Kibble size & help with breaking up kibbles...

[LattesMommy]

Hi everyone. I'm a new owner of a yorkie puppy. His name is Latte and he's 14 weeks.

I need advice on breaking kibbles...
The kibbles that he's eating right now are a bit big for him, although they are for puppies. I have to break each kibble into 4 smaller pieces. If I don't, he doesn't eat much. He would eat 3 or 4 kibbles and stop... He probably gets tired from having to chew a lot.
I was wondering if there are any ways to make this task easier. So far I have tried...
- Knife: Small pieces fly all over the place...
- Mallot: Breaks very unevenly, loud, lots of crumbs...
- Vegetable Chopper (Manual): Lots of kibbles left uncut, too much crumbs...
- Scissors: Slow and tiresome...
Is there anything else that I should try? Or are there any techniques to make it easier?

Also, how big are the Blue Wilderness puppy kibbles? I've checked the kibble size thread, but didn't find any info on it. But BLUE Small Breed Puppy Chicken and Oatmeal Recipe seems to be small enough for him to enjoy...

P.S. That's Latte in the profile pic. I'll post more pictures as soon as I figure out how to!

[cummins]

I am glad you asked this question I would also like to break them up

[tokipoki]

Toki ate the Blue Buffalo chicken and oatmeal for puppies and the Wilderness when she was a young puppy (from 10 weeks) and had no problem with the size. Hopefully someone can give a reference for how big the kibbles are. You might try using a pill cutter (tedious I suppose though...I use it to cut large kibbles from sample bags to use as treats). Good luck on finding a technique!

[dottiesyrky]

I wonder why you do not feed kibble that is small as is? You mention Blue Buffalo small breed small bites. I feed that food to my dog and the kibble is quite small, but not so small they don't have to chew some. It is a high quality food too. Before I got that kibble I had to break up the larger kibble and I used a flat mallet. It worked fairly well but did produce some powder as you say.
Perhaps you could get a sample to see if your baby likes it?

[LattesMommy]

Originally Posted by dottiesyrky

I wonder why you do not feed kibble that is small as is? You mention Blue Buffalo small breed small bites. I feed that food to my dog and the kibble is quite small, but not so small they don't have to chew some. It is a high quality food too. Before I got that kibble I had to break up the larger kibble and I used a flat mallet. It worked fairly well but did produce some powder as you say.
Perhaps you could get a sample to see if your baby likes it?

Because I didn't know the kibbles were too big for him when I bought it. (Orijen puppy) I looked into Blue Buffalo small ones after I realized that he has difficulty eating them..I do plan on switching to something smaller, which is why I'm trying to get info on kibble sizes. However, I still have a lot of Orijen left... Though reading tokipoki's post... I think I'll get a sample bag of Blue Buffalo small bites and see if he likes it... If he does, I think I could just start making the gradual switch to smaller-sized kibbles and use Orijen as treats or something. ^^

[cummins]

you might trying a little bit of warm water to make them a little softer that worked for me

[dottiesyrky]

If he likes the bb sample, you can always return unused food if the dog does not like it.

[dottiesyrky]

I have been thinking, if you really like the Orijen, perhaps you could put the kibble in a strong plastic bag and smash with a flat wooden ( steak tenderizing) mallet. Then you can just tip all the bits and powder into the bowl. He will probably eat it all, or if not, mix on a bit of water. What we do for our pups. LOL!

[LattesMommy]

Originally Posted by dottiesyrky

I have been thinking, if you really like the Orijen, perhaps you could put the kibble in a strong plastic bag and smash with a flat wooden ( steak tenderizing) mallet. Then you can just tip all the bits and powder into the bowl. He will probably eat it all, or if not, mix on a bit of water. What we do for our pups. LOL!

I like Orijen, but I'm still open to trying others to find the one that's best for him.

Thanks for the strong plastic bag suggestion. I'll give that a try. To be honest though... The powder and crumbs from using a mallet doesn't bother me as much as the loud banging noise. I live in an condo where the walls are paper thin... Sometimes I can even hear the TV from upstairs... I try to muffle the sound with a towel, but still kinda of scared of getting a noise complaint or something from the neighbors...

[dottiesyrky]

LOL! I don't think you will be evicted for a few minutes of noise. I did a batch at one time so it was only a short noise time. Perhaps you could do it outside or at a time when neighbors are out. But I think you would be happy with the BB food.
Ps. What about a quick spin in the food processor?

[LattesMommy]

Originally Posted by dottiesyrky

LOL! I don't think you will be evicted for a few minutes of noise. I did a batch at one time so it was only a short noise time. Perhaps you could do it outside or at a time when neighbors are out. But I think you would be happy with the BB food.
Ps. What about a quick spin in the food processor?

I really want to try that too! But I don't have a food processor! LOL. Been thinking about getting one for years... I reconsidered getting one when I was going through all possible ways to break up kibbles.... but there are too many choices out there, and I can't decide on which on to get. LOL.

[RileyDC]

I know your frustraiton!!
I had Riley on Orijen when he was a puppy but it was a bit too rich for him. I then switched him to Acana and would have to Cut the kibble... I just sat and did it with scissors! Acana changed their formula and it no longer agreed with Riley. He now eats Canine Caviar and I haven't had to cut since.

[LattesMommy]

Originally Posted by RileyDC

I know your frustraiton!!
I had Riley on Orijen when he was a puppy but it was a bit too rich for him. I then switched him to Acana and would have to Cut the kibble... I just sat and did it with scissors! Acana changed their formula and it no longer agreed with Riley. He now eats Canine Caviar and I haven't had to cut since.

That's why I'm very willing to try something other than Orijen. I like Orijen, but Latte gets soft stool every other day or so. Vet says he's healthy, so I suspect is due to the food being too rich?

[mimimomo]

I remember cutting Grasslands Acana w/scissors grrrr loll! The kibble is so dense & hard, even when I cut it up, my Momo who has tiny teeth still had a hard time chewing it. That made made me think that it would be x-tra hard for them to digest.
I also feed Canine Caviar. The size is similar, but the kibble itself is not as dense, easily chewable.

Here's an excellent thread on kibble sizes: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ce-thread.html

[LattesMommy]

Originally Posted by mimimomo

I remember cutting Grasslands Acana w/scissors grrrr loll! The kibble is so dense & hard, even when I cut it up, my Momo who has tiny teeth still had a hard time chewing it. That made made me think that it would be x-tra hard for them to digest.
I also feed Canine Caviar. The size is similar, but the kibble itself is not as dense, easily chewable.

Here's an excellent thread on kibble sizes: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ce-thread.html

I think you have a very good point there. If it's not easy to chew for him, maybe it isn't easy for him to digest either! Haven't thought about it that way.