Going back to kibble??? Honest Opinion..

[wyoung2153]

Have any of you ever thought of going back to kibble from raw? Maybe you actually did and it worked out better... but why did you?

Just thought of these today.. Not that that is what I'm thinking of doing.. was curious on what people thought..

[Wild Wolf]

Nope. I've been feeding Hunter raw since he was 8 weeks old, and I could never imagine feeding him kibble after almost a year of real, healthy food.

[GatorDog]

I did it. I didn't have the freezer space for raw. My dog also can't tolerate chicken or beef very well, and buying lamb/venison/rabbit got too expensive and hard to find. He is doing really well on a limited ingredient lamb based diet now.

I would stick to raw if I had better availability, more money, and a bigger house so that I could put a big freezer somewhere.

[sashadog]

I fed raw for about a year but it just got too expensive and I couldn't keep up with feeding three big dogs raw. I still use it as treats and try to give them as much of it as possible (raw bones and such). They've done just fine on a higher quality, grain free kibble. Their coats are still great and their weight and energy is wonderful as well. And of course, the all important #2's are solid and healthy

If I could, I would feed all raw again but I just can't. I need to eat too and I have dogs that do well on kibble.

[Jax08]

No, but I've never had any problem at all that would make me think about it.

[wyoung2153]

Very interesting to me... I have contemplated it before just because of the expense and lack of a butcher in the area. Not to mention I have 1 large GSD an almost 4 m/o Boerboel who is already 46 lbs... and both need a lot. And my GSD is picky as all heck, so I can't do as many protein sources. Just wanted to see if I was one of the few that ever thought about it.

[lhczth]

I have fed raw since 1999 and, no, I have never thought about going back to kibble. I also have never had any of the problems feeding raw that I read about on this board and I have fed more than just a few dogs this way. Looking at the prices of good quality kibbles I don't see it saving me money and I like the quality control I have over what I feed. No worries about bad batches of foods, companies changing ingredients on a whim, and I have never had to deal with a recall.

[Holmeshx2]

Years ago I fed raw to a GSD and a Lab. I had a hard time with the cost, THOUGHT I knew how to feed it but never really "got" it honestly had issues with the GSD and stomach issues etc... so finally I went back to kibble and had no more problems at all. Now years later Jinx was weaned onto raw and has been raw fed her entire life. There is no way in heck I would EVER go back. This time around I get it so much better and it has just become second nature. I realize the issues I had were because I was feeding it all wrong and thankfully I switched back to kibble so my dogs had proper nutrition and I didn't screw them up. with Jinx you couldn't pay me enough to go back to kibble! So funny this thread came up today because I was just thinking about it this morning and my husband and I have been talking about it for a few days now. We have the foster pup who is on kibble. She is gassy (it could choke out a flippin water buffalo), breath stinks (in fairness it's just dog breath but Jinx has no odor so her breath stinks to us) she poops numerous times a day they stink and while formed are nothing like raw poop, and drinks a lot more water then Jinx. having a kibble fed and raw fed dog side by side we can see HUGE differences.. oh lets not forget when we take each one outside for a potty break the pup comes in and smells like cold dog..Jinx no odor, not to mention when it rains ECK!. This morning when I had to actually go out and clean up the yard from the puppy poop and there was almost a half bag full of poop in just a few days where as I rarely have to pick up the yard with Jinx after a few days it crumbles and goes away plus she only goes once a day and you smell almost nothing to nothing at all.

[Holmeshx2]

Originally Posted by lhczth

I have fed raw since 1999 and, no, I have never thought about going back to kibble. I also have never had any of the problems feeding raw that I read about on this board and I have fed more than just a few dogs this way. Looking at the prices of good quality kibbles I don't see it saving me money and I like the quality control I have over what I feed. No worries about bad batches of foods, companies changing ingredients on a whim, and I have never had to deal with a recall.

don't forget selling the company over to someone else! The fact they are selling dog food companies to companies that make Q-TIPS drives me insane

[wyoung2153]

Did not know that! Weird!

Right now the thing for me is the cost and availibility, we don't really have a local butcher or large meat companies.. just grocery stores; Publix, Winn Dixie and Walmart, which is why I feed a local premade raw. In all honesty the only difference I have noticed as far as change is Titan's appetite has increased.. used to not really care for meal time. His stools are a little lighter and much more manageable. But his coat has always been great and he never really smelled before and still doesn't. His breath has gotten better though.. I admit. But as a whole I haven't seen a drastic change. Though I've only been feeding for about 3 months. But my new girl, Athena still has the WORST gas ever and she has been on raw her whole life.. she's about 4 month now. I'm not knocking raw at all. Nurtitionally I believe it is so healthy for them! I wonder constantly if I am giving them enough of what they need. I have posted menus on here before and people have said I was fine and maybe add this or get rid of that.