# Grinding Kibble



## Shammy

Does anyone grind up kibble, moisten and feed it like canned?

My Cookie choked on kibble (tiny Fromm pieces) a few weeks ago. E-vet visit determined she had esophagitis and megaesophagus, probably from trying to swallow down the kibbles that she eats rapidly. 

So vet said from now on, 100% canned food. Fromm's canned food is out of my price range. Ihave her on Natural Balance canned, but her coat is looking dull and shedding (and it's not her typical shedding season). I really think she looked her best on Fromm Salmon Tunalini. 

I have 3 other dogs, much larger than she is, so cost of food matters, along with DH taking a pay cut  

So, this morning I decided to grind up a serving of the Fromm dry food into powder, then I added water (which it promptly soaked right up. Gave her a sample and she was able to eat it without any trouble. 

Does anyone do this? Have you fed this way long term? 
I do a cooked meat or fish/veg combo "topper" from the crock pot, so they do get real food. 

Thanks for the thoughts


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## MMS

Interesting question! I've never done this, nor do I know anyone who does, but I had to add water to Max's kibble just to get him to eat it before we switched to raw. Fortunately, I've never dealt with megaesophagus (though they considered it at one time when Maggie was having trouble keeping kibble down). I can see how grinding the kibble would help it to soak up the water faster, and more efficiently. Is your pup able to eat better that way?


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## michele

What about just soaking them in warm water till they're soft.When i do vitamin tabs for Dottie,i have to put them in a plastic bag and hit them with a hammer (the things we do for our dogs )


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## joeandruth

I use Nutro Natural Choice (chicken, rice and oatmeal, weight reduction formula for small breeds). The pieces are quite small. The Nutro formulations,and there are many of them, consist of either larger size pieces, marked for regular adult dogs, and the smaller pieces for small breeds. Simcha is a bit larger than nearly all the Chi's here, at 15 lbs. He eats all his food at one sitting, at a reasonable pace, never gulping it down. So far no problems. I suppose I should count my blessings.


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## Shammy

I have tried the tiniest sizes of kibbles, the problem is, they are dry, and stick to the inside of her enlarged esophagus, and then pile up. She will choke on that and also retrograde aspirate the kibbles up into her sinuses. 

I've tried soaking the kibble, thinking having them soft helps, and they still pile up. 

Today is the first time I've ever tried grinding kibble to powder and then adding equal amount of water. She was able to get it down fine, I massaged her esophagus after eating and there was no evidence of there being anything lodged in the throat. 

I think I might try feeding her this way for a while just to see, it would be a significant savings on the canned food. 

And i miss the way she did so well on the Fromm. Her coat was silk and just sparkled, good stool, far less tear staining than she has now. 

She's a tiny chi, also at 3 pounds, 12 ounces. (She could lose a few ounces still ,she's a smudge chubby).


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## Wicked Pixie

If she was doing well on the Fromm, then i think grinding it up is the best solution. I would grind up a fresh batch for every meal rather than storing it ready ground. I hope she feels better soon.


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## Shammy

So Cookie's last 3 meals have been 0.4 ounces ground fromm kibble, with ¼ cup warm water. I let it sit for a good 5 minutes and then it's somewhat thickened but slightly soupy. 

I have noticed that her breathing is MUCH better when she sleeps. She's not snoring herself awake (apnea) nearly as much. She has to really take her time eating her gruel meal now, which I think is definitely helping both the ME and the retro-aspirating. 

Will have to see if her tear stains improve back to nearly nothing like she was before the fromm. 

So, just sharing this if anyone has the need for a "soft" food, kibble + water is a viable method


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## michele

Great it's working better than grinding every time


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## Shammy

One last update: Here's what I've been doing. 
I grind up one cup of Fromm at a time, and keep it in a little tupperware in the fridge, just in case the fats could go rancid sitting at room temp (don't know if the coating on the kibbles penetrates all the way to the center). 

This lasts her 8 meals. I weigh out her portion (⅛ cup kibbles before being ground weighs 0.4 ounces, so this is what I weigh out of the ground, which is a rounded Tablespoon, really). Add 2 T warm water, and let sit until it soaks in, only a couple minutes for that to happen.

This doesn't form any clumps or chunks that she can just swallow down- those big chunks of kibble or canned just ended up sitting in her esophagus or aspirating up into her nasal cavity behind her palate. She takes licks of it, and takes a couple minutes to eat now, vs. just seconds. 

Bonus results: She does not snore nearly as much, does not act congested, and is able to sleep without apnea wakening her! She looks a lot more rested. Her tear stains have lightened significantly already from a dark red-orange to a light tan and much less eye weeping too. 

Stool is better than it was on canned, as is her breath (I think that had a lot to do with aspirating into her nasal cavity). 

So, overall super happy that I figured this out, and this will be her new way of eating for the rest of her years  

Maybe this will be helpful for anyone whose chi has breathing issues, snoring, etc, that could also be their problem as well.  
Thought I'd share.


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## susan davis

With megaesophagus (spelled?) this is perfect. She should really be kept upright (like sitting in a chair) for 10 minutes or so after eating. There have been some members who had dogs with this condition. One of them had a specially made chair they fed the dog in, I believe


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## Shammy

We made her a raised bowl holder a while ago before her diagnosis because we saw how much she struggled to eat and breathe. So far this is all she's needed but we can easily switch to an elevated position if she needs to. So far so good. :smile:


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## susan davis

One of the posters made a chair like (think like a high chair sort of). She was fed in the 'chair' and stayed in it for awhile after eating.


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## Wicked Pixie

The chair Susan is referring to is called a Bailey chair, designed for dogs with ME. More info on that here Canine Megaesophagus, Aspiration Pneumonia & Myasthenia Gravis


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