Yes, you can feed both kibble and raw. We know that this is a controversial topic for many people, as generally speaking kibble and raw digest differently. For this reason, many people suggest avoiding feeding both at the same time, and would suggest separating the meals.
We have studied the various research and also conducted our own customer polling and trials to determine that every dog is unique and individual needs vary. What may work well for one, may not be the best choice for your dog or cat. In the end, we have decided that it would be better that dogs and cats have even some fresh raw food in their diet than none at all.
If you choose to feed both dry and raw together may we make the following suggestions:
- Choose the best high quality dry dog food you can find.
- Do a trial of feeding exclusively 100% raw food first. This will help strengthen the digestive system and make it more capable of deriving the full nutrients out of a raw food diet.
- The true benefits of feeding raw are not as noticeable when feeding raw less than 20% of the entire diet. If you want better results, such as smaller stools, less shedding, fresher breath and no odours, it may be necessary to switch to 100% raw.
- If your dog or cat starts to experience digestive upset including vomiting or diarrhea, we would suggest feeding the meals alternatively e.g. morning raw and evening dry food. You can also alternate days, 1 day dry and 1 day raw.
My dog has no interests in having “breakfast” and will eat less food per day then he should. I started adding 1/3 of a lb of raw with his 2 cups of kibble in the morning. This has helped him gobble it up first thing in the am and now he eats his other 2 cups at around 3:00 and 2 more cups at 6:00.- those not being mixed with raw. It this ok for my dog’s digestion? Or am I hurting him by adding this?
How has this been working for you? Sounds good for a plan.
My dog is the same way. Some days I feed her raw with some biscuits or grain/fruit/veggie-based treats later on, and other days she eats raw + kibble meals separately. Sometimes even in the same meal, which causes her tummy to make noises but so far she isn’t in any pain..
We’ve had trouble on a strict raw diet in the past, so some kibble is still good for my pup
I have a one pound tea cup pom chi, these dogs need smaller portions up to 6 feedings a day and I can not leave the raw sitting that long, anyone know if I can give a freeze dried raw and leave it out for his lunch feeding as it would be sitting for approx 6 hours
Karen. Yes you can leave out freeze dried food for your fur baby
I have a very active 10lbs chihuahua. I started by giving him the raw only for a couple of days. Once in the morning and once before bed. Lots of organic treats in between. He seemed hungry so I started leaving very high quality kibble out for him but he rarely touches it. It seems to be working wonders for him. He had a digestive issue prior that’s been gone since the switch.