# Feeding only kibble, no toppers?



## WolfieWolf (Oct 4, 2012)

Our breeder (a show breeder) and another animal person I really respect said we should only feed our dog a high quality dry kibble, period, nothing else. It is their opinion that adding things throws off the balance of the food (which the dog food companies have spent a lot of money to figure out to perfection, they say), that adding meat is not good for the dog (too much meat causes physical problems, they say), and that dogs just "eat to live" and do not care if they have variety or the things we humans think are yummy, they just eat their food and that's it. Also that adding human food creates a begging dog. 

Nonetheless, we put toppers on our dog's food: scrambled egg, cottage cheese, canned salmon (which he's crazy about), other cooked meat with no additives, cheese, canned pumpkin, shredded lettuce, fresh pear. This is what he likes so far. I rinse the canned salmon since it has salt. I don't give him anything with chemicals and definitely none of the forbidden foods (onion etc.)

He also gets a raw marrow bone every few days.

Every time I feed him I wonder if I'm doing the right thing,  or if my two friends are right and I should only be giving him the kibble and possibly the raw bones. I just want what is best for him.

They are wrong about the begging dog. Yes, he expresses an interest when we sit down to eat, but we tell him to leave it, and he goes and lies down and leaves us alone while we eat.

What do you think? Does anybody just feed kibble and no table scraps or toppers of any kind?


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

feed your dog as you see fit basically. As long as its within reason, not constant (dont want/need a picky eater) and not going to harm him, you're good. My dogs get dry food. Usually once a week, they get a raw egg (shell and all) and treats. Sometimes they even get raw chicken when I'm getting dinner ready. Nothing crazy. my dogs are healthy and chow down on their dry food. Obviously no foods that are off limits.


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## Cheerful1 (Sep 27, 2011)

Joey gets kibble, but also toppers: scrambled egg, canned salmon, canned pumpkin, carrots, raw burger. Definitely no forbidden foods (I keep a list on my fridge).

I think kibble gives them the basic nutrition, but they should also get some healthy variety.


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## gsdraven (Jul 8, 2009)

My dogs eat just kibble, no toppers. Not because I think toppers will harm their diet but because they are not necessary and can cause picky eating. They get meat or veggies once in a while as a treat but not at meal time. 

If you don't mind adding the extras, then do it but make sure you are adjusting his kibble amount to account for the extra calories.


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

WolfieWolf said:


> What do you think? Does anybody just feed kibble and no table scraps or toppers of any kind?


Mostly my dogs just get kibble. Occasionally they get extras if I have something I think would be healthy for them. They do get raw marrow bones every few days.


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## Piper'sgrl (Apr 20, 2012)

shepherdmom said:


> Mostly my dogs just get kibble. Occasionally they get extras if I have something I think would be healthy for them.QUOTE]
> 
> Same..we give our dogs some of our "people" food sometimes but we mainly stick to our high quality dog food. But yes, i think its ok for dogs to get a few extras here and there but just watch out for any unnessary weight gain, or developing a picky eater as others have said.


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## WolfieWolf (Oct 4, 2012)

Thank you so much, everyone. I probably have made him a picky eater, or at least he is used to the toppers. He ignores the kibble when I put it down for him if it doesn't have a topper, though he will get around to eating it within that day if it's just bare kibble.

It may be the food. The breeder had him on Kirkland Signature Lamb & Rice, which he ate fine all by itself. I switched him to Dr. Tim's Pursuit, which he vacuumed he loved it so much. We're back on Kirklands though (long story) which is apparently not as tasty and requires a little topper to get him going on it.


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## WolfieWolf (Oct 4, 2012)

PS there is no weight gain problem. He is 7 months and at a very lanky stage. He only eats until he is full and will leave the rest in the bowl after that (plus the topper probably didn't make it down that far, haha!)  No, but other times he cleans up the whole bowl. 

I was just reading about moistening the kibble in another thread, and might try that. But doesn't the hard kibble keep their teeth clean?


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## angierose (Apr 20, 2009)

The guideline I have always heard is no more than 10% of treats and extras, otherwise it may throw off the balance of the kibble. I don't do toppers much- sometimes a bit of baked sweet potato or yogurt, whatever we have that's not enough for a human serving. Or salmon juice from the can, if the cats have had their fill.


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## WolfieWolf (Oct 4, 2012)

angierose said:


> The guideline I have always heard is no more than 10% of treats and extras, otherwise it may throw off the balance of the kibble. I don't do toppers much- sometimes a bit of baked sweet potato or yogurt, whatever we have that's not enough for a human serving. Or salmon juice from the can, if the cats have had their fill.


Thank you AngieRose, I hadn't heard that. Having a % to abide by is helpful, and feels more defined.


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## N Smith (Aug 25, 2011)

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).


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## billsharp (May 3, 2011)

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.


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## SS-GSD (Dec 10, 2012)

WolfieWolf said:


> 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.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

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?


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

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.


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## WolfieWolf (Oct 4, 2012)

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.


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## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

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.


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## Blanketback (Apr 27, 2012)

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.


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