"Gravy" for their food

OK, I have tried a bunch of different dog foods and Jade just seems uninterested. She's much more into my older dogs food and my cats food. So my last hope would be to try some "gravys" on her food to maybe entice (sp?) her more. I was at the pet store and saw a few that I was wondering if anyone used or heard of. Plus I want to find out about them cause I dont want her to get sick over these. Anyway, these are the ones I saw.....

Grizzly Salmon Oil™ Dog Food Supplement
All-natural, heart-healthy dog food supplement. Made from 100% pure salmon oil, it contains nature's balanced blend of over 15 Omega-3 & Omega-6 Fatty Acids. These fatty acids are known to help strengthen the heart & are proven to help maintain your dog's healthy skin & beautiful coat. Add daily to your dog's food.
Ingredients:
Pure Salmon Oil

Healthy Essentials™ Gravy for dogs & puppies
Natural supplements that can be served alone as a snack or over dry food as a sauce. Contains NO preservatives, artificial colorings or flavorings. Each variety contains 25 vitamins & minerals including antioxidants for healthy immune systems, as well as calcium, Phosphorous & vitamin D for strong bones.
Ingredients:
Water, Potato Flour, Safflower Oil, Dehydrated Nonfat Yogurt (nonfat milk, cultures), Vitamin And Mineral Premix [Calcium Phosphate, Sodium Ascorbate, Maltodextrins, Potassium Phosphate, Potassium Citrate, Magnesium Phosphate, Choline Bitartrate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Dl-alpha Tocopherol Acetate, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Riboflavin, Potassium, Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12), Cholecalciferol], The 2 flavors have all those ingredients in them and then... Flaxseed Oil, Dried Egg Yolk, Glucosamine Hydrochloride (from shellfish), Malt (color), Garlic Powder, Natural Smoke Flavor, Alfalfa, Guar Gum, Sea Salt. and the other Dehydrated Cheese (milk, salt, culture, enzymes, lactic acid, natural flavors), Flaxseed Oil, Dried Egg Yolk, Soybean Lecithin, Garlic Powder, Alfalfa, Guar Gum, Natural Flavoring, Sea Salt.

Omega Maintenance Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil
Made from pure Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil & Omega 3 & 6 fatty acid. 100% Natural! Contains NO oil from farmed salmon. Use approximately 1-4 tbsp (according to dog's wt) directly on food. Promotes healthy skin, coat, cardiovascular functions, joint maintenance, mobility, emotional & psychological happiness.
Ingredients:
Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil and Natural Mixed Tocopherol

VitaGravy® Daily Multi-Vitamin
Easy-to-serve gravy nutritional supplements that make ALL dog food taste better! Each mouth-watering flavor helps porduce a radiant coat, reduce shedding & improve the overall health & immune system. 12 oz = 10-20 servings. Flavor choices: Lip Lickin' Chicken, Tail waggin' T-Bone, Barkin' BBQ Beef or Bacon n' Cheese.
Ingredients: Chicken Broth, Rice Flour, Safflower Oil, Natural Chicken Flavor, Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Honey, Flax Seed Oil, Carrots, Potato, Celery, Tomato Paste, Garlic, Mineral & Vitamin Premix: (A Palmitate, D3 Cholecalciferol, E Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, Calcium Phosphate, Magnesium Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Zinc Chelate, Manganese Sulfate, Thiamine Hydrochloride, Niacinamide, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Biotin, B12 Cyanocobalamin), Lemon Juice, Glucosamine Hydrochloride*, Caramel Color, Xanthan Gum.


I know the 2 salmon oil ones are supplements, but its still something to pour on like a gravy I suppose. I am just completely stumped on what to get her. I had her on Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul, and everything else under the sun that was healthy and had no by-products. I even tried a few store-bought brands that were pretty good with their ingredients. But she'd just rather eat the others food. Maybe cause she wants to be like them and eat what they eat lol. But I just need something that will make her love her own food and forget everyone elses. Any help would be great!! TIA

Is Jade eating dry kibble? Perhaps diluting some canned food with a tiny bit of warm water would act as 'gravy' for her. Have you tried wetting her food with anything else?
Personally I stay away from the pre-packaged gravies. I've never tried any, but something just seems "off" about some of them. The salmon oil supplement, I would do, but I think you have to be careful and not give too much, so with a tiny dog you're going to be giving VERY little and she might not even notice it.

A lot of people are close-minded about stuff like this, but have you considered a raw diet? I also have a picky eater and raw just turned him into a regular little chow hound.

I never thought about putting some can food in their for her...good idea. But I used to have a cat that when I would mix some in their with his dry food, he would just pick out the wet food and leave the dry. And the way she eats, she would probably do that, lol. And I've even dropped a few pieces of her food in her water (I was desperate, lol) to see if she would eat them wet and she just turned her nose up.

I haven't considered a raw diet, but I am open to maybe trying it. Could you give me some info on it maybe? Who knows, maybe thats what she would like. Our other dog, Sparkie, was a VERY picky eater and my mom finally gave up and went into the supermarket to find some commercial foods and he absolutely loves Beneful. He wont eat anything else. I know that food is not great, but he loves it and has been on it for the past 5 or 6 years and is doing great on it. I guess it just depends on the dog. I have even recently tried to sneak him in some good natural food, and he just eats around it. I dont know, I think I'll try the can food idea and then if that doesnt work maybe I'll try the raw diet and see if that is what will get her to love her own food. Thanks for the advice.

That stuff like Beneful is treated with all sorts of gunk to make it tasty. Dogs are as susceptible to junk food fixations as we are. The real health problems come down the pike, after some years and usually when your dog is getting older. You start seeing skin problems, more of a decline in energy than there should be, kidney problems, liver problems, tumors in worst case scenarios.

Have you tried just wetting the food? That seems to bring out the meaty flavour. My dogs like it but I don't have a picky dog in the house.

Yes, I've tried wetting it and she turns her nose up to it. So I have no idea what to do. I dont know if its a poodle thing, with them being picky, cause Sparkie is the same way.

And the thing with the Beneful, he wont eat anything else. So I dont know what else to do. The only thing left to try with him would be the raw diet but my mom wont let me give that to him seeing as how he's the family's dog, not just mine. So I dont get to make his food choices, although Ive tried. So I'm stumped with the both of them. I think the raw diet may be the way to go, I might just have to try it and see what happens.

For information on a raw diet you might want to try some of the Yahoo groups on dog nutrition. The group that was the most informative to me was "k9nutrition". There is a large group called "rawfeeding" but they feed a very extreme version of the prey model diet, don't seem to supplement at all, and not many people (myself included) feel 100% comfortable doing that.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/k9nutrition/

Perhaps the people on some of the yahoo groups would be able to come up with other suggestions on how to get your little pup to eat.

Sometimes, though, you just gotta let 'em go hungry for a while if they don't touch the food within 5-10 minutes of you putting it down. I know exactly how it is because my dog is the exact same way, and the only way I got him to take food readily when it was offered was to put it down and pick it up after 10 minutes. Since he was small and prone to hypoglycemia he got nutrical twice a day when he didn't eat his meals.. Eventually he did get hungry enough to munch down the food that he was offered. It just takes a little bit of time and patience.