Sneaking Vitamins Into Your Dog's Food ⋆ The Lazy Raw Feeder

this post does contain affiliate links but as always all thoughts & suggestions are from my experience

I’ve heard time & time again from raw feeders…

“My dog won’t eat X,Y, or Z! What do I do?”

Whether it be getting your dog to eat organ meat, especially the liver, or seafood. Every raw feeder has something that their dog just won’t eat.

Recently I received some fabulous green-lipped mussels from Real Dog Box. (If you follow my IG you know that I recently got acquainted with the brand & am in LOVE!) Well, my little precious-pants MaHoney was not as excited as I was. Knowing the nutritional value of green-lipped mussels I was determined to get them in her belly. Here is how I did it.

Here are the foods to sneak into your dog’s diet to provide additional vitamins, how I get my dog to eat them, & what you need to do it yourself.

What To Sneak Into Your Dog’s Diet

Organ Meat – This is by far the most common issue for raw feeders. Getting your dog to eat organs is vital because they need the vitamins & trace minerals that are packed into them.
Green-lipped Mussels – Excellent for your dog’s joints due to being a rich source of glucosamine & other trace minerals that are a natural inflammatory.
Sardines – These little suckers provide omega-3s, vitamins D and B12, and amino acids. This is what I feed instead of using fish oil for a healthy coat. (Fish oil can be unstable & spoil easily & I am way too busy to bother with all of that.)
Fermented Vegetables – A natural probiotic that is great for gut health. You can use apple cider vinegar, kimchi (non-spicy), sauerkraut, kefir, or plain yogurt.

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The TLRF Method To Sneak Vitamins Into My Dog’s Diet

First, I tried to get her to eat them as is about 20 times cause I’m lazy.
Then, after I admitted defeat I decided to create a puree with a base that I know she likes. The idea is to have an end product that I could either use as a dog food topper or freeze into treats that will mask the scent & taste of whatever I am sneaking into her food. That required me to choose a base other than just plain old water. Bases can include plain yogurt, pumpkin, banana, or berries just to mention a few.
After I found a base that she liked, it was yogurt, I mixed the mussels in with a bit of water & pureed it in my blender. (The water is to not blow up my blender again like I did the first time I attempted to make a veggie mix for her raw food.)
Then I decided to take the opportunity to add a few supplements I don’t usually include into her diet. Just for that added extra boost. This time I choose the Weruva Pumpkin Patch puree (for digestion & a flavor kick) & a bit of Organic Sea Kelp from Raw Paws (for added amino acids & Vitamin A). But, you can take this opportunity to add any supplements your dog usually isn’t fond of.

The result was a nice yummy, to my doggo, puree that I used as a dog food topper. (Or bottom sauce as pictured below.) You can also freeze some into little nutritious treats for the hot summer days to come.

What You Will Need To Become A Dog Food Vitamin Sneak Extraordinaire

To accomplish this you will need a few items and tools.

A good knife that can easily chop & slice the organs or seafood or other trouble food you are attempting to get into your dog’s meals.
A quality blender that will easily puree the above-mentioned meats. This is what I replaced my first bender with & it has been fabulous. A real life-changer for sure.
Leak-free anti-spill containers to store it in its liquid form. I just bought these Zip Top containers recently because I like to pack treats when I go hiking & don’t want to use single-use baggies any longer. This puree of sneakiness was a great test of their usability. I am happy to report they are absolutely leak-free & having the molded bottom is a huge plus. (None of that slidey slippy wonkiness that con-fuddles fridge organization.)
Silicone molds to create those cute little shaped treats. I have to admit I haven’t gotten around to getting any of these yet & am using an ice cube tray. So I reached out to Jodi Chick from Kol’s Notes for her expert opinion.

Jodi’s tips: