Dry OR Wet Food?

[*Lucy*]

Following on from the thread 'What Do You Feed Your Dog', what is best - dry or wet food?

In the above thread it seems dry is most popular, is there a reason for this?

Lucy x

[Annette]

It's down to your preference really.

I went for a dry food because it didn't smell so much and didn't go off. Nor did I have to have half used tins of the stuff in my fridge. It all seemed so much tidier really. That's about it. Oh, and when they drag their ears through the dry food it doesn't end up as a sticky, wet, smelly mess but you can get around that with a scrunchy or a spaniel bowl.

Probably I wasn't too aware of the good quality wet foods at the beginning, but there are some around.

Fortunately Buddy isn't a fussy eater so we were able to be total dictators on this issue. However we no longer feed dry as we now prefer to feed raw, home-prepared food. But again, that was our decision.

[*Jay*]

I feed dry as it is more economical with 5 dogs. They do get wainwrights wet food trays as a treat now and then and they love it but I couldn't afford to feed them on it all the time 

[Tasha]

if you buy products like burns dry food you can soak it to get a wet food.  I find it easier sometimes to do that and don't make the mistake of over feeding because I can see exactly what the expanded food is going to consist of.

[*Lucy*]

I'm interested as i feed both mine wet food (Butcher's )

After reading everyones posts i'm thinking of changing as :-

• I'm not sure if Butcher's is good enough for my girls
• We seem to go through loads of cans (cost not a problem but dont want to be wasting money if they coud be eating something that can be more beneficial)

Please can i have your views on Butcher's and help on deciding on a dry food or a good wet food!

Thanks

Lucy x

[happydog]

I stand to be corrected by others who know more -but I think  that Butchers is one of the better tinned dog foods, mainly because it doesn't  have  additives/colourings.

[spanielcrazy]

Wet food is a better choice than dry as it retains more of it's nutritional value than dry food, does not require preservatives as much as dry, the protien is more readily available than the protien in dry. It also has moisture so the dogs don't have to tank up on water

The process required to cook and dry kibble takes out most of the nutrients and all of the moisture. So the nutrients have to be put in artificially and stabilzed with preservatives. It also needs a lot of Grains , carbohydrates or cereals (or junk) to make it hold together in kibble, and dogs not only have no need for this stuff, but don't always digest it very well, and it can be the source of food allergies.

If your girls are used to wet I'd stick with that. If you are concerned with teeth cleaning--which is another myth, kibble and biscuits do not clean teeth--then give them some raw meaty bones a few times a week 

[Joules]

Personally, I prefer a wet food as I am not keen on an all-dry diet so I used both.  Before I switched Coco to BARF, she had a mix of Naturediet with some kibble - Arden Grange, JWB or Burns - and she loved it. 

[*Lucy*]

Oh so Butcher's seems to be an ok food then?

My MIL had me believing otherwise!!!

[Joules]

Oh so Butcher's seems to be an ok food then?

I'm with your MIL on that one.    If you are not sure about a food, just look at the list of ingredients - a lot of them contain animal derivatives which include a lot of nasties and rubbish like tails, eyes, ears as well as various additives like flavourings etc.  If you are going to buy ready dog food, I would urge you to get a good quality one with minimal additives - I bought Naturediet as I figured that I did not need Coco to be any more hyper than she already was 

[*Lucy*]

Thanks Joules

I'll have a look into NaturesDiet - is that the one you can get from Tesco and PAH? Do they do a puppy range?

Lucy x

[Luvly]

 

[Jane S]

Lucy, if Butchers suits your dogs and they look well and are happy on it, there is no need to change their diet - it's your decision, no-one else's I have used Butchers occasionally (if I have forgot to order my frozen tripe supplies in time) and think it's ok (there are far worse quality tinned foods out there).

[Joules]

Thanks Joules

I'll have a look into NaturesDiet - is that the one you can get from Tesco and PAH? Do they do a puppy range?

Lucy x

I think Tesco only does Natures menu - the one in pouches.  Naturediet is in a plastic tray container.  I prefer the tray as I find pouches messy and it is hard to get it all out without getting it all over you (that might just be me though!)

PAH do sell both Naturediet and Naturesmenu - both are excellent foods though and I would happily feed either.   They both do a selection of flavours - I know ND does a puppy one, not sure about NM but I expect they do too.

I stand corrected if Butchers does not contain any nasties - it is not one I have looked at but would question the quality of the meat they use in it as it is so much cheaper.  

As has been said though, it is purely down to personal choice 

[*Lucy*]

Thanks Luvly and JaneS

I am very happy with my girls on Butchers - they look healthy, coats are shiny and i wouldnt say they are hyper either!

Think i'll stick with Butcher's then!

I just started to worry as no one else had posted that their dogs were on it - and wondered if it was one of the *bad* foods.

Thanks everyone!

Lucy x