# Okay just to feed kibble?



## Constance (Jun 4, 2013)

Oue dear departed Ginseng would not touch kibble because she had a taste for better food. We had to make her a special meal every night. Now, with Coco I want to keep her on kibble, which she eats, and keep human food to a very, very low minimum (eg cheese for treats). Is it okay to keep your Poodle just a high quality kibble and just put out water?


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Short answer is that it depends upon the kibble, but if it is a high quality balanced food then, yes. I compared the price of good kibbles with a home made raw/cooked diet, though, and found the special meals work out a lot cheaper, and if prepared in bulk and frozen in portions really don't take much time. And my dogs love them!


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## Constance (Jun 4, 2013)

fjm said:


> Short answer is that it depends upon the kibble, but if it is a high quality balanced food then, yes. I compared the price of good kibbles with a home made raw/cooked diet, though, and found the special meals work out a lot cheaper, and if prepared in bulk and frozen in portions really don't take much time. And my dogs love them!


Thank you fjm! You are great to cook for your dogs. We had friends ( they moved away) who cooked every Sunday for their Corgis--sweet potatoes and chicken gizzards I believe they made? We knew them for years before I learned this sweet unassuming man was a retired famous rock star who had started out in Greenwich Village with Bob Dylan and the folk crowd! His wife was a porcelain artist and they moved their studio. they also had an African Gray parrot they took very good care of. Your right the kibble is shockingly expensive,but with cooking for three kids who are always hungry and want different things, I think I will hold off on cooking for Coco. her food got a 4.5 rating out of 5. I just wish she would eat more of it.She is a very dainty eater and the vet remarked that she is on the thin side but he added that she was at an active developmental stage.


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## WhosMyFluffyPuppy (Jan 12, 2013)

Maybe you could go part of the way from all kibble to home foods? We also feed our Spoo just kibble and gut told us when he started doing runs with us that he need more food (and he was acting way hungrier). Now he gets regular kibble in the morning for breakfast and a regular portion of kibble for dinner, but some days we add in a handful of carrots, or a quarter cup of plain boiled chicken, or a piece of chicken liver, or a scrambled or over easy egg, and just mix it in with his kibble. The vast majority of his meal is still kibble and we don't do this everyday, but he does seem more sated with the extra food.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

It's okay, and if it's a good kibble they would be healthy. The only issue is dinner time is one of the very best times of day for a dog. Couldn't you include a flavor variety of canned foods in small amounts with the kibble to make the food more interesting? They're not like cats who will eat the same kibble their whole lives and not blink an eye.


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## Constance (Jun 4, 2013)

outwest said:


> It's okay, and if it's a good kibble they would be healthy. The only issue is dinner time is one of the very best times of day for a dog. Couldn't you include a flavor variety of canned foods in small amounts with the kibble to make the food more interesting? They're not like cats who will eat the same kibble their whole lives and not blink an eye.


Outwest, my Ginseng looked like your Poodle picture.
all this is what Ive been wondering about. If I add canned or yams or eggs or chicken, would she then refuse the kibble, as Ginseng did? Ginseng would not touch kibble and we were slaves into cooking for her. but I will make a scrambled egg for Coco tonight and add it to her kibble.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Mine don't refuse their kibble, but if they don't eat it all I just pick it up and not worry about it. They won't starve themselves. Some kibbles are better tasting that others, so you might want to experiment over time. You can also switch the kibble flavor every bag to give variety. It just seemed sad to eat the same kibble, same flavor day after day. It could be Ginseng was particularly picky and Coco will not be.  Don't start cooking for her and you won't have a problem. And, don't worry if she doesn't eat one meal. They do that sometimes, too.


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

high quality kibble is more widely available than ever, dogs will eat it and often thrive on it. but dogs also want to eat what we eat. there's an interesting study that's been published. two plates of food were set out, one with larger portions than the other. introduced by themselves into the room with the plates, dogs in the study invariably chose the one with larger portions. when a human being entered the picture and would choose the plate with the smaller portion, the dogs involved in the study who had witnessed this then began to choose the plate with the smaller portion.

i don't think it's normally necessary to cook special meals for one's dog. but a bit from one's plate or an addition of something to their dish that humans eat seems very psychologically satisfying to some dogs. i say psychologically because my dog has learned he will not be offered certain things (as in chocolate, grapes, other food items on the verboten for dogs list) and doesn't seem to have a problem with that. on the other hand, he will hang around for just about anything else. (okay, bad owner, but it could be that's not the only factor involved in this behavior.)


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Interesting, Pat - mine will certainly eat almost anything if it has been seen to be "human" food. The rule is that they are never fed at the table, but there may be something in the kitchen when we have finished. The excitement begins to mount when the noise of knives and forks ceases... The only exceptions are raw fruit and salad, which they politely take and immediately drop.


