresh foods, cooked or raw?


Yes. No kibbled commercial food will ever be as nutritrious as a diet comprised of fresh whole foods. It may be convenient, adequate, and far more suitable for a particular owner's budget and way of life than feeding raw or homecooked. But I believe a thoughtful mix of kibble, canned, homecooked and raw is possible for most people and better for most dogs. I always say, "Better to feed a rotation of middle-of-the-road kibbles along with fresh foods than to feed the 'best' grainless kibble exclusively." At a minimum, protein sources within the chosen "ultra-premium" kibble ine should be rotated. Nature's Variety and Wysong are to be commended for promoting this approach, although I appreciate that individual owners may not share my enthusiasm for the foods themselves.


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## Shandwill (Jul 23, 2010)

If you are going to feed kibble, you may be able to entice your dog by pouring 4-6 ounces of warm water over the food before offering it to her. One of my dogs turned his nose up at his food until I did this. It releases/intensifies the smell of the food, and he can no longer resist!  Good luck!


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## bella_2009 (Dec 23, 2010)

Thanx to everyone for sharing... even though so many different opinions but this is the way to learn i guess... I will try some of ur suggestions.


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