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Supplementing, Topping, or Adding to Kibble

25K views 45 replies 24 participants last post by  hanksimon 
#1 ·
Those of you who add to, supplement or "top" mostly kibble diets, what do you use? Why? And how often?

I've seen on here many times about how people add things to their dogs kibble meals, like canned food or yogurt or pumkpin etc. and was just wondering what everyone's individual reasons were for adding things?
 
#3 ·
I don't add anything to my current dogs' kibble. If I give them something extra I give it separately. But my first dog was SO picky, so that's why we added stuff to her meals.
 
#4 ·
Hi...I add 1 Cup of Boneless Chicken Thighs or Breasts simmered in Chicken Broth w/ 1/2 Cup of Veggies (mostly carrots, stringbeans or peas) ---- I switch off from the chicken once in awhile to 1 Cup of Beef simmered in Beef Broth & twice a week I add Sweet Potato & once in awhile I give him a little Beef Liver. I mix this with his Kibble, I feed Earthborn Kibble. :)
 
#6 · (Edited)
Gosh! Makes me shudder reading some of the comments. Depending on your belief’s Dogs were created or evolved as a carnivorous animal just like wolves, lions, tigers e.t.c. Carnivorous means meat eating full stop! Just imagine if you worked at a zoo, would you be feeding the wolves and lions pumpkin, rice e.t.c?

Secondly: carnivorous animals have been built to eat meat raw where all the nutrients are present in the natural form with the required biochemicals that will help absorb everything that the piece of meat has to offer. You cook it and you will firstly dissolve and remove most of the good stuff, whats remaining will not have the bio-availability for the digestive system to recognise the various nutrients, proteins e.t.c.

What is shit? its digestive waste. You want to know why dogs shit huge loads, runny pools, big fat turds? Because they are fed food that cannot be recognised, has very little value and hence most of it is converted into big smelly poo! Dogs on prey model based diet have very little dry crumbly shit that does not smell. My 65kg gets fed around 2 – 3 kilos as he is still young and growing, his shit will be half my palm, get it? Food large enough as a whole chicken when eaten raw only produces little shit, as its good food. Food such as high carb diet is mostly shit and hence the big poo’s.

Do your furry family member a favour and at the least do some reading such as this:

www.rawessentials.co.nz

http://rawfed.com/myths/

So, if you are going to stick to kibbles then at least use one that has very high meat proteins in it like Origen, and supplement it with raw meat. Best to have the raw meat stored in the freezer for 24 hours.

Even I used to feed kibbles until I researched a bit and found the above. Convert for the love of you pooch.
Gosh! Makes me shudder reading some of the comments. Depending on your belief’s Dogs were created or evolved as a carnivorous animal just like wolves, lions, tigers e.t.c. Carnivorous means meat eating full stop! Just imagine if you worked at a zoo, would you be feeding the wolves and lions pumpin?

Secondly: carnivorous animals have been built to eat meat raw where all the nutrients are present in the natural form with the required biochemicals that will help absorb everything that the piece of meat has to offer. You cook it and you will firstly dissolve and remove most of the good stuff, whats remaining will not have the bio-availability for the digestive system to recognise the various nutrients, proteins e.t.c.

What is shit? its digestive waste. You want to know why dogs shit huge loads, runny pools, big fat turds? Because they are fed food that cannot be recognised, has very little value and hence most of it is converted into big smelly poo! Dogs on prey model based diet have very little dry crumbly shit that does not smell. My 65kg gets fed around 2 – 3 kilos as he is still young and growing, his shit will be half my palm, get it? Food large enough as a whole chicken when eaten raw only produces little shit, as its good food. Food such as high carb diet is mostly shit and hence the big poo’s.

Do your furry family member a favour and at the least do some reading such as this:
www.rawessentials.co.nz

http://rawfed.com/myths/

So, if you are going to stick to kibbles then at least use one that has very high meat proteins in it like Origen, and supplement it with raw meat. Best to have the raw meat stored in the freezer for 24 hours.

Even I used to feed kibbles until I researched a bit and found the above. Convert for the love of you pooch.

Forgot to mention that my dog has never been bathed other than swims, he has no doggy odour, his long coat is shiny as, he has no discharges from his eyes or ears (never had to clean his ear) he has never had to be taken to a vet with any disorder (touch wood).

