# Digesting raw vs kibble



## Plushie (Aug 9, 2010)

I have heard a few times that dogs digest raw food and kibble differently, so you should feed them separately. Is this true? It seems kind of like a myth to me, I've never heard of anything scientific to back this up.
If it is true, how long should you wait between feeding raw until you can feed kibble, or vice versa? Do raw eggs also go with raw digesting? What about cooked food that's not kibble or raw meat (such as, cooked chicken, or rice), are you supposed to feed that separately too because that also digests differently, if not, what category does it fall into?


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## philovance (Jan 7, 2009)

Just feed Raw Meaty Bones apart from kibble, e.g. morning and evening. Ground raw, cooked, canned and pre-made raw are fine to offer with kibble.


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## doginthedesert (Jun 18, 2010)

There are a number of people who feed kibble for breakfast and raw for dinner. Some people would say that is a bad idea, citing what you said, but I too have never heard of any real evidence to back that up. My dog eats raw, but I use cooked training treats (I am not running into obedience class with raw chicken!) and has no problems so far that I can see.

If your dogs tolerate it fine I don't think it is a problem to feed raw one meal and kibble the next. I would think that ground raw would fit in with raw in this theory though. I thought it had to do with the PH of the food, so grinding it does not seem like it would make a difference.

As far as raw eggs, I used to crack the occasional egg over my dogs kibble and it never caused any problems, and a lot of people feed eggs as part of a raw diet. So I guess eggs can go either way?

That probably was not too helpful, but I think the bottom line is there is no hard and fast evidence to back up anything on this subject. So it is all about what your dogs stomach thinks about the whole thing I guess. What I have learned about things relating to raw is that no matter what you do someone will tell you that you are doing it absolutely wrong and need to change or your dog will be injured/unhealthy/pooping all over your house.


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## Nargle (Oct 1, 2007)

I've heard that the difference in digestion time is caused by grains in kibble vs. no grains in meat, because grains take much longer to digest, therefore the bacteria in raw meat will have longer to sit around and grow in your dogs digestive tract. However, I've always wondered about grain-free kibble and such. Does it take longer to digest? Or would it have a similar digestive-time to plain meant? Also, is there a difference between cooked meat and raw meat? I haven't had a problem feeding both raw and kibble in the same day, though. Like others have said, I usually split it into two meals, one raw and one kibble, approximately 8-12 hours apart. I've never had Basil become sick with this schedule. By the way, Basil is not fed any grains.


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## MagicRe (Jan 8, 2010)

kibble and raw have different digestion times....and if fed kibble first, then raw, it's possible, though not likely, that the raw stays in their short digestive tract longer than it should.

because your dog is fed kibble, the pH of the acid is not strong enough to break down the bacteria fast enough.....

having said that, no there is no scientific proof...but then again, other than dog food company studies...much of what we all believe is anecdotal or biased.

and having said that, i know plenty of people who mix raw and kibble....personally, i would not do it....

i would feed raw in the morning and kibble at night and give beef ribs for teeth cleaning....if the OP would want to stay on kibble and raw as a means of feeding.


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## Nallah06 (Nov 26, 2008)

The reason they say not to feed them together is because of the digestion rates, raw digests much faster where kibble sits in the stomach/bowels for quite some time. If fed together, they say, that the raw has more time to create a problem with bacteria growth. 

I HAVE fed raw and kibble mixed together, and not suffered any ill affects from it. But, I choose not to do that anymore because we are on a full raw diet. Knowing what I do now, I probably would never feed them mixed together again. 

They say 8 hours in between kibble and raw meals.


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## doginthedesert (Jun 18, 2010)

Nallah06 said:


> The reason they say not to feed them together is because of the digestion rates, raw digests much faster where kibble sits in the stomach/bowels for quite some time. If fed together, they say, that the raw has more time to create a problem with bacteria growth.


So this has me curious. I have heard this a lot, but where is the info coming from? I don't feed kibble anymore, so I guess for me it doesn't really matter, but I am always on the lookout to learn more about dog digestion. I believe it could be, but am skeptical to believe something that everyone on the internet just proclaims to be true. If raw food really does digest faster than kibble I would like to know more about it. Is it the cooking, fillers, grains, moisture, or what? What about grain free kibble, or veggie-inclusive raw diets, or home cooked, canned, or dehydrated raw.

