Dog food toppers are the perfect complement to any mealtime.
Dog Food toppers are a great option to not only add more variety but to entice your picky eater.
As parents of a Japanese Akita and Tibetan Mastiff, we know full well how picky some dogs can truly be.
Dog Food toppers are the perfect option to entice the picky eater in your life. We recommend always having a couple of food toppers so that you can rotate more often for the extremely picky eaters.
Dog Food Toppers are a great option for dogs with certain medical conditions, where getting the dog to eat becomes increasingly difficult.
Dog Food Toppers, treats and chews should ideally not make up more than 10% of your dog’s daily calories.
Dog Food Topper options
Bone Broth
First on the List is Bone Broth. Do not however buy most bone broths for humans as many of them contain too much salt, and also contain onion which is toxic to dogs.
Bone broth is also a great topper option as it doesn’t add a high amount of calories to your dog’s diet relative to most other dog food topper options.
Be aware that many products labeled as bone broth are in reality just expensive stocks. True bone broth will have jello-like consistency when allowed to thaw in the fridge.
You can also make your own bone broth at home. Simply add any combination of bones and then add a little apple cider vinegar to a stockpot or slow cooker and allow it to cook for preferably 48+ hours.
If you are going to add other things to the bone broth we suggest adding them at or near the end, so that the heat doesn’t kill off all of the phytonutrients.
We will soon be offering powdered bone broth for dogs in the near future. We currently offer frozen bone broth for dogs local to Orange County California
To read more about the nutrient content of bone broth and how your choice of bones influences the nutrient content read the blog post on bone broth here.
Due to the phosphorus content of bone broth other dog food toppers may be a better option for dogs with CKD.
Raw Goats Milk, Kefir, and Goat Yogurt
Raw goat’s milk is a fantastic option. Raw goats milk also provides beneficial bacteria which support a healthy gut. Goats milk contains less lactose making it easier for your dog to digest. Raw goat’s milk also provides a wide variety of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.
There are now many companies selling raw goat’s milk, Kefir, and we do sell freeze dried goat yogurt for dogs. You might be able to ask the vendors at your local farmer’s market or even possibly craigslist to find local to you raw goat Milk.
Now some kefirs may not be all that they are made out to be as far as containing the Colony Forming Units CFU’S that they claim. For more information read the blog post What’s in your Pets Kefir.
If you want to you can add water to our freeze-dried frozen yogurt to make it more of a liquid, and then add it to the food.
Dry dog food is usually around 10 % moisture. So adding Goats milk, Kefir, Goat Yogurt, or Bone broth are great options to increase the moisture content of their diet. They are also great options for dogs with extremely sensitive stomachs.
Eggs
Raw eggs do not include the shell if it is store-bought, or you can cook up some scrambled eggs for your dog. You can also give them quail eggs which are much smaller. If you want to find fresh quail eggs you can once again can ask a vendor at your local farmers market. The other option is to search craigslist as quail is one of the most common animals raised by urban farmers. So not only are the quail eggs likely cheaper, you get truly fresh quail eggs, and get to support someone in your local community.
Fish Oil
Fish Oil- Krill, Salmon, Sardine, or Anchovy oil are all great options especially as they are rich in Omega 3 fatty Acids. Krill Oil is unique as it is mostly in phopholipid form instead of ethyl ester. There are scentless options if you don’t like the smell, but it is possible that it might not be as effective at enticing the picky eater to eat their food.
Frozen Sardines or Canned Sardines
If you go the Canned route make sure they are canned in water. You might want to feed them outside as the smell can linger.
Both Fish Oil and Sardines are great options as they are rich sources of Omega 3 Fatty Acids specifically eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). These will help bring down the Omega 6 to Omega 3 Ratio of your pet’s diet which AAFCO allows to be as high as 30 to 1. In comparison to humans, most recommend a ratio below 5 to 1. They are also a valuable source of iodine.
Green Tripe
Raw Tripe smells absolutely appalling, but that also makes it extremely appealing to your dog. After Athena’s Spay Green Tripe was the only thing that could get her to eat. As with Sardines, you may want to feed them outside. More and more stores are carrying Green Tripe, from a variety of brands, but Petkind also makes a canned Green Tripe.
Commercial Food Toppers
There are also commercial dog food toppers. None of our food toppers are single ingredient, because ideally food topppers should be more nutritionally balanced than just chicken breast or some other single ingredient option. Our Dog Food toppers are however single protein, with the ability to customize. Our customization options are 1 adding in Salmon, 2 adding in our antioxidant boost, or option 3 adding in both the salmon and the Antioxidant Boost. you can read more about our antioxidant boost at Antioxidant Boost.
All of our food toppers are freeze dried powders which makes it a very easy addition, and allows for it to be fully mixed in.
What makes our toppers different than many other toppers on the market is that our aren’t simply treat leftovers that are ground up into a powder. While this is a good way to cut down on waste some companies in our opinion are charging far too high a price for something they would have otherwise thrown away. Many of them are also single ingredient ie Beef Liver
Homemade Dog Food Toppers
The more economical way is to simply set aside or cut off a portion before you start seasoning and cooking the meat. Some dogs may prefer it raw others might prefer it gently cooked. You can either add this to the dish to be given during mealtime, or refreeze and feed at a later date. You can also combine it with other meats at a later date.
If you do go the homemade route I recommend adding in some organ meat such as liver, heart, spleen, kidney, sweet bread etc. We also encourage rotating between a variety of different meats.
Most grocery stores carry a limited amount of organ meat. However, most ethnic stores will carry a wider range of organ meat. You can also speak to the meat department or the vendors at your local farmers market, and many will gladly help you.
At the end of the day rotating between different dog food toppers will not only keep your picky dog eating it adds more variety, and the rotation may possibly help strengthen your dog’s gut, so their stomach isn’t as sensitive. Which only makes rotating between different dog foods easier whether they are Raw, Dry, Wet, gently cooked or freeze-dried.
Note if your dog is an especially picky eater, it may be the result of certain medical conditions, so it is important to have a conversation with your veterinarian.