Peace
Navman
 
#34 ·
I'm a raw feeder myself but I see HUGE mistakes in your thinking.. You wrote "whats remaining will not have the bio-availability for the digestive system to recognise the various nutrients, proteins e.t.c." WHAT??? Cooking does destroy some amino acids in proteins but the body still recognizes the amino acids that are left. Yes, the food is no longer as bioavailable as it was raw but the in tact amino acids are still used by the body -- they are still recognized. The body knows glutamine when it sees glutamine..

I will admit that I HATE grains for MANY reasons.. But vegetables and fruits (in small amounts) can add huge benefits to the diet. I too try to emulate the ancestral diet BUT my dogs don't live in the wild. They live in a polluted environment -- car exhaust, chemical cleaners, formaldehyde in particle board furniture and carpeting etc. The extra antioxidants from fruits and veggies can help with these toxic exposures..

It is true, in my opinion, that wolves don't eat the stomach contents of large prey but they do eat the tripe. Which will have small bits of vegetation as well as the nutrients provided by that vegetation. And, they do eat the stomach contents of smaller prey. I've also seen video of wolves eating berries and grasses. Grass provides chlorophyll, magnesium etc. Yes, some eat certain grasses to purge but not all grasses are eaten for the purpose of purging.
 
#7 · (Edited)
I add boiled chicken or beef liver once a week. I add fresh blanched green beans once a week for a change. I add boiled chicken breast or chicken legs a couple times a week. I add chicken gizzards once every two weeks for a change. I sometimes add tuna fish or pumpkin or yogurt or slightly boiled carrots. I also add vitamin E and fish oil.

My dogs have been eating 4Health and TOTW. They are now eating Blue Buffalo.

Eddee is really picky and must have canned food for his morning meal. I have been giving him Purina Pro Plan canned. It was rated 4 stars on the dogfoodadvisor.

Reason: My dogs are very picky and rightfully so ... I just admittedly like spoiling them ... they live such short lives I want to make it as pleasant as possible for them. :)

EDIT: To some ... it may not have much nutritional value as it has been cooked ... but my dogs eat the best food I can afford ... and I believe they are getting proper nutrition this way ... and they think the toppings are delicious! Lol! :)
 
#8 ·
We had to put Skittles, our beagle, on a liver cleanse about five years ago. He and my other dog liked the diet so much we kept it with a couple of alterations to keep the cost down, and skittles seems to have gotten younger every year since! The diet was a mix of canned veggies, white rice, and cod. We substituted beef or lamb canned dog food for the cod and added a little dry kibble for his teeth. Both our dogs love this diet and are very healthy. We keep variety in the mix by changing which kind of canned veggies they get and using either beef or lamb alternatively. If we had the money we would also add some Broccoli. The oldest dog and oldest cat in the world had the same owner. He said his secret was to feed them broccoli with their food. The animals were in their thirties or forties and were both completely bald!
 
#9 ·
I think it's very interesting to hear what everyone feeds their dogs and why.

My two are definitely not picky and will scarf down anything. I feed them a rotation of kibbles, right now they are eating Nature's Variety Prairie Chicken, they definitely love having a variety. Sometimes I will add a few "extras" for them, frozen green beans, spoonful of cottage cheese, pieces of fresh veggies, just little things depending on whats available. Really don't have any reason, just for something special! These are also things that get stuffed in their kongs and frozen. I think I'm going to start buying some different types of canned foods to stuff their kongs with as well and maybe throw a spoonful on top of dinner every now and then.
 
#10 ·
My pup is a very picky eater with lots of dandruff in her hair. I started adding Missing Link Skin & Coat supplement to her Orijen kibble and within two weeks the dandruff disappeared and her coat is more shiny than ever.

I just bought some platinum performance canine wellness & will begin her on that regimen tomorrow.
 
#11 ·
I don't ever top the kibble but I do give raw meat of some kind for dinner a few times a week. Sometimes she'll get the raw every evening for a week and go a couple weeks without it. She usually ends up getting things I find really cheap or that we buy for ourselves and don't end up using in a timely manner. I've also been known to give canned tuna or salmon or an egg for dinner just for a change or because we need to use it up.

