Mike Michaelson - April 10, 2022

Scent Driven Dog Food Flavor Toppers Solve Food Boredom, Add Excitement to Meals 

Imagine if you were to eat the exact same meal, one to two times per day, for most of your life. That seems fairly extreme, no matter how much we love certain foods. 

But, for our dog family members, that is essentially what we do. Now we know that dogs do not require as much variety in their diet as humans, but every dog still loves some excitement when it comes to eating. Thus we tend to see quite a bit of begging and craving when it comes to our people food. 

And it all comes down to scent. 

Dogs Literally Taste With Their Noses

Did you know your dog literally can taste with their sense of smell? It’s true. For dogs, scent (or sense of smell) and taste are almost identical. They have around 220 million olfactory receptors located in the nasal cavity, compared to about 5 million in a human. But it gets even more amazing. Dogs also have a second olfactory chamber named the Jacobson's organ that allows your dog to smell and taste at the same time. So it makes sense that scent is hugely important to dogs - equally as important as flavor.

What Is a Dog Food Flavor Topper?

A dog food flavor topper is a topping that can be added to basic dry kibble to enhance the overall flavor of the dog food. However, in 2022, a company called Doggondiments introduced a new type of scent-driven flavor topper, which utilizes the dog's olfactory senses to elevate dog food to a whole new level of taste. 

Showing making procedure is a good way to guarantee product quality

New scent-based flavor topper formulas take advantage of a dog's main sense. In the past, a few small companies have attempted to make taste bud oriented flavor toppers for dogs, mainly just utilizing some added beef or chicken flavored granules to dry kibble. While moderately effective, these old type toppers missed the mark on what drives a dog to eat - scent! 

As you saw above, in general a dog will utilize its nose to track, locate, identify and ultimately taste a food and its flavor. This olfactory process is why dogs generally can smell people food from a country mile away! And you get the common begging at the table, or for people snacks.  

The Benefits of a Dog Food Flavor Topper

Flavor toppers have several key benefits:
 
1)   Adds variety to any meal without having to change the dog's food.
2)  Allows you to offer fun flavors to eliminate food boredom.
3)  Can contain healthy prebiotics for digestion. 

Flavor Variety
Let's examine dog food flavor variety for a minute. While most dogs will eventually eat what is put in front of them - when they are hungry enough - adding variety without changing their food daily is a huge plus. Both for your dog and you! Generally most vets do not recommend changing a dog's food regularly. Doing so can create digestive issues. But, incorporating a healthy treat, or flavor topping, here and there can really add excitement to your dog's day. 

As we mentioned, due to the importanance of the dog's sense of smell (scent) and how reliant the animal is on their nose, incorporating new flavor scents without changing their food is ideal. Also, doing so eliminates the tendency to give our dogs scraps, people snacks or table food. Again, people food is usually not healthy for dogs due to the added sodium and sugars found in a lot of everyday foods we eat. 

Eliminating Food Boredom
A scent driven food topper is a great way to keep your dog interested in mealtime. And for senior dogs, this is especially important. Dogs, like people, can get bored eating the same thing over and over. But a food topper with scent as the primary driver, such as the Doggondiments formulas we mention above, can generate quite the bit of excitement at mealtime. For example, the Doggondiments flavors feature fun human food scents that dogs will beg for, such as french fries, pizza, fried chicken, bacon and eggs, and more.  

Healthy Digestion
A reputable flavor topper will also include either prebiotics or probiotics to help with your dog's digestive health. 

Sprinkle or Make a Gravy!

Adding the flavor topper to your dog's food is so simple. You just open and sprinkle on top of the kibble. Your dog will be able to easily detect the varying scents and be attracted to and excited about mealtime. But it gets better. Try mixing a teaspoon of topping with some warm water to make a delicious gravy or au jus. Dogs love warm food and the gravy will enhance the flavoring.

Flavor Toppings for Senior Dogs

As dogs get older, it is very common for them to start losing interest in their food. A dog who once eagerly ate his kibble suddenly looks up at you as if to say, "This again?" If your dog has no other symptoms, it may simply be that your dog needs a little extra enticement to eat all his food.

Using flavor toppings could be the answer to help a senior or older dog eat more and maintain his health and weight. Flavor toppers are a great solution because you can continue to feed your older dog the same food, yet solve the problem of low appetite that comes with aging. Not only can you entice him to eat, but you can also give different flavors at each meal, and provide further excitement to your best friend at meal time.