Rehydrated Raw Foods/Supplementing Kibble with Home Cooked Meals

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

I am interested in other Doodle owners that are using dehydrated raw foods. I am a bit squeamish about the raw part. I still add Taste of the Wild kibble to their meals. I found with kibble alone they both went off their food, Skye had anal gland problems and Sadie was bringing me poo pops.

I am thinking of supplementing by cooking a stew of chicken/turkey and veggies to add to their kibble. That way I know exactly what is in it and it's cooked.

Anyone else using raw foods, rehydrated foods or supplementing kibble with home cooked meals?

[Leslie J]

I frequently mix poached chicken and fish with veggies into Cocoa's kibble (Orijen). When I'm too busy, I combine Ziwi Peak (which is air-dried meat) with Orijen. I mix them because otherwise (with kibble alone) Cocoa eats too infrequently and develops anal gland issues. The good thing about this mixture is if she doesn't finish (which happens often) the food is all dry and doesn't have to thrown away. The Ziwi Peak is yummy enough to inspire her to eat.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Hopefully Jane (Guinness & Murphy) will chime in here. She feeds one dog Honest Kitchen dehydrated raw food with home-cooked food added, and her other guy gets Petcurean kibble with the homemade food added. Her homemade food recipe is completely balanced and vet approved and the PDF for the recipe is here in TFG. 

My Jack's diet is about two-thirds LID kibble and one-third homemade food, boiled diced chicken breasts mixed with a little baked mashed sweet potatoes. I do this to add protein and fiber to his diet. 

Getting the nutrients and calories right in a homemade diet for Sadie is going to be more difficult than for Skye, due to the fact that she is a puppy and still growing. 

[Kelly & Zoe]

I know this is an old post, but I've been searching for Jane's vet approved PDF homemade food recipe.  I'd love to get a copy of that!  Thanks!!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's in The Food Group. :)

[Pam Thomas]

I have been looking too, can't find it yet, but have read a lot of good info

[Kathryn digregorio]

Hi,  Breezy eats Wellness in morning mixed with Stella and Cheweys dry raw chicken or dry salmon, beef etc.  At night she eats kibble mixed with cooked home made chicken , fish vegetables or what ever I eat (if good for her).  She gets her veggies at night.  She is 13 months and 24 lbs. and in good shape.  This works for us so far. I don't eat red meat or pork, she sometimes gets that but not much beef because it gives her soft almost runny stools.  

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I do feed Honest Kitchen freeze dried raw and have for quite awhile.  Both of my Doods have IBS and this has been such a great solution for them.  I mix my home cooked recipe with the HK (rehydrated) and then I don't have to worry so much about the supplements which was always my concern when I was only feeding home cooking.  G & M have solid poops...and the best part is that they really love their food.  Let me know if you have any specific questions.

[Leslie J]

If I'm mixing my own food (chicken and veggies) I mix 30% homade with 70% Orijen. I rely on Orijen for the nutrients not found in my home cooked foods. Ziwi Peak is a complete and balanced diet, so when I mix it with Orijen it is still a balanced diet.

I poach chicken and organic veggies (fresh or frozen) in water on low heat unti the chicken is no longer pink. I use just enough water to cover. I dice it with a knife and freeze it in serving sized portions. I also give Cocoa leftovers of our own protein (usually chicken or fish) from dinner, diced as a topper. If I mix homemade food which is moist I throw out the leftover kibble because it could spoil.

Cocoa now weighs about 38 lbs. I don't measure her food because she never overeats. I just give her the same size serving each day, and she always leaves about 1/8 to 1/4 cup after she's done. She's quite skinny under the fluff, but our vet said she has a poodle body so she should be lean.

[Lisa & Greg]

So what do you all mean by anal gland problems? Our two 6-month-old doodles don't seem too interested in their food (Blue Buffalo for puppies) and they pass very stinky gas ;-) I wonder if they are having problems with the food. Oh, we also add yogurt to each meal. They eat twice a day and rarely eat all the food in the bowl.

[Lynda Kamrath]

Most dogs don't have problems with their anal glands.  Your vet or groomer can show you how to express the anal glands.  I do it when I give the dogs a bath.  Harpo always has a good squirt and Groucho has never had a problem with his anal glands.  Harpo also walks backward up a tree so he can squirt a little higher.  What a man!!!  I don't think it is affected by the food they are eating.

[De Voeller]

So many different opinions on what is the most healthy and safe foods for our doodles.  I finally switched Annie to Science Diet after talking to my vet.  Science Diet foods only use ingredients made in the U.S.  They will not import from China.  My vet visited their manufacturing facility this summer and was impressed w/their quality control and ingredients and where they got and processed them.  He said they do have one ingredient they use from China but they do their own testing of the product before they use it in their manufacturing.  Annie is not a big eater so I mix pumpkin or chicken broth on her food sometimes.

[Shari Becker]

We feed Lexi 2/3-3/4 pre-packed raw and/or raw dehydrated food. I will admit, it's more expensive, for sure, and I don't use the powdered kind, like honest kitchen, because my dog won't eat it. We generally use the primal or stella and chewy dehydrated packages, which you can mix with some water to make soft, chunks. For frozen, my favorite is the pellet form, which is made by a few different brands. The dehydrated patties and pellets are a breeze. You just break them up with your hands or a knife right in the dog bowl, add water and serve. Wash your hands. No mess.

We contemplated making our own, but then when I started reading about all the nutritional requirements AND I started thinking about the mess of having all that raw stuff all over my condo kitchen, I pretty much decided against it. For a while we used the frozen chub packs. That's another more affordable option, but honestly it still takes time to prep properly and freeze, and we kept finding ourselves in a bind .... Out of food, with only a huge chunk of frozen food. 

We have been giving Lexi small amounts of Acana kibble either as lunch or in her kongs, etc... It was my attempt to bring down our cost of feeding, but she really just seems to digest the raw stuff best. 

I have heard of some people just throwing a Stella and Chewy's dehydrated patty on top of a bowl of kibble. We were advised not to mix raw and kibble in one meal by two "raw" expert show owners. They weren't against mixing, just said dogs seemed to do better digesting them in separate meals. That has been our experience, too, but there's nothing that makes sense to me about it. It just could be coincidence.

Ziwipeak is a great option for some dogs. It's almost as expensive as feeding raw, but Lexi cannot digest it.

We do add some homemade food to Lexi's meals regularly. Raw eggs, yogurt, cooked vegetables, apples. She gets dog friendly table scraps all the time. 

Hope this helps! Happy to answer any more questions you have!

Shari