Dog Food Toppers: A Win-Win Solution for Picky Eaters

Is your dog excited about meal times? Food toppers are a great way to spice things up. They are also a great way to add healthy nutritional diversity by providing different proteins, minerals, and macro and micro nutrients. We are all for variety at meal times and cannot rave enough about toppers. Food toppers mean a greater variety of nutrients for growing puppies and can encourage better feeding for a dog who is not fond of restricted health management diets.

There are 4 key features for toppers besides great taste:

• Protein diversity;
• Healthy omega’s;
• Superfoods; and
• Hydration, hydration, hydration!

Once you get the jist, feel free to go wild to create your own topper combinations. Remember to keep track of the weight of food you’re giving, and reduce the volume of the main course as you increase toppers to avoid overfeeding and weight gain. Have fun!

1. Protein Diversity

Freeze-dried mixers and toppers are a convenient way to feed raw and add protein diversity. They are essentially raw food with moisture removed by rapid cooling. This means freeze-dried toppers are a nutritionally dense source of food without the risk associated with handling raw food. This makes it perfect for homes with young kids and elderlies. They crumble easily and are often soft enough for small puppies and senior canine friends.

Our favourites include:

	These are made up of 95% pure meat, organs and bone from grass-fed, cage-free, and wild-caught proteins. They are available with chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, duck, salmon, and pork. Containing organic fruits and vegetables and added vitamins, minerals, probiotics and antioxidants, these meal mixers contain all the ingredients to form a 100% complete and balanced dinner for your furry friend.
	For extra picky eaters, this topper contains all the benefits of Stella and Chewy’s Meal Mixers, but is finer and mixes well into kibble, preventing your pup from solely picking out the freeze dried pieces to eat.
	A topper made with only one ingredient, and that is 100% natural and pure US sourced cheddar cheese. It is high in protein and a great source of calcium, with all its nutrition preserved in the freeze-dried process. It is easy to digest without any added preservatives, and your dog will love the fresh taste of cheddar cheese!
	Perfect for topping up your kibble with raw, natural, minimally processed nutrition. They are made with protein-packed, cage-free chicken and chicken liver, or grass-fed lamb and lamb organs, plus non-GMO vegetables & fruits. Support proper digestion, healthy skin & coat, energy and vitality with a nutritional and flavorful topper!

2. Healthy Omegas

A good dose of healthy omegas are not only great for our dogs’ skin and coat, but it is also good for their hearts, immune system and joints. How great is it to add whole pieces of fish to our fur kids meals without having to handle raw fish? A side note, not all little fishes are made equal. Check to make sure yours are from great clean sources and not too salty. Bugsy’s Little Fish are wild-caught Australian Greyback fishes with high levels of omega-3, offering anti-inflammatory properties, immunity booster, and brain health promotion. Northwest Naturals Freeze-Dried Minnows offer a premium nutrition boost and provide an easy way to add a single ingredient, hypoallergenic topper to your dog’s meals by breaking them into small pieces or crumbling them on top.

And what better way to gently support joints than with natural and tasty freeze-dried green lipped mussels that are loaded with glucosamine and chondroitin. Dogs love them and it makes our heart sing to see that they are devouring a topper that is tasty and brings back their bounce.

3. Superfoods

Nothing is more wonderful than a heapful of super antioxidants and beta carotene. The gentle natural sweetness of pumpkin and sweet potato is packed full of good stuff. It is a favorite for many dogs and the healthy fibres also helps them feel more satiated, which is great for dogs who need to stay trim. Turn back the clocks and have our beloved fur friends live healthy and strong.

4. Hydration. Hydration. Hydration.

Like humans, dogs' bodies are made up of nearly 80% water. Having ample water to flush out the system is so important for health. Aside from using a water fountain to keep your furry friends’ water aerated to encourage drinking, we love adding moisture to their food whenever possible.

Canned food such as the Wellness 95% Recipes are filled with lots of high-quality protein, with no extra ingredients added. It is a grain-free, all natural recipe, available with chicken, lamb, turkey, or salmon. Rawz Steam Cooked canned food is another option, where the main ingredients are meat and natural vitamins and minerals, without any artificial gums.

Broth is useful for senior dogs or dogs recovering from illness to ensure they get their required nutrition when they don’t have much appetite. The broth softens kibble, making it easier to eat. Open Farm Grass-Fed Beef Bone Broth and Primal Pet Foods Turkey Bone Broth are natural sources of collagen and chondroitin, which are good for joint support. They also contain anti-inflammatory ingredients such as turmeric and ginger. Honest Kitchen Bone Broths are even made with human grade ingredients. Just dissolve the powder in warm water and pour over kibble to provide a warm meal for your dog!

Add lactose free pet milk to your dog’s food for a natural source of calcium to maintain healthy bones. Pet milk also contains omega-3, Vitamin E, Beta-carotene, and CLA, to support a healthy body, from improved skin & coat to heart health to immune system support. Lactose free milk is easy for our furry friends to digest while maintaining all the natural goodness and taste of cows’ milk.

Add some home cooked ingredients for a special touch

If you have time, you can add some home cooked food to your dog’s kibble. Eggs and high-quality meats can be a good protein source, while fruits and vegetables such as blueberries and spinach can add beneficial vitamins and minerals.

Our dogs love variety just like we do! Using food toppers is a convenient way to add more variety to their meals. What is your dog’s favourite topper?