Is adding water to dry food unhealthy?

    • Gold Top Dog

    Is adding water to dry food unhealthy?

    Hi :) My dog Princess has suddenly stopped eating her dry food... but I tried once, adding water to it, but she still didn't touch it, but after it got soaked and all soggy, she loved it. So maybe I should start feeding it to her with water... I just wanted to know if anyone has had any bad experiences with water+dry food and things I should do to make it better for her. :) Thank you all! p.s. how do you put those signature pictures of your dogs on the bottom of your replies? I wanna show you all my family :)
    • Bronze

    There is no problem adding water to dry food and in fact, some people recommend that to prevent bloat.  I would wonder why she has suddenly stopped eating her food.  My first thought was a bad tooth since you mentioned she ate after the food got soft and soggy.  Does it hurt her to chew?  Or perhaps she's just bored with it?  Perhaps she just doesn't feel like eating?  We all have those occasional days.  I would suggest you monitor her for a couple of days and if she doesn't resume her normal appetite, a visit to the vet would be a good idea. - Susan


    • Gold Top Dog

     My first thought was also a bad tooth. Please do consider this, as it can be painful, can get infected, and lead you on to all sorts of vet bills.  Catching it early and a dental at the vet will likely solve the problem.

    I'm not sure where you live.  Northeast USA, our water is highly acidic.  I don't give mine tap water (not even in the water bowl) I have both a whole house filter and a Brita pitcher.  Studies are showing an unusually high incidence of bladder stones in dogs of all breeds in this corner of our country and it is apparently due to the acid rain.   So give filtered water or if you can, buy distilled water for the pup -- and the humans too!

    • Gold Top Dog

    lakalakadaka16
    Hi :) My dog Princess has suddenly stopped eating her dry food... but I tried once, adding water to it, but she still didn't touch it, but after it got soaked and all soggy, she loved it.

    adding water is fine -- BUT as the other two have said, it could easily be a bad tooth (and the vet may not have checked her mouth deeply). 

    A senior dog (any dog over 5 or 6) should have a dental occasionally == it helps them live longer, just like taking care of our teeth as humans helps US live longer. 

    If you go to the top of the page and click "Edit Profile" there is a place in there to put both an avatar (the little picture below people's names) and a signature file pic in.  The pictures have to exist somewhere online (or you can upload simple small pictures to your own profile).but then you put the URL to them in that place in your profile. 

    • Gold Top Dog
    If there's nothing wrong medically, I'd keep adding water. My 17yr old has lost a lot of his teeth and I add water to his dinner to make him comfy.
    • Gold Top Dog
    17?!?!!? WOW Thats AMAZING!!! :) Thank you all for your help, you have helped a lot. :) I will try more water... and I will take her to the vet. :)
    • Gold Top Dog

    Can't help with why she stopped eating but...I do add water to my dogs' kibble at every meal.  We have a water pail inside and one outside but sometimes I feel like they aren't drinking enough on their own.  I don't soak kibble, I just add water to the bowl and give it directly to the dog (so they still crunch the kibble and then slurp up the water).  I started doing it in the winter because it was so dry, and because their outside water kept freezing.

    • Gold Top Dog

    I am also a water adder.  I've done it for my dogs for the last 16 years as well. 

    • Gold Top Dog

    If my guys eat kibble (which isn't that often), and eat it out of a dish (which is even less often), I always add water to it. Always.

    If they eat out of their puzzle toys or off the ground as a foraging exercise, then it's just dry. But there's nothing wrong with adding water to your dog's food.

    • Gold Top Dog
    Just wondering what the vet said about a possible tooth issue.
    • Puppy
    For me there's no problem in adding water too. I do it sometimes.