Quote Originally Posted by bckrazy
Actually... wet food being worse for teeth than dry food is a big ol' myth! Wet food is actually less likely to stick to the teeth and encourage the growth of bacteria. Dry food does nothing to clean teeth, especially since most dogs swallow the pieces whole... raw meaty bones and appropriate chews are what keep teeth clean. Plus, wet food has much higher meat content. Puppy food is NOT a must. Fozzie ate all life stages food when he was 9 weeks old, and mostly Raw from then on.

The big concern is that, yes, a poor quality wet food is just as unhealthy as a poor quality dry food. You should definitely give your Aunt a call, or send her an e-mail, with some friendly pointers. I know it's hard, but try to be as gentle as possible with the advice... like saying: "My girls do really well on *insert high quality food*!" Or, you could even send her a puppy basket with good food included. And you could throw in some healthy chewies, like lamb ears & bully sticks, too!
Six months ago I would never have believed this, but after my nutrition courses at school... surprisingly, kibble does not promote dental or oral health unless it is a specific food.

Dry kibble is simply not abrasive enough to "clean" teeth as many people seem to believe.

There ARE some dental formulas where the kibble DOES clean teeth, I do know Science Diet's T/D does this, but it is a prescription diet.

The only downfall I see with feeding canned food all the time is with canned food you are mostly paying for water and the nutrients are so diluted since it is nearly 75% water therefore you would have to feed a LOT more canned food than dry kibble in order for them to get adequate nutrition.

My opinion is that unless there is a medical reason, you don't mind forking out the money, or they do not drink enough water on their own, feed kibble. It's cheaper, muuuch cheaper in the long run.

As far as dental health goes, buy dental treats, take your dog in for their yearly dental exam/cleaning, and brush DAILY, not weekly!