Friend of mine took a bad fall and is spending Christmas in hospital, I am taking care of the dog. I gave up pets myself years ago but still love them, and I'm having fun spoiling this dog with good meals. Her owner normally scoops out dry kibble and tops it with something, hot dogs, yogurt whatever. She is such a lovely and thoughtful dog that it is my pleasure to make her something better. Kibble is fine as a base, but it should be thoroughly mixed with wet ingredients and preferably not cold. Today I roasted a chicken leg in the oven, for the both of us as a fresh ingredient. I mixed some of that together with some smoked ham and steak I cooked yesterday and a few crumbles of cooked bacon. Mixed up in the bowl with a splash of water and let warm in the residual heat of the oven a few minutes. Normally when she is fed, she eats the toppings and leaves most of the kibble on the floor, but when I prepare her food she eats the entire bowl and wants more. The takeaway from this is that kibble is ok as a filler ingredient, but the meal should be moist overall, and providing a variety of meats can keep up the interest factor. Another thing to note is how the meal is presented, dogs need to use their nose first to locate food. Cooking something fresh can be a part of that but they also need to have that sense of working for the food so they are not spoiled and lazy. When I can I take her out on a training session, learn to follow, leash control, something. If that is not possible I make her go somewhere to find her food. Weather permitting it might be outside, or inside, but she must smell and find it, and she does. I generally don't allow myself time for pets anymore, but it's nice to feel like that grandparent spoiling the kid.