# Canned vs. Dry



## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Which do you prefer for your furkids and why?


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## BabyHusky (Jul 21, 2008)

I prefer dry for my pup cuz he travels around a lot with me. Much easier to carry around dry food. My cat gets cans though...only because he refuses to eat dry haha. yes yes...i spoil my munchkins.


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

I only feed dry, it helps to keep teeth clean, and is more economical for larger dogs as well. Not to mention the smell of canned is just putrid! And when my dogs would have to eat 3-4 cans EACH per day at around $2 per can that can get kind of pricey.

Oh and my cats won't touch canned food so it's dry in the auto feeder for them as well.


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## domari (Jun 17, 2008)

Dry, the canned food is too expensive for six large dogs. 

For my cats I feed dry food, but give them some canned food every night. Cats are different.


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## Guest (Jul 25, 2008)

Poseidon primarily gets dry, and I use Evo canned as an occasional treat (at $2.50 a can I'm not buying a bunch of it). He might get it once a week.

I don't believe that kibble helps keep teeth clean, I look at it the same way as I do pretzels and my teeth. That stuff sticks to teeth.


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## Guest (Jul 26, 2008)

One of my clients is a dentist and his dog had really bad breath. I told him I thought his teeth needed to be cleaned but that I was no expert.

He asked me if there was anything he could feed them that would clean them. I said "Well, you're the dentist, do you tell your patients to eat a certain thing to clean their teeth?"

He went and got them cleaned and now brushes his dogs teeth.

I think raw bones do help keep teeth clean.

I can't stand the way canned cat food smells and there is a vet who studies nutrition in town and knows the temperature at which each food is cooked. He says theres not as much nutritional value in canned.

Like canned veggies vs frozen vs fresh I think.

I sometimes use canned when teaching small dogs to heel. I use a wooden spoon dipped in canned food to hold them in place with me so I don't have to bend over as I walk.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

zentrainer said:


> I can't stand the way canned cat food smells and there is a vet who studies nutrition in town and knows the temperature at which each food is cooked. He says theres not as much nutritional value in canned.


Really? I've heard the opposite, that there's a lot of moisture in it, but the meat hasn't been cooked and dehydrated like kibble has so it's more biologically available to them. Or something similar to that effect.


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## domari (Jun 17, 2008)

zentrainer said:


> One of my clients is a dentist and his dog had really bad breath. I told him I thought his teeth needed to be cleaned but that I was no expert.
> 
> He asked me if there was anything he could feed them that would clean them. I said "Well, you're the dentist, do you tell your patients to eat a certain thing to clean their teeth?"
> 
> ...


There's nutrition in canned cat food, just like with any other food, it depends on the brand.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

As far as the cats go, here are two interesting articles I found on it: http://cats.about.com/cs/catfood/a/canned_food.htm
http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm

I'll find you all a dog one tomorrow if you'd like.


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## Guest (Jul 26, 2008)

I thought it was the canning process itself that ruined the food.

If you compare, say...green beans.

Fresh - raw or steamed have the most nutrients.

Frozen - have less but still have nutrients (no flovor but nutrients)

Canned - have very little if any. heat them up and then there is none. Here in the south they cook them for 5 days with fat back. Tasty, but nutritious?


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## domari (Jun 17, 2008)

zentrainer said:


> I thought it was the canning process itself that ruined the food.
> 
> If you compare, say...green beans.
> 
> ...


I can my own veggies and meat, does that mean it's no longer nutritious?

Yes I know fresh is best, but fresh food goes rotten so it has to be preserved in some way.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Yeah, I hope that's not the case, or I'll be sad since canned green beans, black beans, spinach, and all that good stuff are some of my favorites.


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## Guest (Jul 28, 2008)

I'll ask the vet nutritionist the next time I go.

What does the canning process involve? High heat? That's what kills the nutrients. The prolonged time too I think.

You can freeze the veggies and they have more nutrients. You dip them in boiling water and then instantly drop them into ice water to stop the cooking process. Then freeze.

I think drying food saves more nutrients also.

I have never heard of canned meat. Except that stuff in the store like tuna fish and chicken and vienna sausage and spam (not sure if spam is meat).

They have something here called "country ham". It's "cured" in some way whatever that is. My understanding is that it's very salty.


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## techampion (Jul 31, 2008)

*Re: Dry vs canned*

It is generally dry only for my Bull Terrier. Wet is only a special treat...too much wet food gives her the explosive d.

T.C.


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## domari (Jun 17, 2008)

zentrainer said:


> I'll ask the vet nutritionist the next time I go.
> 
> What does the canning process involve? High heat? That's what kills the nutrients. The prolonged time too I think.
> 
> ...


You can can meat just as you would fruits and veggies, but have to use a pressure cooker instead of just putting the jard in boiling water. 

http://www.doityourself.com/stry/canningmeat

http://www.kountrylife.com/articles/canmeat.htm

Cured meat is salted, the salt preserves it so it lasts a long time.

If I have some time tomorrow I'll see if I can find something that has the nutrient content of fresh, frozen and canned meat to see what the difference might be. 

And no, Spam is not meat!! Spam is pig fat and salt mushed together.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Sounds about right, and my grandpa _loves _spam.


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## angel508 (Aug 11, 2008)

whats the best wet food for a 14 pound dog dashound/cocker mix


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

how old is the dog? what kind of food are you feeding it now? Is it overweight or have any health conditions?


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## K2katie (Sep 5, 2008)

*food for my lab.*

Just wondering about my choices out there...I have a 2 yr old female lab mix who is currently eating Avoderm, but I've heard about the controversy surrounding what part of the avocado is safe, etc etc...so I am a little concerned about her eating it. I got her about 3 months ago, and she previously ate canned alpo and table scraps, and refused to eat anything else, so at this point I'm just happy she's eating! She's just about 60 lbs, pretty active. I live waaay out in the boonies, but there's an all natural pet foods store in town that I want to go check out. (Just moved here last week!) She gets itchy skin occasionally, but it seems cleared up now with flea medicine, the vet suspects that she's allergic to fleas. The bald spot on her rear is filled in with shiny new fur now, too!


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

See what kinds of foods the all natural pet store carries, just because I'm not a fan of the possibility of avocados being toxic. Hopefully if they're really good then you pretty much won't be able to go wrong. Grain free foods often help clear up allergies and itchy skin problems so that's always nice. Plus, less eating and less pooping! check out dogfoodanalysis.com to see if the foods they carry are a good quality.


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## ChattyCathy (Nov 22, 2008)

For my dog furkids, I feed kibble. However, when they have to take medicine of some sort (which has been rare), I mix the medicine w/canned food as this is a treat to them and then I know they will eat their medicine.

For my cat furkids, I feed kibble and canned food everyday. Since one of my cats gets crystals and tends toward UTIs I give all my cats canned food for the moisture. Otherwise, I keep the kibble out all day for them to munch on.


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## Guest (Jan 26, 2009)

Both of my dogs are eating Wysong dry with a bit of Wysong, Evangers, or Innova canned. Sometimes they even get a few pieces of leftover cooked chicken with that.

I don't have cats, but my rabbits and guinea pigs love their greens, hay, and carrots.


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## LabradorRetriever2009 (Jan 29, 2009)

Buddy eats Artemis Maximal Dog, which is a dry food. I only feed dry food. Artemis Maximal Dog is the best is my opinion.


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