Wet or Dry Food?

 Maze is fed dry food.. I used to mix wet in when she was younger to get her to eat but it was just to expensive to keep it up and she did go on a hunger strike when I ran out so no more wet food for Maze unless it's a random can that I buy as a kong stuffing.  As for water.. She drinks enough during the day that I have to refill it every other day and the cat shares that dish (even thou he has his own.. Lol) All my dogs have been fed this way and no one has ever run from the food to drink water right after eating. Majority of my dogs had deep chests, Maze included (for her size) and no problems here.

If the time ever came that I had to feed mixed food, then yeah I will but until then, I don't see the point of mixing water/wet food in with the kibble unless you feel the dog doesn't drink enough.

I don't see the point of mixing water/wet food in with the kibble unless you feel the dog doesn't drink enough.

to avoid bloat. Bloat kills an amazing number of dogs and yet so few people are aware of it. Eating bowls of dry kibble increases the risk of your dog getting it. If you have a large, deep-chested dog I would strongly recommend never feeding completely dry kibble. You might never have any problems, but why risk it? You can feed dry kibble for ten years with no problems and then come home one day to find your dog dying in agony. The real causes of bloat are unclear so you may do everything right and still end up with a bloating dog. Feeding dogs chunks of meat has been proven to be protective, and most people recommend not-exercising the dog right after eating although I've seen no real proof about that one. Stressful incidents, like the dog being boarded, also seem to be strongly linked to bloat.

The idea that the kibble swelling up with water addition in the stomach is the cause doesn't seem to be true; because of course many kibbles don't swell up with water and they still are linked to bloating. It's something about eating dry kibble meals in and of itself that seems to increase the risk. Especially if you feed once a day or feed very large volumes of kibble. Most great dane people I've talked to strongly suggest avoiding soy as well.

Question - what do you guys mean by 'bait the water'...?

I'm just a little lost on that one.

We feed dry only - to all our dogs, no matter the breed. My Labs, BC's, mutts, deep chested or not - we've never had an issue. All of our dogs seem to drink pretty well. Sam has a gallon bucket in his kennel - I filled it 2 days ago and when I checked yesterday the water level was about an inch and a half lower. He's a good drinker. In the summer I have to fill it daily due to the heat and evaporation(sp?).

misstrouble

Question - what do you guys mean by 'bait the water'...?

It means adding something to the water, like chicken or beef broth to encourage the dog to drink more.

I'm working on a 'water' command so they will drink on command. This will be handy for long car rides.

Oooo. Ok. When I worked with horses we added a pack of Kool-Aid mix to the water when we were at shows....same thing I guess.