Can You Mix Wet And Dry Dog Food

Why Its A Good Idea To Mix Wet And Dry Food

Dry food is the most popular option for dog owners, simply because its usually more convenient. However, wet food can work best for owners that find their pets are needing more enticing aromas to appeal to their dogs senses. As each type of diet has its own range of benefits, a lot of owners find the best method is to give their dog a mix of both wet and dry together. This mixed feeding approach means dogs get to enjoy the advantages of both wet and dry dog food. It can also be a great solution for the type of dog that needs coaxing at mealtime but requires a little extra care when it comes to their dental health. One thing to note is that while dry food lasts for a while when stored properly, an open can of wet food will only last around 24 hours.

What Are The Benefits Of Mixed Feeding

Dogs love food or, rather, dogs love eating! Some dogs wont eat wet food, some wont eat dry, but almost all will eat mixed food. Like us, they love variety, and mixed feeding adds more tastes, textures and aromas to their bowl.

Mixing wet and dry dog food means your dog gets the best of both worlds. It can make mealtimes extra special and win over the pickiest of eaters.

Mythbuster: dogs dont get bored with eating the same thing over and over

Can Two Dogs Live Together

Dogs are inherently social animals that live well together in groups, but that doesn’t mean that all dogs get along. Most dogs welcome a new sibling, but it’s not always smooth sailing. The furry family member you have now will face many changes when a new dog enters the picture and may feel a bit displaced.

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Lets Not Forget Smell And Taste

If your dog is a fussy eater choosing wet food could be the better option. Dogs are meat-eaters and if you put a bowl of dry Kibble and a bowl of wet meaty food in front of your dog, I can almost guarantee with certainty that your dog will head for the wet food.

Im not saying theres anything wrong with Kibble, after all, its packed full of flavor and its made from fresh ingredients. But, at the end of the day, it will never taste as good as real wet food because Kibble does not have the same aroma or the same smell of real meat, and lets not forget the luscious tasting wet meaty gravy.

However, the downside of canned dog food is the high-fat content, and if youre not careful with the amount of food your dog eats youll quickly notice that your once slim and trim dog is piling on the pounds. If your dog wont eat dry food, try giving him some wet canned food instead, Im sure hell scoff it down and will most likely lick his bowl clean too.

Wellness Core Turkey Chicken Liver & Turkey Liver Formula Grain

Is mixing wet and dry dog food good? Mixing wet and dry food for your dog is good, and the Wellness Core Turkey, Chicken Liver & Turkey Liver Grain-Free Formula is one of the best wet foods for doing this. Many dogs love poultry-based foods, whether chicken or turkey.

The top ingredients of this diet are chicken, turkey, chicken liver, chicken broth, and chicken meal. Whether your pup likes turkey or chicken best, this wet dog food has them covered. This food is formulated by vets, nutritionists, and animal lovers, which means your canine friend will be getting high-quality food that will provide them with all they need.

Wellness also formulated this food specially with a proprietary blend of nutritional supplements and botanicals to support the overall health of your dog. It also contains antioxidant-rich fruits and veggies to boost the immune and digestive health of your dog. This formula is ideal for puppies and adult dogs of all breeds and sizes.

It is a grain-free formula, and it does not contain any corn, wheat, meat by-products, soy, artificial flavors, preservatives, and colors. It is also completely free of gluten. Wellness formulated it to encourage lean body mass and muscle tone. It comes in a very appealing flavor that even the fussiest eater cannot resist.

Specs

• Breed: All Breeds and Sizes
• Life Stage: Puppy and Adult
• Special Diet: Grain-Free, Gluten-free, High-Protein, No Corn, Soy, Wheat

Pros:

Cons

• The can is a bit difficult to open
• It has less food in it

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Evaluate Your Dogs Allergies

Wet food sure offers better taste than dry foods but try and consider the dogs allergies before buying.

Ensure that wet food contains no ingredients that can cause adverse reactions to the pooch.

Negative responses such as itching, diarrhea, and skin rashes can come as a result of an allergy-causing component. So, consider the ingredients after evaluating the dogs allergies before buying wet food to mix with dry food. Consult a vet to prescribe the dogs best food if need be.

Pros Of Wet Food For Puppy

• Puppies will show a lot of enthusiasm for wet dog food. It has a stronger scent than dry. If your pup is easily distracted from their bowl at mealtime, wet food should hold their attention. You are not likely to see any leftovers.
• Wet puppy food offers your dog more hydration. If your dog is extremely active and not drinking much water, wet food can increase their moisture intake.
• If your pup seems insatiable and is always actively looking for more food, or gaining weight by eating too much, wet food might help. Dogs feel fuller after a meal of wet food because of the higher moisture content.

