Dry vs. Wet

[HL Hendrix]

We brought Hendrix home on Thursday night last week and the breeder gave us some sample pouches of dog food. We're about to run out and we want to change the food that we give him as he doesn't seem to like it very much. We're researching different food options and since he's our first puppy we're wondering what the difference is between dry and wet food? Is there one that is better for him or will be easier for him to process? Is there a certain brand that is recommended? We've seen Canidae and Wellness brand mentioned frequently. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[kayboxer]

We brought Hendrix home on Thursday night last week and the breeder gave us some sample pouches of dog food. We're about to run out and we want to change the food that we give him as he doesn't seem to like it very much. We're researching different food options and since he's our first puppy we're wondering what the difference is between dry and wet food? Is there one that is better for him or will be easier for him to process? Is there a certain brand that is recommended? We've seen Canidae and Wellness brand mentioned frequently. Any help would be appreciated!

Well, the difference is of course water content. I don't believe wet food is any better than dry, unless you are feeding raw of course. As for bought dry kibble or wet food, I'd go with the kibble. Wellness is a great food, as is Canidae but I think they have recently changed their formula so I am not up to date on them (I personally use Wellness). You can always add canned meat made by Wellness or Evangers if you would like to add some soft texture, you can also put warm water in it and soak it for 5 minutes to soften it also. If you go to dogfoodanalysis.com you will find many good brands of food to choose from. You could do puppy or an all life stages food. You can add your own cooked meat or buy a quality canned meat to add if you want. There are a lot of options, but back to your question, I would go with a good quality dry kibble, or you could always research feeding raw or homecooking.

 

[gmacleod]

...we're wondering what the difference is between dry and wet food? Is there one that is better for him or will be easier for him to process?

It depends on which wet and dry foods you choose, or are comparing. There are good and bad, high and low quality versions of both. However, it is fair to say that wet food has the potential to be significantly better than dry. And the "best of the best" wet food is, IMO, a million miles better than the best dry food on the market.

The reason is quite simple. The best canned foods you can get are comprised solely of meat/offal/bone - and water. There isn't a kibble in existence (and never will be) that isn't loaded with a heap of un-neccessary grains or starchy vegetables. They're not in there because the dog has any use for them though They're in kibble because they're cheap (as compared to meat) and because you can't make kibble without large amounts of starch to stick it together.

Canned products also win on health grounds. Not talking about the composition of the food (i.e. ingredients) in this case, but the fact that it's dehydrated. Fully dehydrated diets are increasingly being linked with a range of health problems...

Where canned food loses, and always will lose, is on price Meat costs a lot more than grains or potatoes, and canned products probably have higher distribution costs as well. Not too many people are prepared to pay that sort of premium. But if you can manage it, at least feeding *some* amount of the diet in hydrated food is a good idea (be that canned, homecooked or just raw).

 

[Alfiesparent]

I shall be watching this thread with interest as i was wondering the same thing. We feed Naturediet with JWB kibble added but as expected he is leaving the kibble!! so we are just going to use the ND. One reason i always thought dry was better than wet, and what has been concerning me is that its always advertised that dry is better to help clean the teeth. Is this a load of codswollop????

 

[gmacleod]

Is this a load of codswollop????

Yes, it is. LOL

Kibble will do absolutely nothing for helping to keep teeth clean. In order to clean teeth, you need something hard enough for the dog to chew through that it will scrape tartar off the tooth surface. Ignoring even that most dogs don't even chew kibble, it simply isn't anywhere near hard enough to do the scraping job required. Rather, it simply shatters with light pressure. That is useless.

Having said that, the reason that canned foods have such a (old) reputation for being poor for teeth is because many of the low quality ones contain high amounts of sugar So don't buy crappy wet/canned foods that contain a load of grains, molasses, beet pulp or any other suggary junk. A good quality wet/canned food will contain *nothing* else but meat/water. A few vegetables can be acceptable. But if it's loaded up with grains and other useless stuff, it's really not a good quality product. And if it has "derivatives" or "by-products" or any of the sugars mentioned above, just don't buy it. Look around for something better.

 

[kayboxer]

Codswollop!! I love that! I haven't heard that one here in the U.S. I'm going to have to start using that phrase. Sorry, I just had to comment on that.

 

[Alfiesparent]

Ha i dont know what it means its just a phrase we use here!!!!

Thanks gmacleod for your response!!

 

[HL Hendrix]

It depends on which wet and dry foods you choose, or are comparing. There are good and bad, high and low quality versions of both. However, it is fair to say that wet food has the potential to be significantly better than dry. And the "best of the best" wet food is, IMO, a million miles better than the best dry food on the market.

The reason is quite simple. The best canned foods you can get are comprised solely of meat/offal/bone - and water. There isn't a kibble in existence (and never will be) that isn't loaded with a heap of un-neccessary grains or starchy vegetables. They're not in there because the dog has any use for them though They're in kibble because they're cheap (as compared to meat) and because you can't make kibble without large amounts of starch to stick it together.

Canned products also win on health grounds. Not talking about the composition of the food (i.e. ingredients) in this case, but the fact that it's dehydrated. Fully dehydrated diets are increasingly being linked with a range of health problems...QUOTE]

Thank you! We went and bought the Wellness Super5Mix last night and he seemed to enjoy it much more than the stuff the breeder sent home with him. I think we're going to try mixing in some wet once he gets used to this new food.
As new puppy-parents we appreciate the advice so much!!