Feeding your dog is essential to keeping them healthy and happy. As is the norm, dogs love whoever feeds and takes care of them. They become the best companions. This is why you need to feed them well and regularly. You also have to carefully consider the food you are feeding them. There are wet foods and dry foods.
Let’s look at the pros and cons of feeding your dog wet foods.
Pros of Feeding Wet Food
There are various advantages of feeding wet food to a dog and they are as follows.
Appetizing
Wet food for a dog is more delicious, especially to choosy dogs, as it resembles fresh meat, a meal they love most. Dogs love tasty and good-smelling food; in this case, it is advisable to feed them wet food.
Hydration
Wet food is also advantageous to dogs in places with a water shortage as it keeps the dog hydrated due to the amount of water in the food. In places where dogs don’t take a lot of water and on hot days, it is advisable to feed the dogs wet food that’ll keep them hydrated.
Weight loss
Wet food contains lower levels of starch and high levels of fat; this is healthy for dogs as it prevents weight gain and obesity. Wet food also prevents obesity in dogs hence helping them maintain a good shape and size.
Bioavailability
Another strong proof feeding dogs with wet or canned food is its ability to hold bioavailable proteins and nutrients since it is less processed. This goes a long way to helping the dog in its body build-up and maintaining healthy nutrition.
Low Amount of Preservatives
Feeding dogs with wet food comes in with the advantage of having fewer preservatives as it only takes a small number of preservatives to store the small bag of food. These preservatives are not healthy for the dog’s nutrition and health; hence wet food is recommended.
If you want to know more about preservatives in dog food, please read this article from Pet MD.
Dental improvement
Wet foods offer security to a dog’s teeth as they tend to be soft and cannot harm the dog’s teeth. Also, some wet foods help in boosting the health of the dog’s teeth, and they are preferred by the older dogs the most as they are soft and cannot hurt their gums.
The Cons of Feeding Wet Food
Feeding a dog on wet food also has several cons which are:
Expensive
Wet food for a dog tends to get more expensive than dry food, and hence many dog owners prefer to feed dogs with dry food. On top of that, wet food tends to be time-consuming because of its preparation process and also tedious compared to dry food.
Odor Production
Wet food also smells after some time or rather produces an odor. This would not be ideal for a dog and could lead to a dog avoiding the food. Wet food also spoils quickly and hence it is not reliable over a long time. Compared to dry food, wet food lasts for a shorter amount of time.
Excessive Fats
Wet food contains too much fat; this is a disadvantage to dogs that have been exposed to pancreatitis disease before or those dogs that are sensitive to fats.
Creating Waste
Waste is also another major con of wet food for dogs. Wet food is stored in small bags; hence many small bags cause waste compared to dry food stored in one big bag.
Mixing Wet and Dry Food for the Dog
Most dog owners prefer mixing both wet and dry foods for their dogs. This is a very clever act that has many benefits and carries disadvantages as well. Below are the benefits of mixing both wet and dry foods:
Cost-Effective
Mixing both wet and dry food is cost-effective at some point because mixing only requires a small amount of each type of food hence saving a lot of food and money. Mixing both the wet and dry foods comes with the advantage of enticing the dog during feeding times as it brings out a better combination than feeding the dogs on one type, especially for the picky dogs.
Nutritious
Mixing both the wet and the dry feeds for the dog also helps the dog in hydration and nutritional boosts as the food contain a high percentage of water in it and nutrients compared to feeding one type. However, feeding a dog with both feeds also creates a lot of waste and also may in the long term be very expensive compared to feeding them with just the dry type.
Dogs are a man’s best friend, therefore treating them right and getting information on the way to feed them with the right type of food should be a priority. Choosing the right food for your dog is essential and while both wet and dry foods are healthy for dogs, a mixture is best
_____________________________________________________________________
Some other articles you might find of interest:
See if your dog makes it to the list here:
17 Coolest Looking Dog Breeds that Make Great Pets
Are you thinking about why your Yorkie feels blue lately?
Symptoms of Separation Anxiety in Yorkies
