What do you add to your dogs Kibble - Page 3

I add plain yogurt to every meal.  My Lab has allergies and chronic ear infections (primarily yeast) and a vet recommended the yogurt to help with the yeast.  I think I've finally found a food that works for her and I continue to add the yogurt as she and my GSD like it.  I've been trying apple cider vinegar and raw honey for her also. 

I also give fruits/veggies if I'm making a salad and they seem interested.  And peanut butter, they love peanut butter.

Blitzen - My Lab doesn't turn her nose up at anything, but my GSD is a different story.  When we first got her, we had to experiment with foods and adding things to get her to eat.  I don't think she's wild about trying new things.  Whenever I've tried something new for the other one, the GSD is very tentative about it.  Now that I've been adding the yogurt for some time, if anyone else feeds them and forgets the yogurt or I've run out, she'll walk away at first.  I can usually coax her back by adding a bit of broth or something.  It's like she knows something's different and doesn't like it.  She's the same way with treats if I try a new one.  I've noticed that many times, she'll watch the other dog to see if she eats it or not.  They're totally opposite in this regard.

I've never had to add extras as a regular thing to get dogs to eat;  apart
from the odd one feeling really poorly, they have all been 'good doers'
on whichever kibble they happened to be on.  For the sickies, a little canned
food or a handful of cooked chicken usually does the trick.  Use of supplements
depends on the health conditions or other factors of the particular dogs:  when I
was working with the bunch of 'outside' dogs, I gave them cod liver oil capsules
regularly, once they reached adulthood, as a 'preventative' against arthritis
developing;  if the older dogs actually had arthritis, they got Cosequin or
MSM/Glutomate tablets, and / or Salmon Oil.  One dog had IBD, he got
live yoghurt regularly to help balance his gut bacteria.  Also some charcoal on
occasion.  Dogs with coat problems got seaweed powder.

Taz currently gets  a spoonful of coconut oil with his breakfast but no additives
with dinner.  I occasionally give a little crushed fresh garlic, if he seems 'itchy'.
He, like all dogs I've fed regularly, gets water on the kibble.  I put it on hot, this
is supposed to kill any storage mites that are in the sack of food.  It also starts
the softening / digestive process off.  On hot days [or if he is off-colour with v&d]
it ensures he gets extra water, in case he doesn't bother to drink enough.
I put about the same volume of water as to the amount of kibble served;  if it does
not cool quickly enough I add some cold water from the tap.

No need to add anything into the food to get my dogs to eat. They are all so darn food driven they eat anything.

Everything added is good for them. I drink Kefir myself and it's good for the dogs. Much cheaper to make Kefir myself instead of constantly having to buy expensive Yoghurt or Kefir itself and I drink it myself too. The dogs love it. And with all the crap that is in the Kibble (even quality grainfree kibble).
Cocnut Oil, I take myself too and we use tons of Garlic in our food.

Everything I feed, I feed for a reason but certainly not because I'm trying to get them to eat.

Also, except for one female, they are all healthy and have no allergies whatsoever. Their coat is busting with shine. I have one super example of a foster dog I had what Coconut can do for a dog. He's adopted out now, but his transformation was amazing.

[B]GIZMO THEN (back in March):





[B]GIZMO NOW (6/4/2013):
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The main reason I add water to kibble is to help keep my dogs hydrated. Also, I feed a high (meat based) protein kibble and protein needs more water to be digested and absorbed properly.

A word of caution....do not add water to your kibble if it's been preserved with....citric acid....Many studies have linked bloat to kibble that has been preserved with Citric Acid then had water added to it at feeding time......Here is a study conducted by Purdue...http://www.crittersitextra.com/pettips/NEW_Purdue_Bloat_Study.pdf
and here is another article......http://www.moonstruckmeadows.com/Bloat%20%28GDV%29%20Study.htm

I add the canned meat dog food at the evening meal as a treat...with the added water it makes a gravy and the dogs love it.

