Goat milk, kefir and toppers

The kefir

Crosswind Farms fermented goat milk kefir, in four versions: plain, blueberry, cranberry and pumpkin.

Kefir is fermented, which means live cultures — natural probiotic support in something a dog actually wants to eat. That's the pitch: it's a digestive support product that doubles as the thing that gets a fussy dog to the bowl.

Practical points for the customer:

• Keep it refrigerated and shake before serving
• Introduce it gradually — a new fermented food in a large first serving can cause loose stools, which the customer will blame on the raw food
• It's a topper, in moderation — part of the overall diet, not a meal

The flavoured versions aren't gimmicks. Pumpkin is the one to reach for when a customer mentions loose stools; pumpkin is a traditional stool-firming food and it's why that version exists.

Green tripe as a topper

Pure Beef Tripe is sold on its own, and it is the strongest tool you have for a dog that won't eat.

Green tripe is unbleached — unlike the cleaned tripe in a grocery store, which has had the useful part stripped out. It brings natural probiotics and digestive enzymes, and it smells appalling to humans and irresistible to dogs.

But it is not a balanced meal on its own. Tripe is a topper. Our own blog says so directly, and it's worth repeating to a customer who loves the result and starts feeding it as dinner. A few ounces on top of a meal, or no more than a couple of times a week as a treat.

Sardines

Whole sardines, sold by the bag. They do two jobs at once — a strong-smelling topper for a fussy dog, and a genuine omega-3 source. For a customer resistant to the idea of pumping oil onto their dog's food, sardines are the easier sell.

The fussy eater conversation

This is the conversation these products exist for, and it comes up constantly. The order to work through:

1. Is the food properly thawed? Cold food straight from the fridge is much less aromatic. Room temperature for a few minutes makes a real difference. This solves it more often than anything else, and it's free
2. Add tripe or kefir. Smell is what drives a dog to a bowl
3. Try a different protein. Some dogs simply prefer beef, or duck, or fish
4. Check the portion. A dog leaving food is sometimes just being overfed
5. And the rule underneath all of it — the bowl comes up after 15 to 20 minutes. Free-feeding a fussy dog teaches it to hold out

Never suggest cooking it or warming it in a microwave. Heat destroys the enzymes and nutrients that are the reason for feeding raw, and it hardens the ground bone. Room temperature only.

On the floor

"Try letting it sit out for ten minutes before you serve it — cold food doesn't smell like much. If that doesn't do it, a spoon of tripe on top will. It's revolting, and they love it."