1. Stella & Chewy’s Meal Mixers
Key Features
Freeze-dried pieces are ready to serve, no preparation required
95% chicken, organs and bone
Contains certified organic fruit and vegetables
Free from grains, fillers, hormones or antibiotics
Suitable for all life stages
Made in the USA
Topping our list of the best dog food toppers is Stella & Chewy’s Raw Meal Mixers. This tasty kibble-style topper consists of freeze-dried pieces that are ready to be added to your dog’s food, mixed with water, or used as treats. The primary ingredient in each flavor is grass-fed, wild-caught, or cage-free protein – in the case of this chicken option, that’s 95% cage-free chicken. This includes organs and bones, as well as meat, which makes this raw dog food topper a great way to give an active pup the nutritional benefits of a raw diet, helping to build muscle and boost their energy levels.
As well as the protein, there’s a healthy dose of certified organic fruit and vegetables, including cranberries, blueberries, spinach, broccoli and more. The topper is also fortified with added vitamins and minerals, and enhanced with antioxidants and probiotics, which offer a number of benefits to your dog’s health. It’s completely free from grains, hormones and antibiotics, and is designed to be easily digestible and suitable for all life stages. You can add it to your dog’s food as a topper, or use it as a full meal replacement – check out the manufacturer’s recommendations for how much to feed your pup based on his weight.
2. Honest Kitchen Proper Toppers
Key Features
Crunchy kibble-style clusters
FDA-approved limited ingredient recipe
90% human-grade free-range chicken
Contains pumpkin, blueberries and chard
No offal, bones or by-products
Made in the USA
Second on our list of healthy dog food toppers is this Proper Toppers: Pure & Tasty Meal Booster by Honest Kitchen. These dehydrated kibble clusters are made up of a limited recipe of just 5 key ingredients – all of which are approved by the FDA. Those ingredients consist of free-range dehydrated chicken (90%), dried apples, dehydrated pumpkin, dehydrated kale and dried blueberries, along with a vitamin and mineral pre-mix for added nutrition. If you are looking for more options, check out our guide on dehydrated dog food.
Things you won’t find in Proper Toppers are offal, bones, by-products, fillers, additives or preservatives. These food toppers are prepared in a human food facility in the USA, and Honest Kitchen pride themselves on using only healthy, human-grade ingredients – none of the questionable ingredients often found in commercial, feed-grade food. They started out as a small company based in their founder’s kitchen, and they’ve retained their strong ethics, holding their suppliers to fair trade and sustainability standards.
3. Blue Buffalo Trail Toppers
Key Features
Meat pieces in gravy
Variety pack contains 4 flavors
Protein-rich meats (chicken, salmon, beef and duck)
Grain-free formula
No poultry by-products
No artificial colors, flavors or preservatives
Next up is this variety pack of Blue Wilderness Wild Cuts Trail Toppers. This is the first wet dog food topper on our list, consisting of meat pieces in gravy, rather than dry kibble pieces. It’s a great choice for extremely picky eaters as it’s moist, savory and guaranteed to enhance the taste of any kibble.
This variety pack contains 4 delicious flavors: chicken, salmon, beef, and duck, all of which are encased in a hearty gravy that will drive your dog wild! The first ingredient in all flavors is the meat, with the limited ingredient recipe also including egg and chicken liver. This high-protein dog food gravy topper contains no fillers, by-products or artificial colors or preservatives. It’s designed to be a more convenient, wet food alternative to a raw diet – although Trail Toppers are intended for supplemental feeding only, alongside a balanced diet.
Many reviews revere these toppers for appealing to their picky pooches, and even being able to get them interested in their regular food again. In fact, it’s hard to find someone whose dog doesn’t now lick the bowl clean. Criticisms, as seems common with most high-quality dog food toppers, refer to the cost – but it is important to consider the quality of ingredients and extra nutrition you’re getting for your money. It certainly doesn’t seem enough to dissuade the many satisfied customers!
