Dry food or wet food?

Many dog ​​owners are overwhelmed by the large supply of various dog foods. If you are looking for the right food for your dog, you soon come to the question: Which food is best for my dog? Is dry food better than wet food or is it the other way round?
One wonders which brand is the best and whether the dog should get the food labeled with chicken, lamb or fish.

Some owners also ask, which food is healthier – dry food or wet food? Many owners do not longer want to keep their dogs alive as cheaply as possible. Dogs are friends for us, family members and we want them to live a healthy life as long as possible.

Healthy diet is one of the most important factors for a long life. We pay more attention to our own diet and we want the same health benefits for our beloved dogs.
Therefore, today we clarify whether dry food or wet food for the dog is better and what you can do best to keep the dog healthy for a long time.

Dry food or wet dog food – Where is the difference?

The biggest difference between dry food and wet food for the dog lies in the different water content of the food. Dry dog food contains about 10-20% water, while wet food is up to 95% water.
The moisture content also affects the shelf life of the food. Dry food is therefore longer lasting than wet food.

Wet dog food or dry food – advantages and disadvantages

What advantages does dry food have? Dry food contains more energy than the same amount of wet food. Therefore, dry food has a higher energy density than wet food, which means the dog needs smaller amounts of dry food to get the same amount of energy.
Dry food is therefore well suited for traveling or hiking with the dog, because it has a lower weight. Because the dog needs smaller amounts, you can buy the packs better in stock.
Because of the high energy content, it is usually cheaper to feed the dog with dry food. In addition, a diet with dry food produces less waste because there is no need to dispose of empty cans.
In addition, dry food is cleaner to handle. If the dog likes to make a mess while eating it, it is easier to clean the remains of dry food. In addition, dry food usually smells less unpleasant than wet food.

What are the disadvantages of dry food?

If the dog is fed only wet food, his teeth may suffer. But many dogs have problems with their teeth, even when fed dry food.
Dry food is due to its hard consistency, form of chunks etc. cause an abrasion of the tartar in the dog. However, dry food contains a lot of starch, which attaches to the dog’s teeth and forms a breeding ground for bacteria there.
So it’s not true that dry food is good for your dog’s teeth. Nevertheless, you should always brush your dog’s teeth regularly to avoid dental problems.

Dry food is heated to over 250 ° C during production and treated with high pressure. This process kills all vitamins and nutrients in the dry food. Therefore, artificial vitamins have to be sprayed on the dog food afterwards.

It is an additional expense for the dog’s body to metabolize these artificial vitamins. Instead, the vitamins are deposited in the kidneys and liver, which leads to kidney problems in many dogs receiving dry food.
Some of these synthetic vitamins are very harmful and therefore not authorized for human consumption.
In addition, the processed dog food may be missing important vitamins that have not been found or researched and therefore can not be added.

Another problem with feeding dry food is the low moisture content. The dog’s natural food would contain a lot more liquid and many dogs do not drink enough when fed dry food. The resulting constant dehydration additionally puts strain on the kidneys.

Dry food stays twice as long in the digestive tract of dogs as wet food. It may take more than 12 hours for the dog to finish digesting the dry food. Therefore, the feed in the intestine can lead to fermentation processes that attack the mucous membrane in the intestine.
The intestinal mucosa is responsible for absorbing nutrients and vitamins from the food. When attacked, it becomes permeable to excessively large particles of food that the immune system is then going to attack. This often leads to food allergies in dogs.

For the dogs with allergies extra grain-free dry food is developed for this reason. Many dogs suffering from a food allergy will not even tolerate the hypoallergenic dry food.

What are the benefits of wet dog food?

Although many dog ​​owners prefer to feed dry food rather than wet food, dogs often prefer wet food. This is mainly because wet food smells better than dry food.
Dogs have more odor than taste buds, so the smell is usually more important to them than the taste of the dog food.

Because of the high water content, wet food is better for the fluid balance of the dog. The species-appropriate raw feeding of the dog would contain about the same amount of water. Therefore is wet dog food, especially for dogs that drink too little, better than dry food.
For overweight dogs, wet food is often recommended, as they can eat large quantities of it for the same amount of energy. So the same weight of wet food contains less calories, but more liquid than dry food.

Wet food for the dog – The disadvantages

Wet food for the dog is preserved in cans and usually heated up. At the same time many nutrients are lost.
The wet dog food contains preservatives that can damage the intestinal flora of the dog. Even if “without added preservatives” is labeled on the packaging, the manufacturer may use ingredients that have already been treated with preservatives. He does not have to write that extra again.
That’s why you should always look carefully at the ingredient list of wet dog food. Meat waste or cheap fillers, e.g. Corn or wheat are the main ingredient in many wet food varieties and this can cause inflammation in the dog when fed continuously.
Some wet foods even contain sugar to extend the products shelf life. These ingredients are sometimes very harmful to the dog and cause disease in many dogs.
These diseases can be prevented by feeding the dog with fresh food. In addition to meat, cereals or legumes, fresh vegetables are important for the dog so that the dog can meet his or her need for real vitamins.

Is dry food or wet food healthier for the dog?

Often one hears that the dry food or wet dog food is good for the dog’s health, because the dog can take up both with dry food as well as with wet food all vital substances.This means that the dog food consists of ingredients that just ensure the survival of the dog.
It is usually chosen the most cost-effective combination of ingredients that’s just enough for the dog to survive. These ingredients are therefore often fogged and printed very small.

Every dog ​​food packaging has great-looking promises for the dog’s health. The feed should e.g. Support the dog’s teeth, muscles, skin and coat and help maintain a healthy condition.
In fact, the dog food is a cooked, chemically treated mass that keeps the dog alive with the most cost-effective ingredients possible.
Sadly, ready-made dog food is often much more expensive than feeding the dog with fresh food. Read more in the article: Which is the best dog food?

Mixing wet dog food and dry food

Some owners would like to feed both dry food and wet food, so mix the feeds. When the choice between dry food and wet food is difficult, many dog ​​owners come up with the idea of ​​simply feeding the dog with a mixture of both.
Basically, you should better not mix the different types of food for the dog and prefer to feed at different times, because the dry food takes longer time for digestion.
Because of the high energy content of dry food you should also pay attention to the total amount of food. When changing between wet food and dry food, it can happen that the dog gets too much in total. Generally, mixing both feeds offers no health benefits to the dog.

Is dry food or wet dog food healthier?

For dry or wet foods, it is often recommended to stick to one type of dog food. This is very dangerous because the dog can more quickly develop a one-sided strain. It is better to change the feed varieties and brands as often as possible and to incorporate many fresh foods into the dog’s diet.
Especially for dogs with gastrointestinal problems, or dogs with sensitive stomachs prone to diarrhea or constipation, fiber and enzymes in fresh vegetables are important to regenerate the intestines.
Therefore, in a dog with digestive problems both with dry food and wet dog food usually can not get better. The widespread dog food diets that you can buy at the vet, therefore, often have little or no success in curing the dog.

Is dry food or wet dog food better?

Whether you want to consider dry food or wet food as the better diet, every dog ​​needs a species-appropriate and healthy diet. Therefore, the owner should select the food for his four-legged friend wisely.
When choosing the dog food no one should save money in the wrong place. Veterinary bills for a sick dog cost a lot more.
The diet of the dog with fresh foods – whether meat or vegetable proteins – provides health benefits to the dog and is a good choice for your wallet.

Just as for ourselves, we also want to have a long and healthy life for our beloved dogs. You can find more about this in the article: Making dog food yourself – cooking for the dog

Discover our wild & cute design collar for your dog:

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