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Got a beef with vegan wet dog food? No? Well, I was just chick’n…
That’s the terrible jokes out of the way, so now onto the serious business of reviewing Omni Toppers vegan wet dog food. Sundi (in the photo) gets mightily fed up with her dry food and can often refuse to eat. To be honest, this may be partly due to her colourful past which you can read more about later in this review. But my dog Coco can also appear to breathe a heavy sigh when faced with yet another bowl of dry food, and they’re not alone – most pet parents say the same thing. So Omni’s idea for a ‘topper’ to add some interest to a pile of biscuits was inspired I think. But does it work? Can it make a dog tuck in heartily to that same pile of biscuits day in, day out?
Well, we thought that Sundi would be the ideal candidate to find out, and we’ll highlight the positives and negatives of the product in this review of Omni Toppers vegan wet dog food, and also tell you how she got on with it.
Editor’s Rating: 4.7 / 5
Pros
- Makes dry food more interesting
- Meaty texture
- Suitable for all ages
- Boosts protein levels
Cons
- Price
- Packaging
- Soy-based
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This post has been sponsored by Omni, but reflects Vegan Mum’s genuine opinion of the product.
The positives
We found that these Omni Toppers certainly made Sundi much more interested in her food, and she seemed to enjoy the chewy texture, so let’s look at all the positives in some more detail.
Makes dry food more interesting
Whilst you can add warm water to most dog kibble, it doesn’t exactly give it the wow factor your dog might be looking for! A pouch of Omni’s Toppers, on the other hand, does seem to make that bowl of biscuits so much more appealing. Both the ‘No-Beef Bites’ and the ‘No-Chick Chunks’ contain very meaty-looking chunks, covered in plenty of gravy.
You can serve them on their own as a snack too, but we used them to top Sundi’s dry food which worked a treat. The chunks on their own are nice and chewy, the smell is very appetising, and the gravy spreads well over the kibble, all of which kept Sundi eating almost to the bottom of her bowl.
It’s important to note though that these pouches are not nutritionally complete on their own, and are not formulated with that in mind. If you want a wet food that will provide all the nutrients your dog needs, take a look at Omni’s tins of wet food instead.
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Meaty texture
Omni Toppers have been cleverly formulated to give your dog the mouth-feel of meat. Looking remarkably similar to the soya chunks I use in my cooking (if I’m honest, they look even tastier than those in my cooking!) they also smell convincing, and Sundi loved chewing on them very much.
Many dogs miss out on getting their jaws around that meaty texture because of the trend to feed them biscuits, and you certainly can’t argue with the convenience of kibble storage, and the lack of mess and smell. And that’s not just vegan dogs either because even those feeding their pooches a meat-based diet still largely choose to use biscuits.
But the great thing about these Omni Toppers is that they contain meaty chunks in gravy, the smell is just fine and they are incredibly convenient. So, nothing I can add to that really other than I think they’re really clever, and Sundi thoroughly enjoyed the different textures.
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Suitable for all ages
Whether it’s a newly-weaned puppy, a dog in its senior years, or anything in between, they can eat and enjoy this product. It is suitable for all ages apparently which is great.
We’re not sure how old Sundi is, although can take a good guess from her greying muzzle that she’s got a good few years behind her! That said, all her teeth are intact and so the chunks gave her no problem. Our dog, Coco, has lost quite a few teeth, but she also managed very well with the chunks in these Toppers. Whilst they look meaty and definitely offer some chewing opportunities, they are not tough. So, young or old, teeth or no teeth, these Omni Toppers seem suitable for all.
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Boosts protein levels
As a percentage of dry weight, the protein level in Omni Toppers is high at over 40% (to see how to calculate nutrient levels as a % of dry weight, see Vegan Mum’s ‘The tale of Coco, a vegan dog‘). Now that might be a problem if you were feeding them to your dog several times a day, but as mentioned previously, they are not designed for that. So when used as directed, this product can actually give your dog a nice protein boost. Just don’t overdo it!
