# Kibble



## Charlie06 (Feb 10, 2007)

I feed both kibble and canned. Either EVO, CORE, or Orijen and add a big spoonful of EVO canned. It slows him down eating a little and he loves the canned.


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## LOVEisGOLDEN (Jan 4, 2008)

nope, our dogs get strictly dry & they are fine. We have a large automatic waterer which we fill daily & they get a frozen yogurt kong as a "lunch" snack each day. They have never had any issues.

BTW: we switched to Taste of the Wild High Prairie about a month ago & they are doing great & loving it!


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

My crew gets kibble and at night it is topped with either geen tripe (ummmm... yum!) or hydrated The Honest Kitchen. Fresh water is always available and they show no signs of dehydration.


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## Ash (Sep 11, 2007)

No, generally I feed try and have never had a problem. Leaving fresh water availible at all times is the only precaution I take LOL as if they don't need it anyways. If you worry you can always add a 1/4 cup of water to the kibble. I would not feed canned everyday to these guys LOL


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## Ash (Sep 11, 2007)

LOVEisGOLDEN said:


> BTW: we switched to Taste of the Wild High Prairie about a month ago & they are doing great & loving it!


Thats awesome so are mine. If you have seen Party's recent photos I swear she grew coat like a wild women after I switched.


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## LOVEisGOLDEN (Jan 4, 2008)

Ash said:


> Thats awesome so are mine. If you have seen Party's recent photos I swear she grew coat like a wild women after I switched.


I saw those beautiful pics, she looks fantastic! Blush's feathers are really starting to come in, but they are both shedding like MAD!


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## Emma&Tilly (May 15, 2005)

I feed kibble, but it is rarely served dry!! I always feed them after us so they get left overs on top...normally steamed veg and meat...or I sometimes add raw egg or even natural yoghurt...I always like to add something or other just for added interest...I could never put down a bowl or dry food day after day...I know people say that a dog doesn't get bored of the same thing but I know how wild my dogs go when I add chicken or fish skin or anything so that says enough to me! If we don't have left overs I add a spoonful of http://www.naturediet.net/products/index.html?cat_branch=premium/ . I have a variety of flavours in stock!


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## marshab1 (Aug 28, 2006)

Tinkerbell gets dry kibble and I've never worried about dehydration. She always has plenty of water so I don't think it is an issue. I add veggies, sometimes fruit to her food and at times have added some canned food. Or added stew that I made myself. And of course in the morning she gets a little yogurt.


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

I know the only time I fed Lucky canned food with his kibble it didn't react well with him at all. I think his system might have been used to the dry.

If you change to kibble keep in mind that they may have to adjust.


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## Ripley Goldens (Jan 9, 2008)

marshab1 said:


> Tinkerbell gets dry kibble and I've never worried about dehydration. She always has plenty of water so I don't think it is an issue. I add veggies, sometimes fruit to her food and at times have added some canned food. Or added stew that I made myself. And of course in the morning she gets a little yogurt.


A long time ago a vet friend told us never to feed our dogs dry food, always mix water with it. Her reason was to prevent the bloat. So, we mix in water, occassionally some canned food (also grain free for those on that diet) to help the supplements get down. I do notice increased thirst in those on the grainfree kibble but they have plenty of water to drink.

I am a neurotic mom, so I ran a kidney function test to be sure when we first started using a grain free kibble cause the high protein scared me. One dog showed a problem, so he went off it (he was about 11 months old). We also give them a raw bone from time to time for fun. It really isn't any fun except for them because it invariably leads to a case of the runs but to see them having so much fun chewing away. THe running joke around here is that the raw bones are our "cleanse diet" for the dogs. LOL.


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## Solas Goldens (Nov 10, 2007)

I feed kibble moistened with a bit of water. They also always have fresh water available. I never worried about dehydration.


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

Mine eat kibbles and I add all kinds of goodies to it, yogurt, green beans, cottage cheese, a can of dog food, raw egg and so on...sometimes we have leftover chicken or beef they get it too. Also my Golden's love tomatoes and carrots. I always have water down for all of them. Never had a problem.


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

Ripley Goldens said:


> I am a neurotic mom, so I ran a kidney function test to be sure when we first started using a grain free kibble cause the high protein scared me. One dog showed a problem, so he went off it (he was about 11 months old). .


This is where I'm confused. I hear of studies from a wide variety of sources (commercial and holistic research) that high protien doesn't cause a problem, but your experience seems to be one of many I've heard... where testing does show a problem.

I'm curious what your vet said.


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## Thalie (Jan 20, 2008)

I feed primarily kibble. They get green beans in the morning and I add canned in winter to up the protein. They have water available at all times in several locations and I have not had dehydration problems. They seem to adjust what they drink depending on various factors and the overall quantity seems adequate to their needs.


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## marshab1 (Aug 28, 2006)

Tinkerbell hated softened food even s a puppy. Even now when she is on a food she loves if I let it sit too long before giving it to her and some of the kibble absorbs the liquid from the veggies or stew she'll eat the crunchy pieces but leave the soggy ones. Of course if I leave it down she'll go back and eat them once they dry.

I just gave Tinkerbell her first raw bone Monday night. She loved it. And fortunately for us no runs.


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## Bock (Jun 23, 2008)

Only time I feed anything other than kibble is just to change it up. Other than that Tysen gets kibble for breakfast and dinner and has fresh water at all times. He also gets his training treats, but I've seen absolutely no signs of dehydration. 

You can try adding water to the kibble. This allows for more water, slows the dog down eating, and maybe makes it taste better?

Look up some stuff called Nupro. It has a lot of different vitamins and enzymes that dogs generally do not get since the cooking process of kibble depletes them. It is liver flavored and you can mix it with water and it forms a liver gravy that you can then pour over your dogs kibble. Most dogs LOVE the liver gravy. It adds good enzymes and vitamins, plus gives your dog more water.

One thing to check is whether your dry kibble is preserved with citric acid. It is said that if you add water to a dry kibble that contains citric acid it ups the chance of bloat in larger dogs. I know Nature's Variety does contain this citric acid. I know some people who still add water to their Nature's Variety but I figure why take the risk.


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## Lego&Jacub (Jul 18, 2006)

Well I wasn't thinking about dehydration which would be noticable right away. But more of a chronic dehydration over years... that results in problems once the dog reaches a ripe old age. I didn't even consider the increased risk of bloat with using kibble... hmmmm. Perhaps I'd better just stick with raw... the kids love it anyways!!


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

I had read a long time ago that adding water to kibble increases chances of bloat.
I only added water when they were puppies.
Mine get Nature's Variety with yogurt, green beans and other healthy fruits and veggies we're eating. They always have fresh water.


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## marshab1 (Aug 28, 2006)

Lego&Jacub said:


> Well I wasn't thinking about dehydration which would be noticable right away. But more of a chronic dehydration over years... that results in problems once the dog reaches a ripe old age. I didn't even consider the increased risk of bloat with using kibble... hmmmm. Perhaps I'd better just stick with raw... the kids love it anyways!!


You guys are the only ones I've ever personally met that feed a raw diet. Everyone else I know uses just kibble. And most of the people I know use really cheap bad kibble. And their dogs live to be into their teens and are healthy.


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