How do you make dry dog food more interesting

[Patchyman1]

So our dog has dry dog food 3 times a day. How can I make it more interesting for him. If I add veg he picks it out! Can I add gravy? Did this once and he loved it but not sure if gravy is good for them.

I sometimes add a little warm water from the kettle and let it soak in a bit. Or I add veg or I add a spoonful of wet food. My dog only gets fed once a day though.

My last dog I never added anything.

Don’t add gravy, it contains too much salt.

Is he actually refusing the kibble?

We add some warm water to ours which has worked a charm for our dog! We’ve also been known to add grated cheese, chicken, ham, bits of veg or an egg if there’s bits from our dinner that she’s allowed to have. We had water at every meal but the rest isn’t daily

Wet food
Sardines in tomato sauce
Doggy gravy (not the human stuff)
Tuna in spring water
Chicken

Just make sure you reduce the amount of dry food he gets to compensate for any extras!

We give ours an egg with her dry food. She loves it and it keeps her coat nice and soft

Thanks all. He does eat the dry food, but as one of the kids pointed out, does he not get fed up having same meal every time, so thought we could jazz it up a bit!

I add salmon oil, he WOLFS it down

Tin of sardines or a raw egg over the top.

Sometimes I put a bit of hot water over (like hot from the kettle) which she seems to enjoy more than cold water...i assume it releases more smells? (obviously let it cool before feeding)

Shes also a big fan of carrot peel...so sometimes with dinner I chuck a load of peelings on top and mix in which she loves (she won't eat carrots raw or cooked but will eat the peel!).

You don't need to jazz it up, he's a dog. Asked vet this very question yesterday as DH has been putting banana and blueberries in Ddogs breakfast kibble as he thought it would 'jazz it up'. Vet said dogs aren't worried about 'All that Jazz!!'

Our dogs get wet and dry food with a topping like chicken, steak, eggs and veg. I agree with your kids, the same dry food at every meal is miserable. As for a pp saying the vet says no, our vet is very much in favour of a healthy topping and gives her own dogs one at each meal.

I add a teaspoon of wet foot, sweet potato, yoghurt, blueberries, poached fish, mashed carrot, apple etc to most meals. Not much but then I have a small dog. She is only a pup but is a skinny little minx so it keeps her eating how she should be. 90% of her nutrients are coming from the dry complete.

Not all of that btw - one of them LOL

Our dog is a fussy nugget and sometimes refuses to eat her kibble if it hasn't been Made Interesting. (We have not yet worked out which circumstances prompt the refusal as sometimes she is perfectly happy to consume her meal without additions.)

We add sweetcorn, peas, a tiny bit of grated cheese, leftovers, or just stir it with a serving spoon from our dinner. This tiny bit of flavour is sufficient to tempt her tastebuds.

We sometimes add water but honestly, it doesn’t even touch the sides - so I’m not sure he gets the subtle differences in taste and texture.

Dogs have many less taste receptors than us. Loads more scent receptors but pretty basic taste receptors. Just as well as they will literally eat shit and stuff . They do not need a variety of food like us to feel fulfilled.

You will do way more harm to the dog adding extra calories and ingredients to a complete dog food.Kibble is a complete dog food.

Most kibble has a coating to make it appetising to dogs.

If your dog is eating kibble then do not add food to it.

Fussy dogs will be fussy dog regardless of what you add to the food but it is not due to the lack of variety in the food.

If you want to give them sardines etc then give it too them instead of their kibble meal not with it.

A tin of sardines is about 200 calories,

A 25kg dog only needs 1500 calories a day as an active dog. The kibble for a 25 kg dog will be giving this so you would be overfeeding your dog by 200 calories a day or 13.3(?) %.

They do not need a variety of food like us to feel fulfilled.

Someone ought to tell my dog! Even treats she'll go off if she has the same thing all the time. Variety keeps her interested.

We feed mainly kibble with a variety of toppers e.g. forthglade 90%, fish, scrambled eggs ,left over veg, 'gravy' made with liver paste and water etc.

@Patchyman1 Instead of varying the food (dogs actaully respond well to a consistent diet), vary the way it is delviered.

So instead of just putting it in a bowl, you could: scatter it on the grass outside (we also use a bit of artifical grass inside); put some inside an empty plastic bottle; wrap some up in an old towel and losely knot it; get a slow feeder bowl; mush it up with hot water then spread into a Licki mat; play hide and seek around the house (under newspapers, on chair seats etc); use it ias rewards in training games throughout the day.

Sorry for all the typos!

Thanks for all the ideas. I won't show him or he'll be at me with a shopping list! He has bowl/kong etc for variety so may just add a couple of different things here and there to his diet!

I've got a fussy dog and I have no concerns about his weight- he's full grown and pure muscle, no excess fat and not too skinny.

He isn't keen on plain dry dog food so we mix in sardines or mackerel in oil. Maybe a bit of egg or cheese.

Ours get leftovers on the top as long as they aren't too salty or oniony

Totally agree with this. ^

We get pedigree pouches and add them as a topper to dry kibble at night, and in the mornings we put half a ton of mackerel on!

Why on earth would you bother doing this?