Should I give my dog canned (wet) food?

Question

I believe in feeding him nutritious food only-I feed Nutro Ultra dry food. He seems to love canned, as well.
I don't know if cans are a good idea.

Answer 1

Can dog food is loaded with many vitamins and minerals and is good nutrition for your dog. But, not just can food every day as it isn't good for their teeth. You could mix a couple of tablespoons in with his dry food, maybe once a day. That would be okay to do that.

Answer 2

Canned food is actually a good food.It contains more meat protein then dry and has less carbohydrates. It also usually contains less fat.

Contrary to popular belief (even among some vets) dry food does absolutely nothing for teeth. Dogs do not chew foods in the same manner as people, they simply break food into a size they can swallow without choking, that's it.Food dry or canned doesn't stay in the mouth long enough to help the teeth or to cause tooth problems.

Dogs with tooth issues usually have them simply because they are prone to them..some breeds such as Shelties, poodles, Shih Tzus, Chihuahuas, etc are very prone to tooth issues.

Answer 3

Giving your dog ONLY canned food, regardless of the brand, isn't good. At least it'll be a very big inconvience for you. Since canned food contain around 78% moisture, that means that it isn't as nutritious as dry food. Also, with all that water, that's going to mean your dog WILL have the runs. It'll be a huge stinky mess and they'll poop a lot if they're on an only canned diet. I STRONGLY recommend mixing 25% wet for the satisfaction of your dog, with 75% dry food because with dry food, the kibble will clean their teeth, and make their breath less stinky. Also, you'll be glad to clean up less after your dog. He'll poop less, and the stools will be firm, easy to clean up, and it won't smell as horrible.

I highly recommend these brands for your dog, since they are all natural, holistic foods that are sold in independent pet supply shops:

Canidae (www.canidae.com)
Wellness (www.omhpet.com/wellness)
Innova Evo (www.naturapet.com)

My dog is a very picky eater, and she favored canned food just like any other dog would. She would always have the runs and I got tired of her huge mess. I gave her only dryfood, and she wouldn't touch it for days. So I compromised, and did the 25/75 deal, and she eats it up and poops way less.

Answer 4

GIVING YOUR DOG WET FOOD IS A NICE TREAT FOR AFTER THINGS THAT THEY HATE DOING BATHS, VET VISITS, KENNEL STAYS ETC. SO YOU WILL ASSOCIATE THAT ACTIVITY TO A NICE REWARD. AS FOR JUST GIVING THE DOG PLAIN WET FOOD NOT A GOOD IDEA. ONE BECAUSE DRY FOOD HAS MORE OF THE NUTRIENTS A DOG NEEDS. TWO IT HELPS TO PREVENT TARTAR BUILD UP.THREE THE CANNED FOOD CAN SOME TIMES BE EXPENSIVE AND YOU DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TO GIVE THE DOG THE WHOLE CAN. WHEN ITS NOT PAY WEEK TRY THIS USE ONE CAN OF DOG FOOD FOR A MORNING AND NIGHT MEAL OR EVEN FOR TWO DAYS OF MEALS. ANOTHER GOOD IDEA IS THE IAMS GRAVY IT COMES IN A BOTTLE DRIZZLE IT OVER SOME DOG FOOD AND IT IS GREAT MEAL.

Answer 5

That's your decision, but just to let you know canned food is more expencive to feed.

My dogs each get one can of Innova EVO dog food a week..

You could try mixing both, but I wouldn't suggest that if you ever plan on feeding him JUST dry food again, as he will expect the canned food and wont eat dry kibble without it..

Answer 6

Well, I heard its good to give your dog dry food its more healthy but I just mix the can and dry food together

Answer 7

Nutro is an amazing product and your dog is getting the nutrition it needs from the dry food. i prefer not to feed my dog canned food simply because it smells, and she's been eating dry food all her life and canned food will give her the runs. if he eats dry food i don't see the need to change it, but i've seen ppl put like a spoonful or two of canned food and mix it with their dog's dry food just to give them that extra flavor they love.

Answer 8

If your dog LOVES canned food use it as a treat for special occasions. It's not good to only feed canned food because dogs need to hard food to keep their teeth clean. Unless you like brushing your dogs teeth every day :) When you do feed it to him mix it in with his hard food so his poop isn't real runny because of changing his food so abruptly.

Answer 9

Best to feed them dry food, for there teeth. However, give your dog the best of both worlds and mix the dry with canned.

Answer 10

dry food has always seemed to be better for our dogs; they still get nutrients, plus dry food strengthens they're teeth and helps get the plaque off a little. For our dogs.