Transitioning back to kibble - Page 1

I am starting to transition my 3.5 yr old female back to kibble (Orijen), does anybody feed kibble and let say a turkey neck or chicken back in the same feeding? I know there is alot of controversy on this but I was wondering if anybody has done this with no issues? In fact I think when I was making the transition TO raw I did this. Should I do a gradual switch back, adding a little kibble to the raw at a time for a few weeks?

NO.  Feed one or ther other not both at the same time.  One meal kibble, other meal raw.  Why are you going back? 

Yes, there are many different opinions. Do what you feel is right for your dog. In my opinion, dogs are able to switch from one kind of food to the next without transition. This should come natural, as different food sources are available in the wild, they won't always be able to only catch one kind of animal, if they would live without a human.
Only if your dog's immune system is compromised (e.g. genetic disease, aquired illness or right after vaccination), I would not switch food unless absolutely necessary.

My dog gets different foods frequently. I personally wouldn't want to live on on food source most of my life.

Vet diagnosed her with Secondary hyperthyroidism, the X-rays show weak bones in the legs and a little on the spine. They suggested that I was feeding too much protein and her systems was pulling the calcium she needs from her bones. They said she needs a more balanced diet with some calcium supplements, then re X-ray in 6 weeks to see if the bones are getting more dense.

I would be EXTREMELY careful with calcium supplements; is this vet highly specialized in nutrition and German Shepherds or orthopedic/skeletal concerns in large breeds? 

What are you feeding? I mean, exactly. What made you take her to the vet? Any other health issues? If you're feeding a fairly balanced raw diet, I have major suspicions that whatever is going on with this dog is not just because of diet. The body has a great ability to rid itself of what it doesn't need in its natural form- less so with synthetic minerals. 

I would look into a vitamin D deficiency, some type of malabsorption issue, hereditary thyroid issues, etc. I would hate to miss something underlying by just treating the symptoms. 

I originally took her to the vet because she was limping on her right hind leg after working her. This has been on going with the vet for about 4 weeks now. They put her on rimadyl (I know not good) and a sedative to keep her down. Then the next week started limping on left front leg. Went back to the vet and this time they sedated her and did X-rays of the ACL, hips and front leg as well as blood tests. Hips are good, checked ACL no tear or even a partial tear no movement. They said by the look of her bones on the X-rays that she has secondary hyperparathyroidism, what was explained to me as low calcium even though her blood calcium levels were okay. The vet said that she is pulling the calcium from the bones to cover, the defficiancy. I was told that her getting fed raw for almost 2 yrs. was not balanced enough of a diet. Too much protein. I feed her a beef and organ blend, beef and tripe blend, venison, wild boar and for bones chicken backs and turKey necks along with salmon oil vitamin e and some pro biotics. Talked to her breeder and no health issues with parents or litter mates. I am using a all natural calcium supplement made from ground seaweed. Was told it was specially for raw feeders. I do not want to go back to kibble but her bone density must come up or else she could get a stress fracture or worse.

How old is she? I have seen this in pano, as well. I even had a dog who was biopsied to see about an odd area of bone because it didn't look like pano and was lacking in density. It was pano! Another thing to look at if she really has a density issue is bone marrow hypoplasia- I dealt with this in an older puppy one time. Was your dog ever on Tribrissen, Bactrim, etc.? They can cause this. 

She is 3.5 The vet did mentioned pano, and explained to me that it can also be seen in mature dogs up to 5 yrs of age. My major concern is the thinning of bones in her legs and along her spine ( according to the X-rays). She has never been on Tribrissen or Bactrim or anything like that. What is bone marrow hypoplasia? What are the symptoms causes and what is the treatment for such? They are really hammering home the whole raw diet thing with me. I am going to start feeding Orijen and see in 6 weeks if her bone density has changed. They wanted me to give her tums with calcium!! No antacids for a raw fed dog in my book.

Sorry, I did see that she's 3.5 the second time around. Bone marrow hypoplasia can be caused by several things. http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/10208.htm

Of course they're not happy about the diet. If you'd said you feed Iams during your first visit, it's likely that they would've looked for another cause;-).

Can you email me the xrays? I have an orhto specialist friend I'd like to have take a look at them if he doesn't mind. My email is in my profile. 

Thanks so much for you replies. Yes I will get the X-rays tomorrow from the vet and email them to you. I agree about the food one of the techs even asked me if I wanted to purchase a bag! Thanks again for all your help.