Raw food plus kibble?

[Gueschic]

Hello all!

My name is Monique and i am a proud owner of a 14wk pup named Memphis Blue! When I brought him home I automatically started him on a raw diet. Pre-ground and frozen. The company is called bones and co. I did notice my pup was on the thinner side after a few weeks. My vet said it’s difficult to control weight of a pup since they’re growing etc. however, I was getting concerned because he was looking really lean. I bought zignature, limited ingredient for him and started mixing it in with the raw chicken. When Memphis was only on the raw diet he would have 2 stools a day max. It has been 4 days on the kibble raw mix and I wake up to 5-6 stools in his exercise pen just over night. The stools are soft and formed. Should I stop the kibble? Should I give him more time to get used to it?? Or should I switch to another brand all together? All opinions welcomed! Thank you!!

 

[Honeys Owners]

Congratulations on your beautiful new pup ! He's gorgeous. I would add a teaspoon of canned pumpkin ( not the pie filling one ) to each meal for a week . Also, give one meal as raw food and the other meal as the Zignature. It's thought that raw and kibble are digested at different rates so it's better to feed all raw and all kibble separately. That's just a theory, but it doesn't hurt to try separating the two types. It's only been four days so normal to get more stomach upset whenever you start a new food and will probably get better. If you are overfeeding him at all his stools may get too soft, so you may need to back off a bit on the quantities. Did the breeder deworm him properly ? If not you may have to treat him with Panacur as all puppies are dewormed as part of their puppy regimen.

 

[Frenchie Grrrl]

I would have just upped the amount of raw food that you were giving and not add kibble at all. The recommended amount is just a starting point. My dog is fed a commercial raw and gets almost 2 oz more than what is recommended on the package.

 

[Cbrugs]

What a cutie!!

I would just increase the amount of raw and see if that helps. Growing puppies need more food than adults. I believe the starting point for a puppy is 2% of their estimated adult weight. As stated, these are guidelines and usually need playing around with to find the right amount. If you want to stick to kibble, do kibble for one meal and raw for the other. Dogs on raw usually poop less than kibble fed dogs. If you didn’t slowly introduce the kibble, that could be the cause for the soft poop.


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[Gueschic]

Congratulations on your beautiful new pup ! He's gorgeous. I would add a teaspoon of canned pumpkin ( not the pie filling one ) to each meal for a week . Also, give one meal as raw food and the other meal as the Zignature. It's thought that raw and kibble are digested at different rates so it's better to feed all raw and all kibble separately. That's just a theory, but it doesn't hurt to try separating the two types. It's only been four days so normal to get more stomach upset whenever you start a new food and will probably get better. If you are overfeeding him at all his stools may get too soft, so you may need to back off a bit on the quantities. Did the breeder deworm him properly ? If not you may have to treat him with Panacur as all puppies are dewormed as part of their puppy regimen.

Thank you for your response! Yes he was properly dewormed and had neg results when his stool was sent off from my vet. I didn’t know that maybe separating the two would help! I noticed he is way more gassy on the kibble too!! So at this point I’m weighing my options just because his raw food is 36$ for 12, 8oz patties so it’s pricey to go through that in about a weeks time

 

[Gueschic]

I would have just upped the amount of raw food that you were giving and not add kibble at all. The recommended amount is just a starting point. My dog is fed a commercial raw and gets almost 2 oz more than what is recommended on the package.

I upped his raw food amount 2 times and I could still see his ribs which was concerning. I don’t want to do kibble if I don’t have to. I tried to give him fermented cows milk but he had bloody stool the day after starting it. The vet cleared him and said it was likely something he ate and that was the only new thing.

 

[Gueschic]

Thank you all for your advice!!! I appreciate it!

 

[Honeys Owners]

Thank you for your response! Yes he was properly dewormed and had neg results when his stool was sent off from my vet. I didn’t know that maybe separating the two would help! I noticed he is way more gassy on the kibble too!! So at this point I’m weighing my options just because his raw food is 36$ for 12, 8oz patties so it’s pricey to go through that in about a weeks time

Seems a bit pricey. I get from a local frozen raw dog food company, and it gets delivered right to my house here in Toronto, and I only pay 75.00 for 24 pounds ( 384 oz ) BigCountry Raw | The Country Deal Maybe you can find a local frozen raw near you- it's a lot more expensive going with a nationwide company. ( I do have to add my own fish oil and sea kelp but that's really inexpensive ) .

 

[Frenchie Grrrl]

I upped his raw food amount 2 times and I could still see his ribs which was concerning. I don’t want to do kibble if I don’t have to. I tried to give him fermented cows milk but he had bloody stool the day after starting it. The vet cleared him and said it was likely something he ate and that was the only new thing.

