# Can you combine BARF and dry kibble?



## Harry and Lola (Oct 26, 2013)

I'm interested in peoples views and experience on the following:-

I'm considering change to BARF for my 2 GSDs, however I have no experience with raw feeding other than giving a bone every now and then and can't quite get my head around just meat, bones, vegies etc without dry kibble.

I was considering combining both BARF and dry kibble, from what I have reseached it is possible if you separate the 2, ie feed BARF in the morning and dry kibble in the evening, this will give the digestion system time to digest each separately (6 hours for BARF and up to 12 for dry).

The reason I'm considering including BARF is that my male is an EPI dog and there is lots of evidence suggesting dry kibble (even if it is grain free) sits in the digestive system for long periods of time and can create bacteria. Feeding just BARF is pretty expensive (especially when you are feeding 2)

I am considering using 1 paddy of BARF kangaroo with eithera meat bone, or turkey neck in the morning and then 2 cups of Canidae grain free salmon dry kibble in the evening (for 2 1/2 year old GSD male and 5 yearl old GSD female although with female I will reduce dry to 1 cup)

Does anyone do this?


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## Shep's_Shepherd (Jan 18, 2012)

For what it’s worth I kind of do something similar. My dog isn’t on BARF, but I do feed him commercial raw food (comes in two pound chubs/tubes that I split for morning and evening feedings). It can get pretty costly, so to stretch it out a bit I’ve been adding a kibble (Acana) to his raw food. My GSD also has EPI and requires powder enzymes added to his meal. So I throw kibble into his bowl, soak it in water and add the enzymes. I then mix in his raw food and let it all sit for about 20 minutes before feeding. Not sure if that’s the recommended method, but it has worked out well for the past year and a half.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

I don't do BARF but I often feed a combo of kibble, raw, and fresh food (not necessarily raw meat but stuff like pumpkin, leftover green beans, leftover rice casserole). I feed at the same time, not separate meals, and have never at issues. The dogs love variety and "people food". I feed them almost every leftover or table scrap as long as it's not something toxic to a dog (chocolate, stuff with lots of onion, anything with any amount of grapes).


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## Uniballer (Mar 12, 2002)

The people I know who are most into raw feeding say that you should not feed bone and kibble at the same meal because the digestive system needs to do different things with these foods. Kibble is processed mostly as a starch so it can move along into the intestine quickly. Bone needs to sit in the acids in the stomach for a while before moving on. This makes sense to me, so I keep them separate.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I agree with not feeding kibble/raw at the same time. I would not do so if I had to feed kibble, it would be separately from a raw meal. 
Not to mention many GSD's have very sensitive guts. I'm lucky that mine don't have digestive issues, but I know when people give a random turkey neck or something then say their dog doesn't do good on raw. Well, the dog needs more than a random turkey neck or of course there could be problems.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Uniballer said:


> The people I know who are most into raw feeding say that you should not feed bone and kibble at the same meal because the digestive system needs to do different things with these foods. Kibble is processed mostly as a starch so it can move along into the intestine quickly. Bone needs to sit in the acids in the stomach for a while before moving on. This makes sense to me, so I keep them separate.


This is technically correct, however, some dogs can handle a mix and some cannot.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

Uniballer, I believe for those that subscribe to the idea that you should never mix kibble and raw, it's actually the other way around. Dogs process meats faster than we do since that's ideally what they're supposed to eat, so supposedly the danger is that the bacteria found in/on the meats sits in the stomach longer than it would by itself if kibble (assuming it has a grain) is being digested at the same time because that takes longer. I think that's really the concern. "Stuff" doesn't just digest in the stomach at different rates but gets absorbed in different places along the GI system so it's not so much an issue of certain nutrients being processes too quickly in the stomach but whether the dog is being exposed to harmful bacteria in the stomach. There's plenty of people who say it's bad, plenty of people who say they've always fed both together and never had issues, and no real scientific research to backup either position. I would say, just do what keeps the dogs healthy without bloating or diarrhea. If feeding separate meals is better safe than sorry, no argument here. Also note that the OP is talking about a grain-free kibble.


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## wolfy dog (Aug 1, 2012)

Kibble when I don't have a lot of time or when it is pouring rain and raw when I do have time. Never saw a problem in any of my dogs.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

I feed raw chicken quarters in the morning and kibble in the evening. Sometimes I'll feed turkey necks. Sometimes I'll feed chicken feet as a treat. I'll use raw when I'm running tracks.


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## Uniballer (Mar 12, 2002)

I might have gotten the mechanism part wrong. I also have heard the idea that raw can be a problem if it moves through the system too slowly and the bacteria get out of control, although I heard this more in the context of bowel problems.

I agree that except for specifically toxic ingredients there is very little (if any) scientific evidence for any position regarding food, including the idea that raw is better than processed food, or that evolved is better than GMO. Who would fund such a study?

Even grain free kibble is still starchy, whether from tubers or legumes, or whatever. If it wasn't it would be a bag of more-or-less nutritive dust.


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## Harry and Lola (Oct 26, 2013)

I do occasionally combined raw kangroo with dry kibble and I don't think there were any issues, but I could be wrong because my boy has had EPI for, I suspect, quite some time before he was treated, so his stools were pretty bad and my female's stools are good sometimes and sometimes not. I wonder if combining the 2 contributes to my females stool issue? Harry's stools are good now that he is being treated for SIBO and EPI.

Anyway, I think I will try doing just BARF and 1/2 turkey neck or chicken feet each in the morning, then do the dry in the evening with a bit of goats milk or yoghurt.

Will see how they go


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