Hybrid Diet

A Hybrid Diet is Kibble + Fresh/Whole foods aka 'real food', this is an achievable way to feed a dog a healthier diet that can lead to positive health outcomes for your dog. The Hybrid diet is also the starting level of transitioning your dog to a 100% fresh food diet if that is something that interests you now or in the future.

Natural food in a bowl as opposite of dry dog'd food .jpg

When adding whole foods into a diet with a dog who has previously consumed dry food (kibble), it is important you do it slowly.

Going slowly allows your dog's digestive system the time it needs to be able to deal with this new food that comes with a different pH level, bacteria, and enzymes. It also helps your dog's gut-brain connection get on the same page, your dog's brain and gut are used to a high-carb diet, and most kibble (dry food) is predominantly plant matter (fruit & veggies) because it's cheaper than manufacturers using more meat/animal matter.

If you're choosing to offer raw foods (you don't have to, it can be lightly cooked), you may may read on the internet that you shouldn't feed raw food with dry food, this is absolutely false, it is no different than you eating cooked foods and raw foods together i.e. a steak + salad. Yes, they both digest at different rates but it does not matter.

Step 1.

You may choose to stay at this step forever, and that is fine, for others, this may be step 1 to eventually removing dry food from your dog's diet - either way, this is a life-changing step for your dog. For pet parents who are looking to feed a hybrid diet permanently to their dog, we recommend a minimum of 20% whole foods.

Remove 10% of your dog's kibble/dry food per day and replace it with fresh/whole food.

There is no easy comparison about how much whole/fresh foods to replace with the 10% kibble and this is because kibble is around 10% moisture and whole food/fresh food is around 60%+ so the volume is different.

We don't want you to get confuzzled by this point and that it becomes a barrier to you starting, so just take a guess, nothing bad is going to happen. Once the transition is over you can increase or decrease your dog's intake depending on their body condition.

If your dog gets an upset tummy at any point, go back to the previous step and then go slower, that might be 5% vs 10%.

Most dogs will benefit from chicken/turkey/white fish without skin during this transition as bland foods are helpful at the start. Sometimes if you provide too much variety, the digestive system can struggle because kibble-fed dogs have a lack of diversity in their microbiome (the home of the gut bugs in their digestive system) meaning they can't always cope with dietary changes as well as fresh/whole food-fed dogs. Some dogs may take months to transition, whereas others are done and dusted quickly - it's not a race.

Let your dogs' poos tell you how they're coping with the transition. Your dog may do better with a transition to cooked foods first, if you're in Australia Prime100 cooked rolls can work well for this, other than this, lightly cook what you're giving.

We recommend all dogs doing a transition be given a probiotic and digestive enzyme. If you're on a tight budget, click here for our recommendation. If you have a more flexible budget, consider this package deal. If you don't have the funds to do either, that's fine, don't stress, it's just a recommendation.

This is a guide for transition, not a rule:

Day 1:

Remove 10% of the kibble and replace it with bland meat such as turkey/chicken/white non-oily fish without skin. You can offer this lightly cooked or raw, however as discussed earlier, if your dog has a sensitive tummy then lightly cooked will probably be your best bet.

At this stage, you're just going to use the meat, not something that contains bones like chicken wings/necks, etc.

If your dog has allergies or intolerances to these animal proteins, use whatever works for you but I recommend you do not use game meats such as Roo at this transitional stage as they're a bit rich. If your dog just cannot get past this 10% stage, cook the meat and introduce a dog-branded probiotic and digestive enzyme.

If you are going to stay at 10% permanently, click here to check out a list of foods you may like to include on rotation. You would add them one at a time if your dog has a sensitive tummy so you can learn what foods your dog does and doesn't do well on.

Day 2:

If your dog's poos are okay, remove another 10% of the kibble and add more meat as per the above so that you're now feeding 80% kibble and 20% whole foods. If your dog's poos are not okay, go back a step, stablise, and go slower i.e. a total of 15% whole foods vs 20%.

Stop here or continue on:
If poos are good then those who are looking at transitioning fully to a fresh/whole foods diet can continue to the Day 3 guidelines. For those who would like to stay at this point permanently, we have included some whole food DIY mixes that you may like to use in the gallery directly below. You can also use commercial frozen patties that are a balanced diet on their own that you can get from the pet shop, click here to learn more about those.

