Feeding only kibble, no toppers?

[N Smith]

My dogs get everything under the sun ( which is safe, of course) on their kibble or used as treats. I have 6 dogs, and 10 fosters over the last 5 years and NOT ONE picky eater. If I give plain kibble the dogs will eat just as fast and with as much gusto as when the kibble is mixed. Picky-ness is not, IMO, anything more than attitude and too much catering to the dog on the owners part.

I feed raw meals for breakfast and kibble with toppers for dinner, if I put the bowl down and the dogs head isn't in the bowl right away, then he was obviously not hungry. Dinner gets picked up until the next day, then we try again. If dogs are refusing food, or leaving food behind, then they aren't that hungry, so you could either cut down portions, feed fewer meals per day, or increase exercise so they work up an appetite.

I use many "people" foods for training and if I am out with the dogs and get lunch,, I always share a little with them. One of my friends even orders extra shwarma on the side when we order from our gave middle eastern restaurant, the whole staff knows that she is bringing it to her dog, so they give her a nice portion...lol.

OP, you said the dog doesn't beg, so no worries there. Balance in feeding should be achieved over time, not necessarily in each meal. You don't balance each of your meals everyday right? You just make sure that you eat the right foods as often as possible and provide VARIETY in your diet so you get different nutrients from various sources. Same goes for dogs, variety over time, fresh nutrient rich foods and take it easy of the sodium and sugar filed foods (fruit included).

[billsharp]

We feed all raw, once a day.We supplement with a daily multi-vitamin. As the mood strikes me we give leftover steak, sausage, bacon, shrimp, fish, etc. We give occasional eggs, raw or scrambled. We may feed from the table tiny amounts of people food (Liesl loves mac and cheese) but if we tell her to go away she does.

She loves to sit with us in our back yard and nibble on salted peanuts, cashews, pistachios, etc. She does not seem to care for merlot or cab, yet.

When we're really irresponsible she has been known to get a spoonful of vanilla ice cream, italian sausage off a pizza, french fries, cinnamon roll, croissant, potato chips, vanilla yogurt chips, Cherrios and Cheetos (all in tiny amounts).

Make sure you dog is eating healthy meals and is obedient, and otherwise, enjoy her.

[SS-GSD]

Originally Posted by WolfieWolf

But doesn't the hard kibble keep their teeth clean?

No, if kibble kept the teeth clean then 80% of dogs wouldn't have tartar build up and gum disease by 3 years old. Raw bones and brushing are the best ways to keep the mouth clean. My dogs have ALWAYS gotten scraps/leftovers and "extras" I buy/kill specifically for them. (ie. raw meat) I'll even clean out the fridge once a week and split whatever I'm not going to eat between my dogs. Guess what? They're alive and healthy. They always get good checks (Including blood work), good weights, good coats, ect. Mind you I feed raw now, but I was a kibble feeder for many years prior and that was always how I fed the dogs. If I had enough in my fridge then leftovers were all the dogs ate that day. Kibble is bland, boring and the only reason it's "complete" is because of the mass amounts of synthetic vitamins added because all the vitamins and minerals nature blessed the ingredients with are cooked out. Take a food with idk maybe chicken, turkey, potatoes, peas, carrots, blueberries, flaxseed, barley, ect...Think about how processed these ingredients are to get the same shape and color for each little piece. Maybe add in some colorful dyes for a couple of them. Synthetic vitamins are the reason that Ol' Roy has a "complete and balanced" label on it just as a food like EVO does. Sure, one has better ingredients than the other....But they're still "complete" for the same reason.

There is nothing wrong with feeding extras, I'd honestly never feed just kibble. It may be for some people but it's not for me. Mother nature blessed us with thousands of foods to nourish our and our pets bodies with...Why limit our dogs to only a couple? What did dogs eat before kibble was made?? Not something out of a bag with a label of "complete and balanced" slapped on it. I'm a firm believer that balance comes from variety and is achieved over time. I don't sit down and eat the same thing day after day that is 100% "balanced" at each meal. Nor do wolves or any other animal.

Oh and another note about the dry kibble/teeth thing...Even when I fed kibble I never fed it dry. I always soaked it, I see so many dogs choke on dry kibble and because dogs are meant to get fluids from their meals (Which dry kibble doesn't offer), I like to add it back. Many dry kibble fed dogs don't drink enough water which is hard on the kidneys.

I say feed how you want, if your dog does well with what you're doing and you're not feeding anything toxic then nobody else should tell you otherwise. You know your dog best, what he likes best and what he does best on.

[doggiedad]

i top my dogs kibble. i don't see how adding something
takes away from the kibble. you're "adding" something
to the kibble. when i use can fish it's in water no salt added.
i also give him fresh fish. what does lettuce provide?

[jocoyn]

I merely feed kibble.

At some point I may feed raw again, but right now I am more concerned about my grandchildren getting organic and natural foods than my dogs though I do feed a quality kibble.

[WolfieWolf]

I love these thoughtful comments and am so grateful for them. I see the point of truly and normally balanced over the course of time vs. phony balanced with synthetic nutrients (which I abhor in anything.)

doggiedad, can you tell me where you get canned fish with no salt? i get canned Alaskan salmon in water but it has salt. Oh, I won't get anything from China or other similar areas so maybe this is limiting me.

About how adding something can take away from the kibble, according to my two dog expert friends the experts have worked hard to get the % of ingredients just in the right balance, and adding more meat to it throws that balance off etc. etc. Yeah, I know -- tell that to a wolf or a dog in the wild, I wonder how they "manage" their balance. ha!

Thanks everyone, this is all so helpful.

[Caledon]

I never used to add anything to her kibble but just started to recently when I have available items.

We are not good with leftovers so when we don't finish a roast it gets chopped up and added to the dogs dinner. Same with leftover veggies. Never a huge amount but I always reduce her kibble whe I add extras.

[Blanketback]

As far as the clean teeth goes, I did notice that when I added things to the kibble, the pastey texture seemed to cling to my puppy's teeth and they were filthy. Now I don't mix everything up (I serve the pumpkin separately, and only sprinkle tuna, etc) and his teeth are much cleaner. He had bad tartar buildup on his canines that I used to have to brush off.