Feeding a partial raw diet: feasibility and reliable sources of advice

[alligande]

I am currently in Mallorca and for the first time have found that I can buy meat cheaper per kilo than quality kibble. So I have been thinking that perhaps I could feed Rievaulx one meal a day Raw and one kibble, I don't want to switch entirely as we are still moving around and it is easy to travel with kibble.

What are peoples thoughts on a mixed diet, and where should I be looking for advice on how much and % of bone to muscle etc, in the past I have found raw feeding groups pretty militant and as I don't want to make the switch entirely I thought asking among friends was a good starting point!

I have though hit my first stumbling block, I gave him a chicken back yesterday and he was not impressed, gave it a couple of licks and then tried to ignore it, part of a rack of very meaty pork ribs was a hit though. He has eaten chicken necks and scraps of cleaned chicken breast happily before, just wanted nothing to do with a very meaty chicken carcass. So I will continue to experiment, with a decent kibble costing between 15 and 20+ for a 2.5 kilo bag I can afford a little experimentation.

[GentleLake]

I now feed my old dog this way, because of her sporadic and changeable appetite and food preferences.

 

I approach the raw part the way I would feed a dog who's completely raw fed. I use prey model, which is 10-20% edible bone, 70-80% meat, and 5% liver, 5% other organs (not including heart, which is fed as muscle). Ideally you'd try to rotate through as many different protein sources as possible.

 

Many people still say you shouldn't feed kibble and raw at the same meal, but I don't subscribe to that, and some raw mavens are now saying the same thing. Do what works for you on this score.

 

LMK if you need any more help.

[Sue R]

I feed a quality kibble that I like and the dogs do well on. I also supplement with some raw - beef heart and liver; meaty, greasy, or plain beef bones; chicken backs; pork necks; whatever I have on hand or find at a good price. This is, for my dogs, strictly supplemental and fed with their kibble meal. I feed the bones for a combination of recreation and dental cleanliness. I used to feed raw by itself as I understood that was the way to do it but as I found no issues with feeding it with the kibble meal, I don't bother doing it separately any more.

[Gideon's girl]

I feed half kibble and half raw in the same meal and have never had a problem. I've been feeding this way for 2 years. I know several people who use both kibble and raw in differing proportions with no issues. I wouldn't expect you to have any issues. I use GentleLake's numbers to get the calcium/phosphorous ratio right and the right amount of organs. I also add super greens, antioxidants, and omega 3s.

[GentleLake]

I don't think the suspected concern with feeding both raw and kibble in the same meal had anything to do with digestive issues, but with the belief that since meat and carbs digest at different rates the one moving through faster would interfere with absorption of nutrients in the other. (I think I have that right, and will happily be corrected if someone else knows.) I never understood the logic of it, because many omnivores will eat both as they can get them, not that dogs are really omnivores. (But that's a whole 'nother argument.)

 

I supplement with Omega 3s also in the form of salmon oil, and will occasionally add a few veggies, as well, though that seems pointless if you're feeding kibble.

[Maralynn]

The argument that I have heard agaisnt feeding both in the same meal is that the digestion rates of kibble (any type) and cooked homemade or raw are different. The kibble slows the digestion of the raw so any bacteria present in the raw sits in the dog's system longer and could potentially cause illness.

[simba]

Digestion rates of bone, fat, and muscle meat though would also be different, yet they all get fed together as part of raw.

 

Plus I would imagine, coming from the very strong and confident position of knowing absolutely f-all about the digestive system, that the meat and carbs wouldn't hinder each other's digestion of nutrients to any appreciable extent if you're feeding a 'normal' diet (pet dogs' nutritional needs are easy to meet, and a 'wild' animal would be getting the carb-y stomach contents along with everything else.)

[alligande]

Ok thanks for the great info, Gentle Lake, that is an easy enough formula to follow. Final question is there a formula for how much meat to body weight he should be getting? Then I can figure out how much Raw he should have alongside his kibble.

[GentleLake]

The rule of thumb for raw feeders is that most dogs need 2-3% of their ideal body weight daily. That's just a starting point, though (just like the recommendation on the dog food bags ). Smaller dogs and more physically active dogs usually need the higher end, or even more than that. Larger dogs and those with a more sedentary lifestyle start on the lower end and may require even less.

 

This will be complicated by the fact that you're also feeding kibble. But if you're doing half and half, just cutting his kibble portions in half, then you could halve the percentages as well as your starting point.

 

The best way to tell is simply to put your hands on your dog daily and make adjustments based on what you feel.

 

One thing I didn't mention in my original guidelines is fat. Again, it's dependent on the individual dog, but most do well with at least 15% fat. Very active dogs will need more; for dogs, fat = energy production. Keep in mind that not all fat is visible; pork and lamb are fattier meats than beef usually is, for example.

 

One thing I love about a raw diet is the ability to tweak it for individual dogs without having to resort to different bags of food. Bodhi requires a lot of fat to keep his coat nice, so he always gets the fattiest piece I'm handing out, plus an extra squirt of salmon oil. Tilly has intestinal problems that are aggravated by fat, so I trim most off for her (all dogs need some fat) and give it to Bodhi. Tansy for her size has the highest metabolism, so she also gets some extra fat and the largest portion of the three (Bodhi, even though he's the largest, gets the smallest portion), even though she weighs the least.