Raw goat's milk is much easier to digest. Kefir you usually have to add very slowly.

 

[Honeys Owners]

I upped his raw food amount 2 times and I could still see his ribs which was concerning. I don’t want to do kibble if I don’t have to. I tried to give him fermented cows milk but he had bloody stool the day after starting it. The vet cleared him and said it was likely something he ate and that was the only new thing.

You can buy water kefir or milk kefir grains and make your own kefir easily and inexpensively. Milk kefir is supposed to be a bit healthier than water kefir and you can use coconut milk if your dog is allergic to regular milk. I used to make my own milk kefir, but got tired of the sour milk taste, so gave it away to a friend. I then got some water kefir grains and starting making my own water kefir, but got tired of its taste too. At this point I got my dog so rather than give it away or throw it out, I started feeding it to my dog. She doesn't get any diarrhea from it. I sometimes buy her live sauerkraut from the refrigerator section of a health food store near me for a probiotic boost. From what I'v read probiotic yoghurt has a lot less bacteria than the sauerkraut. I do sometimes buy DanActive liquid cups for myself since they have 10 billion Lactobacillus casei per 96 ml cup, and taste great. But I don't give it to my dog since it's got sugar and cream and corn starch.

 

[Honeys Owners]

I upped his raw food amount 2 times and I could still see his ribs which was concerning. I don’t want to do kibble if I don’t have to. I tried to give him fermented cows milk but he had bloody stool the day after starting it. The vet cleared him and said it was likely something he ate and that was the only new thing.

Just checked a couple of raw food sites for recommended amount of raw food to feed a puppy, and it seemed like 5-8% of weight of dog per day spread over 4 meals a day until 4 months of age, then over 3 times a day from 4-6 months, then over twice a day from 6 months of age and on. Around a year of age and on start cutting back calories to 2-3 % of dog's weight per day. This is assuming you're only feeding raw food. I've only had an adult dog on raw food so I'm not an expert on this.

 

[2bullymama]

:welcome to FBN.... what a cutie pie!!

gang has given you some great advice... best of luck

 

[Honeys Owners]

I upped his raw food amount 2 times and I could still see his ribs which was concerning. I don’t want to do kibble if I don’t have to. I tried to give him fermented cows milk but he had bloody stool the day after starting it. The vet cleared him and said it was likely something he ate and that was the only new thing.

Just was thinking today that you have to be careful how much milk products you give puppy because too much calcium will cause too rapid bone growth. But I think raw goats milk and milk kefir would be ok in moderation- I'm not sure the max you could give.

 

[Gueschic]

Just was thinking today that you have to be careful how much milk products you give puppy because too much calcium will cause too rapid bone growth. But I think raw goats milk and milk kefir would be ok in moderation- I'm not sure the max you could give.

I’m super nervous to give milk now because he had bloody stool for a while after starting the fermented cows milk. I just have him on raw food right now but he still looks a bit on the thinner side. When I mixed with kibble it’s like he has ibs and he was super gassy. We haven’t had any issues with just raw. Not gassy and only small hard stools about 1-2 times a day. ¯\_( ツ)_/¯ hes just thun still. My vet said it would be hard to keep a pup at a consistent weight because he’s growing. It’s difficult only because I see other pups that look so thick and full.

 

[Honeys Owners]

I’m super nervous to give milk now because he had bloody stool for a while after starting the fermented cows milk. I just have him on raw food right now but he still looks a bit on the thinner side. When I mixed with kibble it’s like he has ibs and he was super gassy. We haven’t had any issues with just raw. Not gassy and only small hard stools about 1-2 times a day. ¯\_( ツ)_/¯ hes just thun still. My vet said it would be hard to keep a pup at a consistent weight because he’s growing. It’s difficult only because I see other pups that look so thick and full.

Sounds like he is doing great on the raw food by itself- just try increasing the amounts- he should be on 3 times a day feedings now. If you want extra probiotic, try giving him a teaspoon occasionally of live sauerkraut you buy from the refrigerator section of health food store.

 

[Cbrugs]

I’m super nervous to give milk now because he had bloody stool for a while after starting the fermented cows milk. I just have him on raw food right now but he still looks a bit on the thinner side. When I mixed with kibble it’s like he has ibs and he was super gassy. We haven’t had any issues with just raw. Not gassy and only small hard stools about 1-2 times a day. ¯\_( ツ)_/¯ hes just thun still. My vet said it would be hard to keep a pup at a consistent weight because he’s growing. It’s difficult only because I see other pups that look so thick and full.

Definitely stick to just raw then and increase the amount. A puppy should be getting about 2% of their estimated adult weight. But every dog is different so you’ll have to play around to find the right amount that works.


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