Would you like to have the same meal every day? And, imagine if it was dry, hard kibble – even if it is nutritious kibble I am sure this gets boring to your pet. Food toppers can be used to stimulate an appetite or to switch up the flavor of the kibble. The main reason I like food toppers is to enhance the nutrition of both my dogs and cats. Toppers come in a variety of textures: freeze dried, gravy, dehydrated, raw or lightly cooked, and canned. The meaty flavors are irresistible to both cats and dogs, as they typically stick their head in a bowl when toppers are added. So add excitement and “build layers” of nutrition to your pets bowl by offering some of these easy to use food toppers.
If you’ve ever experienced a finicky eater it can be quite frustrating. I always say a healthy dog won’t starve herself. Well, my little 7 lb. Malti-Poo, Miss Beverly would go without eating for days until I started to add a variety of food toppers to her meals. Her favorite topper is Primal Goat Milk.
You can add excitement to your pet’s bowl by customizing your pet’s food to include a variety of proteins including clawed o hooved animals and fish. For example, if you feed a lamb based food (hooved) top it off with a fish based food topper. The fish adds important Omega-3 oils that are great for the skin and coat.
Food toppers can also be used if you need to stay within a limited ingredient diet. To do this you will simply stay within the same protein source as the kibble. For example, if your dog or cat does well on duck dry food add a duck topper to maintain a limited ingredient diet. Why the topper when it’s the same protein? The freeze-dried meat provides many more nutrients than what is in your pet’s kibble. It is super simple!
Here’s a variety of food toppers I recommend:
Canned food
Dogs love canned food! Just stir in a few tablespoons into the dry food. A great tip is to then add water to the can to make a ‘gravy’ for the next feedings. This extends the canned food for an entire week. Can food provides additional moisture, which is important for their everyday health. We offer a variety of canned foods including Merrick, Zignature, Taste of the Wild, and Fromm just to name a few.
Freeze dried food
I believe all dogs and cats should have freeze-dried foods added to their kibble because it upgrades your kibble into a super nutrient packed meal. Many freeze- dried food toppers are a complete meal on their own, as they deliver necessary nutrients in addition to a protein source; such as ground organ meat, ground bones, fruits, veggies and even coconut oil. Even if the food you feed is of excellent quality, there are only a few brands that actually add organ meat to the kibble, which are not processed out when cooking. The best part about freeze-dried is that it crumbles easily and can be stirred into the kibble. The shelf life is long if properly sealed. We offer Stella and Chewy’s and Primal freeze-dried recipes – available in all flavors and all sizes.
To ensure my dogs get everything they need I also add in addition to the freeze-dried meal topper a variety of freeze-dried organs such as: freeze dried kidney, heart, lung, liver, tripe and spleen. Each month I focus on a specific organ and add a few tiny pieces of that particular organ meat all across the month. Then the next month I switch to another organ meat. I follow the philosophy that by adding heart organ meat to your pet’s diet will help them maintain a healthy heart. We offer packaged freeze-dried organ meat from Vital Essentials, Primal and Merrick among others.
Gravy
These are new on the market and offer added moisture and flavor without any unnecessary sodium or fats. Suitable for both cats and dogs. I prefer broth bowls vs. stocks, as the grocery store stocks have too much sodium and are made with onion and garlic. My favorite is Fruitables broth bowls that are proudly made in Texas. I heat my broth up slightly which make my dogs go wild because they know dinner is being served! Only a ¼ cup is necessary as these broths are nutritionally dense. Try our new Fruitables Gravy Broth Beef or Chicken Bowls today.
Dehydrated food
While these are packaged to make a complete nutritional meal, they also make a fantastic food topper. The food is rehydrated with water making preparation easy. This oatmeal textured food coats the kibble offering a unique way to change up the texture of your food. Dogs and cats love this style of eating and those with poor or very few teeth love the softer consistency. We offer The Honest Kitchen, Bravo (my Sadie Pearl’s favorite!), and Sojo’s.
Raw goat milk
The benefits of adding Primal raw goat milk to your dog and cat’s food as a topper are many. Try it and you will notice the difference in their skin, their tummy is not upset, and their desire to eat will change greatly. We hear every day at Patsy’s that the added goat milk has helped dogs feel better. Most of all, their immune system is strengthened with the Primal raw goat milk.
You can add food toppers on the weekends to change things up or you can add them every day or every meal. At Patsy’s we suggest you offer your dog and cat a variety of the food toppers listed above – just remember to pull back on the kibble when adding the extra nutritious food toppers, to avoid any weight gain. There is no wrong or right when adding food toppers – let your imagination run wild and your dog and cat will thank you for this. Send us a photo of your dog or cats smile when you add a food topper and we’ll proudly post it on our Facebook!