If I had more time and money I'd probably go raw so I feel that what I'm doing is better than nothing. Because the fresh foods only make up maybe 15-25% of her diet in a given month I don't have to worry so much about making sure it's balanced like I would have to with raw. And of course I am sure that she appreciates the variety.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Balanced meal is an overrated term and hyped by the pet food companies and the vets they sponsor. Its their main marketing weapon!!!! Think about how wild dogs and wolves eat. They live in packs and when a large prey is caught they settle down around the carcass to eat. Each member gets a position based on their ranking, so one meal for a member might consist of just eating the leg meat or stomach contents, organs, ribs e.t.c. They don’t eat bits of all parts, most often pieces are torn off and taken away to be consumed. A bitch could take a leg to feed her pups and herself, that’s all they get for that meal or day/s. Next time the order changes and they get some other part of the body. Over the course of time they eventually would have consumed various parts of the entire body. This is BALANCE. There is no need to balance each meal. Best thing to do is to get a chest freezer, fill it with carcasses of whatever you can buy, offals (heart, liver, brains, kidneys e.t.c) green tripe (stomach) if you can find it, meaty bones, meat, whole animals if you can. I get whole possums, rabbits, hare, fish, essentially animals killed for fur trade where the meat is of no use or sometimes sold to pet food companies. Most of the above can be found in the cheap bins at butchers, or befriend your local butcher and have an arrangement with him. Get it pre cut if need be depending on the size of your furry member. Once you have set up a freezer with such parts, just grab whatever comes to hand for feeding. Eventually they will get all parts of the body so no need to balance each meal.
 
#14 ·
Hi Kafkabeetle,

Balanced meal is an overrated term and hyped by the pet food companies and the vets they sponsor. Its their main marketing weapon!!!! Think about how wild dogs and wolves eat. They live in packs and when a large prey is caught they settle down around the carcass to eat. Each member gets a position based on their ranking, so one meal for a member might consist of just eating the leg meat or stomach contents, organs, ribs e.t.c. They don’t eat bits of all parts, most often pieces are torn off and taken away to be consumed. A bitch could take a leg to feed her pups and herself, that’s all they get for that meal or day/s. Next time the order changes and they get some other part of the body. Over the course of time they eventually would have consumed various parts of the entire body. This is BALANCE. There is no need to balance each meal. Best thing to do is to get a chest freezer, fill it with carcasses of whatever you can buy, offals (heart, liver, brains, kidneys e.t.c) green tripe (stomach) if you can find it, meaty bones, meat, whole animals if you can. I get whole possums, rabbits, hare, fish, essentially animals killed for fur trade where the meat is of no use or sometimes sold to pet food companies. Most of the above can be found in the cheap bins at butchers, or befriend your local butcher and have an arrangement with him. Get it pre cut if need be depending on the size of your furry member. Once you have set up a freezer with such parts, just grab whatever comes to hand for feeding. Eventually they will get all parts of the body so no need to balance each meal.
I never implied that I needed to balance each meal. In fact I think I made it pretty clear that I DON'T balance each meal. I don't have access to all the parts of an animal even over time so I don't feed raw. If I tried to at this point it would lead to deficiencies. I don't have a large freezer to keep the parts in either. Why is it so difficult for people to understand that not everyone is in the right life situation to feed their dogs raw? I feel like everywhere I turn someone is trying to convince people who have already stated they don't have the means or desire to do so that they can manage it this or that way. I understand how it works and have decided against it. Geez.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Okey, backing off:) meant it as a general blurb to all in the post really, Take care :) Just re-read your post and you said, quoting: "I don't have to worry so much about making sure it's balanced like I would have to with raw" Thats why i just expalined that with raw you dont have to balance contrary to what you said.

Peace.
 
#16 ·
Just re-read your post and you said, quoting: "I don't have to worry so much about making sure it's balanced like I would have to with raw" Thats why i just expalined that with raw you dont have to balance contrary to what you said.
But you *do* have to balance *over time* so you don't end up with deficiencies. That's just true. If I fed exclusively the raw items I was feeding now I would have an unhealthy dog before long.
 
#18 ·
Btw, I don't intend to sound overly harsh. It's just something that comes up a lot but it's not something you could have known being a new member (judging by your post count, not your join date). Anyway, welcome to the forum. :)
 
#21 ·
My dogs get a very high quality kibble (raw is hard to get here) and the protein source gets rotated with each bag.
They don't always get add-ins but when they do it varies from some good quality wet food (Ziwi Peak, TotW, Blue Wilderness, Merrick, etc), yogurt, cottage cheese, pumpkin, and sardines.
 