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The negatives
As with most products, there are some negatives with Omni Toppers. They are not cheap (even on subscription), the packaging isn’t the most eco-friendly, and they won’t be suitable if your dog has a sensitivity to soy-based products.
Price
This is not a cheap product, but I guess you are paying for the quality and expertise that goes into it. So, the cost for one box of 8 pouches (at the time of publishing) is:
| Type of purchase | Initial cost | Ongoing cost |
| Subscription | £19.99 (£2.50 / pouch) | £22.49 (£2.81 / pouch) |
| One-off purchase | £24.99 (£3.12 / pouch) | – |
Bear in mind that these Omni Toppers probably shouldn’t be central to you dog’s diet and so you may decide to give them one occasionally, not make them a regular feature. If that’s the case, they do look like a more reasonably cost-effective treat. Subscribers will also earn reward points and qualify for the free online vet consultation service too, and don’t forget you can use Vegan Mum’s exclusive discount code below.
Packaging
The pouches obviously have to be designed to hold in all that gravy, so paper and cardboard is out of the question I guess. But the foil/plastic pouch packaging is still something to be aware of if recycling is important to you – which it should be!
Soy-based
Maybe this shouldn’t be a negative because for most dogs, soya products aren’t a problem. But it is a recognised allergen for some, and with just one exception, that excludes Omni’s entire product range if your dog does have a sensitivity to it. However, they have thought of that and recently brought out Omni’s Sensitivity Diet – it is kibble, so only a dry food option, but still a really useful product that contains novel proteins, and no soy at all.
Vegan Mum’s Conclusion of this Omni Toppers Review
Perhaps because of her background, Sundi’s eating habits are inconsistent and she has never just been known to happily tuck into a bowl of food. She was rescued 3 years ago from a street dog shelter in South Korea by my daughter, who subsequently brought Sundi back with her to the UK. Eating in the shelter was hit and miss, with the stronger dogs often getting the lion’s share (if I may just mix up my species a bit) so the less aggressive dogs like Sundi tended to eat sporadically. And that, we think, is now just habit.
Consequently, she normally just picks at her food, never eats from a bowl, and sometimes prefers not to eat at all. That said, she always gets a clean bill of health at the vets (having survived heartworm in South Korea), is happy, affectionate, and runs like a bullet! She has so much energy, and loves nothing more than a very long walk in the hilly Gloucestershire countryside where she now lives.
But as it turns out, Sundi has actually become quite a big fan of Omni Toppers, and willingly chomped her way through a succession of No-Beef Bites and No-Chick Chunks pouches! Who knew? It is certainly testament to the tastiness and quality of the product because if it tempts Sundi to eat, it should tempt any dog! And whenever she had one, she also polished off the biscuits underneath, perhaps because the gravy from the Topper soaked down into the bowl. It was also heartening to think that she was getting that extra protein boost from it too.
These pouches do seem to have a good balance of gravy and meaty chunks and they work really well on top of a bowl of biscuits, with the chunks offering some added interest and chew, and generally just making it look more appealing. Do dogs eat with their eyes the way we do? Maybe not, so perhaps it’s the smell and textures that make a difference. But whatever it is, it seems to work!
You do have to factor in the cost though, and these Omni Toppers aren’t cheap. But when you look at the product – and importantly, watch your dog eat it – you can see that it is high quality, and that dogs find it very tasty. And as I mentioned before, this vet-formulated product is not nutritionally complete (although still nutritious), so you might want to consider it as more of a treat, not necessarily a daily feature in your dog’s diet. This also makes the cost more acceptable I think, as well as knowing that it may tempt your dog to eat their biscuits too.
The packaging isn’t ideal (it’s a great way of keeping the product fresh, but not for recycling easily!) but I know that Omni has been committed to finding recyclable materials for its other products, and recently switched their dry dog food products over to a much more environmentally friendly solution. My guess is that they will keep this on their agenda to resolve at some point.
So overall, Omni Toppers definitely passed the Sundi test (it was all 4 paws up in agreement) – and she sets the bar pretty high, I can tell you!
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