Chicken broth added to food

[Sheeba Daniel]

Hi Everyone - I know that this topic has been discussed before but I wanted to get current opinions on the idea of adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of organic, low sodium chicken broth to Acana kibble. My doodle is 17 weeks old and has successfully transitioned from Lifes Abundance (breeder kibble) to Acana ALS Wild Prairie which she has been on for 6-7 weeks. Tessy likes Acana but does not really finish her 2 cups of kibble per day unless I sprinkle (and I mean just sprinkle) chicken broth on top. Is this okay? Thanks for you input. 

[Carolyn and Sadie]

To make it easier, I add a little water and let it soak for a few minutes and my dog seems to like it better. I feed Acana Wild Prairie also. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Adding a little warm water to the kibble is a great alternative. I belong to a support group for owners of dogs with serious GI disease, and that's a favorite trick of many of our members whose dogs don't want to eat, which is a common problem with IBD dogs, especially since many of them are on very bland, Rx diets. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The only problem with commercial broths of any kind, even organic and/or low sodium, is that every one I've seen contains onions. Onions are extremely toxic to dogs, and the effects are not immediate, they are cumulative; over time, the dog can develop a very serious and life-threatening disease called Heinz Body Hemolytic Anemia. The amounts of onions in the broth may be very small, and the amount of broth you're using may also be very small, but the dog is getting it at every meal, and nobody knows exactly how much can lead to the disease. A small amount of broth once in awhile would probably be very low risk, but I personally would not be comfortable using it every day at every meal. Of course, if you can find one that doesn't contain onions, or if you wanted to make your own broth, that would be fine.

You might try just mixing a little bit of warm water with the kibble, to create its own "broth" and enhance the aroma.

A tablespoon or two of plain, unflavored nonfat yogurt might work, too.

But it may also be that Tessy doesn't need 2 cups of kibble per day to get enough calories and nutrients. The feeding guidelines on a bag of dog food are just that, guidelines. Any individual dog may require more or less than the suggested amount, especially if they also get a significant amount of treats. What does she weigh? 

[Sheeba Daniel]

Thanks so much. I don't want to take any chances so I'll stop the broth and just try a bit of warm water and see how she likes it. She is about 33 pounds. I give her 1 cup in the morning and 1.5 cups in the evening and 80% of the time she finishes only 1/2 -3/4 of her dinner food - so I am thinking that she probably eats about 2 cups a day. And maybe that is okay...... I can't decide if I should classify her an active or less active dog - if she is considered active then maybe she is not eating enough.  She gets a lot of training treats during the day sometimes also 1/4 apple or 1/3 banana and/or peanut butter - once per week a sweet spot doggy ice cream. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

it sounds to me like she's getting enough calories. :)