Dog Food Toppers: What They Are and How to Use Them

Written by Lucy Fitzgerald, Founder, WYLDR. Reviewed by Katie McCaul, RNutr, The Pet Diet.

Key takeaways

  • A dog food topper is anything added on top of a complete meal for flavour, moisture or a specific nutrient. It is a complementary food, not a meal.
  • The useful toppers are simple ones: bone broth, goat's milk, pumpkin, a spoon of plain oily fish, a freeze-dried single-ingredient sprinkle, or a pinch of a dog-safe herb or seed.
  • Keep toppers, treats and extras together under about 10% of the day's calories, so the balanced food stays the bulk of the bowl.
  • A topper can make a good food more interesting. It cannot turn an unbalanced diet into a balanced one.
  • If your dog has stopped eating rather than just being choosy, that is a vet question first and a topper question second.

The short answer: Dog meal toppers are small additions placed over a dog's normal food. The best ones do one clear job: bone broth and goat's milk add moisture and flavour, pumpkin adds fibre, oily fish adds omega-3 fats, and freeze-dried single ingredients add taste without cooking. Use them in small amounts, keep them plain, and let the complete food do the nutritional heavy lifting.

Toppers have gone from something raw feeders did quietly to a whole shelf in the supermarket. Some of that is good, because a spoon of the right thing over dinner is an easy way to add variety, nutrients and prebiotics. Some of it is noise, because a health claim on the front says nothing about what is in the pot. This guide sorts out what a topper actually is, what the common ones do, how much to use and when to leave the bowl alone.

What is a dog food topper?

In short: A topper is a complementary food added over a complete meal. It adds something specific, it does not replace anything.

In the UK, pet food is either complete or complementary. A complete food is formulated to meet a dog's nutritional needs on its own. A complementary food is designed to be fed alongside something else, and UK Pet Food's labelling guidance gives mixer biscuits and treats as the everyday examples. Toppers sit in the same category. Our guide to complete vs complementary dog food covers the legal definitions in full.

That distinction matters more than it sounds. A topper is not held to the standard of a complete food, so it does not need to contain everything a dog needs and usually does not. That is fine, as long as the meal underneath it is complete. It stops being fine when the topper starts crowding out the food.

Why people use them

In short: Three reasons come up again and again: to add moisture, to add flavour, and to add one particular thing the diet is light on.

Moisture. Dry food is around 10% water (MSD Veterinary Manual). Fresh meat is around 70% (USDA). A wet topper adds hydration back to the bowl, which is the most practical thing most toppers do.

Flavour and variety. Dogs eating the same kibble every day are not deprived, but many of them are visibly more interested in a bowl with something on top. That is a fair reason on its own.

A specific nutrient. Some toppers exist to add one thing: fibre from pumpkin, omega-3 from oily fish. Used for that reason, a topper is a targeted addition rather than a treat. Our guide to whether dogs need supplements explains where those gaps tend to be.

The common toppers, and what each one actually does

In short: Each of the popular toppers has a real job and a limit. Knowing both is what separates a useful addition from a habit.

Bone broth. Slow-simmered bones give a gelatin-rich liquid that most dogs find irresistible. Its honest job is moisture, palatability and a gentle way to tempt a reluctant eater. It is not a source of much protein and it is not a medicine. The important rule is that it must be made without onion, garlic, leek or added salt, to avoid toxicity. Our guide to bone broth for dogs covers homemade versus bought and how much to use.

Goat's milk. Lower in lactose than cow's milk, though not lactose-free, and generally easier for dogs to handle in small amounts. Its job is moisture and flavour, and it is a popular topper for dogs that turn their nose up at dry food. Our guide to goat's milk for dogs has the detail, including raw versus pasteurised.

Pumpkin. Plain cooked pumpkin or pumpkin powder is a source of fibre, which is why it is a common topper for everyday digestion. It is not a treatment for anything and it should be plain: no pie filling, no spice, no sugar. Our guide to pumpkin for dogs covers fresh, tinned and powdered, and how much makes sense.

Oily fish. A spoon of tinned sardines in spring water, drained, is one of the simplest ways to add the omega-3 fats EPA and DHA to a bowl. Small fish, plain, no brine or oil. Our guide to oily fish for dogs goes through which fish and how often.

Eggs. A cooked egg is a protein-rich extra for most dogs, unless your dog has a known food allergy. Plain, no butter or seasoning.

Freeze-dried single ingredients. Freeze-dried meat, fish or fruit crumbled over food gives strong flavour with nothing added, and keeps for months. Freeze-drying removes water at low temperature rather than cooking, though it is worth knowing that freeze-drying is not a cooking step and does not make raw ingredients safe on its own. Our guide to what freeze-dried dog food is explains the process plainly.

Vegetables. Grated carrot, steamed green beans, a little cooked sweet potato. Fibre, crunch and colour. Plain, and in small amounts.

Herbs and seeds. A pinch of chopped parsley, or a sprinkle of ground flaxseed or chia, adds a little variety for very little effort. Stick to herbs known to be safe for dogs, and keep chives out, because they belong to the onion family.

Sauces and gravies. The supermarket end of the market. Read the label. Some are mostly water and salt content varies, so read the ingredients rather than the front of the pack.

How much topper to add

In short: Small. Toppers, treats and extras together should stay under about 10% of the day's calories, so the balanced food remains the bulk of what your dog eats.

