barry581 (01-25-2018)
HELLO EVERYONE - It's been a long time since I've posted anything on this board. I hope there are still some people that remember me/recognize my name!!!
A quick refresher in case no one knows who I am, my black lab Dexter is healthy and well. I joke and tell him that he is now "retired"...even though training and work with a dog for us will never truly end. We were very active in obedience, agility, rally which was all for fun...he worked as an amazing search and rescue dog as well. I was also active in training other dogs, and some protection work. We are no longer doing these things for a few various reasons. I have a new job an hour and thirty minutes from home, which doesn't leave me much time to do those things with him anymore. Luckily, he does still come to work with me a few times per week. We also now have a lake house which we frequent over weekends...this is about 3 hours from home...but this provides him with a large property, a swimming pool, and a lake to swim in.
Dexter has been on the same dry food for the last 4 years with no issues. He has always had nice strong teeth, a healthy coat, and most important healthy weight. I have been thinking about supplementing his dry food diet with a RAW diet a few meals per week. I was hoping for some feedback from other people who feed a RAW diet, as I'm honestly not experienced enough with RAW diets as my knowledge is very basic, and I wouldn't feel comfortable making those kids of decisions on my own.
barry581 (01-25-2018)
No advice, bit nice to see you again!
xracer4844 (01-26-2018)
Same here...definitely remember Dexter.
We have raw feeders...you should get some input.
xracer4844 (01-26-2018)
Hello,glad you are back. I am no expert, but have read that you should not do dry food then raw, then go back to dry. The foods digest at different rates and it takes some time for the digestive system to become effective at using the nutrients in the different foods. There are probably some info in the diet forum.
Beth C (06-18-2018), xracer4844 (01-26-2018)
HAH i tottally just realized I posted this in the wrong threads...for puppies...AND I see that there is a section for RAW! Silly me
I have heard that you can change kibble for some meals, raw for other meals, just not both the SAME meal. But there are lots of things you can do other than raw. Being on the same kibble for 4 years is probably boring. Though they'll eat anything. How about changing up the proteins? If you buy lamb, get fish. A lot of the foods these days, you can change up the flavors easily within brands. Or you can use your crock pot to make a fresh topper (ground beef or chicken, sweet potatoes, spinach, apples, blueberries, grated zucchini) and put a spoon on top of kibble.
Jen
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xracer4844 (01-26-2018)
Thanks JenC - I think this is the way I'm going to go...just do toppers a couple of times per week. Honestly, I've only been reluctant to change his food because he never hesitates to eat, his health and weight have been excellent, so perhaps toppers on top of his food two to three times per week is the better route to go for what I'm looking to accomplish!
When I switched to raw, I tossed kibble completely. I have no experience with mixing these two (what are your reasons?) but if you need advice on raw feeding only I'm here. There are a few raw feeding philosophies, the one that agrees most with me is BARF (with added fruits and veggies). I've been a raw feeder for 5 years now and have had great results with it, I'd never go back to kibble (fed kibble -different brands - for 6.5 years).
Cookie Black Snowflake
July 12th, 2006. - May 25th, 2023.
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SunDance (01-26-2018), xracer4844 (01-26-2018)
When we went raw the thinking was changing from do not mix kibble and raw to studies supposedly showing that the digestion rates didn't matter and were actually the reverse of what was thought. I never did understand why it mattered, all food digests at different rates. It's not like the food takes a number, like at the butcher shop, and has to sit in the stomach waiting it's turn to pass through. However circumstances dictated we didn't test the theory either way. But I do now, and always did, throw some raw in with kibble and with no upset. A recent google did bring up this and it seems well thought out and presented but the lack of sources on the critical part bothers me.
Mixing Kibble With Raw? Heres the Problem ... - Dogs Naturally Magazine
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Castilleja's Dubhgall Oban, the Black Stranger of The Little Bay
Oct. 15, 2007 - June 13, 2021
Oxtongue Rapids Park. Oct. 2019 Hidden Content
xracer4844 (01-29-2018)
One of my vets (long time lab breeder, retired now from breeding) posted this on FB the other day. NEWStat | New study: dont feed pets raw meat
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The WindyCanyon Girls (taken Summer 2018)
IntCH WindyCanyon's Northern Spy CDX RA JH OA OAJ CC (14.5 yrs)
IntCH WindyCanyon's Ruby Pink BN CD RA CC (4.5 yrs)
IntCH WindyCanyon's Kanzi BN CDX RE JH (5 yrs)
IntCH WindyCanyon ItsOnlyMoneyHoneycrisp BN RN CC (16mos)
IntCH WindyCanyon's Pippin BN RI CC (2.5 yrs)IntCH WindyCanyon's Envy CDX RE JH CC (10.5 yrs)
IntCH HIT WindyCanyon's Kiku A Fuji Too CDX RE JH CC (10 yrs)
xracer4844 (01-29-2018)
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