# The switch from Raw to kibble.



## Rally (May 31, 2010)

Our little girl has so far been raised on raw food and we are making the switch to kibble (wellness large puppy.) She's 10 weeks old right now. She gets a cup of food at night so we introduced maybe 1/4 of a cup of kibble to her raw food. Things seemed to be fine until I was woken up to find that she had diarrea in her kennel. After cleaning it out and going back to sleep she vomited twice.

This morning she has no appetite and hasn't eaten.

Too much kibble, allergic to Wellness, coincidence and she just isn't feeling good? Shes being really independent this morning but we're keeping a close eye on her. Is it vet time?

edit: and just as I hit post she came walking up, tail wagging and took was willing to eat a couple training treats


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Just curious as to why you would want to switch to kibble?

The kibble and raw are digested at different rates, if you want to switch over then feed kibble for one meal and raw for the other, or reduce her raw and give her a mid kibble snack.


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## ZAYDA (Apr 22, 2010)

Thats a pretty tough trick. I don't like to mix kibble with raw myself so I dont know how you would do it unless you cooked chicken and rice and slowly added kibble and then slowly take away the chicken and rice. Or give rice and pumpkin puree with your 100% new kibble and deal with whatever comes it should only be 3 days or so.


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## Rally (May 31, 2010)

elisabeth_00117 said:


> Just curious as to why you would want to switch to kibble?
> 
> The kibble and raw are digested at different rates, if you want to switch over then feed kibble for one meal and raw for the other, or reduce her raw and give her a mid kibble snack.


The raw she likes is expensive and not readily available. She also has a terrible habit of removing it from her bowl to the floor. We're also planning for camping and trips etc.


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## elisabeth_00117 (May 17, 2009)

Are you feeding a pre-made commercial raw? I feed raw as well and find that I am saving atleast $145.00 per month by feeding raw, I don't feed commerical foods as I use butchers, farmers, grocery stores, etc.. to find my meats.

I would definitely crate her while she is eating. Helps with clean up and also gives her good vibes with the crate. 

If you are planning trips there are a tone of things you can do to bring your raw with you. 

If you truely do not want to feed raw anymore than that's your call, but I would definitely look at other options before you switch her to kibble.. JMO.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

Rally said:


> Our little girl has so far been raised on raw food and we are making the switch to kibble (wellness large puppy.) She's 10 weeks old right now. She gets a cup of food at night so we introduced maybe 1/4 of a cup of kibble to her raw food. Things seemed to be fine until I was woken up to find that she had diarrea in her kennel. After cleaning it out and going back to sleep she vomited twice.
> 
> This morning she has no appetite and hasn't eaten.
> 
> ...


You don't have a clause in your purchase contract about any particular feeding, right?

You can create all sorts of allergies by weaning to a food that is too complicted too soon. Kibble is harder to digest than real food.


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## Gib Laut (Feb 21, 2010)

Rally said:


> The raw she likes is expensive and not readily available. She also has a terrible habit of removing it from her bowl to the floor. We're also planning for camping and trips etc.


Not trying to change your mind (just some things to consider), but feeding store bought raw will cost you a fortune. I switched from Orijen and home cooked to raw and after making local contacts in the community and with farmers, it costs me a less to feed raw compared to his previous diet. Actually, yesterday I picked up about 60 lbs of organ, muscle meat and rmb's from a local farmer I was referred to cleaning out her freezer...what I paid was insanely cheap; they just want it gone. I didn't even know her, but a farmer I did know gave her my name and she called me. I get it when I can and put it in the freezer for packaging later. 

Also, as far as eating raw goes, she is very young and needs training about how to eat.....my boy is trained to eat on a towel (reg. size like we use to shower)....period....it doesn't happen over night, but is pretty quick provided you watch each meal and correct when she tries to move the food...if Dex gets to the edge of his towel I say "on your blanket" and he immediately stops eating backs up and waits for me to put it back for him......usually only happens when eating certain bones and is really not intentional on his part.


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## Anja1Blue (Feb 27, 2008)

I think the cost depends on where you live - many of us, myself included, live in the middle of cities and don't have access to farmers - so for us this is not an option. I do use grocery stores (like Safeway) for the more usual items, and look in their reduced section for meats which have reached their "use by" date. The rest I get delivered by a rep for Oma's Pride - this would be for things like tripe, trachea, rabbit, some organ meats, etc. Over time it is cheaper than buying a prepared raw food (like Bravo or Primal) but is not CHEAP, per se. I also feed a lot of variety - not just chicken or beef - so that adds to the cost also. 

BTW I have fed kibble and raw together in the past - you can do it successfully and www.b-naturals.com has recipes. The important ingredient you MUST add is a digestive enzyme - this breaks down the kibble, which otherwise will take much longer to digest than the raw.
_______________________________________________
Susan

Anja SchH3 GSD
Conor GSD
Blue BH WH T1 GSD - waiting at the Bridge


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## Gib Laut (Feb 21, 2010)

Anja1Blue said:


> I think the cost depends on where you live - many of us, myself included, live in the middle of cities and don't have access to farmers - so for us this is not an option.


Not necessarily, in fact in can be much easier....if I lived in Toronto for example (the largest city close to me), things would have been much easier b/c there are many farmer's markets in the city where you can meet and talk to the farmer in person, in addition, there are a number of stores and business in the city that sell food for dogs at wholesale and/or much lower cost than I could find here. The resources in large cities can actually be a benefit; the issue is calling and finding the one's you specifically want.


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