Supplementing Food... What to Add?

[mbc1963]

I feed Buddy Taste of the Wild High Prairie Formula. (He was itchy on the old food that had grains, so I switched to grain-free.) But, he wasn't drinking much, so I started adding water to the kibble, and progressed to adding water-and-leftover-whatever for flavor, and lately I'm actually buying chicken thighs and boiling them up, then using the hand-held mixer to grind up a slurry of yummy chicken-tasting soup to add to the kibble. Since I'm going that far, I figure I can add other healthy things.

 

So... If you were going to add random human leftovers to your pet's kibble, what would you add? Veggies? Oils?

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

Mary

[AmandaMJL]

Hi Mary. Mine get all kinds of additives each day, here's a list of some of the things they get - yogurt, cottage cheese, pure pumpkin, fresh veggies pureed raw, fresh fruit (apples, blueberries, etc), sardines, and a few others that I know I'm forgetting. As well 3 times per week they get frozen and raw chicken or turkey feet to gnaw on.

 

Taste of the Wild is a great kibble, we had some problems getting it regularly where I buy my pet food, apparently from getting it across the border...? Mine are now on Acana and Orijen.

[Root Beer]

I also feed Taste of the Wild. I supplement with bits of raw meat. Two of mine are raw fed, so sometimes I have extra and will throw it into the kibble bowls.

 

I might add some egg, yogurt, or a little bit of veggie.

[JohnLloydJones]

So... If you were going to add random human leftovers to your pet's kibble, what would you add? Veggies? Oils?

 

To make things more interesting I frequently add a "topper" to their kibble. Vegetables -- pretty much anything and everything we eat that doesn't have onion, cooked egg (scrambled, boiled and an occasional lightly poached 'Alla Becca'), dark rye bread (the real, dense German style), paratha, cheese (hard rinds and scraps). Yoghurt (plain) is sometimes served as a side or sometimes as a mid-day bonus.

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

I don't do nearly as much as some of you all! But if I find someone is getting picky I frequently add something extra. Daisy does not eat vegetables, so it's usually meat leftovers from dinner, but once a day, I do add salmon oil to their food. I have found that Daisy's silky smooth coat got even more luxurious and the foster dog stopped shedding so much. It also seems that Daisy is head over heals for this stuff....

[IPSY]

My dogs loves blueberries ( great antioxident ) and carrots ( raw ) apple ( peeled ) egg once a week ( crush up shell ) yes , I feed the shell too . Fish oil capsules ( omega 3 , 6 ) and I give them cosequin tablets once daily. Cottage cheese , plain yogurt , stale whole wheat bread chopped up into squares as a treat whenever I have some inthe house. And they get some raw chopmeat or turkey burger when available . Other then that , they get kibble a few times a week , and the rest of the days they eat raw. I give kibble to make sure they get a all the nutrients they need , and they do need carbs , so that should do it. I Ihave had them on kibble only , but found they do much better with the raw and kibble given on alternate days.

To each their own. Each dog is a individual and has different dietary needs and favorite foods. Whatever you find that works well with your dog , stick with it . But I have also heard that it is healthier to vary the diet slightly from time to time.

I have also given them foods from the Honest Kitchen , like their veg to bowl or something like that. My dogs love it and its something else thats good for them and you can cook it up for them if your the type that likes to cook for your dogs like I do and give them something special once in a while.

I had ordered that from Cleanrun.com , if you would like to check it out.

Just my two cents

[Alchemist]

Duncan (almost a year old) is fed Innova kibble. (Not EVO, which is higher in protein, but the "large bites"). He was getting Derm Caps each day, but I haven't been able to find them recently, so now he's getting Welactin fish oil gel caps each day. His coat is lovely and glossy - I'm often stopped by people who complement it. He also gets a Dasuquin tablet daily. He gobbles them all up as "treats". He was getting a blop of canned pumpkin daily but I've been having trouble finding it of late. Someone in the grocery store last weekend told me that the pumpkin harvest had been bad the last couple of years and that most packers had run out around Thanksgiving. If I survive February, I'll probably start buying butternut squash and roasting and pureeing that to add to his food instead. At the moment life is a little nuts... He has had problems off and on with diarrhea so we've tended to steer away from giving him any table scraps. (I'm starting to think it might have been Giardia that the test$ we paid for failed to detect - certainly he hasn't had any more diarrhea since we dosed him with Panacur at Lenajo's suggestion). We have sometimes given him Fortiflora (in hopes of controlling the diarrhea) but I think the Panacur worked better.

[Sue R]

I supplement with extra fat - looking for a protein to fat ratio of 3:2. Most kibbles do not have sufficient fat. I do also give one fish oil and flaxseed oil cap, and a few drops of Vite E, to each daily. One dog gets a joint supplement for preventative reasons (Synovi G3, which is not currently available so I will be giving another brand when these run out). They all get some raw beef daily (cull cows from our herd) and usually a raw egg (mine won't eat the shells). And certain scraps here and there.