[mstngchic2012]

What are the pros and cons to both kibble and canned food? And is there any benefit to mix kibble and canned food?

 

[wags]

Dry dog foods that are quality foods should have a higher protein content the meat source. They will have good quality carbohydrates ( potato, and good whole grains). I stick away from dry foods with corn, by products, wheat , soy and low quality foods such as purina, alpo, beneful and brands of this nature.

Wetfoods (your canned ones) can add if they are high quality, a nice higher meat (more protien)content to the dry food you have which is a plus! A benefit for you pup! Its good to put with your dry food and makes for a well balanced diet! I add this at the evening meal!

I believe the two combined adds a nice nutritional value for dogs! They get the bonus of two well quality foods! But it has to be high qulaity foods! Not just any old wet and dry food!

 

[CorgiPaws]

Dry foods (kibbles) tend to be more economical as they are less per pound. They're also easy for travel and storing.
cons: they don't contain moisture. They tend to not be as high in meat content. They tend to be very carb heavy, except for some of the grain free ones like Evo, Orijen, and Core. (not all grain free foods are low carb) They tend to have an ingredient list a mile long, making it hard to pinpoint a problem ingredient, should an issue arise. Some people, including most vets, will tell you kibble cleans teeth. This is so far from wrong.


Canned foods are more species appropriate in the sense they tend to have higher meat content, less carbs, and more animal based protein. Most dogs go crazy over them, too, so they definately are more likely to entice a picky eater. Many people, including some vets, will tell you canned food is bad for teeth. This is a myth. They also contain more moisture, which is good for keeping hydrated.
Cons: It's more expensive to feed an all canned diet. It can be messier traveling.


Keep in mind, no matter what kind of commercial dog food you decide on, be it kibble or canned, not all are created equally, and you'll want to do some label reading and comparing. You'll want to look for higher meat content, little or no grains, and the least amount of carbs you can find. You'll want to stay away from any corn product, wheat, beet pulp, un named meat meal, animal digest, and too many starches.

 

[dogtrainer1507]

I feel it's important to know why each ingredients is in a food as well. Beet pulp is considered bad based mostly on studies done on horses and would never be used in high amount for a dog and is used as a fiber but there are different types as well so if you are able to find out what kind of ingredient and what it's bring used for I feel that's important to. My food has beet pulp I've never had an issue with it. My understanding is most of the time it's used as fiber and since a dry kibble doesn't have a lot of moisture I can see where it would help the system. So I would say research your products so you know what's in them.

 

[mstngchic2012]

Thanks. I always thought that kibbles had a higher meat content because they have less moisture. And kibbles that have meal have a higher meat content because meal is meat that has been dehydrated and ground up.

 

[harrkim120]

Thanks. I always thought that kibbles had a higher meat content because they have less moisture. And kibbles that have meal have a higher meat content because meal is meat that has been dehydrated and ground up.

This is true, but they still can only put in so much. There has to be a certain amount of carbs in there for it to be able to form into dry kibble. Canned on the other hand doesn't have this restriction.

 

[mstngchic2012]

I did feed canned food for a while with the whole meat cuts but we got a bad batch the made my dog sick so I stopped feeding it. Anyways, I have always been told that tarter builds up faster on dogs' teeth if all they get is canned food because there isn't any thing for the teeth to scrape against as they eat like it would with kibble. Is this true?

 

[BabyHusky]

definitely something harder to eat is better than nothing but i know plenty of people that give canned food with the weekly bone or what not. Relying only on kibble to remove build-up doesnt work either.

My munchkin gets canned and kibble mixed with the occasional bone.

 

[mstngchic2012]

He's an avid chewer so he doesn't just have kibble to rely on for cleaning teeth. I was just curious if canned food contributes to a faster tarter build up on the teeth.

 

[lilbabyvenus]

I was recently told that assuming dogs teeth are cleaned by eating kibble is like people trying to clean their teeth by eating crackers. I think canned may be a little better because of the moisture and the protein content, but we use both here. Usually more kibble than canned, but I also brush their teeth. They also get a lot of bones and chews.

 

[RCTRIPLEFRESH5]

im confused innova evo canned only has 10 percent protein. how is that enough even if its al lfrom meats? what is the difference bewtween percentage of protei nand percent form emats?

canidae has 80 percent meat protein yet onlly 34 percent protein in the grain free

orijen has 40 percent protein but only 70 percent fro mmeats!!!

oh another question. are customer testimonials required rto be real(not actors?0 diamond dog food has so many good customer testimonails on their site. i fin this hard to believe.\ this goes for humans as well. i recently bought acai berry powder...and saw that it supposedlyt cured a girl with leukimia lol i said might as well gve it a try as my problems arent that awful as of now.

 

[mstngchic2012]

I did notice that when I was feeding Mater canned food that we were feeding him 3 whole cans a day and now we are only feeding him 2.5 cups of kibble a day. By far a big money saver and he's getting more protein from the kibble.