[FrankiesDoggie]

Barring any allergy or food sensitivity issues, is it safe to feed dogs different species of meats/proteins in the SAME meal? Say for example I have chicken based kibble, and for a raw topper I use duck or beef. I like the variety of different proteins on a daily basis, but I wasn’t sure if it would be perfectly safe for the dog.

Thanks for any thoughts!

[Susan]

Hi if you have a healthy dog that doesn’t have any food intolerances & skin problems from certain foods, then yes….. they recommended dogs should eat all type of proteins & not just eat 1 single protein, this is when food intolerances happen….. My boy cant eat chicken it makes him itch & get red paws, so I make sure he gets pork, salmon, Lamb, kangaroo.
I rotate his kibbles also so he doesn’t eat the same brand & same protein kibble, you can tell a healthy dog by their coat, Patches coat shines, also buy tin Sardines in spring water & add a few sardines as well, sardines are very healthy….
Join a few Canine healthy face book groups, like “Canine Nutrition and Natural Health” & “Rodney Habib” F/B page he always post healthy foods to add to your dogs diet, sardines, blueberries, coconut oil, turmeric, yogurt, then slowly reduce the kibble & feed a raw diet….

[InkedMarie]

I mix proteins all the time!

[Rachel K]

I mix animal sources in food; when feeding fresh foods it is crucial to avoid deficiencies.

The aim with mixing it up in regards to avoiding food allergies/intolerances developing when feeding dry is to make sure the dog doesn’t eat exactly the same thing day in day out for the rest of its life so you’d mix/rotate over time so they aren’t eating the same thing 🙂

[FrankiesDoggie]

Thanks! I’d be rotating as a given, using the smallest bags so I can quickly rotate out different formulas and brands within say a 2 week span. I just wasn’t sure if I could get creative in terms of mixing different types of meats for the same meal (getting rabbit raw to top off a chicken based kibble, or maybe venison based kibble mixed with duck raw). Wanted to be confident even with odd combinations of meats that the dog would still be fine. 🐶

[anonymous]

The only problem with that is that it’s not cost effective. I buy a large bag of quality kibble and divide it up in air tight containers (2 week supplies) store in freezer or fridg.
If you are using different toppers every few days, they are on a rotation diet.
Sometimes, less is more.

[FrankiesDoggie]

I know, I’d get larger sizes but I live in a small apartment with a small fridge, so it’s a tradeoff between bulk and storage limits. If I ever get a house though, the first thing I’ll make sure it has is a nice big freezer.

[anonymous]

Check Best Buy, small freezers don’t cost that much, lol
Ps: Look for the self-defrosting ones. Houses often don’t come with refrigerators/freezers, so, you would still have to buy one.

[FrankiesDoggie]

I’ll see if it’s viable for my scenario (and if the landlord lets me have one). 😁

So the large bags of kibble you get typically last two weeks?

[anonymous]

No, I may get a 15 pound bag of dog food, half of it ends up in the freezer, the other half in the fridg, lasts at least a month, sometimes longer. I only use the kibble as a base for 2 small dogs.
Ps: I have a small fridg, most of what’s in there is for the dogs!

[FrankiesDoggie]

So how often do you rotate kibble, and how often the toppers?

[anonymous]

It depends on the dog. My dog with environmental allergies and a sensitive stomach does well on Nutrisca, Salmon and Chickpea , so I don’t change that.
My other dog seems to be able to eat anything, so, I have been trying different kibbles by Natural Balance and mixing it in with the Nutrisca for him, I don’t like that they use a lot of potato, but otherwise it’s okay. I don’t rotate kibble, I stay with one or two brands that agree with the dog.
Toppers change about every 3 or 4 days……depending on what’s marked down at the local market. Again, the freezer comes into use.

[FrankiesDoggie]

Thanks, that helps give me an idea for routines to follow. 🙂

[InkedMarie]

Anon: when you freeze kibble, how do you “thaw”?

[anonymous]

I just transfer it to the fridg a few hours prior to serving. Be careful, some kibbles that have a lot of fish oils and such don’t freeze well, I remember Orijen was one of them. Nothing bad happened, but they say freezing is not necessary and it changes something.
Usually just storing the kibble in a closed container in the fridg is good enough, for about a month (in my experience)
Ps: Those empty plastic coffee containers are good for storing kibble. Or, some people like to use those large plastic freezer bags.

[InkedMarie]

Thanks! I have the 28lb bag of Earthborn which is fine, I can use that up but some of the other ones (Victor, Dr Tim’s) that I want to try come in 40lb bags that would be more economical.

[Author]

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