# kibble



## PlayfulPup (Aug 8, 2012)

When I fed kibble to my picky dog, I would pour bone broth, or canned tuna water over the kibble and usually he would eat it. I've also mixed an egg into it (I was trying to get him to gain weight). However, he gobbles up his prey model raw now and is actually gaining weight!


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## asuk (Jan 6, 2017)

Ditto on adding broth or water. With milo, a hint of canned tripe with a bit of water and mixed it with his kibble and that dog will lick his bowl clean. I always make sure he eats because he is still a puppy but those tricks works very well for him. If he is desperate enough, he will however eat dry kibble. I make sure he has breakfast and he free feeds the rest of the day till dinnetime.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Adding a tasty liquid like chicken broth is probably your best bet. I home cook and my dogs would not eat kibble now if I put it in with their food. I would do either cooked or kibble rather than mixing them, but if you cook please please please make sure the cooked diet is nutritionally complete and calorically adequate. Chicken and rice by themselves will not provide complete nutrition even if you give sufficient calories. You minimally need a good calcium supplement like bone meal (my dogs each get about 2 tablespoons per day of bone meal). You need essential fatty acids, vitamin D, micronutrients like iodide, etc......


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## Johanna (Jun 21, 2017)

The only time my picky girls ever gobbled down their kibble was when I mixed in some ground beef (we were about to leave on a trip and had some left over that had to be used).

I mix a spoonful of canned food with their kibble, but the only way I can get them to finish a meal is to let Cruise, the 12 year old whippet/border collie, stand over them threatening to gobble it up. Even then they sometimes will not eat. I fear Cruise will get too fat from cleaning up their leftovers.

I'll try some chicken broth.


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

Well, I don't think I'd like to eat kibble either. So I vote with your dogs for the home cooked plan. Yum. :eating: 

But rice and chicken can be time-consuming, so I understand the interest in kibble. Try emptying a can of wild salmon on top of kibble. Or on top of rice. Or toast. My dogs love toast. Canned wild salmon is not expensive, and my dogs like it. It usually has small bones in it so your dogs get some calcium.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

peppersb said:


> Well, I don't think I'd like to eat kibble either. So I vote with your dogs for the home cooked plan. Yum. :eating:
> 
> But rice and chicken can be time-consuming, so I understand the interest in kibble. Try emptying a can of wild salmon on top of kibble. Or on top of rice. Or toast. My dogs love toast. Canned wild salmon is not expensive, and my dogs like it. It usually has small bones in it *so your dogs get some calcium*.



But that still is not likely to be nutritionally complete as that would be a very small amount of calcium and it is highly likely that there are many other missed nutrients with diet of _____(something meat) and rice or toast or pasta. We have to make sure we feed nutritionally appropriate diets since doing so ensures good underlying health and protection against any of a host of pathological situations. As much as kibble is boring, good quality kibbles are nutritionally appropriate (although there can be other problems associated with commercial foods).


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

lily cd re said:


> But that still is not likely to be nutritionally complete as that would be a very small amount of calcium and it is highly likely that there are many other missed nutrients with diet of _____(something meat) and rice or toast or pasta. We have to make sure we feed nutritionally appropriate diets since doing so ensures good underlying health and protection against any of a host of pathological situations. As much as kibble is boring, good quality kibbles are nutritionally appropriate (although there can be other problems associated with commercial foods).


Good point, Catherine. I feed my dogs (mostly) home-cooked meals and supplement it with vegedog supplement with supposedly supplies all of the necessary nutrients.


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## Beautiful Blue (Apr 24, 2017)

I like my dog to eat a quality kibble that vet agrees meets his nutritional needs at his age...and I try to give him nothing else so as not to develop a picky eater.

Easy, peasy. I know he is getting a healthy diet, lots of water, good elimination on the other end. Anyone can care for him in my absence! That's important to me.

But I will admit to buying a handful of cans of canned chicken, whirring the contents of 1 can in the blender until you have a slurry. Keeping it in the frig. Over a month's time a 1/4 cup measure of that stirred in to the kibble became 3 tablespoons, became a couple of tablespoons... (I wanted him to like his new home and its cuisine...)

Currently I dish up Rio's good kibble at around 10: am and leave it out. He usually eats about 1/2 of it by late afternoon. At that time I still add a couple of tablespoons of something ... canned dogfood ... to enhance it somewhat. He often does not eat until I go to bed. ? But then he licks the bowl clean and settles down to sleep. 

This works for us. And, as I say, I don't want to be a slave to my dog.


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## Tami (Feb 19, 2014)

Ah! That's my million dollar question. A good, healthy, kibble where we can trust the source it's coming from.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I want the freedom of knowing that no matter where I go, I'll never have to worry about the brand of kibble available.....from early on I have changed kibble with almost every bag ....but that is because a 5 lb bag lasts us more than 2 months! Molly is also fed raw as her 1st meal of the day and that could be chicken, beef, pork, lamb, goat, turkey....whatever was on special the day I was grocery shopping! I then put a measured amount of kibble (1/3 cup) in her bowl for her to graze on thru out the day.......In the beginning I thought she was a picky eater, but discovered she only eats when she is hungry and is a 'grazer'.....sometimes there is even kibble still in her bowl the next morning! So raw in the morning (which she loves and eats immediately) and a measured amount of kibble, seems to work well for us and I now don't have a 'picky eater' ..............A healthy dog will not starve itself!

I have to mention here Dr. Karen Becker's video on why you should change food variety to prevent the development of allergies......
At about 1:45 into the video.....https://youtu.be/n7weEkUuhhk


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

Tami said:


> Ah! That's my million dollar question. A good, healthy, kibble where we can trust the source it's coming from.


Try either of the following:

1. Open Farm https://www.openfarmpet.com/
Made with 100% Certified Humane meats, Ocean Wise recommended wild-caught fish and locally grown, non-GMO fruits & veggies.

2. V-Dog vegan kibble https://v-dog.com/
You can supplement this with your own meat or fish or eggs (preferably from pasture-raised, humanely raised animals), or just go vegan. A friend started her poodle on v-dog and said she noticed an improvement in the dog's coat.

They both cost a bit more, but worth it.


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