Confessions of a topping adict.

[Moe]

When I got Charlie she was 8 weeks and a bony 3.5 pounds. She is going to be two on September 15. She has always been lean and never really interested in her food. I had read all the books and knew all the right things to do but I was worried about her weight so I started putting toppers on her food. At first it was just a crunched up dog biscuit - how could that hurt. It is all natural right? Then it progressed to wet dog food, table scraps then on to the hard stuff. I was cooking chicken and eggs for the dog. I finally had to admit I had a problem. I was addicted to toppings. Things might have been find but as all the books warned she became really picky. We hit rock bottom one day when she turned her nose up at some homemade chicken and rice.

With the support of DK I decided to go into topper rehab and quit cold turkey. It was hard. The worrying, the withdrawal, the whining (mine not the dog's). I switched kibble thinking that might start us off on the right track. It didn't work. I tried take the bowl away after 20 minutes but quit after 4 days of her eating nothing. I caved in and left the bowl down. Her ribs had always been prominent but suddenly you could feel every vertebra on her spine and her hip bones were protruding through her wooly doodle coat. The neighbors and people in the park began commenting. In a moment of weakness took out an egg and the frying pan but luckily the kids talked me down. I was battling the topping demons but luckily I had a great support system.

It has been a few weeks and I am proud to say I think we have that topping monkey off our backs. Charlie eats when she is hungry and usually at the end of the day there is nothing left. I've started giving her a large meal replacement cookie before bed and she is beginning to fill back out. I think I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. My dog is not going to starve to death.

So... To all you new dog parents out there. Don't let the topping demon get a hold of you. It seems so harmless in the beginning but before you know it your in too deep and looking to score bones and scraps at the local butcher.

Be strong and just say no to toppings.

[Moe]

I am certainly no expert I think if they keep passing the plain kibble test it's OK. Food is such a complex issue. If they are happy enough eating plain kibble why do we feel the need to add toppers?

It is like food=love.

My dog really LOVES an off leash romp in the woods. I'm trying to reward her with more walks.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Exactly right. Equating food with love causes problems for humans and dogs. Showing love in other ways (i.e. more attention, more affection, more exercise) is healthier for everyone.

[Donna Bay & Buzz]

I have friends who cook special meals for their dogs all the time.  I dont have time for that but i see no harm in "embellishing"  I will admit she doesnt care for the dry kibble but I know she will never starve!  I think as long as they are at an appropriate weight, healthy and getting enough exercise, it's up to you if you want to add a little something special.  I love spoiling her just a tad.  My family thinks I'm nuts but too bad.  I feed them too right? (well, most of the time anyway, lol)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The harm in embellishing is when you have a dog who won't eat without it. And then you have dogs like Moe's, who stopped eating even with the embellishments. Some dogs who are picky eaters to start with will start "holding out" for something better, and eventually you are back where you started, with a dog who won't eat no matter what you add.

This can be a problem down the road when you need to board the dog, or when you have more than one dog, or you are travelling with the dog, or you need the dog to eat at a certain time due to medical issues, tests, and other scheduling issues. 

Other dogs will eat regardless of whether you add toppers or not; in those cases, the owners are not adding things trying to tempt the dog to eat or make them "like" their food, they are just doing it because they want to, and there is no emotional significance to it. That's fine. 

I used to add fresh foods to JD's dinner on a regular basis, just because I think it's a good thing for a dog to get fresh or wet food occasionally, and because I wanted to add certain nutrients to his diet. He always ate his dinner whether there was something extra in the bowl or not, so it was fine. But two years ago, he was diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Disease and is now on a limited ingredient diet with 50% home-cooked food. He gets fed 4 times a day on a fairly rigid schedule and has to take medications with each meal. If he were the kind of dog who refuses to eat unless you are constantly adding new, exotic foods to tempt him, I would be in deep trouble...and, worse, so would he. 

[Moe]

The other thing is that I've considered getting a second dog but with Charlie's food issues I can't imagine how it would work out. I'd end up with one big fat dog that eats two meals and Charlie would starve to death. My plan is to give it a few months, get her weight back up and try taking the bowl away after 20 minutes. I found it was just too stressful to cut the toppers and limit the time at the same time. We are still a work in progress. It's 11am and her breakfast has been out since 9. So far she hasn't touched it. She will usually eat it around 3 in the afternoon. Then she'll eat her dinner around 7. I can imagine it is hard for people who's dog's will eat anything anytime to relate.

My father struggles to maintain his weight and he always says things like - You know when you just don't feel like eating. Honestly I can't imagine. When stressed I'd be more likely to be eating ice cream and chasing it down with a milkshake. :)

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

i used to leave Zoe's bowl out all day because sometimes she didn't finish her meals but when we got Ben I take away the bowls after they are done.  Zoe learned that she needs to eat when she had the bowl and now they are both hungry right at their normal meal times :)

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I was also guilty of being a 'topper adder', that is before we got Boris. The cure for me was having two dogs. Boris loves all food and the competition at food time ensures that Riley eats all of his now without me adding any topper.  I do allow Riley to start eating first while Boris sits with his bowl on the floor a few feet in front of him waiting for  me to 'allow' him to eat. I once went to answer the phone and came back to find a patient Boris waiting by his bowl and a puddle of drool on the floor in front of him..:( So one answer to a picky eater may well be a second doodle LOL

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

Haley also has to wait until I tell him it's OK.  The other night I had to run attend to the washer while Haley was waiting and I forgot about him.  It must have been at least five minutes and I hear my DH "can Haley have his food now"!  That good doodle was waiting for my "OK" before he would eat.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Moe, I loved the tone in which you wrote this.  It is fun to laugh at ourselves.  You are really on the right track now.  Toppings themselves aren't bad, but when you create such a picky eater, there can be problems.  I also think that most people don't 'count' the calories in their dogs' toppers or treats and end up with fat dogs.  We camp a lot in our RV and meet tons of dogs with owners who love them so much they bring them along when they travel.  So many of these well-loved dogs are obese and their owners just don't see it.  We met quite a few smaller dogs this summer with bellies dragging on the ground or trunks that were like cigars with tiny stick legs.  I felt sorry.  One of my dogs is not meal oriented - loves treats but must sniff them before deciding if they are worthy of his taste buds.  It would have been really easy to turn him into a picky eater. If I really need him to eat RIGHT now, I might put a bit of yogurt or peanut butter in his kibble, otherwise he is out of luck.

[Pat and Traveler]

Cute 'confession!'   I usually add a topping to Trav's food, and yes--he has grown to expect it.  However, if I leave the plain kibble down for him, he will eat it after waiting a couple of hours to see if I'll add anything.  :)  His weight stays about the same, so I haven't been worried about the topping factor.  Now I'll have to hope I don't live to regret allowing the topping demon into our lives!

[Amy & Albee]

Moe- you had me cracking up during your post.. and then I got to the part about Charlie getting leaner :( 

Thanks for the advice! We'll stay away from the topping demons :)

[Bonnie and Kona]

I'm so glad you are a recovering addict. Hold onto that resolve. My DH has serious problems in this area and I've solved this issue by insisting they only can have a dollop of non-fat plain yogurt. It seems to have helped DH manage his tendency to put things on the dogs' food. I will occasionally add plain pumpkin, but I don't tell DH since he could not handle that much freedom. Maybe there is a 12 step group for dog food toppers.