The science & the people behind TopiBowl

TopiBowl started with one chubby Labrador and a simple question: what should actually go in his bowl? Answering it properly took a nutrition credential, a food database, and an optimizer.

Dimitar Kolarov, TopiBowl founder, with Topi the Labrador

Dimitar Kolarov

NAVC Certified Pet Nutrition Coach · Founder

Who writes and checks this

TopiBowl is built and written by Dimitar Kolarov — a physics graduate and data scientist who became a NAVC Certified Pet Nutrition Coach (North American Veterinary Community) to do this properly. The same person who writes the articles builds the nutrition engine, so every claim on this site can be traced to the data underneath it.

The app is named after Topi, a yellow Labrador with a hearty appetite and strong opinions about furniture. He remains the primary test subject and is compensated in food.

How the nutrition engine works

1,300+

foods in the ingredient database, built from official food-composition sources.

50+

nutrients tracked per meal — amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and fatty acids.

AAFCO

meal optimization checked against AAFCO nutrient profiles for the dog's life stage.

20+

vet-reviewed default recipes, individually balanced and scored.

Editorial policy

Every article and calculator on this site follows the same rules:

  • Health and toxicity claims are checked against the Merck Veterinary Manual, AAFCO nutrient profiles, and ASPCA / VCA veterinary resources, and the sources are cited on the page.
  • Portion guidance is computed from the same engine the app uses, not copied from other websites.
  • Articles show their publish and last-review dates, and are re-checked when guidance changes.

TopiBowl content is educational and is not a substitute for veterinary advice. If your dog is unwell, or before making major diet changes, talk to your veterinarian.