Soaking kibble before eating?

Postby BullyLady » October 16th, 2009, 5:57 pm

How many of you do this?

Shelby has been back on kibble for a few months now, and I soak it in water for 10 min before she eats because that is what my vet recommends. She said it's a good idea for two reasons, one is that they get more nutrition out of it with it partially broken down before ingestion and two because it can help to prevent bloat. Shelby isn't terribly deep chested, but bloat is always kind of in the back of my head I guess. However...... It would be SO convenient to be able to feed her her kibble totally through training exercises (since we use that for training treats anyways) or get her a Buster's Cube or the like since we are going into winter and she can get a little restless.

So I guess my question is, how many people soak their kibble? Do you all think it would be okay to not soak it?
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Postby iluvk9 » October 16th, 2009, 6:01 pm

I am a soaker. :dance:

Well, not TOTALLY mushy, but I put hot water on it, let it get a little gravy-like from their Nupro supplement, and then feed them.
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Postby amazincc » October 16th, 2009, 6:06 pm

I think if you feed dry kibble as a training treat or w/a Buster's Cube the chances of bloat would be slim to none since Shelby wouldn't be able to wolf down a whole bowl in 30 seconds??? :|
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » October 16th, 2009, 6:10 pm

Like Joyce, I just add some warm water to Inara's kibble and swirl it a bit. It doesn't soak, but it makes a little sauce for her. And I agree with Christine - there is a big difference between inhaling an entire bowl of kibble and getting it spaced out.
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Postby ArtGypsy » October 16th, 2009, 6:59 pm

:oops: Okay. I add kibble, 1/2 cup water, microwave for 40 seconds, let it cool while I feed Macy and Cats, then add one half to one third cottage cheese.
At dinner, rinse, lather, repeat, but with one raw egg, :oops:
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Postby mnp13 » October 16th, 2009, 8:51 pm

amazincc wrote:I think if you feed dry kibble as a training treat or w/a Buster's Cube the chances of bloat would be slim to none since Shelby wouldn't be able to wolf down a whole bowl in 30 seconds??? :|


I agree

I've heard that soaking increases the chance of bloat and that it decreases the chance :|
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Postby madremissy » October 16th, 2009, 9:02 pm

I feed TOTW. It doesn't really gravy up. :| They get a little bit of warm water on it right before it is given. Seems to slow my gulpers down. (Gotty and Sammy)
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Postby BullyLady » October 16th, 2009, 9:05 pm

madremissy wrote:I feed TOTW. It doesn't really gravy up. :| They get a little bit of warm water on it right before it is given. Seems to slow my gulpers down. (Gotty and Sammy)


I also feed TOTW, it doesn't gravy up it just kind of bloats and gets mushy.

Thanks for the input guys!
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Postby furever_pit » October 16th, 2009, 9:26 pm

I soak for young puppies, but that is it.
After that they earn all food from training and sometimes work-to-eat toys.
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Postby Marinepits » October 16th, 2009, 9:35 pm

I don't soak, except as a "treat" sometimes. It just doesn't seem necessary for my guys -- they like their food and eat it any way it's prepared. Plus, you can't really keep soaked kibble in your pockets for training treats, LOL.
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Postby plebayo » October 16th, 2009, 9:55 pm

I've just started soaking Seth's food because if I don't he will gulp his food down, barf it up, then eat it again. I pretty much add hot water, get the other girls' food ready, feed my other critters and then by that time the food has softened a bit and then I feed it. Then he doesn't barf it up.

It is kind of a good thing, if you have a dog prone to bladder issues the extra water is a good thing. Wet food [not necessarily soaked but wet] is what is recommended for cats, especially males because it can reduces chances of urinary tract infections and crystal formation.
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Postby BullyLady » October 16th, 2009, 10:26 pm

Marinepits wrote:I don't soak, except as a "treat" sometimes. It just doesn't seem necessary for my guys -- they like their food and eat it any way it's prepared. Plus, you can't really keep soaked kibble in your pockets for training treats, LOL.


Oooooh, she would be HAPPY to eat it unsoaked! LOL
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Postby Jenn » October 16th, 2009, 11:07 pm

Sometimes I do it as a treat too, very rarely and mostly when it's really cold.
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Postby Malli » October 17th, 2009, 12:53 am

Oscar thinks soaked food is something special ;)

I don't soak it but Oscar doesn't gulp down his food and he gets smaller (for him) portions throughout the day, or he grazes.

I soak if I'm trying to entice him to eat or if I'm mixing wet food in with his kibble (spreads it out over the kibble better if you mash it into a gravy with the water)
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Postby iluvk9 » October 17th, 2009, 8:06 am

So, Cathleen, are you totally confused now? :popcorn2:
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Postby Marinepits » October 17th, 2009, 9:10 am

Malli wrote:I don't soak it but Oscar doesn't gulp down his food and he gets smaller (for him) portions throughout the day, or he grazes.


Mac tends to gulp (not as bad as he used to), so he gets small portions twice a day in a divided dish. The rest of my crew gets fed twice a day as well.

I've found that the dogs don't "gulp" their kibble if the kibble is "small bites" sized. They have to work a bit harder to get those tiny pieces, LOL. It's hilarious to watch Shorty chase one tiny kibble in circles around her bowl! She's been known to flip her dish over if she can't get it. :giggle:
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Postby Malli » October 17th, 2009, 12:26 pm

oh good grief Shorty! :rolleyes2:
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Postby TheRedQueen » November 2nd, 2009, 5:37 pm

I use a Brake-fast bowl for Score, as he tends to inhale...and I HATE that...whether or not it causes issues, it's a pet peeve of mine. lol

http://www.brake-fast.net/

This really slows him down, with plain dry kibble, watered kibble, even kibble with mix-ins added...
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Postby call2arms » November 2nd, 2009, 10:53 pm

I soak too. Pour some hot wate on top, let it sit for a while, then feed.

I don't see why it would cause more/less bloating, since bloating is usually caused by excessive gas formation (which I don't think increases with water in the kibble) and/or a crazy amount of food in the stomach.
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » November 3rd, 2009, 8:01 am

TheRedQueen wrote:I use a Brake-fast bowl for Score, as he tends to inhale...and I HATE that...whether or not it causes issues, it's a pet peeve of mine. lol

http://www.brake-fast.net/

This really slows him down, with plain dry kibble, watered kibble, even kibble with mix-ins added...


Have you ever seen these in stainless steel? Inara breaks out on her chin if she eats from plastic.
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