I add the Coconut oil for a lot of reasons....here are a couple of links describing the benefits of Coconut for dogs (and Cats).
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/the-health-benefits-of-coconut-oil/
http://drjeandoddspethealthresource.tumblr.com/post/47127324583/coconut-for-pets

 

 

jrs, dog is once again triumphing over man. Let her get good and hungry, she will eat  whatever you give her. GSD's are notorious for food manipulation - don't let her win the battle or the entire war is down the proverbial chute  .

@Baerenfangs Erbe, I have also used coconut oil for short periods of time to relieve itching, but I would not replace fish oils with coconut oil exclusively.  The fish oils have Omega 3 and 9, which aids in the absorption of supplements/vitamins that is in most dog foods.  I don't think coconut oil can do that.

I also agree with clc29, that you should not add water to kibble.  It takes an hour to expand to its full size.  Test it out and drop a couple of pieces in a glass of water, it will get much bigger than you think and take much longer to swell up to full size than you imagine.  When the dogs stomach takes in that kibble it not only expands, but the stomach is also creating gases from digestion.  After my oldest dog bloated, survived and got a gastropexy, I decided that gastropexy's, probiotic and yogurt are now mandatory for my dogs.

@Blitzen, I get your point about not giving the dog choices, but you never quite know what a dog is trying to communicate.  All my past dogs have gained sensitivities to foods as they got older and to ignore any attempts by the dog to communicate is very shortsighted.  Maybe for example the dogs gums hurt when they eat kibble without yogurt or maybe their stomach hurts after.  Silly reasons, I'm sure, but  some people don't think dogs are quite this smart.  But from what I have seen in my life German Shepherds, Poodles and Border Collies seem to be able to do fairly advanced inferential reasoning, when compared to other breeds I've had like Maltese's, Irish Setters and even Golden Retrievers.  I personally wouldn't discount the possibility of some kind of communication occurring, as opposed to just plain pickiness or a testing of pack order etc. 

I have certainly had more than one german shepherd in my life that communicated an injury kind to me, willing got in and out of a car to go to a vet, and sat patiently for examination, when prior to that was not exactly the case under normal circumstances at the vets office.  All anecdotal, I know, but I would assume since this dog has been educated about what is actually in a fridge, they are more aware of what's really available to eat versus a kennel dogs that eats slop on a daily basis and knows no different.  I see, dumb, unexposed, well trained dogs in hunting trials and running real world blinds every day and I wouldn't trust them for a minute in a house unsupervised because the most likely outcome is a hungry dog, with no experience of what food is, deciding to eat a basketball (happened to a guy at my work with a hunting dog that was very expensive to train).  I can't say for sure thats the reason the dog ate the basketball, but I do know this dog had no variety in their diet, ate the same kibble day in and day out, lived in a kennel away from the owners home and was constantly kept hungry to improve training responses.  Stupid dog, sure, but it was a perfect robot bird retriever though, constantly hungry and terrified to make a mistake.  Don't get me wrong the guy didn't abuse his dogs, nor was he a harsh handler, however the dogs to me, seemed more like orphans trained in China to be Olympic gymnasts and no experience outside of that.

My German Shepherd will eat anything put in front of him, I do add to his (TOTW Pacific Stream) kibble though. I had a heaping spoonful of Ground Salmon that is mixed in to his kibble, instead of using Salmon oil, which i've used in the past. As a pup, my boy never seemed to have firm poops unless I added pumpkin to him meals, so i've continued with his pumpkin regimen. I put his pumpkin in the larger sized ice tray, and give him 2 frozen cubes per meal. So far, he has a great coat, no ear or skin problems (he had these as a puppy on a different food - Blue Buffalo), great body condition, and small firm stools.

Well, maybe some GSD's are perceptive enough to know if a food isn't right for them, none of mine ever were . The only message they ever sent to me was - I am the boss and will say what I will eat or not. My second had that notion a few times in his life. He was a great actor, would roll his eyes back in his head and act so weak he could barely make it to the next day. Our mealtime became his stage, he stared and drooled as we ate ignoring his presence.  After 3, 4, even 5  days of his academy award quality performances, he ate his dog food without gravies and tempting tidbits.

 Having said all of this, I would first make sure the dog was healthy before I put him on an eat or go hungry rehab plan. No healthy dog will ever starve itself to death and most owners will cave before the dog. Healthy dogs should never be picky eaters.