People who add 'fillers' like green beans

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

My question for those of you who feed high calorie (like Orijen) kibble to chowhounds and add fillers like green beans. This is not a question about toppers because you want to entice the dog to eat or because you think they are bored.

1.  What do you use to increase their food without adding calories?

2.  What is the portion you add?

This is something I never thought I would even be asking for Ned. Orijen has given this guy a new view on food.

Thanks.

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

I give Murphy 1/2 cup green beans with both of his meals. He is quite the green bean snob however. He only likes haricot vert or "white table cloth beans" as we call them. LOL. Vet said he needed to lose 2 pounds and we have been successful with the green bean diet. Murphy weighs 26 pounds so serving may be different for Ned. Karen can probably help here.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ned weighs weighed 27 pounds so 1/2 cup would be correct for him.

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

I give the boyz a handful of green beans at lunch, both to increase the volume they think they're getting and because it seems to cut down on their "grazing like goats" in the back yard. I'm curious about serving sizes too.

[Julie and Charlie]

Hmm, that's an intriguing "side effect"!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It would be pretty hard to overdo the green beans in terms of calories or nutritional content. A whole cup full of canned green beans has 40 calories, which means that if your dog ate 11 cups full of green beans, he still wouldn't have consumed the amount of calories that is in one cup of Orijen Adult formula. There's no fat in green beans, a tiny amount of protein and  carbohydrate, and a decent amount of calcium, and potassium; all good. They're mostly fiber, which is good, too. So I wouldn't be afraid of giving them in liberal amounts, especially if you are substituting the green beans for a protion of the dog's kibble for weight loss purposes.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

We give Gracie Doodle the Acana grain-free and add about 1/2 cut cut green beans.  We do it because it keeps her poops nice and formed and perfect!!!!!  

[Chelsie]

I add green beans to there food when we have them for dinner. Would just be careful with canned green beans because of their sodium content. Goes for us humans too!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, we always recommend sodium free canned beans.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We bought the sodium-free beans and gave them some to see if they liked them and they do.  Since Ned is now in love with his food he has gained a pound or so, and we now measure his kibble.  Gordie worries off whatever he eats so his servings of Orijen are about the same as TOTW even though Orijen is higher calorie. Clancy will always eat whatever you feed him and he gains weight easily.   His maintenance serving of Orijen is about 2/3 cup which doesn't seem like 'enough' of a meal.

Thanks for letting me know we can supplement with pretty much any amount.

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

how funny-Zoe used to be so picky and lately has been loving food as well!  we call her fat-Zo 

I wonder if there is something in the air...

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Maybe so, Joanna.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, at this time of year, wolves and other predators in the wild might be trying to pack on the body fat for insulation and energy to get them through the long cold winter when their food supply is scarce. So it might be an instinctive thing in some dogs.