Kibble Only Diet

[ruthless]

Hi,

My vet told us to put the dogs on a kibble only diet for a week cause they all had dodgy guts since they got home from 4wks in kennels. The week is up, but I think it's the first time ever that they've all been consistently been doing solid small poohs. They're on Eukanuba.

My question is does anyone feed their dogs only kibble? It's supposedly a complete food, so is there anything wrong with not adding meat or fish?

Just curious

[Rappie]

My own dogs have a diet that is primarily Eukanuba, with the addition of chicken necks / frames / odd edible bones / occasional table scraps. They have on occasion existed on entirely kibble without any ill effect. I work long hours and I'm often time poor so kibble is a solution that suits both myself and the dogs. IMHO they maintain excellent condition and do best on Euk compared to other brands - but a lot depends on the individual animals.

[Kavik]

My old girl had only dry (Euk) for most of her life - she is now 17 and lives with my parents, up until she was around 10 had only dry. Has chicken wings, eggs etc now as well. Not a bad run so far

My own dogs get dry (Pro Plan at the moment) as well as chicken frames, eggs, sardines, fish oil.

[Georgie-boy]

My two are on a kibble only diet - I feed Eaglepack and at the moment am trialling Royal Canin which they LOVE. Occasionally they get lambs necks for their teeth but otherwise do just fine on the kibble - its a complete diet and they do well on the brands that I choose.

[Gomez the Norfolk]

Gomez gets only kibble (Eagle Pack Holistic) and he does just fine - once in a while he'll get a bone or a sardine, but otherwise, all dry.

If you're going to feed only kibble, you might want to look into some of the higher quality kibble out there such as EaglePack Holistic, Nutro or Natural Balance - the ingredients are higher quality and more wholesome and there is a lot less fillers such as grains and corn which can be difficult to digest.

[4 Paws]

my lot are doing wonderful on Nutro Lamb and Rice.

They do get a chicken carcass or brisket bone a few times a week as well.Small poos and no doggy odors anymore.One gsd used to itch like crazy on other foods but this has stopped since being primarily on nutro

[Baby Dragon]

My mum feeds her Lab on kibble only - the science diet one.

She said it makes her Lab poo less, and she's happy with the condition of the Lab on kibble only.

Personally I only feed 1 cup of kibble per day, and then add 1 1/2 cups of chicken and pasta, or fish and rice, plus a bone. Like others have said, it probably depends on what kind of kibble you feed as to whether it's ok to feed just kibble. I'm not feeding a particularly expensive kibble at the moment, it's probably something I need to look into...

Edited September 26, 2007 by Blossom

[ShesaLikeableBiBear]

We feed Nutro Natural Choice as the basis of their diet. It is a super premium food which can be fed on its own.

We add chicken wings, sardines, and a small amount of Ziwipeak.

Our all have nice firm stools which are not smelly.

[Staranais]

I'd be concerned about keeping their teeth clean if they were fed only kibble. I know some kibble dog foods advertise themselves as teeth cleaning, but I don't personally buy it. If I were feeding kibble, I'd definately give bones as well.

But that's just my opinion.

[Poodle wrangler]

My mini poodle used to be fed only kibble for about 3-4 years, with only the occasional bone to chew (as in maybe 1 in 8 weeks)- no obvious ill effects and it was the dreaded Supercoat, too .

Teeth were/ are fine and he's now 6, but bones definitely brighten them up and I feed him raw bones more often now.

If you're happy, dogs happy and healthy, and poo patrol is easier, then why not?

I'd add a raw bone every week or fortnight, though.

[Baby Dragon]

Is there something wrong with Supercoat?

[Gomez the Norfolk]

Blossom, have a look at this webpage, and then look at the ingredients in the foods you have fed and the Supercoat - I think you will find that supermarket brands not only contain undesirable ingredients, but they contain a lot of ingredients tha are also unnecessary, such as corn, and various fillers.

There is a great deal of very current, very thorough information in this Health/Nutrition/Grooming- do a search under the name of the food or just read through the posts.

The super premium kibbles such as Eagle Pack, Nutro, Natural Balance will not be available at the supermarket, you buy them at pet supply stores or on the internet...

Have a read....

Edited September 28, 2007 by Gomez the Norfolk

[Baby Dragon]

thanks I will

I didn't know the thing about the ingredients.... it's all pretty confusing to me.

I just changed him from Chum (because I got told it wasn't the best) to Optimum because I got a free sample thing... I hope that it's better than Chum, but yeah, it's still from the supermarket.

I want to look into getting the ones you and others have suggested though I might need to rethink how I budget first... some of that stuff is really expensive. But I'm sure it's worth it for their health ;)

[Guest Robatife BCs]

thanks I will

I didn't know the thing about the ingredients.... it's all pretty confusing to me.

I just changed him from Chum (because I got told it wasn't the best) to Optimum because I got a free sample thing... I hope that it's better than Chum, but yeah, it's still from the supermarket.