If you are going to stay at 20% permanently, click here to check out a list of foods you may like to include on rotation. You would add them one at a time if your dog has a sensitive tummy so you can learn what foods your dog does and doesn't do well on.

When introducing organs such as liver and kidney as well as any game meats such as Roo, do so slowly, these are quite rich and have an acquired taste. Some dogs may need to have their offal prepared in a different way for them to accept it, click here to learn more.

When feeding 20% whole foods + 80% kibble permanently, you do not need to worry about "balance". When you go beyond 20% whole foods permanently then you will need to feed that portion as a balanced portion which we will cover more in the steps below, continue to 'Day 3'.

Day 3:

If your dog's poos are okay, remove another 10% of the kibble and add more meat, you will now be feeding 70% kibble and 30% fresh/whole foods.

Day 4:

If your dog's poos are okay, remove another 10% of the kibble, and this time you're going to add 5% meat and 5% cooked and mashed pumpkin without the skin. You will now be feeding 60% Kibble + 35% Meat + 5% Pumpkin.

Day 5:

If your dog's poos are okay, remove another 10% of the kibble, and this time you're going to add 5% meat, 5% cooked mashed pumpkin, and 5% raw/cooked broccoli - you will now be feeding 50% Kibble + 40% Meat + 5% Pumpkin + 5% Brocolli.

Day 6:

If your dog's poos are okay, remove another 10% of the kibble, and this time you're going to add 5% Pumpkin and 10% Brocolli you will now be feeding 40% kibble + 40% Meat + 5% Pumpkin +10% Brocolli.

Day 7:

If your dog's poos are ok, remove another 10% kibble, and add 10% Meat + 20% of mixed mashed vegetables of your choice that are dog safe - you will now be feeding 30% kibble + 50% Meat + 20% Mixed Veggies.

Day 8:

Time to add bones, choose a chicken or turkey bone that is safe and appropriate for your dog - remove the skin. If your dog has issues with chicken or turkey, select a bone from an animal your dog is okay with.

20% Kibble + 30% Meat + 10% Plant Matter + 40% (approx) edible bone - no need to be pedantic here.

Small-medium dogs might have 1-4 Chicken necks/wing tips, whilst larger dogs might have 1/2-1 chicken carcass - this is just an example, choose bones that you deem safe and appropriate for your dog.

Learn more about feeding bones here.

Day 9:

Time to add offal. Liver can be rich and an acquired taste which is not always well received by novice dogs, so we're going to start with kidney, avoid offal from pigs and game animals for now as they're quite gamey in taste and a bit rich on the tummy.

If you cannot access kidney, then you will just have to go with whatever liver you can get hold of.

I recommend you blend it and mix it in well with the other food as offal can sometimes be an acquired taste - you may need to prepare the offal in a way that is more palatable to your dog, learn more about that here.

If your dog gets fussy even with using our offal guide linked above, we recommend you address it immediately here.

On this day 9, you will be feeding 10% Kibble + 50% Meat, 5% Kidney, 15% Plant + the remainder in edible bone.

Day 10:

Bye-bye kibble.
If poos are fine, it's time to finalise your transition, we recommend you use our web app to create your recipes, it will work out everything for you - be sure to watch the instructional video so you don't get lost.

Dogs coming off kibble may appear a little hungry initially, so here are some ideas on how to fill your dog up:

Include at least 1 healthy fat in every meal - click here
Include plants with good amounts of fibre - build up the amount otherwise too much fibre can upset the tummy.
Pears, Strawberries, Avocado, Apples, Raspberries, Bananas, Carrots, Boiled Beetroot, Brocolli, Artichoke, Brussels Sprouts, Cooked Lentils, Cooked Kidney Beans, Cooked Split Peas, Cooked Chickpeas, Cooked Quinoa, Cooked Oats, Ground Nuts except for Macadamia, Ground Seeds such as Pumpkin and Sunflower, Ground or Soaked Chia Seeds & Cooked Sweet Potato.
Add a little water or bone broth to the food bowl.
Slow down their eating using enrichment feeding toys such as lick mats and the like.
Include foods that science says are more filling.
Boiled Potato but don't use as a large portion of their diet as it's very high in carbs which dogs are not meant to consume a lot of, slowly digesting carbs such as beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils, Greek Yoghurt (full fat), eggs, nuts except Macadamia, lean meats and fish but make sure you're giving healthy fats with them, Cottage Cheese & MCT oil (start small and build with MCT otherwise you can end up with disaster pants).