# Wet or Dry Dog Food for Your Dog?



## Rawfeederr1 (Nov 28, 2009)

I personally say that a diet of 50% canned & 50% dry is the best if you are choosing to feed a commercial food. But the amount of dry food should always be equal to or more than the amount of canned food you are feeding.


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## SaltyDog (Mar 10, 2010)

My opinion is that the ONLY canned food I would ever feed is Merrick or Before Grain from Merrick. It's made in Merricks family owned facility and has consistently been voted best canned food for years.

50/50 is not necessarily the best ratio as you are toying with their calorie intake. Most premium kibbles provide a higher K/cal thus putting more energy into the dog at a lower feeding amount than that of canned food.

I like Merrick Kibble with Merrick 5 star entrees....but I like super premium kibble such as Orijen or Evo even better with no canned food.

If you are willing to do canned, how much harder is it to open the tub of Aunt Jeni's and feed them raw?


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## martha_walton (Jul 20, 2010)

I've done raw chicken necks, dry - Solid Gold, and wet. I was putting warm chicken broth or water on the dry. Now I wonder if I shouldn't but give dry. One problem is my Chihuahua chokes on the dry bec he eats so fast. Should I wet the dry but then it's wet dog food and not dry any longer and won't clean teeth, right?


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## kay2 (Sep 19, 2010)

I dont agree that Merrick is a good brand. They have too many dog food recalls for me THIS year alone. (2 over salmonella).


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Let me say this their "DOG FOOD HAS NEVER BEEN RECALLED"!!! Yes, they have had some treats recalled. You would be shocked at how many recalls HUMAN FOOD has every year and if you have kids you most likely feed recalled food to your kids. If you are gonna bad mouth a really good dog food like Merrick please get you facts straight. Oh by the way I do not feed Merrick.

Now I have to admit I have quit feeding any kind of dog food with chicken in it, with the exception of Orijen. I feed chicken and eggs to my dogs, but I always cook both.

http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/RecallsWithdrawals/default.htm


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Kay-you should really get your facts straight,and do some research before posting TOTALLY WRONG information....Merrick HAS NEVER recalled their DOG FOOD.They have recalled their treats for POSSIBLE salmonella-NO REPORTED ILLNESSES from anyone using those treats.I had food poisoning from canned tuna,nothing wrong with the can(no bulging)it smelled and tasted fine,I DID NOT sue Starkist and to my knowledge it was not recalled,so every time you put any food in your mouth,you are taking a chance.....People food is recalled more than dog food.


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## talon (Feb 2, 2011)

I was feeding canned with dry for the longest time. Now I go to Costco and buy the huge cans of tuna and seperate it into small containers and freeze them. I give each dog a teaspoon of tuna with teaspoon of the juice breakfast and dinner...they love it..it's cheaper than canned and their fur is soooo soft now. Sometimes I give them salmon as well.


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## Jenn2 (Feb 3, 2011)

@Talon, a teaspoon?! My RATS couldn't even survive on two teaspoons a day!


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Vital Essentials !!! This is the first time I have ever seen this food. So I got a small bag of the freeze dried sprinkles.. 100% pure meat, huh.. Pretty spendy but it sure looks good and is made by the Green Bay Pet Food Com.

Beef, beef tripe, beef lung, ground beef bone, beef liver, beef heart, beef kidney, dried organic kelp, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, calcium carbonate, copper sulfate, ferrous sulfate, sodium selenite, calcium iodate, cobalt sulfate, choline chloride, dl-alpha tocopherol acetate (vitamin E), niacin, calcium pantothenate, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid, pyridoxine hydrochloride, biotin. 

http://www.vitalessentialsraw.com/


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

We had a new dog food store (mini chain) open in our area and I had no idea there are so many de-hydrated and freeze dried dog foods available. I counted at least 8 different brands and they had 2 isles dedicated to the stuff. It's just to bad it is so darn spendy. I bought a little bag of Stella and Chewys, LOL, Tony thinks he is getting treats. It comes in rounds about 3 inchs and maybe 15 to a bag. I break off little pieces for Tony and he loves it.


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## GermanSheperdlover (Nov 15, 2009)

Dig this Michelle, that new store has Vita Essential frozen raw foods. LOL, so I got Tony a little package of the frozen beef, 4.99. The recommended amount for Tony is about 4 of those a day. 20 bucks a day, heck he could have 3 nice steaks for that. Dang, he about took my hand off as I was feeding them to him. They are a little bigger than the biggest kibble. I gotta say I was squishing them and looking close at them and they look pretty darn good. But for little dog owners, what a great meal. I am gonna spread the bag over 4 days, then back to his normal treats. I just zap them in the micro...


