No More Boring Bowls™! How To (Safely) Bring Excitement to Your Dog’s Bowl with Mixers and Toppers

While premium natural complete and balanced kibble delivers all the nutrients your dog needs to thrive, mixing in a wet food or adding a topper is a great way to significantly improve the aroma, taste and texture of your dog’s meal – and make their bowl more exciting!

Mixers and toppers can add a boost of nutrients such as proteins, vitamins and minerals and can also be your saving grace if your dog is fussy or food-bored. Simply adding a mixer or topper to their dry food you can lead to bowls that are licked-clean and amplify your dog’s excitement about mealtime. 

Q. How do you add variety through mixers and toppers, without negative side-effects such as digestive upset or weight gain?

There is no golden rule about how you should add toppers or mixers, but there are general guidelines:

1. Talk to your veterinarian. Some dogs have unique nutritional needs or need tailored life stage or lifestyle nutrition.  Your vet can ensure that you are serving the right type of food.
2. Choose recipes appropriate for your dogs’ life stage and lifestyle. A puppy, a senior, an active athlete, a couch potato: these are all unique dogs that require customized nutrition. When selecting a mixer or topper make sure you choose one with a similar life stage or lifestyle classification as your dry so that your pet is getting all nutrition they need tailored to their needs
3. Select high-quality products. Variety must not compromise nutrition or predispose your dog to suffering the risk of digestive upset. Select products from a brand that you know and trust, and one that offers enough variety that you can rotate through forms and/or flavors.
   

   CORE dry dog food topped with CORE Hearty Cuts Turkey & Duck Recipe

4. Pay attention to feeding guidelines. All pet foods have unique, specific feeding recommendations. As you combine products, it is very important to follow these recommendations to avoid overfeeding. For example, wet food contains considerably less calories per gram than dry kibble, so if you decide to substitute combine wet and dry food, you cannot simply swap-out a cup of kibble for a cup of wet food. Check each mixer or toppers packaging for feeding guidelines.
   

   CORE dry dog food topped with CORE Bowl Boosters PURE 100% Beef

5. Introduce new formats gradually. Most dogs are used to eating the same thing every day. When you introduce a new form, flavor or brand to your dog’s diet, do so gradually over 3-7 days. Start with just a tablespoon of the new product and increase over the course of a few says until you are serving the perfect meal on day seven.
   

   Heeler-mix, Choco, enjoying CORE Bowl Boosters Tender Whitefish & Salmon on top of his kibble.

6. Don’t let wet food sit-out in the bowl. Some dogs like their wet on top, others like it mixed in, other like it as a separate meal. You know (or will learn) how your dog likes their wet food. Just remember that, once opened, wet food should not stay out at room temperature for an extended amount of time as it can easily spoil, particularly in warm weather. So, keep portions small and serve it how your dog wants it.
7. Always keep plenty of fresh water available.