Adding a supplement plus fresh foods to dry kibble for your dog

Offering beefed-up commercial dry food

If you want to continue feeding your dog a commercial, dry kibble diet, or one of the grain-free kibbles, but you’re concerned about the nutrients that he’s getting, you can beef up that diet to give him what he needs. You can upgrade the diet in one of two ways: with an all-in-one supplement that con-tains all the food groups of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and oils or with a supplement plus fresh foods. We explain both options in the following sections.

Enhancing dry kibble with an all-in-one supplement

Feeding commercial kibble enhanced by an all-in-one supplement is the simplest method of adding the nutrients lost in the manufacturing of commercial cooked kibble. To apply this diet, choose a kibble according to our guidelines in the preceding section “Feeding Buddy commercial dry food” and then add a complete supplement to it. Follow the directions on the product as to how much to add.

The supplement we suggest is called Endurance. It has been clinically proven over many years and is dehydrated. It contains a small amount of liver, natural vitamins, minerals, herbs, dried fruit, fish oil, and ginger. It aids digestion by settling the stomach, reduces shedding, and increases vitality and longevity.

Endurance is available from www.volhard.com. This product is used by many police forces and professional trainers to keep their working dogs in good health. It is the supplement that CJ (see Figure 4-1), the 2008 Terrier group winner at Westminster, was fed when he was on the road being shown.

Adding a supplement plus fresh foods to dry kibble

With this option, you add a supplement such as Endurance plus fresh meats and vegetables to commercial kibble. The quantities of the respective ingredients listed in this section are for a 50-pound dog. You can adjust this recipe according to your dog’s weight. This option offers digestive enzymes con-tained in the raw foods, which aids digestion and cuts down the time the food is in the stomach.

When calculating the amount for the weight of your dog, err on the side of too little, rather than too much. Some dogs eat more than their weight indicates, and some dogs eat less. Your dog’s metabolism and the amount of daily exer-cise he gets determine the amount of food he needs. Use common sense and keep all ingredients in proportion.

To apply this diet, mix together the following ingredients and serve to your dog twice a day:

High-quality dry kibble (follow the directions on the package as to how much to feed)

- 1⁄4 teaspoon Endurance plus 2 tablespoons of water to rehydrate the supplement

- 1⁄4 cup of ground beef (80 percent meat to 20 percent fat) lightly cooked for the first week, then cooked less and less over time until it’s raw; rotate once a week with canned mackerel or cottage cheese; if your dog prefers chicken, serve it lightly cooked2 tablespoons fresh vegetables (lightly cooked the first week, and then cooked less and less over time until they’re raw)

For vegetables use carrots, parsnips, beets, sweet potatoes, broccoli, leeks, zucchini, squash, kale, cabbage, or any vegetable your dog likes. Chop the vegetables in a food processor or parboil them so it’s easier for your dog to digest the cellulose. Whenever you can, use vegetables that are in season, because they have more nutrients. Vegetables that are shipped long dis-tances contain fewer nutrients. For treats, try chopped carrots, broccoli, parsnips, sweet potatoes, rutabaga, lettuce, bananas, prunes, cucumbers, or any in-season fruit or vegetable that your dog likes.


Stay away from those fruits and vegetables that are commonly sprayed many times with pesticides before they reach the marketplace — for example, apples, bell peppers, carrots, celery, cherries, grapes, kale, lettuce, nectarines, peaches, pears, or strawberries. If you can find organic versions, they will be safe. However, grapes and onions have been associated with gastric problems and even death in dogs that already have underlying disease states. As always, a small amount isn’t harmful, but too much can make Buddy feel sick.Making major changes in Buddy’s diet without keeping track of how these changes affect him isn’t a wise idea. He may be out of balance nutritionally, which will have short- and long-term effects on his health. We recommend that you have a blood test done before making a dietary change and again six months later.

If you want your dog have a good training just Click Here!  or  Here!  And Here!  Here! to more information.