Food Topper Tuesday (#ChewyInfluencer)

Today, Astrid will be sharing a review as part of Chewy.com's Blogger Outreach Program. First, though, this mom of hers will give a small preface.

I won't lie, Astrid is a difficult dog to feed. She gets bored of food very, very easily. When my angel kitty Rosie was geriatric, as in 20 or so years old, she also was a picky eater. She had kidney disease, on top of arthritis and a number of other age-related quirks. Astrid, somehow, is more picky than my geriatric Rosie was even on her worst days. Astrid is nearly 70 lbs, so you'd think we could buy her giant bags of dog food and be done with it. But, no, we have to buy the smallest bags we can, because she gets tired of food that quickly. To be honest, we usually have 3 or 4 small bags of food going for her at a time, of a variety of brands and flavors, so that we can mix and match and hopefully entice her to eat at least one of them.

Vet checks have proven that nothing is medically wrong with pup Astrid. She's just picky. Very, very picky. She'd rather eat cat food or the beef and chicken the humans are having for supper than work her way through a bowl of dog food. Astrid also much prefers moist food, but her intestines don't allow for that to be her sole diet. That, and even certain flavors of moist food will send Astrid running off to find better grub elsewhere.

So, that all being said, when I saw that Chewy.com was offering Halo Purely for Pets­® Mix 'n Mores™ food toppers, I thought, Why not?

Given that she is most often a huge fan of beef, that's the flavor I chose for Astrid. They also come in a variety of other flavors. These food toppers are freeze-dried and made with limited ingredients, with whole beef as the first ingredient. They contain no grain and no artificial ingredients. So far, so good!

These food toppers are also decently soft, which was great to see. Astrid does not prefer hard or crunchy kibbles. That could in part be why she is such a picky eater. Then again, that never stops her from chowing down on the kitties' dry food, so I could be wrong. (As a side note, we have tried watering Astrid's dry food down. She is never quite sure what to make of this, though. More often than not, she just leaves it to get all soggy and thoroughly gross. And, as I mentioned earlier, her intestines can't seem to handle a purely moist food diet. Astrid is a tad bit of a conundrum. But I digress.)

Anyway, as always, Astrid knew what I was up to the second I started photographing these food topper treats.

I always like to see her intrigued by what I'm doing in this sort of situation. If she doesn't like the sight or smell of what I'm cooking up for her in the kitchen, she'll happily up and leave. So, when she sticks around to give something new like this a shot, I do a little happy dance.

I first wanted to give the food topper to Astrid as a plain treat. I wanted her to know what they tasted like by themselves. This way, if she liked them, I hoped she might be enticed to eat them on her food, and to then perhaps even eat the food itself! Then again, if she didn't like them, I wouldn't put them on her food, as she already has enough trouble convincing herself to eat it as is.

Now, the big question is, what did Astrid think of the Halo Purely for Pets® Mix 'n Mores™ food toppers?

Yum! That's what she thought. I'll admit, Astrid didn't totally inhale these treats like she does her absolute favorites, but she still eagerly ate all of them I had to offer. So, then I moved on to the next test.

I put some on her food. After all, these are food toppers. Astrid did indeed eat them in this case, too. She also ate some of her food with them. She didn't necessarily eat all of her food, but she rarely does that anyway. And these food toppers do sometimes remind her that food can be yummy, and sometimes she'll actually eat a whole bowl of food with their help.

So, all in all, especially from the standpoint of a picky pup like Astrid, the Halo Purely for Pets® Mix 'n Mores™ food toppers gets 4 paws up!


(Disclaimer: As members of the Chewy.com Blogger Outreach Program, we received Halo Purely for Pets® Mix 'n Mores™ food toppers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own. We only review products that we believe will be of interest to our readers, and we never recommend a product that we do not believe in.)

Wishing everybuddy a tasty Tuesday!

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Our Doodle of the Day:

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Our Tip of the Day:

When a cat or dog prefers cycling through new foods rather than eating the same old thing, that is referred to as neophilia. Neophilic animals like things that are novel, new, not tried before, or at least not recently. In some animals, this is simply just the way they are, as some cats and dogs simply get bored of a certain food or toy more easily than others. Cats are often especially known for displaying neophilia, and oftentimes keep their people guessing as to what type of food might be acceptable. In some cases, though, neophilia can indeed be a cause for concern. Especially if your furbaby begins showing increased habits of neophilia, such as if they suddenly start acting bored of the food they've always enjoyed and instead start to prefer only new varieties, it might be time for a date with the vet. This is of course especially the case if you are noticing other simultaneous symptoms, such as weight loss, lethargy, vomiting, or diarrhea. In some cases, a cat or dog who does not feel well might start refusing to eat their old, usual food because they might associate it with feeling unwell. Other times, if an animal does not feel well, it might only be new and exciting foods that can really spur them to want to eat. For reasons such as these, if your cat or dog begins displaying new or increased signs of neophilia, it might very well be wise to have them seen by their veterinarian. While some animals simply like plenty of variety, others might have an underlying condition sparking their desire for new, novel foods. It's always better to be safe than sorry, so be sure to phone up the vet if you have any concerns with your furbaby's dietary preferences.