Dogs love a bit of bonus in the bowl or some high-value rewards for training. And you love spoiling them.

When dog mamas begin thinking about raw or fresh food diets — the first thing that comes to mind is meat. Even if you aren’t thinking about a completely raw or fresh foods diet, or are trying to manage budgets, most people will think about adding some type of meat to their dog’s kibble bowl as a way to add something special or fresh to the bowl.

We covered veggies as one of the easy things to add, the significant benefits to reducing the risk of disease — but most of all because it’s easy, inexpensive, and doesn’t take much calculating to add in some veggies. It also does not add many extra calories. You probably have some leftovers from your own meals!

In a meat-forward kibble commercial dog food is only required to contain 22% protein for growing puppies, and 10-and 25% for adult dogs. And it does not designate that this be meat protein. Remember this is on a dry matter basis and will be quite different if feeding fresh, moisture rich foods.

Many holistic veterinarians and nutritionists know that many of the current kibble recipes are short-changing your dog on real meat proteins. They are starting to use more plant-matter protein sources and low-quality animal meal ingredients that contribute to protein but are far from high-quality nutrients. Your dog needs animal protein sources to thrive.

So yes, adding fresh meat to your dog’s bowl may be beneficial.

Stay out of the rut! Most people start to overdo their habits, even though you’re trying to do something special for your dog! Rotate Your Choices Often. Don’t forget your vegetables first! Everything in moderation if you’re doing repetitive additions or bonuses to the bowl.

When you start adding in meat, remember it’s not just to spoil your dog or entice them to eat — it’s a nutrient-rich protein that is part of the overall balance of dietary needs. You cannot feed a lean, muscle meat-only diet and yep, you gotta do a little math, and keep some things you’ve probably never considered in mind.

Calcium to Phosphorus Ratio In Dog Food

Generally, you want somewhere between 1:1 or 2:1. Oops — math. It’s actually something most of you aren’t going to calculate at home.

Suffice it to say for awareness, the meat will have phosphorus, but unless you’re throwing in the bone, or some other source of calcium, you’ll the throwing of a nutrient balance that in long-term use could create mineral issues/health issues for your dog.

If you’re doing an occasional bite or treat, no big deal. But it’s when you start feeding your dog recurring daily bonuses of meat in the bowl, or making home-prepared or raw diets you must keep this in mind. Regular additions of too much meat to kibble could create nutritional issues and be as problematic as if you feed meat only. Make sure you’re creating a variety of additions to the bowl!

Other Considerations?

What about the fat-to-protein ratio — are you keeping that in check? Getting a diet too low or too high in fat has other considerations for pets — especially depending on their age, digestive system, and specific illnesses (pancreatitis, kidney disease, etc).
You also need to think about their physical activity needs, the unique needs of our senior pets, and their digestive system. Can they properly digest added protein?
Is your dog actually going to burn off that added protein with physical exercise
Is excess protein contributing to potential behavior problems
Is the Choice of Protein Right for your dog’s behavior or ailments & allergies?

Could you be wasting money adding excess protein?

When Extra Protein In Your Dogs Diet Does Not Provide Any Benefit

Firstly, it's important to understand how protein works in the body. Protein is made up of amino acids, which are the building blocks of the body's tissues. When a dog eats protein, their body breaks it down into these amino acids and uses them to build and repair cells, produce hormones, and carry out a range of other vital functions. However, excess amino acids are not stored or utilized by the body and simply pass through, thus making adding more meat to diet with sufficient protein in it already may not add any additional health benefits.

For our puppies, excess protein isn’t ideal. For many large breeds, it can contribute to both growth and behavioral problems. Its important to get it right during the developmental period for puppy growth.