4. Flavors Food Topper for Dogs
Key Features
Powered topper that can be sprinkled on food
100% FDA-approved human-grade ingredients
Contains beef and bone broth
Grain-free formula
Low-calorie and low-sodium
Made in the USA
This Basics Flavors Food Topper and Treat Mix for Dogs is a powdered formula that can be sprinkled on your pup’s food. Unlike the chunkier, kibble food toppers, this has the advantage that fussy Fido won’t be able to separate it from the rest of his food and eat around it. The powder can also be mixed with water to make a bone broth, which will help to hydrate your pooch at the same time.
All the ingredients in this healthy dog food topper are human-grade, as approved by the FDA. The red meat recipe contains a minimum of 43% protein, and is made primarily from beef and dehydrated beef bone broth, with potato starch and dehydrated sweet potato. Bone broth contains collagen and amino acids that support your dog’s digestive system and promote healthy joints. There are no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, and the recipe is entirely free from grains, including wheat and soy. The powdered formula is also relatively low-sodium and low-calorie, so it’s suitable for dogs of all sizes.
5. Instinct Raw Boost Mixers
Key Features
Freeze-dried raw kibble pieces
Made with responsibly-sourced chicken and chicken organs
Contains non-GMO vegetables and fruits
By-product and grain-free
No artificial colors or preservatives
Made in the USA
Instinct’s mission is to make raw nutrition more accessible to pets and their parents, and that’s exactly what they’re doing with these Freeze Dried Raw Boost Mixers. This chicken flavor is made from responsibly-sourced chicken (including bone) and chicken liver, although lamb, beef and turkey options are also available. Alongside the animal proteins are a blend of non-GMO vegetables and fruits, including apples, carrots, blueberries and broccoli, to give your pup the added health benefits of these vitamin-packed superfoods.
The list of ingredients also includes turkey heart and liver, as well as salmon oil and ground flaxseeds, which provide a healthy dose of omega-3. All of these ingredients help to support your pup’s digestive system, promote a healthy coat and skin, and improve their all-round wellbeing. As with all the best dog food toppers, there are no grain fillers, by-products or artificial colors or preservatives to cause concern. The kibble pieces are freeze-dried to remove moisture and preserve the nutritional content, and you can also feed them to your dog as healthy treats.
Best Dog Food Toppers Buying Guide & FAQ
And there you have it - some of the best dog food toppers that the pet market has to offer. Still not sure which product is the right choice for your pampered pooch? Hopefully, our buying guide and FAQ section will help you make that call.
Things to Consider When Choosing Dog Food Toppers
- Protein
Most dog food toppers are based around a primary source of animal protein. When choosing dog food toppers, consider what type and amount of protein might be best for your pooch. If you’re dog is a puppy, or a particularly muscular or active breed, look for a topper with a high amount of lean protein, to give them lots of energy. Salmon is an oily fish with high levels of EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids, known to help with coat, joint and brain health, so it can be ideal for senior dogs. Look for percentages to see exactly how much of a protein your food topper contains.
Take a look at our guides on High Protein Dog Food, Salmon Dog Food and Senior Dog Food.
- Quality of ingredients
It goes without saying that if you’re adding a topper to your dog’s food for nutrition, you want it to be made with the best possible ingredients. Otherwise, why add a topper at all? Look for toppers that are made entirely from wholesome, organic, or human-grade ingredients (suitable for human consumption), and make sure they’re approved by the FDA.
- Amount of ingredients
When it comes to dog food, generally speaking, the fewer ingredients in the recipe, the better. This is because there is likely to be a higher percentage of the primary ‘good’ ingredients, like real meat, and less ‘filler’ products in the mix which bulk out the food without adding much nutritional value. It also decreases the likelihood of your pup having an allergy or intolerance towards any of the ingredients.
- Free from grains, by-products and preservatives
Whilst you’re looking out for what ingredients are included and their quality, also make sure there aren’t any unwelcome additions to the recipe list, such as refined grains, by-products, and artificial colors and flavors. These ingredients are commonly used as fillers or for aesthetic purposes, and have little to no nutritional value for your pup. Most good quality toppers won’t include them.
- Allergies
If your dog has any allergies or food intolerances, it’s important to check an up-to-date ingredients list for your chosen dog food topper to make sure it doesn’t include their trigger foods. Even if your dog isn’t allergic to anything that you know of, introduce new foods to their diet gradually in order to give their body time to adjust, and stop and seek advice from your vet if you notice any signs of a reaction.
