Wet Food?

[Kiia]

I was wondering if I should be feeding Teeko some wet food as a change once in a while? He will be 2 on January 1, is a MinPin, currently on Wellness Super 5 Mix Chicken. I was looking at some of the wet foods the other day and picked up a can (after reading the ingredients), I forget the name right now (I'm at work) but it had the best ingredients out of the rest on the shelf. I thought it would be a nice treat/change for his Christmas dinner. (It's turkey & rice)

Do you feed your dog wet & dry food? If so, what brand of wet do you feed?

I know the dry food is good for their teeth, but I was only thinking of giving him the wet once in a while just as a change.

[kittenwhiskerz]

I don't see anything wrong with feeding him wet food for a treat. Beware of sudden switches in diet, give a little at a time to avoid tummy aches. One of our eldest dogs eats only Eukanuba wet food for seniors (she has a touchy tummy). The other two get a mix of Eukanuba dry and wet.
Happy Holidays!
Darrolanne in California

[binka_nugget]

I see no harm in adding some wet food now and then. Just make sure you keep your eye on those pearly whites. Even just eating kibble won't keep them white and shiny...tarter's bound to get on sooner or later.

[wolfsoul]

I prefer kibble. Wet food is mainly just carbohydrates and water (I believe seventy percent). There is barely any protien in their at all. I also find that it makes the breath smell terrible. There are more chemicals and additives and usually contain sugar glycol or propylene (sp?) glycol; both of which can be deadly, so make sure that you read that ingredients. It also doesn't massage the gums like hard kibble does. My GSD was fed wet food for a few months, some years ago, and she got gingivitis and needs her teeth brushed every day or else it will turn into periodontitis (sp?) and her teeth will rot and fall out.

Soem for a treat is good; A dog loves that. But I say that unless the dog has trouble chewing, that kibble should make up the staple diet.

[lv4dogs]

I agree with the rest, personally my dogs eat only kibble as far as dog food goes, although some table scraps are mixed in every once in a while (i know, I keep track of their weight & only give them good stuff once in a while) but i give my dogs raw meat bones too & other teeth cleaner agents.

As long as you watch the teeth, & your dog does not get an upset tummy or bowel than a treat like that is fine once in a while.

[K9karen]

I only give Logan 1/2 cup of canned and 2 1/2 of dry, a dash of garlic powder and a smidgeon of warm water.

[Brie]

that's not necessarily true about ALL canned foods.

True, plenty of brands such as pedigree are made of of LOW quality meats and LARGELY corn and wheat, but, there are TONS of other higher quality canned foods made with USDA approved meat and are low in carbs.

Here's some links:
http://home.comcast.net/~mstraus/dogfeeding.html
http://whole-dog-journal.com/pub/6_12/features/5590-1.html

these sites are worth a read!

[Brie]

one of the things I forgot to mention last night is what I do.

I only occassionally do canned, (Natural Balance, Spots Stew, Wellness, Active Life, Neura and a few others) But, I reguarly mix in a pre-made raw diet, which is what I call 'gruel' (very similar to canned food in texture most of the time, but, much higher quality and more natural ingredients)

Here's some brands I use:
Three Dog Bakery http://www.threedog.com/pawticulars/entrees.shtml
Grandads http://www.grandadspetfoods.com/
Farmore http://www.farmoredogfood.com/
Primal http://www.primalpetfoods.com/