Dry vs. wet or canned dog food
08-10-2002, 08:00 PM
#3
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: dell rapids south dakota USA
Posts: 441
RE: Dry vs. wet or canned dog food
Agree with HV. If you want to feed wet just pour some water on the dry stuff. Why pay for water? There are plenty of good dry dog foods out there and they have all the nutrients that your dog will need. We are talking about good dry dog food don't skimp and buy some the cheap stuff that will get the protein analysis up by adding feather meal. The feather meal is protein but is pretty much indigestible from what I understand.
08-10-2002, 10:12 PM
#4
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: santa fe nm USA
Posts: 22
RE: Dry vs. wet or canned dog food
My answer to this question is : It depends. The advantages of dry dog foods is that they are less expensive,and they have an abrasive effect on the teeth,which promotes healthier teeth and gums. Dry foods have some disadvantages; they are less palatable, are less digestible, and have a shorter shelf life. You can add water to make them taste better to the dog, by adding 1 cup of water to 4 cups of dry food( Don't leave moistened dry food down as it will get sour), but then you lose the beneficial effect on the teeth and gums. Another disadvantage is that only dry ingredients can be used in formulations. Drying ingredients reduces the digestibilty and nutrient content. Because of packaging, the amount of fat that can be added is restricted. Dry dog foods are lower in essential fatty acids. Also dry dog foods have less shelf life. Dry dog foods should be purchased from an outlet that has a high turnover and don't purchase more than a one month supply.
Canned foods on the other hand are more palatable and digestible but are more expensive. 75% of canned foods are water, while dry foods are about 8%. The good news is that in high quality diets produced by major manufacturers, the loss of nutrient content due to processing has been adjusted for. However, it really depends on the dog you are feeding and if it has demanding nutritional requirements like a hard working bird dog that you can't keep weight on or a lactating bitch. You can increase the nutritional content and digestibility with a smaller volume of food. Some animals with extreme nutritional demands simply cannot meet those demands with commercially available dry foods.
I feed my dogs a high quality dry food and add canned food to those dogs that need it, when they need it. I feed a canned food at times during hunting trips.
Canned foods on the other hand are more palatable and digestible but are more expensive. 75% of canned foods are water, while dry foods are about 8%. The good news is that in high quality diets produced by major manufacturers, the loss of nutrient content due to processing has been adjusted for. However, it really depends on the dog you are feeding and if it has demanding nutritional requirements like a hard working bird dog that you can't keep weight on or a lactating bitch. You can increase the nutritional content and digestibility with a smaller volume of food. Some animals with extreme nutritional demands simply cannot meet those demands with commercially available dry foods.
I feed my dogs a high quality dry food and add canned food to those dogs that need it, when they need it. I feed a canned food at times during hunting trips.
08-10-2002, 10:50 PM
#5
Spike
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Colorado Springs COLORADO USA
Posts: 52
RE: Dry vs. wet or canned dog food
I also feed dry most of the time and canned or mixed canned and dry when hunting. My GSP is usually so beat after hunting that crunching up the dry food seems to be too much. He will eat more if I give him canned. I get high quality canned for trips (IAMS).
08-13-2002, 02:49 PM
#7
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: McClure Pa. USA
Posts: 30
RE: Dry vs. wet or canned dog food
Bo gets a 1/2 can of Alpo with his dry food {the other half
goes to Missy my little mutt} in the evening but he can have dry
whenever he wants it. He does not over eat like this, He does weigh
82 lbs but is not fat.In bird season I do switch to High Pro.
goes to Missy my little mutt} in the evening but he can have dry
whenever he wants it. He does not over eat like this, He does weigh
82 lbs but is not fat.In bird season I do switch to High Pro.
09-11-2002, 11:40 AM
#8
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: charlotte NC USA
Posts: 88
RE: Dry vs. wet or canned dog food
I had a dog that wouldn't eat its dry food anymore. A vet suggested that I try microwaving the food for a couple seconds and then give it to her. I tried that and she ate it for a while. Then she stopped again. Then I tried to switch her to canned food and she loved it. One BIG lesson I learned doing that was: if you are switching foods for your dog, do it gradually or your dog will be crappin all over the place like mine did. Now I have an english pointer pup and he eats nothing but dry food.