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Tips For Mixing Wet And Dry Dog Food

• Add a few spoonfuls of wet food and hot water to the kibble, then mix and serve. Store any extra portions of wet food in an airtight container and refrigerate, heating it up on the stove, if needed.
• Keep an eye on the portion. Look at the label and complete a few simple calculations to ensure your furry friend is getting enough and not overdoing it.
• Is your dog more of a snacker and grazer? Consider serving the two foods separately, especially if he doesnt like it when the kibble turns to mush. Start with a portion of wet food. Once your dog has lapped it up, you can add the kibble.

Caveat: For some dogs, once they experience wet entrees, theres no going back to kibble!

To Disguise The Taste Of Something

If you need tosupplement your pet with vitamins or treat it with a medicine, the easiest wayto administer it is by mixing it with food. Nonetheless, some dogs will refuseto eat it due to the taste.

The best way todisguise it is to add water to dry dog food, to moisten it and allow the flavorand aroma of kibble to expand and mask it totally.

For example, its a great way to hide the flavor of supplements like hemp CBD oil, which has proven to reduce arthritic pain and boost activity in dogs. Its helpful but its flavor can repel many dogs, and if it were your case, then youd only need to add some water.

However, what to mix with dry dog food if water were not enough? Stock will do the trick. You can use bones or meat. Either way, you will provide your dog with superior nutrition.

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Make Kibble And Raw Combinations Safer

In a nutshell, all of the risk your dog faces when eating raw foods and starch are the result of the changes to the pH. If you can control the pH, you can do a better job of transitioning your dog to a raw diet without diarrhea, vomiting or obstruction.

And if you want to feed him both kinds of foods, it will reduce his risk of getting sick from bacteria or getting undigested bone lodged in his digestive tract and it will help him get more nutrition out of his meals and avoid the inflammatory and immune responses that can come with undigested foods.

Here are two simple ways to make mixing kibble with raw safer:

Royal Canin Large Breed Gravy Pouch Dog Food

Royal Canin Large Breed Gravy Pouch Dog Food is perfect for puppies with the expected large size. This food goes well for large breeds of dogs with an expected adult weight of 56 pounds. The gravy texture is easy to serve and simple for dogs to chew and swallow. It pairs excellently with Royal Canin large puppy dry dog food.

• Supports the dogs natural defenses
• Develops the dogs immune system with an army of antioxidants
• Enhances the biotic presence in the walls of the intestine

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Kibble Changes Gut Ph

Kibble will increase the pH of the stomach.

The same would happen if you fed your raw meals with sweet potatoes or other starchy foods. The enzyme called pepsin is responsible for breaking the protein in your dogs meal into its individual building blocks, amino acids. But pepsin is only released if the pH is below 2, so the predigestion of protein cant happen in the stomach.

When the pH of the gut is increased , then pathogenic bacteria like E coli and salmonella are more likely to survive and cause digestive upset or illness in your dog.

Remember, the acidic environment in his gut protects your dog against these pathogens.

Dogs and other carnivores have evolved to handle the bacteria in raw meats but if we change the pH in their digestive tract by feeding a food thats not appropriate for them , some of that protection is lost.

Once the predigested food leaves the stomach, it needs to be at the proper pH to trigger the release of the pancreatic enzymes that do most of the digesting.

If theres starch in the meal, the higher pH means fewer of those enzymes will be released and undigested food particles can trigger inflammation and an immune response called leaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut can allow undigested food and bacteria to pass through the wall of the small intestine, where they enter the body and cause immune disorders.

And if your dog suffers from yeasty ears or yeast infections, Candida thrives on the more alkaline pH that comes with starch.

Can I Give My Dog An Egg A Day

Dogs can eat a little bit of egg each day, but its important to feed eggs like you would any treat. Eggs are about 70 calories each, so how much you feed depends on your dogs size. Keep the 10 Percent Treat Rule in mind. The egg you feed should only make up 10 percent of your dogs total daily calories.

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Making The Transition To Raw

When making the transition from dry to a raw food diet, some people prefer to make the change gradually. This is the only instance in which mixing the two should be considered and then only for a short amount of time as it is prudent, once commenced, to switch to raw as quickly as possible. For some it can be a few days although for others it may take a few weeks. Some people will reduce the kibble and increase the raw at each meal time until the dog is only eating raw food while others, with a puppy or a dog with a robust digestive system, can make the rapid switch with the introduction of just the one food immediately.

