Feeding wet food regularly.

meepitsmeagan

Meagan & The Cattle Dog Crew
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
3,378
Likes
1
Points
38
Location
Michigan
#1
I read somewhere that feeding wet food with kibble is a smart idea. I didn't look much more into it. :eek:

What does the Chaz peoples say?
 

SpringerLover

Active Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2006
Messages
3,415
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
B-ville
#2
I like the added moisture (and likely more digestible) from adding canned or raw food to their diets.

I almost always add something moisture rich to their dry food.
 

meepitsmeagan

Meagan & The Cattle Dog Crew
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
3,378
Likes
1
Points
38
Location
Michigan
#3
I like the added moisture (and likely more digestible) from adding canned or raw food to their diets.

I almost always add something moisture rich to their dry food.
What percentage of their meals do you normally feed wet? Harlow and Rider didn't adjust well to raw and we don't have the freezer space atm. :(
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2011
Messages
156
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Chandler, AZ
#4
I give the girls each 1/4 can of wet food each day. I do this mostly because they won't take thier (supposedly yummy flavored) supplements unless I mix them in with wet food. We've tried pill pockets, pieces of cheese, etc. and none of them worked (plus I didn't like adding cheese as a regular part of their diet).

I do feed my cat wet food for other reasons. My vet told me that cats in general don't drink enough, and male cats especially run the risk of urine crystals blocking the ureters. So it was recommended I add wet food to his daily diet to keep his moisture levels up. I'd imagine dogs could also get urine crystals, but my girls drink plenty of water so giving them wet food is just the path of least resistance for me.

One bonus though: the girls like to switch back and forth between their bowls when I fed kibble only. Now with a little wet food, they stick to their own bowls until finished which means they get all the supplements they are supposed to.
 

SpringerLover

Active Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2006
Messages
3,415
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
B-ville
#5
Bailey gets about 2oz per meal of canned.

Gabby was getting about 2oz of canned before I started doing raw with her.

Buzz gets a lot more raw than that, haha, because it's the main part of his diet.
 

meepitsmeagan

Meagan & The Cattle Dog Crew
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
3,378
Likes
1
Points
38
Location
Michigan
#6
Bailey gets about 2oz per meal of canned.

Gabby was getting about 2oz of canned before I started doing raw with her.

Buzz gets a lot more raw than that, haha, because it's the main part of his diet.
Good to know! Thanks!

I just don't want the guys to get fat. I'm not so worried about Harlow, she could use the extra weight. I could see her getting 3 cups still and a 1/4 can/day... but the ACD's? They get 1.5c of quality kibble/day. I'm thinking I would have to cut that back to 1 cup and then I don't know how much wet. I'm assuming cans would have feeding recommendations I could just scale down based on calories?
 

MericoX

Roos, Poos, & a Wog!
Joined
Oct 27, 2007
Messages
5,326
Likes
0
Points
36
Age
39
Location
In depression
#7
Good to know! Thanks!

I just don't want the guys to get fat. I'm not so worried about Harlow, she could use the extra weight. I could see her getting 3 cups still and a 1/4 can/day... but the ACD's? They get 1.5c of quality kibble/day. I'm thinking I would have to cut that back to 1 cup and then I don't know how much wet. I'm assuming cans would have feeding recommendations I could just scale down based on calories?
If you have an idea on the amount of calories you want to feed you can just do the math between kibble and wet.

When I do give my guys wet I mix water in with the wet and mix into a slurry before adding in dry food. Adds in a bit more water and it's hard for those picky dogs to go through and pick what they want. We do the same thing at work (though we add a bit more canned) so food is extra nummy to even the stressed out or sick dogs.
 
Joined
May 6, 2008
Messages
1,945
Likes
0
Points
0
Location
Minnesota
#8
I like the added moisture (and likely more digestible) from adding canned or raw food to their diets.

I almost always add something moisture rich to their dry food.
This! Plus, it adds flavor and variety. I initially started adding canned and raw because Jack refused to eat his dry food plain, and then I started giving it to Missy as well, because why not, and then it just became routine.

Missy (75lbs) gets about 1 cup of dry food for each meal, and 2 oz of raw or a couple scoops (3-4 oz) canned. Jack and Heidi (25lbs) get 1/4 cup dry for each meal, and 1 oz of raw or a "scoop" (probably between 1-2 oz) of canned.
 

Saeleofu

Active Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2009
Messages
9,036
Likes
0
Points
36
#9
I feed canned on occasion, but I ALWAYS add copious amounts of water to their kibble.
 

meepitsmeagan

Meagan & The Cattle Dog Crew
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
3,378
Likes
1
Points
38
Location
Michigan
#10
Hmm, good to know about the water thing! I'm not sure what they would think about sloppy food.

As far as doing partial raw, partial kibble, partial canned.. how much variety do you bring in? I don't have set foods they eat. I grab a bag of Canidae GF, Earthborne GF, Wellness Core, Acana, ect and try to mix up proteins so they aren't lacking in vits and minerals as well as mixture so they don't get bored. If I wanted to try some raw every now and then (maybe once or twice a week), would it be best to stick with boneless? Chicken and/or turkey or doesn't it matter?