- State (solid, liquid or powder)
It’s also important to consider what form of dog food topper will work best for you and your pup. If you’d like to use them as healthy treats or training rewards, solid kibble toppers will probably be most suitable. If you want something that will add moisture to your dog’s existing dry food to boost their hydration, a gravy or liquid dog food topper is likely the best option. If you have a particularly picky eater who is known to eat around the parts of his meal he doesn’t like, a powered topper could be the solution, as once mixed in, it will be impossible to separate from the rest of his food. This is also usually the best option for an overweight dog, as it tends to be the least caloric.
Check out our article on Dry Dog Food.
Benefits of Using Dog Food Toppers
Dog food toppers and mixers come with a host of benefits, including:
- Provide your dog with raw nutrients
Perhaps the most important advantage of dog food toppers is that they’re an easy, mess-free way to boost your pup’s nutritional intake, and can offer them the benefits of a well-balanced diet. This includes the protein content from real meat, along with the vitamins and minerals from fruit and vegetables. Organs, such as heart, liver and kidneys, also contain high amounts of vitamins A, B, D, E, and K, as well as minerals such as magnesium and iron, and omega fatty acids.
- Perfect for picky eaters
Another of the most useful benefits of adding dog food toppers to your pup’s food is that their delicious, meaty flavor appeals to even the fussiest of fur babies. Sprinkling, pouring or mixing a topper into your pup’s meals can encourage them to eat and reignite their appetite for food. This can also be great for underweight, sick, or elderly dogs who need to gain weight.
- Introduce variety to your dog’s diet
Perhaps your pup isn’t particularly picky, maybe they love their regular food – but still, if you ate the same thing every day, you’d get bored quickly. Dog food toppers are an easy way to introduce new tastes, aromas, and textures to your dog’s food, without making major changes to their diet – variety is the spice of life, after all!
- Improve your dog’s skin and coat
One noticeable benefit of feeding your dog a food topper with lots of omega fatty acids is that you may notice an improvement in the health of their skin and the quality of their coat. This can be particularly beneficial for pups with dry or flaky skin, or a dull coat. However, if you suspect your dog has a skin condition or health problem, always take them to a veterinarian first for diagnosis and treatment.
- Improve digestion, joint health, and overall well-being
There are numerous other health benefits that your dog may experience from using food toppers if they aren't getting enough nutrients in their normal diet. This can include improvements to their digestive system, joint health, and energy levels. The benefits of calcium and omega fatty acids to joints can be particularly helpful for warding off hip conditions and arthritis in senior dogs.
- Fewer visits to the vet
Whilst dog food toppers are not medicinal and will not treat existing conditions, the additional nutrients and improvements in your pup’s health can help to prevent illnesses from developing – just as in humans. A healthier dog means you might just need to make fewer trips to the vet, saving your pup a ton of stress.
- A healthy alternative to treats
Another benefit, particularly of kibble-style dog food toppers, is that they can be used as a healthy alternative to treats. This can be particularly good if you’ve got a puppy or a dog that’s going through training, and you’re using treats a lot for motivation and rewards.
Read here our guides on Dog Treats and Vegan Dog Treats.
- Affordable
Hear us out on this one; yes, good dog food toppers might not be the cheapest treats on the market due to their top-quality ingredients, BUT they can be a much more affordable way of upping your pup’s nutrition than replacing all his food with a high-quality brand, such as Blue Buffalo or Taste of the Wild.
Our Top Pick
We love all dog food toppers on our top list, and every one of them will give your dog a nutritional boost, but our pick of the best has to be Stella & Chewy’s Raw Meal Mixers. This healthy dog food topper consists of 95% responsibly-sourced proteins and includes offal and bones as well as meat, which provides your pup with the nutritional benefits of a raw food diet (without the mess and stress for you!) It also includes organic fruit and vegetables, and omits many ‘red-flag’ ingredients, such as grains, hormones, and antibiotics. The kibble-style freeze-dried pieces offer you the flexibility to mix them into your dog’s regular food or use them as treats. You only have to look at the hundreds of 5-star reviews from happy owners of healthy pups to see how wonderful this dog food topper really is!