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## Constance (Jun 4, 2013)

We feed our girl and prepare food at a central kitchen island and Coco is always jumping up on that and reaching for the plates. The other night she grabbed half a sandwich from my husbands plate. Of course she is always ready to eat human food while there is kibble in her dish. because Ginseng would not touch it I always think its a miracle when Coco goes over to her kibble and starts chompi g away at it. I am happy to augment her kibbke with treats--I just dont want her to do what Ginseng did, refuse kibbke altogether and make us cooking slaves.


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## treehugr55 (Oct 4, 2013)

I was really leery about an only kibble diet too-- growing up, we fed our poodle a mix of kibble/wet in the beginning, and once she hit around 9 years old my mother began cooking all her meals. She lived to 17, I think partly because of those wholesome home cooked meals!!

Sadly I can't cook for my two, so I've gone through 6 different types of grain free kibble to find one they love. They're incredibly picky eaters. I tried giving them a little canned (and I mean like a teaspoon of canned), and they BOTH ended up with the runs. Clyde more so than Bonnie. So that was a failed experiment. I stick with Taste of the Wild kibble now, and they only eat once a day since they turn their noses up at food in the morning. I add digestive enzyme powder and omega-3 oil as supplements. They also don't steal human food, or really show much of an interest in what my boyfriend and I eat, we actually can eat dinner on the couch with them curled up beside us and they don't even so much as sniff the dinner plate. Clyde did steal a bite of salami one time out of my boyfriends sandwich, but hasn't shown an interest in anything else! 

Long story short, I think it's perfectly OK to only feed high quality kibble if the dog likes it. In my case I didn't have much of a choice, since the wet food didn't agree with their digestion. I add a little organic chicken broth to spice things up and mine are doing just fine!


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

Constance said:


> We feed our girl and prepare food at a central kitchen island and Coco is always jumping up on that and reaching for the plates. The other night she grabbed half a sandwich from my husbands plate. Of course she is always ready to eat human food while there is kibble in her dish. because Ginseng would not touch it I always think its a miracle when Coco goes over to her kibble and starts chompi g away at it. I am happy to augment her kibbke with treats--I just dont want her to do what Ginseng did, refuse kibbke altogether and make us cooking slaves.


my understanding is that most dogs can be trained to stick to their dog food. the human has to be strict with him/herself and not give in to those begging eyes! also keep your dog out of the kitchen, where there is too much opportunity to go after dropped food, etc. one friend had a gsd that was not allowed in the dining room, even, during people meal times. of course it was amusing to hear the story of how her front toes always managed to be over the threshhold.


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## treehugr55 (Oct 4, 2013)

Agreed patk.

We've worked with an in-home trainer. Ours do not come into the kitchen, they show almost no interest in human food. They do not beg at the dining room table, and we can leave our plate on the coffee table with food on it, go into the kitchen, and they will not touch the plate. We don't feed them human food. They're happy and well fed, and love their dog treats/food. But they respect our boundaries, and they're happier for it because I never have to shout NO or LEAVE IT if someone tries to steal my dinner. I'm happy I don't have to yell, they're happy because they can calmly sit next to me at dinner and enjoy my company. 

You can always train a dog to respect your boundaries or learn to not beg at the table/kitchen, it just takes patience, hard work and consistence.


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## Lily's-Mom (May 31, 2012)

A high quality kibble should be fine, IMO. I add water to Lily's kibble because she doesn't drink much. And occasionally I add a spoonful of yogurt or pumpkin too. In my mind it keeps her from eating the same boring food day after day, but honestly, I don't think she cares.


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## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

If you are feeding poor quality kibbles, No. I'd sure hope they get some healthful table scraps like meat and plain cooked veggies. Or canned added in.

If you are feeding the mid to higher quality kibbles, then yes, they can thrive just fine on kibble alone. I do feed kibble and canned, cooked, fresh fruit and veggies, and yogurt. Not much, just enough to mix in. Sometimes not at all. I used to add in raw but I have had far too many tooth and tummy issues to make ti worth it.

Of my 4, my poodle cannot handle a lot of variety and does best on 99% kibble and the tiniest of extras.


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## missmygirls (Jun 5, 2012)

outwest said:


> It's okay, and if it's a good kibble they would be healthy. The only issue is dinner time is one of the very best times of day for a dog. Couldn't you include a flavor variety of canned foods in small amounts with the kibble to make the food more interesting? They're not like cats who will eat the same kibble their whole lives and not blink an eye.


LOL, our cat Scooter, eats more than our dog. He hates to eat the same thing every day, and prefers the dogs food, LOL I think he and Remi weight the same. But he is not overweight, just a tall and long tom cat. Remi knows to eat up or it wont be there later, lol. I wish he would be content to eat the same kibble daily.


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## Hicubse (Feb 14, 2014)

Just get rid of the kibble and feed her entirely raw.


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Raw is not for everyone, or every dog. As long as it is a quality kibble that agrees with your dog, your dog will do just fine.


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## Constance (Jun 4, 2013)

Many weeks along now, and she is eating her Taste of the Wild kibble now just fine! Thanks for all the feedback.


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