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association's guidance on treats is that they should make up less than 10% of a dog's daily calorie intake, and that treats should never replace a meal. That guidance is written about treats, but the logic applies equally to toppers: anything extra dilutes the balanced food it sits on. A topper that turns into a quarter of the bowl is no longer a topper.

In practice that means a small splash or a spoonful of broth or milk over a meal, a spoonful of pumpkin, or a small sprinkle of freeze-dried crumble, with a little more for a large dog and less for a small one. If you are adding a topper every day, it counts against the treat budget, not on top of it.

Introduce anything new over a few days. A sudden change of any kind, including a generous new topper, is a reliable way to upset a dog's stomach.

Toppers for kibble, wet food and raw

In short: Toppers suit dry food best, because that is where moisture and flavour are most missing. They still work on wet or raw food, but the reasons change.

On kibble. This is where toppers earn their keep. Dry food is convenient and nutritionally complete, but it is low in moisture and can be monotonous. A wet or freeze-dried topper answers both.

On wet food. Moisture is already there, so a liquid topper is mostly flavour. A fibre or freeze-dried topper still adds something distinct.

On raw. Raw feeders often use toppers to add what a meat-heavy bowl is light on, such as fibre from pumpkin or omega-3 from oily fish. If you feed a complete raw food, the same 10% logic applies. If you build your own raw diet, a topper does not balance it, and that job belongs to a qualified nutritionist.

Toppers for fussy eaters

In short: A topper can make a bowl more inviting, but a dog that has genuinely stopped eating needs a vet before it needs a topper.

There is a difference between a choosy dog and a dog that is off its food. A choosy dog eats, but slowly, or leaves the kibble and waits to see what else is on offer. A dog that is off its food has changed its behaviour, and appetite loss is one of the first signs of many things a vet should look at. If the change is sudden, or lasts more than 24 hours (PDSA), or comes with vomiting, lethargy or weight loss, make the call first.

For the choosy dog, the honest levers are texture and presentation rather than any one ingredient. There can be several reasons behind a dog losing interest in its food, so find the reason first; once a vet has ruled out a health cause, a simple topper is an easy way to see what your dog responds to. A small warm topper, a splash of broth or a crumble of something freeze-dried, makes the bowl smell like food again. It is not a cure. It is a nudge.

Our guide to fussy eater dogs covers routine and mealtime habits in more detail, and our guide to sensitive stomach dogs covers the dogs whose fussiness is really discomfort.

Toppers to avoid, and ingredients to check for

In short: Anything with onion, garlic or chives, anything salted, anything sweetened, and anything you would not eat yourself.

The onion family is the one to be strict about, because it turns up in stocks, gravies and broths made for people, and it is toxic to dogs in every form, raw, cooked or powdered, according to the MSD Veterinary Manual. Salt is the next thing to check, especially in bought broths and sauces. Sugar, xylitol and artificial sweeteners have no place in a dog's bowl. Cooked bones should never be in a topper. And if a topper's label leads with what it does for your dog rather than what is in it, read the ingredients before the claims.

Where WYLDR fits

WYLDR's Every Dog Every Day is a freeze-dried daily supplement with five ingredients: wild boar, salmon oil, chicory root, blueberry and beetroot. It is a complementary feed, made to be given whole or crumbled over whatever your dog already eats, so in practice it is fed in a similar way to a topper. Chicory root is a source of prebiotic fibre, salmon oil is a source of omega-3, and blueberry and beetroot bring natural plant compounds. That is a description of what is in it, not a promise about what it does. Your dog's food is good. We add what's missing.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best topper for dry dog food?
The best topper for kibble is one that adds what dry food lacks: moisture and flavour. A spoon of bone broth or goat's milk does both. If the aim is a specific nutrient, plain pumpkin adds fibre and tinned sardines add omega-3.

Can I put a topper on my dog's food every day?
Yes, as long as it stays small. Toppers, treats and extras together should stay under about 10% of daily calories, so the complete food remains the bulk of the diet.

Are dog food toppers healthy?
A simple topper made from one or two plain ingredients is a reasonable addition to a balanced diet. A topper is not automatically healthy because it says so on the front; check the ingredients for onion, garlic, salt and sugar.

What can I add to my dog's kibble to make it more appealing?
Warm water or bone broth, a spoon of goat's milk, a crumble of freeze-dried meat or fish, or a little plain cooked pumpkin. Keep the amount small and introduce it gradually.

Can I make my own dog food toppers?
Yes. Plain cooked pumpkin, a cooked egg, tinned sardines in spring water, grated carrot and homemade bone broth without onion, garlic or salt are all straightforward. Keep everything plain and unseasoned.

Are freeze-dried toppers good for dogs?
Freeze-dried single-ingredient toppers give strong flavour with nothing added and keep well. Freeze-drying removes water at low temperature rather than cooking, but it is not a cooking step and does not make raw meat safe on its own.

Do toppers replace a supplement?
Not usually. Most toppers are fed for flavour or moisture. A supplement is fed for a specific nutritional reason at a consistent amount. Some products do both, but the label should make clear which job it is for.

Sources

 

Written by Lucy Fitzgerald, founder of WYLDR, and reviewed by Katie McCaul, RNutr, of The Pet Diet. Meet the people behind WYLDR and how we check what we publish.

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