#24 ·
My dogs mostly just get Merricks canned food added to their dinner. Legend gets 2 spoonfuls, Faolan gets 1/2 a can (minus the 2 spoonfuls). I've been thinking about adding some raw meat in the mornings, like maybe a couple chicken wings for Legend and get a bag of leg quarters and replace Faolan's morning cup of kibble with a leg quarter a few times a week. Might go do that when I get paid again. I used to feed Faolan raw when he was a young puppy, like from 3.5 months old to about 7 months old, but it is too expensive here and I couldn't find as much variety as I wanted, so this would work better.
 
#25 · (Edited)
I mix stuff that Brownie likes, like chicken, fish or beef with broth, yogurt or gravy and freeze them in ice trays. He gets 1 cube per meal partially melted onto his dry food. All ingredients I use are organic, no salt and meats are in water if from a can. I also use Merricks canned dog food sometimes but he loves home cooked toppings much more. He's on rotation diet so he gets different brand and protein each time I get a new bag. I do it just to give him variety, he enjoys his food much more and it's fun making up recipes for him.
 
#26 ·
I have been reading all these posts about nutrition and I am starting to think I need to supplement my dog's diets! I am feeding Iams...which was recomended by their vet. Not planning to discontinue this brand since it's the only type my picky eater will actually eat...but now I want to supplement it with something home made. What ingredients do you guys reccomend I use? I see much about yams, and pumpkin, and fresh meat...what are the KEY foods you think would make a good supplement? Also, can you buy finely ground bone anywhere? Thanks!
 
#27 ·
Have you tried any of the premium brands that can only be found at pet stores or farm supply places? Chances are if you're only looking at the grocery store, there are many better foods your dog hasn't tried yet. Check out this site: dogfoodadvisor.com My dog was pretty good about eating her Purina One, but she really started enjoying her food when I put her on Taste of the Wild (purchased at Tractor Supply) and Earthborn (purchased online).

Also, I would recommend supplementing with raw meat, bones and organs, as well as raw eggs with the shell (or whatever of those is readily available to you). Personally I would forget the yams and pumpkin. Your dog is getting plenty of carbs from Iams and dogs don't even require carbs at all, so you wouldn't be accomplishing anything above and beyond your dog's current diet. Be sure to feed *at least* 50% prepared diet (like kibble) if you don't plan on doing a lot of research on keeping a raw or homecooked diet balanced. A raw diet can be awesome but you have to make sure you understand how it works or you can really harm your dog by causing deficiencies.
 
#28 ·
The girls get an egg on top of their kibble almost every day. Sometimes some cottage cheese, or yogurt, as well as any leftovers I decide to give them. Anything that's not poisonous to dogs, they get.
The Shiba eats raw, but also gets "toppers" every now and then. Cottage cheese, yogurt, etc. But he doesn't get leftovers like the Girls do, he has too many food intolerances for that.
 
#30 ·
Max eats raw, intact animals complete with digestive tracts every once in a while even. The only time he has ever been ill was from a fast food hamburger and the only time I have had food poisoning was from a county fair teriyaki bowl.

You don't have to feed raw, stew up some chicken and use a bit of that daily if you like. Save a bit of hamburger to cook plain for the dogs. Raw fed Max gets the scrapings from my scrambled egg pan. Put a bit of canned sardine or salmon in the kibble if you have it for lunch and so on. Just keep the emphasis on meat and such rather than plant foods.
 
#31 ·
I also add some boiled Chicken daily and some pan boiled chicken liver or gizzards once a week now. I also add a touch of olive oil to the liver and gizzards and just enough water to cook them (not covered in water) in a regular skillet. Once a month I add some tuna fish canned in water to their kibble. I have also been making them hard boiled eggs or scrambled eggs once a week now. I changed up a bit on my feeding habits. I either make their treats or they are allowed milk bones without food coloring, pig ears, and cow ears.

If I am making hamburger ... I will boil up a bit to keep them from eating an overload of fat. I worry about them being Schnauzer mixes and their pancreas now since Leeo passed on. Wonder if I am just too paranoid???
 
#33 ·
My dogs get Pinnacle grain free kibble. I top it with canned food. Weruva Human Style is the main one of choice, but I also will use Fromm Gold, Mulligan Stew, Simply Nourish, Nature's Variety Homestyle and Merrick.
 
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