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## leya (Mar 25, 2011)

My dog is on Merrick wet which was recommended by our vet because he was having a hard time with the Science Diets dry food. He and I love Merricks wet food but sometimes his stool is so soft that's it diarrhea like at times and Merrick puts a serious hole in my pocket..maybe I should switch to Merrick dry..idk


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Brad, the first part of your post makes absolutely no sense.It seems to me that you are on a mission against Merrick.Also this page is about "Wet or dry food for your dog?" NOT MERRICK DOG FOOD. Also,if you read the Administrator's post above he is wrong, dry dog food DOES NOT clean your dogs teeth.Think about it,does eating dry,crunchy foods clean your teeth?? Do you clean your teeth with crackers or chips? LOL


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## Michelle6 (Feb 12, 2010)

Brad, It is not illegal, or to use your word smarmy,to own more than one kind of company.So what if Merrick owns a dog food company and a cattle co.? That doesn't mean that they are doing anything shady.Maybe they use their own beef in their dog food recipes.So what? If you want to speak out about bad dog food,why not go after the grocery store brands,like Ol'roy,Purina,and all of the other cheap crap with horrible ingredients,instead of a good company like Merrick that uses good ingredients.Also one question,if you mistrust them then why do you even use their dog food?


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## ADA (Aug 26, 2011)

I have a concern with dried food in that it could be linked to torsion in deep chested dogs when given dry. Dogs nearly always drink heavily after eating thus the dried food is likely to expand inside their stomach. This could lead to gastric torsion in the deeper chested breeds, Dachshunds, Boxers, Rottweilers Dobes etc. If it is mixed with a liquid prior to feeding then it swells before entering the stomach.


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## Junie (Sep 23, 2011)

Wet is the more tasty choice for dogs. If given a choice, most will go for wet than dry food. However, wet is more expensive and causes bad breath unless the owner brushes the dog's teeth. Most owners I've come across will give dry food if their dog takes well to it. Some will add wet to the dry so that the dog eats it better.


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## Mark11 (Oct 24, 2011)

I use dry food, a high quality one, after trying a few different ones that my dog liked.

I agree that it's more convenient than wet, and may be better for teeth and oral health.

However, I was just told by an owner of a holistic pet store that wet is better for the coat and skin... I really have doubts about that and would concur with the author of your piece.


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## Briana (Dec 4, 2011)

My two dogs love wet food, and I noticed that it was hard to get them to just eat dry food. In the beginning they were only introduced to dry food, but once they tried wet food they didnt want to go back. This is not a problem because I enjoy brushing their teeth, and they like it as well. However, for the past couple of months they have had horribly smelling gas, and its making me think that the wet food is causing digestive problems.


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## Blue1 (Dec 13, 2011)

Wet foods contain moisture, hopefully of high quality which emulates the percentages found in prey, a dogs natural food. Studies suggest this lack of moisture can cause organ failure... 
As critical to moisture kibble containing high quality/quantity of protein is harder to find with some notable exceptions. It's a myth that dry foods have any dental advantage over wet. Frankly you can't get the shearing required to simulate a bone or the many alternatives available.


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## Sara4 (Sep 18, 2012)

In my opinion, it really is important to feed dry food. At least half of what they eat. Here's something I do: Put half the amount of dry food into the bowl, then add just enough hot water to moisten. Mix and let sit for 2 minutes. Quickly combine the remaining half of food and serve. Half moist, half dry. No price difference for you, no stomach upset for the dog. Everyone's happy.


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## cucko (Nov 5, 2012)

I, from India, too follow the same procedure as mentioned by Sara. My small size (7-8 kg) German Spitz of 5 years, an abandoned dog that we adopted two years back, licks off the left over water as if it is soup. However, my problem is that it does not like kibble for adult dogs because of the size of the kibble and yet prefers puppy kibble as the size is smaller. But then the protein content is 28% in puppy kibble as compared to 20% for adult. It is on Nefrotec DS (http://www.himalayahealthcare.com/products/nefrotec_ds.htm)for nephrolithiasis. I feed my friend Venky's Regale Puppy (http://www.venkys.com/products/pet-food-and-health-care/pet-food-and-treats/regale-pup/). Pedigree, Lam and even Royal Canin now owned by MNCs have poor rating. Any advice would be most appreciated.


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## Tabitha (Apr 30, 2015)

I feed my 18 month old yellow lab a mixture of both wet and dry dog food. She gets the filler of the dry dog food and the good taste she loves from the wet food. When she was a puppy she was only fed dry food and when she was about a yr old she didn't want to eat it anymore. So, I decided to try other expensive dry foods, but once I gave her the wet food with her dry she loved it and I didn't have any problems with her eating anymore. I worry about her teeth and her weight because of the negative side affects of wet food. So far, so good. But what can I do I have to give her what she wants. She's got to eat.


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