Alex Seilis
Mixing kibble with raw food is common for dog owners who like the convenience of kibble but want to provide their pets with a more nutritious diet. It can also be used during the transition to a raw food diet or when a 100% raw diet isn't financially feasible.
But just because mixing raw food with kibble is common, that doesn't mean it's the best thing to do.
The benefits of incorporating raw food into your dog’s diet are undeniable: fresh, whole foods offer superior nutrition compared to most commercial kibble. However, mixing raw foods with kibble can actually pose potential health risks if not managed properly.
So before you make any big changes to your pup's diet, let's look at the dangers of combining kibble and raw food ... so your dog can get the benefits of raw nutrition safely and effectively.
How Dogs Digest Food
Before we talk about ideal diets for dogs, we need to understand your dog's digestion.
Your pup's digestive system is a finely tuned process, relying on enzymes and stomach acids.
Enzymes are special proteins that help break down food into smaller, usable parts. These enzymes are found in the stomach and the pancreas. When your dog eats, the enzymes in the stomach start breaking down the food.
The stomach lining produces hydrochloric acid, which keeps the stomach very acidic, around a pH of 2, like vinegar. This acidity is essential because it activates enzymes, like pepsin, which breaks down proteins into amino acids, the building blocks your dog needs for good health.
This acidic environment also helps kill harmful bacteria and pathogens that might be in the food. The stomach acid neutralizes these threats, preventing them from moving further into the digestive tract and causing illness.
After the stomach does its job, the partially digested food moves to the small intestine, where enzymes from the pancreas finish breaking down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates into nutrients that the body can absorb. Keeping this acidic environment is key for effective digestion and overall health.
How Dogs Digest Bone
Acids also play a vital role in breaking down bones, which are an important part of a raw diet for dogs due to their nutritional benefits. The high acidity in your dog's stomach helps dissolve bones, making their valuable minerals easier to absorb.
A simple experiment you can try at home is putting a chicken bone in a bowl of vinegar. After a couple of days, the bone becomes soft and bendable because the acid dissolves the calcium and other minerals, showing how stomach acid works similarly in your dog's digestive system.
In your dog's stomach, the acidic environment dissolves the calcium in the bones, making them softer and easier to digest. This process allows dogs to safely eat bones and ensures they get essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, zinc, and manganese, which are crucial for their health. These minerals are important for bone health, enzyme function, and the overall structure of cells and tissues.
So maintaining an acidic stomach environment is essential for dogs on a raw diet, as it maximizes the nutritional benefits of bones.
This is where the problems with kibble start to crop up...
Kibble Starch Alters Digestion
Kibble and raw food have a big difference in their carbohydrate content.
Raw food typically contains between 0% and 15% carbohydrates, most of which are non-starchy. But kibble often contains at least 30% starch to maintain its shape.
Some kibbles can even have as much as 60% starch. This high starch content is necessary for kibble production but can impact your dog’s digestion.
That's because the presence of starch in kibble affects the pH balance in your dog's stomach. The enzyme pepsin, which breaks down proteins, only activates in highly acidic environments with a pH below 2. When starch from kibble raises the stomach's pH, pepsin production decreases, impairing protein digestion.
This altered pH level also affects the release of pancreatic enzymes, which are crucial for breaking down food in the small intestine. As a result, undigested food particles can lead to problems with the digestive process.
Kibble Changes Gut pH
Remember how important stomach acid is for your pup's digestion? Well, feeding your dog kibble raises the pH level in the stomach, making it less acidic.
This reduced acidity hinders the stomach’s ability to break down food effectively and neutralize harmful bacteria. A less acidic environment is less efficient at initiating the digestive process and protecting against pathogens.
When the stomach pH is higher, harmful bacteria like E. coli and salmonella are also more likely to survive and multiply, potentially causing digestive issues and illness.
Plus, a higher pH means that bones in raw food won't soften and break down properly, increasing the risk of blockages and reducing mineral absorption. This imbalance can lead to digestive discomfort, yeast infections, and other health problems.
How To Mix Raw Meals And Kibble Safely
Due to the issues above, if you want to safely mix raw food with kibble, you should focus on maintaining healthy stomach pH.
Maintaining a low pH level in your dog's stomach is essential for safe and effective digestion. A controlled pH environment ensures that digestive enzymes function correctly, harmful bacteria are kept in check, and bones are adequately broken down.
Implementing strategies to maintain an acidic stomach can help prevent health issues related to mixed diets. Luckily, there are a few dietary adjustments and supplements you can use to help support an acidic digestive environment.
Add Probiotics
Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that help maintain a healthy gut flora. Adding probiotics to your dog's diet can support digestion, nutrient absorption, and the immune system.
They may also help balance the gut microbiome, reducing the risk of digestive disturbances.
Probiotics compete with harmful bacteria for space and resources in the gut, effectively "crowding them out" and helping to prevent them from causing problems.
Probiotics also aid in producing digestive enzymes, further enhancing the digestive process and ensuring your dog gets the most out of his food.
Add Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is another natural product that can help lower the pH of your dog's stomach, making it more acidic.
This increased acidity can support healthy digestion and may help kill harmful bacteria present in food, which is important when feeding raw meats. ACV mimics the natural acidic environment of a dog's stomach when fed a raw diet.
To incorporate apple cider vinegar into your pup’s diet, add one teaspoon to one tablespoon per 50 pounds of body weight to meals. This simple addition can help maintain an optimal pH level in the stomach, when mixing raw and kibble dog food.
Bones And Switching To Raw
A final tip when transitioning your dog to a raw diet: start by gradually introducing raw meat and organs without bones. Allow your dog's digestive system to adjust to the new protein-rich diet over a week to ten days.
This slow transition helps avoid digestive upset and ensures a smoother adaptation to raw food.
Wait about a week to ten days before adding bones to your dog's raw diet. This delay allows the stomach's pH to adjust to the new diet, ensuring it can effectively digest bones.
Introducing bones too early can increase the risk of blockages and other digestive issues.
FAQ
Is it okay to feed kibble and raw together? Feeding kibble and raw together can lead to digestive issues due to the different digestion times and pH requirements. To maintain a healthy dog, pet parents should consider controlling the pH levels by adding apple cider vinegar or probiotics when mixing kibble and raw food.
Can I feed my dog half raw half kibble? Yes, you can feed your dog half raw and half kibble, but it’s important to manage the digestive process to avoid issues. Adding probiotics to a kibble diet can help digest raw meat better and reduce the risks associated with feeding kibble and raw together.
How much raw do you add to kibble? When mixing kibble with a raw meal, start with a small amount of raw food, like a quarter of the meal, and gradually increase to balance digestive health. Pet owners should ensure they maintain proper pH levels in the stomach to help digest raw foods effectively.
What raw food can you add to kibble? You can add fresh food such as raw meat, organs, and bones to dry food or kibble, ensuring it complements your dog’s diet. Most raw foods can provide additional health benefits when mixed with dry dog food, but it's essential to monitor digestion and adjust as needed.
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