Anonymous wrote:If your puppy eats dry food then def don't add wet food. My dog started out that way and now prefers only wet food. He will eat his dry food after 2 days of not eating- when DH is on a business trip for a week. But when DH comes home he feels bad and gives the dog wet food again. I hate buying it. My dog is large -60lbs- and eats many cans of wet food a day. It is expensive and annoying to always have to get a ton of it every week.

I order on Amazon in bulk- 2 crates every 3 weeks --but yes, it takes up so much space! and the teeth brushing! but you've got to do it to avoid all sorts of relate problems.

Anonymous wrote:So, yeah, when your dog's ancestors lived in the wild they ate raw food, and so did your apelike hominid ancestor.

That doesn't make raw food "like they had in the wild" appropriate for your dog who is the result of hundreds of generations of domestication any more than you'd be healthy living on what proto-humans ate.

Modern dog food is actually designed for the nutritional needs of the domesticated dog.

The "back to nature raw food" thing is a human bias.

What is your source for this wisdom? Advertisements from Science Diet, Purina etc?

If your puppy eats dry food then def don't add wet food. My dog started out that way and now prefers only wet food. He will eat his dry food after 2 days of not eating- when DH is on a business trip for a week. But when DH comes home he feels bad and gives the dog wet food again. I hate buying it. My dog is large -60lbs- and eats many cans of wet food a day. It is expensive and annoying to always have to get a ton of it every week.

For millennia, wild dogs have foraged the savannah in search of kibble.

So, yeah, when your dog's ancestors lived in the wild they ate raw food, and so did your apelike hominid ancestor.

That doesn't make raw food "like they had in the wild" appropriate for your dog who is the result of hundreds of generations of domestication any more than you'd be healthy living on what proto-humans ate.

Modern dog food is actually designed for the nutritional needs of the domesticated dog.

The "back to nature raw food" thing is a human bias.

We do wet food ? of the time with our 2 year old terrier. But then I brush her teeth twice a week. Yeah.

Orijen is fine. I'd cut the canned stuff back a bit at a time so he gets used to less.

We do just Kibble. WE have 2 dogs and I tried being nice and bought them some canned food. They both got food aggressive and got into a fight so its back to Kibble.
I dont think canned is better, I just thought theyd like it.

Can you make the kibble moist by adding water to it?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kibble best. Wet food actually can cause tartar build up on teeth and be bad long term. If there's no medical reason for the wet food, kibble alone should be fine. You can slowly wean it out so your pups not upset that it is suddenly gone

Not true. There is no kibble in the wild.

+1
Many people feed raw food to their dogs and it is excellent for their health.
If the OP wants to feed only kibble that is fine. Unlike cats dogs don't need wet food.

Anonymous wrote:Kibble best. Wet food actually can cause tartar build up on teeth and be bad long term. If there's no medical reason for the wet food, kibble alone should be fine. You can slowly wean it out so your pups not upset that it is suddenly gone

Not true. There is no kibble in the wild.

Well, I have a cat and not a dog so my information might be different. I have an 8 yr old cat that I've had about 6 yrs and primarily fed dry food until a couple of months ago but did give her wet food as an occasional treat. My cat became obese from the dry food and the vet said to limit it to 1/3 c a day and give one small can of wet food a day. She said it's better for the kidneys, that the issue w/ the teeth is a myth because in the wild they'd be eating mostly wet food in the form of freshly killed animals, and they do get dehydrated from eating kibble because they are designed to get most of their water from their food not by drinking it. I don't know if dogs might be different in this regard, but it's definitely worth asking a vet about because on this forum you'll get a lot of misinformation (but you might also get some good information.)

Kibble best. Wet food actually can cause tartar build up on teeth and be bad long term. If there's no medical reason for the wet food, kibble alone should be fine. You can slowly wean it out so your pups not upset that it is suddenly gone

Our German Shepherd puppy is 11 weeks old. We feed Orijen kibble only and the little guy is doing very well.

6 mo puppy is fed orijen brand kibble and is a good eater. we top it with wet food from a can but honestly would like to stop to eliminate the cost and the extra step in the morning.

what do others do?