In summary, mixing dry and raw foods together should be avoided unless switching from a dry to a raw food diet. If you are considering the switch and would like some help and advice then please do get in touch. We can advise you on what is best for your dog, what you should be feeding, how often and when as well as answering any questions you may have about a BARF diet. You can also take a look at our list of pure and complete raw meals here.

Mike Simmonds

Cons Of Mixing Wet And Dry Dog Food

Since wet food is more expensive than dry dog food, mixing the two adds an expense to mealtime in comparison with only feeding dry. It also requires refrigeration of the wet food after it is opened if not all of it is used in one meal. Plus, it can be smellier than dry food alone, creates more waste with the small cans and pouches that house the wet food, and may provide less dental benefits than a strictly dry food diet.

Finally, if a dog doesn’t finish the mixture of dry and wet food within a few hours, the dry kibble will get soggy and the wet food will get crusty and could spoil so it cannot be saved and, consequently, may create more waste.

There is no ‘best’ option when it comes to wet and dry food. Cost, storage, ease of feeding, medical issues, physical restrictions, accessibility of food types, pickiness of the individual dog and more may play into your decision as to whether you feed only wet or dry food or a mixture of both.

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Pros Of Dry Food For Puppy

• Dry food is hard and crunchy. That means it is better for your dogs teeth. It doesnt stick in their teeth as much as wet food, and the crunching can help scrape tartar off of their teeth.
• You have a lot more choices with dry dog food than with wet. Its a more popular option, which means that more companies make it, and they make more different varieties to suit dogs of every age, size and activity level. When you are deciding about wet or dry dog food for puppy, think about what they will eat as an adult too.
• If your dog prefers to free feed and nibble at their food throughout the day, you dont have to worry about dry food spoiling. It can be left out in their dog bowl without going bad.
• Dry puppy food is easier to store in general. It can go into a large container or bin, or it can stay in the bag in a press. Room temperature is grand. As long as it is kept dry, it will stay good.

Great Reasons To Mix Wet Food With Dry Dog Food

• Hydration – Not surprisingly, dry food doesnt offer much in the way of hydration. Wet food, however, provides the moisture your dog needs for a healthy immunity, organ function, digestion and overall well being.
• Easy to Digest/Absorb – Not all proteins are created equal. For example, pea and potato protein often used in kibble is not as digestible as animal sourced protein. This can lead to some major digestive problems or food sensitivities. Adding wet food that is primarily meat protein can make all the difference. Quality wet food that has animal-sourced protein as its main ingredient provides the complete essential amino acids dogs need to thrive.
• Make Mealtime Their Happy Place – Watch your pup go crazy as soon as you pop a can of your favorite wet food. A little kibble mixed with a wet food loaded with delicious protein and gravy can create a juicy and delicious texture your pup will love it.

Ready to mix it up?

Mixing or topping food isnt an exact science, so be sure to follow any and all diet and portion recommendations according to your dogs breed, age, weight, etc. And remember, not all wet food is created equal, so be sure to do your research and get the best quality wet food possible.

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Can I Feed A Combination Of Dry And Canned Food To My Pet

Yes, many pets do well eating both dry and canned food. This combination can work quite well for balancing cost-effectiveness, palatability, and water intake.

However, its important to do a bit of planning so your dog or cat doesnt gain weight due to a larger quantity of food.

If your pup or kitty is currently eating dry kibbles, start by simply looking at the amount of canned food you plan to feed and subtracting a similar volume of dry food. That way, the total daily food intake is approximately the same. However, there may be some variation due to different calorie density of each food, so its important to monitor your pet for weight gain or loss and adjust their food intake accordingly.

For a more exact feeding guideline, you can contact one of our knowledgeable team members at Fromm. We are happy to walk you through the feeding recommendations on both foods and let you know how much of each recipe to give your pet.

Then, you may add the canned food separately from kibbles, or use it as a topper or mixed together with dry food. If you choose to top or mix, remember that dry food cant be left out all day once wet food is addedany uneaten portion should be thrown out after 1-2 hours.

How Is Dry Dog Food Processed

Dry food contains very similar ingredients, but instead of adding gravy and canning the product, the meat mixture is pulverized in order to create a consistent dough that can be cooked.

Once cooked, the dough is extruded through specifically shaped holes to form kibble. The kibble undergoes a drying process, and then is sprayed with fats, oils, vitamins, and minerals and packaged before the fats and oils can spoil.

Some dry dog food diets also add live probiotics to aid in digestive and immune health.

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