They do get RMB's every few weeks and I've been known to feed raw chicken or goose or venison for treats, so raw isn't completely weird to them.

Also, do you tend to mix up proteins in the canned food? I feel like I'm thinking about this too much. :p
 

AllieMackie

Wookie Collie
Joined
Apr 22, 2008
Messages
6,598
Likes
0
Points
36
Location
Ottawa, ON
#14
As far as doing partial raw, partial kibble, partial canned.. how much variety do you bring in? I don't have set foods they eat. I grab a bag of Canidae GF, Earthborne GF, Wellness Core, Acana, ect and try to mix up proteins so they aren't lacking in vits and minerals as well as mixture so they don't get bored. If I wanted to try some raw every now and then (maybe once or twice a week), would it be best to stick with boneless? Chicken and/or turkey or doesn't it matter?
Finn gets raw muscle meat added to his food on the evenings I make it for my dinner.

As far as cans, he has a wide variety of stuff. Various tripes, pumpkin blends, full diet blends, supplementing mixer blends... always a handful of cans in our cupboard and never the same thing twice!

He also gets freeze-dried raw patties crumbled into his food sometimes. He rarely has a plain kibble meal, but when he does he eats that with gusto, too. I'm lucky with him.
 

*blackrose

"I'm kupo for kupo nuts!"
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
7,065
Likes
3
Points
38
Age
33
Location
WI
#15
Question I've been wondering for awhile now:

Does the amount of kcal/can with moist food translate directly to kcal/cup in dry food?

I ask, because I'm still trying to figure out exactly HOW much food Cynder needs to eat. The canned food I feed her is 460kcal/can. The dry food he used to eat was 330kcal/cup, and she'd eat 1.5 cups a day. Which is only 495kcal. However, the canned food I'm feed says a dog of her weight needs to eat 1 3/4 can a day...aka, 805kcal. WAY more than what she was eating on dry food.

What would you do? Feed her the recommended amount on the back of the can, or what she used to eat and maintained good weight on? Are kcal created equal in dry and moist food?
 

meepitsmeagan

Meagan & The Cattle Dog Crew
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
3,378
Likes
1
Points
38
Location
Michigan
#16
That's what I figured muscle meat was, but I figured it was best to verify! :)

Finn gets raw muscle meat added to his food on the evenings I make it for my dinner.

As far as cans, he has a wide variety of stuff. Various tripes, pumpkin blends, full diet blends, supplementing mixer blends... always a handful of cans in our cupboard and never the same thing twice!

He also gets freeze-dried raw patties crumbled into his food sometimes. He rarely has a plain kibble meal, but when he does he eats that with gusto, too. I'm lucky with him.
Interesting! I will have to set the dogs up next to the laundry room in the new house and put a mini fridge/freezer down there for all this good stuff! :lol-sign:

Now, with all of this variety in foods is it still worth looking into supplements like NuPro which apparently bring that in? I've heard NuPro can help with shedding and I've been looking at putting my crew on that instead of fish oil to help with dry skin. Would it be overkill?
 

Saeleofu

Active Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2009
Messages
9,036
Likes
0
Points
36
#17
Question I've been wondering for awhile now:

Does the amount of kcal/can with moist food translate directly to kcal/cup in dry food?

I ask, because I'm still trying to figure out exactly HOW much food Cynder needs to eat. The canned food I feed her is 460kcal/can. The dry food he used to eat was 330kcal/cup, and she'd eat 1.5 cups a day. Which is only 495kcal. However, the canned food I'm feed says a dog of her weight needs to eat 1 3/4 can a day...aka, 805kcal. WAY more than what she was eating on dry food.

What would you do? Feed her the recommended amount on the back of the can, or what she used to eat and maintained good weight on? Are kcal created equal in dry and moist food?
I'd start feeding her the same amount of calories she was getting before, and monitor her weight/body condition. It *should* be the same calorie-wise, but sometimes dogs will digest one food better than another, so they may need more or less calories. The amount the can says to feed is no more accurate than the amount the back of the dog food bags say to feed, which is never the amount I actually end up feeding.
 

meepitsmeagan

Meagan & The Cattle Dog Crew
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
3,378
Likes
1
Points
38
Location
Michigan
#18
So... definitely going to pick up a hot pink mini fridge after work for the dog room. :rofl1:

I thought that was relevant to this thread.
 

PWCorgi

Priscilla Winifred Corgi
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
14,854
Likes
0
Points
36
Age
34
Location
Twin Citay!
#19
I float every meal for my guys, and add some canned when I'm not too lazy :p

When I was trying to put weight on Siri she got 2 Tablespoons canned tripe for each meal. Now it's more for flavor than anything, and I just give each a spoonful and mix it around. I've started giving Frodo canned every evening or else he picks out his Gabapentin capsule :mad:
 

Members online

Top