When you’re deciding what to feed your dog, you might feel like you need to decide: wet or dry dog food?
The truth is that dry and wet dog food both have their benefits. It’s entirely possible to feed a nutritionally complete diet of either dry or wet dog food – however, the answer may not be choosing one or the other. The answer may, in fact, be both!
What you want to find is the best option for both you and your dog. In this article we’ll talk about the benefits of dry and wet dog food, as well as the benefits of mixed feeding. Read on to find out more.
The benefits of dry dog food
As a dog owner, dry food is beneficial because it keeps better than wet food once it’s been opened. This makes both buying and storing the food easier for you.
The benefits of wet dog food
The high moisture content in wet dog food helps to keep your dog hydrated.
What’s more, the aroma and texture of wet dog food can make it more appealing to your dog. You might find this helpful if your dog is a bit of a fussy eater.
Why mixed feeding might be the right choice
If the benefits of both sounds appealing to you, then you don’t have to pick between them. Mixing wet and dry dog food gives you the best of both – it also adds some variety to meal times. This can be beneficial if your dog has shown less interest in wet or dry food in the past.
How to start mixing wet and dry dog food
If you’d like to try your dog on a mixed diet, here are 4 easy steps you can take to make the change.
1 – Don’t overfeed
When you’re moving to mixed feeding, it’s important that you follow the feeding guidelines to avoid overfeeding. Dry and wet foods contain different amounts of calories per gram, so it’s not as simple as switching an amount of one for the same amount of the other.
ROYAL CANIN® dog food packaging features a feeding guideline that explains how to mixed feed.
2 – Don’t change it all at once
Making a major dietary change can cause your dog some digestive discomfort. While the common adage goes that dog’s will eat anything, the reality is that a dog’s stomach can actually be quite sensitive.
To give your dog some time to adapt to the change, we’d recommend making a dietary change like this over the course of a week. At the start of the week, feed a small amount of the new food alongside the old and gradually adjust the balance over the weekend until, at the end, you’re feeding your intended dry/wet ratio.
3 – It doesn’t need to be in one bowl
You don’t need to serve your dog’s dry and wet food all in one bowl, or all at the same time.
4 – Don’t forget about water
Just because your dog is having some wet dog food, this doesn’t mean they don’t need water as well – always make sure your dog has access to plenty of clean drinking water.
Find the right food for your dog
Want to learn more about how to provide your dog with the nutritional support it needs?
Explore our Size Health Nutrition range to discover the right food for your dog.