My feeding schedule has stayed the same on raw as it was on kibble, and my dog is pooping on raw at the same time he used to poop on kibble. That is the other thing that has me skeptical. If he was digesting faster wouldn't he poop sooner after eating? I am not looking for a study or anything, just something published somewhere that explains the physiology behind it. I tried google, but nothing helpful pops up.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

Honestly it shouldn't be a problem at all. All the sled dogs that compete in Iditarod and most of the mushing dogs get a combination of cooked, raw, kibble all in once meal, for almost every meal and they are the best performers in the world going up to 60 miles every day for weeks at a time and they do perfectly fine. If you really think it's a problem then feed one for the morning, one evening but otherwise I wouldn't worry about it much.

I guess the pooping issue is because for example the dog is not going to get up in the middle of the night while it's sleeping to poop unless it really has to. Plus raw poop is so much smaller and less that perhaps they don't feel the need to poop that urgently and they are used to the schedule so they stick to it. Also, dogs hold their poop until they're let out/walked so if you let them out at the same time, they poop at the same time.


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## JessRU09 (Aug 25, 2008)

Michiyo-Fir said:


> Honestly it shouldn't be a problem at all. All the sled dogs that compete in Iditarod and most of the mushing dogs get a combination of cooked, raw, kibble all in once meal, for almost every meal and they are the best performers in the world going up to 60 miles every day for weeks at a time and they do perfectly fine. If you really think it's a problem then feed one for the morning, one evening but otherwise I wouldn't worry about it much.


I've been talking to a couple that has kept 30+ sled dogs for 20 years, and they have this sort of diet -- cooked, raw, kibble, all together. According to them, the dogs usually pick out the raw first, then come back for the kibble later on. They haven't had any problems with it, and from the looks of their dogs, I believe them. They're primarily racing line Siberians and Alaskans -- really tough pups.

I think it depends on the dog, and the variety of kibble.


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## Mr. V (Jan 28, 2010)

I've never encountered anything other than message board hearsay on this topic. If anyone has any legit literature that confirms this I'd really like to read it or at least get a link to it.


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## Northern_Inuit_Luv (Aug 26, 2009)

I've not actually read the book, but this is a quote that I took from one of the websites I have bookmarked:



> In Pat Lazarus book, "Keep Your Dog Healthy the Natural Way," under the topic of food combining he states:
> 
> "How you combine food groups can be crucial to your dog's health. Why? The digestive organs secret enzymes to break down food so it can be properly used by the body. When carbohydrates and proteins are eaten at the same time, the protein enzymes go to work first, and the digestion of carbohydrates must wait. While the carbohydrates are waiting around to be digested, they ferment and release toxins in the body.
> 
> ...


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## DJsMom (Jun 6, 2008)

Northern_Inuit_Luv said:


> In Pat Lazarus book, "Keep Your Dog Healthy the Natural Way," under the topic of food combining he states:
> 
> "How you combine food groups can be crucial to your dog's health. Why? The digestive organs secret enzymes to break down food so it can be properly used by the body. When carbohydrates and proteins are eaten at the same time, the protein enzymes go to work first, and the digestion of carbohydrates must wait. While the carbohydrates are waiting around to be digested, they ferment and release toxins in the body.
> 
> ...


That's VERY interesting stuff! Not that I'll probably change the way I feed my dogs after reading it as their's is a grain free (raw) diet, but it is very interesting to know, & it does seem to make sense.


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## Jacksons Mom (Mar 12, 2010)

I feed Jackson Primal or Stella and Chewy's raw in the morning for breakfast and Orijen/Acana kibble mixed with wet for dinner and never had any problems.


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## MagicRe (Jan 8, 2010)

food combining is practised by humans, all scientifically wrapped into a nice little bow...and there are plenty of people who live by
certain combinations or not combining as was stated above....

after a hard work out, it is recommended that protein and carbs be eaten - fruit or veggies with egg white, for example....because fat is the last to metabolyse and the body needs the energy at that moment without interference.

i suspect it's the same way as dogs...but since there's no real science to back it up, people do what seems to work....

sled dogs, for example, need heavy carbs, for endurance and long distance activity....but they also need lots of protein and fat, too...

my dogs are couch potatoes...one's a pug, one is an older corgi mix.....if i fed my dogs what sled dogs ate, they'd weigh a million pounds....so in a way, i also not combine foods...they don't get grains because they don't need that immediate carb conversion to energy....they get protein and fat...and their fat is controlled, because they don't need bunches of fat for long term activity, unless you count sleeping.

i believe that kibble has too many ingredients in it, which can interfere or slow down or compromise digestion of other things....

so, erring on the side of caution, as there is no science to truly back it up, other than thirty years of experience....having regular dogs, not sled dogs or working dogs.....i would feed kibble separate from raw...


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