Contrary to popular belief, more protein does not automatically translate to better health for our dogs. Dogs do not store or utilize excess amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Once the dog's protein requirements are met, any excess amino acids are not stored or utilized by the body and are simply excreted through the kidneys. This means that adding more meat to an already sufficient protein diet may not provide any additional health benefits to our dogs, may create growth issues, and may tax the kidneys more than necessary, and may contribute to behavior issues, weight management problems, and so on.

If we think of food as medicine and our goal is to sustain health (or create healing) for many years — nutrition matters most— not just ingredients.

I have been taught, An overdose of anything you're trying to prevent can cause symptoms of the illness/disease you're trying to prevent.
I once had a family member who wanted to “spoil” his beloved little dog. He went every day to the local convenience store and bought a grilled skinless chicken breast and gave it to the dog. He actually spoiled his dog to death — the dog loved the food — but was missing far to many nutrients to thrive long-term.
If you’re creating a balanced RAW meal and feeding portions of that in tandem with your kibble — it might be ok,. Some argue that some fresh, real food, is better than none. And who can dispute that really? ~Dana

Add Vegetables

We covered veggies as one of the easy things to add, the significant benefits to reducing the risk of disease — but most of all because it’s easy, inexpensive, and doesn’t take much calculating to add in some veggies. It also does not add many extra calories. You probably have some leftovers from your own meals!

In a meat-forward kibble commercial dog food is only required to contain 22% protein for growing puppies, and 10-and 25% for adult dogs. And it does not designate that this be meat protein. Remember this is on a dry matter basis and will be quite different if feeding fresh, moisture rich foods.

What about Chicken

Many people want to give their dog something special. And many people want to improve the quality of their dog’s food by adding fresh meat. Both are good-intentioned ideas — but might not be your best “first” addition to the bowl.

Chicken is such a common allergen, I tend to forgo this, especially for our dogs with allergies, red-hot itchy skin, or even red-hot attitudes.

Chicken is also high in Omega 6 — but no Omega 3. So if you’re going to add chicken to the kibble recipe on a regular basis — you’ll most likely need to supplement Omega 3. (Read More: A Chicken A Day)

What about Beef

A bite or two of your steak or hamburger is always a fun treat for your dog. But the more cooked meat is, the more carcinogens you’re introducing (true for you too). We also run into the issue of rendered fats being problematic for dogs where raw animal fats, in appropriate amounts, are much healthier and less likely to create pancreatic flair-ups. Keep it raw to rare.

Don’t overdo any single protein source, Change it up to pork, fish, cottage cheese, turkey, rabbit, duck, goat, and so on.

If you’re trying to address allergies or behavior the protein you choose also matters. See The Article on Chinese Medicine & Proteins.

Protein Toppers For Kibble

Add Sardines

Adding a can of whole sardines a week is a great option. You can also order whole frozen Sardines from BJs Raw. It’s complete Food and keeps those ratios in check! Sardines also adds many benefits!

Add An Egg

Add Eggs shell and all — is an easy way to add lots of nutrients to your dog’s bowl on a regular basis and not throw off the Calcium to Phosphorus ratio. It too is a complete food. It’s going to add calories to your bowl — so unless your dog needs to fatten up, use this only 1-2 times a week.

Add Offal

Organ meats, hearts, gizzards, pancreas, tripe, liver, and so on. Just remember to keep your secreting organ to less than 5% of your total diet.

Visit your butcher or grocer — hearts, gizzards, livers, kidneys, trachea, esophagus, tripe. You can even get a dehydrator and make bite-sized treats!

Choose from Dehydrated / Freeze Dried Liver Treats (See Volhard)

Add Raw Meaty Bones

Some folks will consider looking to yogurt as a source of calcium. It is better than no calcium but is not going to make the grade a primary source of calcium relative to how much it would actually require feeding your dog (especially big dogs) to fulfill the calcium requirement.

Consult with a dog nutritionist (call me!) or your veterinarian to find out if adding meat to your dog’s bowl everyday is the right thing for your dog.

Adding Fresh Meat To Kibble Dog Food