I want to look into getting the ones you and others have suggested though I might need to rethink how I budget first... some of that stuff is really expensive. But I'm sure it's worth it for their health ;)

It is definately worth it. I have just changed my Borders from Royal Canin onto Eagle Pack Holistic because the ingredients are evidently much better, and the chicken holistic has 3 meat meals in it, and no corn!!

Blossom, they may be expensive but you will find that your dog will eat a lot less of the super premium foods because they digest them easier and their bodies absorb more nutrience instead of it going "straight through them". Supermarket foods will contain "meats" but it just means that it is a low quality meat and there probably isnt much meat in the food to start with. Look for foods that have Chicken/Pork/Lamb/Sardine (etc) MEAL.

You will also find that supermarket foods have a lot of fillers like corn, wheat, etc etc and these hold no value to the dog, they are just a way of making up the ingredients for the food, they are poor, cheap substitutes for quality.

Everyone I have spoken to think that Supercoat is better than the others, but just read the ingredients

If you are going to go all out and buy a super premium food, buy a holistic food, there are many premium foods that also sneak these fillers in so just read the ingredients

[Baby Dragon]

Cool... thank you

[MrsD]

My dogs all eat Optimum only apart from the occasional bone for their teeth & look fantastic. I took 2 of them to the vet last week for their annual checkup & she couldnt shutup about how healthy they were & how good they looked .

Blossom, I read the same old same old on here all the time from the same people talking about how only 1 or 2 brands are "good" & the rest are rubbish - at the end of the day it depends on how your dog does on the food that is the most important thing, not what others say or think. People are always going on about corn & "supermarket" brands - my dogs on Optimum are the best they have ever looked, are healthy, have super shiny coats, are full of life & have small firm stools, but if I listened to everyone else I wouldnt have even tried it.

I agree that Chum is less than the best, but don't be put off some of the other better brands (supermarket or otherwise) until you give them a try - you might be surprised .

[Tali]

I had the kibble only recommendation for my dogs too from my vet, and they are fine on it. Occasionally they get some suitable scraps, a marrow bone now and then, and about a teaspoon of meat each day (hand fed to train them - yukky but it works!), but otherwise all on dry food. I've used Euk and now am on Nutro - they love it and their stools are certainly smaller than my early dog owning days of Pal! I also give them Omega 3 fish oil tablets daily - Tali for her arthritis, and Jess because I can't see that it will hurt her.

[Gomez the Norfolk]

My dogs all eat Optimum only apart from the occasional bone for their teeth & look fantastic. I took 2 of them to the vet last week for their annual checkup & she couldnt shutup about how healthy they were & how good they looked .

Blossom, I read the same old same old on here all the time from the same people talking about how only 1 or 2 brands are "good" & the rest are rubbish - at the end of the day it depends on how your dog does on the food that is the most important thing, not what others say or think. People are always going on about corn & "supermarket" brands - my dogs on Optimum are the best they have ever looked, are healthy, have super shiny coats, are full of life & have small firm stools, but if I listened to everyone else I wouldnt have even tried it.

I agree that Chum is less than the best, but don't be put off some of the other better brands (supermarket or otherwise) until you give them a try - you might be surprised .

MrsD, it's not just "same old same old" from the "same people" there is a lot of research into this subject -

For example, I'm sure you have already read this website(because I have posted it before), but Blossom may have not:

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients

The reason this stuff keeps getting repeated is because people keep asking, sorry if you're bored with it....

I have always stated that the poster should do their own research first and then decide what they think is best for their own dog, and as you say, each dog is different, there may be a dog out there that has perfect health on CHUM... If someone is happy feeding their dogs corn and fillers, then whatever...

Now, if you have seen great results with upgrading to Optimum, how do you know you would not see even greater improvement with a brand that has better quality ingredients?

Blossom, read all you can about positive-vs-negative ingredients, where these ingredients are coming from, how are they processed and where, and then decide what you want to feed your dog - then after that, it will be trial and error - you could have chose the best, highest quality food, but your dog may be allergic to something in it - so then you change, gradually, until you fins a good balance - it can take upto 6 weeks to see a complete difference from food change -

Happy reading!

[Baby Dragon]

...

Edited October 6, 2010 by Baby Dragon

[MrsD]

Now, if you have seen great results with upgrading to Optimum, how do you know you would not see even greater improvement with a brand that has better quality ingredients?

Maybe because I have tried most of the "better quality" brands before & have found that the Optimum is actually better for my dogs than the others? Guess that means I "downgraded" to get a better result .

And sorry if you get offended, but it is the "same old same old", if only every dog in the world could be fed according to a specific pointscore table published on a website what a wonderful world it would be. Unfortunately, they can't, like I & plenty of others have said so many times before, feed your dog what they do best on, not what everyone else thinks they should be fed on .

Blossom, don't be sorry, you are only trying to find out information, try him on other foods & if you get a better result then stick to it, but don't let someone else bully you into changing brands because they say they know what's best for your dog .