[TotallyAwesome]

So, in many places I read that major pet food companies do a lot to get the balance of nutrition right, so that there are no deficiencies. Some even warn that adding other foods may detract from the nutrition supplied by the pet food.

I was thinking of mixing around 80% of my pup's kibble (by weight), with boiled chicken or boiled egg making up the remained weight. In addition to that I thought of adding some vegetables since vegetables don't take a lot of calories.

So if currently I am service 136grams of kibble per meal.
Then I modify it to roughly 108grams of kibble + about 36grams of chicken (not exact proportions).

- I was wondering if that makes sense?

- Or if the quantity of chicken I am including in each meal is so small, I may as well keep the Kibble portion at the original 136gms, and add the chicken or egg amounts on top of that, just like vegetables.

• My concern is: If I reduce the kibble, will he have any deficiency, or simply have less weight ?
• Or by adding chicken / vegetables it may somehow reduce the nutrition from the kibble?
• Or should I change the proportions ?

- I have visited balanceit, but at this time do not yet understand fully how to use the site, and would prefer to avoid supplements since they either may not be available, or trusted in my locality (lack of regulation).

What is the best way to do this ? I am adding chicken, eggs, vegetables etc more so he gets some variety in food. He probably doesn't need it -> He is always excited at meal time. But I wanted to test a theory that by having more variety and excitement at home, it would reduce his insistence of picking unauthorised items of the ground during walks (I am working on improving his leave it - at present he drops / ignores low value junk, but high value junk is much harder to convince him to drop)

 

[David Winners]

If what you add is unbalanced, than the overall diet becomes unbalanced. The addition of protein and fat aren't typically an issue unless you start to see loose stools.

It's important to keep a balanced calcium/phosphorous ratio during development so do your homework before adding any type of supplement on a regular basis.

Occasional meaty bones aren't going to hurt anything but I wouldn't add anything daily that could throw off that balance without some research.

Once mature, you can be a lot looser with their diet and just kind of let their poop be your guide.

 

[TotallyAwesome]

If what you add is unbalanced, than the overall diet becomes unbalanced. The addition of protein and fat aren't typically an issue unless you start to see loose stools.

It's important to keep a balanced calcium/phosphorous ratio during development so do your homework before adding any type of supplement on a regular basis.

Occasional meaty bones aren't going to hurt anything but I wouldn't add anything daily that could throw off that balance without some research.

Once mature, you can be a lot looser with their diet and just kind of let their poop be your guide.

At present I am just adding some boiled chicken breast boneless (nothing added), and maybe a boiled egg. Sometimes a spoon of boiled vegetables such as peas, carrots, beans and cauliflower. Not sure the impact it will have.

 

[David Winners]

I suggest you start reading the forum. Most of the questions you have posed here have been discussed many times with decades of experience behind some of the answers. First, check out the sticky posts at the top of the sub forums, then hit that search feature. Starting 18 posts in a week isn't against the rules but it may be frowned upon by members, leading to a lack of response to your threads.

Just trying to help.

 

[Estintre]

So if you feeding balance diet why you want to change it? Is your pup growing healthy on it?
i’ve done a lot of changes with mine because we’ve had problems with stools, scratching, underweight and so on. Now all I want is just balance diet. I do occasionally bone broth with veggies and meat that’s all. Bone broth is good.
Is your puppy eating kibble happily without anything?
there is plenty people who feeds just kibble. Other mix kibble with wet or raw. Others feed raw. There is no best way of feeding,you do what’s best for you and for your pup.
btw. Which brand you feeding?

 

[TotallyAwesome]

I suggest you start reading the forum. Most of the questions you have posed here have been discussed many times with decades of experience behind some of the answers. First, check out the sticky posts at the top of the sub forums, then hit that search feature. Starting 18 posts in a week isn't against the rules but it may be frowned upon by members, leading to a lack of response to your threads.

Just trying to help.

Ok, I will do that. I apologise for the trouble. I appreciate your advice. If again in future there is anything I can do to improve, do let me know. 🙏

 

[TotallyAwesome]

So if you feeding balance diet why you want to change it? Is your pup growing healthy on it?
i’ve done a lot of changes with mine because we’ve had problems with stools, scratching, underweight and so on. Now all I want is just balance diet. I do occasionally bone broth with veggies and meat that’s all. Bone broth is good.
Is your puppy eating kibble happily without anything?
there is plenty people who feeds just kibble. Other mix kibble with wet or raw. Others feed raw. There is no best way of feeding,you do what’s best for you and for your pup.
btw. Which brand you feeding?

My puppy is very excited at meal times eating plain kibble - Hills science diet large puppy lamb flavour. He is content.
There is no health issue I am aware of - his activity, poop, mood and behavior are all normal.
I just thought it would be nice to experience something different every day.

 

[Quorthun]

So, in many places I read that major pet food companies do a lot to get the balance of nutrition right, so that there are no deficiencies. Some even warn that adding other foods may detract from the nutrition supplied by the pet food.

I was thinking of mixing around 80% of my pup's kibble (by weight), with boiled chicken or boiled egg making up the remained weight. In addition to that I thought of adding some vegetables since vegetables don't take a lot of calories.

So if currently I am service 136grams of kibble per meal.
Then I modify it to roughly 108grams of kibble + about 36grams of chicken (not exact proportions).

- I was wondering if that makes sense?

- Or if the quantity of chicken I am including in each meal is so small, I may as well keep the Kibble portion at the original 136gms, and add the chicken or egg amounts on top of that, just like vegetables.

• My concern is: If I reduce the kibble, will he have any deficiency, or simply have less weight ?
• Or by adding chicken / vegetables it may somehow reduce the nutrition from the kibble?
• Or should I change the proportions ?

- I have visited balanceit, but at this time do not yet understand fully how to use the site, and would prefer to avoid supplements since they either may not be available, or trusted in my locality (lack of regulation).

What is the best way to do this ? I am adding chicken, eggs, vegetables etc more so he gets some variety in food. He probably doesn't need it -> He is always excited at meal time. But I wanted to test a theory that by having more variety and excitement at home, it would reduce his insistence of picking unauthorised items of the ground during walks (I am working on improving his leave it - at present he drops / ignores low value junk, but high value junk is much harder to convince him to drop)

If they're having no issues eating the kibble, I would keep it as is. If you're buying kibble that's lacking or deficient in something, switch to better kibble.
If they're having issues eating kibble or seem to skip a meal, what I personally do is add plain yogurt or peanut butter with warm water and mix it around.
I don't mix it around to make it more nutritious, I do it to activate their appetite which has always worked for my dog.