# feeding raw with another food?



## Onyx (Nov 28, 2011)

After tons of research I've finally decided to try my dogs on raw. I'm not quite ready to do my own raw, especially since meat is so limited in my area, so I've decided to go with a premade raw for now. I'm most likely going to try Primal raw but I was wondering would it be harmful if I fed this as a meal and ZiwiPeak air dried food as another meal? It would really extend how long the raw would lasts my dogs and it's not exactly cheap where I live. I hear mixed feelings about feeding raw and kibble in the same day but would ZiwiPeak be a problem? Don't really know since it's not really a kibble. Thanks.


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## carrieandcricket (Dec 6, 2011)

Since you are feeding the Ziwipeak as a meal, the Primal should be fed as an intermittent. That's what I read anyway. I think too it depends on the type of Primal you are feeding them. There are other people that can help you better than I can. But at dogfoodadvisor.com they have all that information too.


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## Blue Chi (Oct 12, 2011)

I don't think there's any reason you can't feed raw in the morning and ZP in the evening or vice versa. We do that some days. Some people feed primarily ZP and a bone in raw meat several times a week.


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## 20887 (Mar 16, 2011)

I have fed raw and ZP in the same day, without any problems. Just feed one food for each meal and you should be fine.


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Well I will buck the trend. I have fed ZiwiPeak and a frozen raw pre-made in the same meal and had absolutely no problems at all. 

It's probably BEST to just give one per meal. But I think the theory that raw and processed foods process differently and should be fed 12 hours apart, etc. is a myth. A dogs GI tract can certainly handle that. Of course it is a case of know your own dog. But I would have no problem feeding them as meals in the same day, or even together.


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## 20887 (Mar 16, 2011)

Oh, I guess I forgot to add that I also feed raw and ZP in the same meal sometimes.I just mix the two together, and we haven't had any problems.


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## Onyx (Nov 28, 2011)

Thanks everyone for the answers! I'm definitely going to go with Primal Raw for some meals and ZiwiPeak for others. They are already eating ZiwiPeak regularly and have no problems with it but they haven't been on true raw before. When I switch, should I mix small amounts with the Orijen kibble and slowly take away the amount of kibble? Or should I stop the kibble cold turkey and just start feeding the raw?

Last time I tried a premade raw it was the brand Nature's Variety and I changed cold turkey but they got REALLY hard poops, like hard as rock. It was painful for them. Most people told me it was most likely because the brand's bone content was too high, but I don't know. Do you think that's probably why, or because of the sudden change? This was about two months ago btw. I put them back on the kibble for a while before wanting to try this again.


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## flippedstars (Dec 16, 2009)

I feed a pre-made and/or raw in the same day as Ziwi all the time, no issues here


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## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

I would drop the kibble cold turkey and go straight to the raw. Shouldn't be a problem at all. 

If you try a brand and get constipation, you could just add in a meat meal in between the pre-made. For example... feed a meal of NV, then a meal of beef, pork, or chicken meat, then another meal of NV, etc. That would help balance out the bone content. Some dogs are more sensitive than others to the amount of bone required to keep their poop firm. If you do add in meat meals, just add one protein at a time and make sure whatever you buy hasn't been enhanced with a salt solution. (Read labels and keep sodium at 100mg or less per 4 ounce serving.)


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