Benefits from a small amount of canned?

• Benefits from a small amount of canned? schlep Posted : 3/28/2006 2:43:50 PM I did some looking through the archives, and there was some discussion on mixing canned with kibble, but nothing really in depth. Obviously my puppy is going to grow into a 75-100lb dog, so I'm not going to switch him to canned food exclusively. I also don't have the money to feed him a can a day, and probably won't for at least 2 or 3 years. While looking through the archives, I saw the suggestion of feeding a tablespoon of canned with each meal, and thought that if I can go through about 1/4 can a day, then it's not bad at all. Is this mainly for digestion, or are there other added benefits to adding a tablespoon or so of canned with their dry kibble? I'm thinking of getting a case of Solid Gold's turkey and ocean fish to try along with the Wolfcub I feed Link. LIKE 45 REPLIES 4794 VIEWS LAST POST PAPILLON806 Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• willowchow Posted : 3/28/2006 2:58:35 PM I use it exclusively but at one time I did use both kibble and canned.  It added more moisture to the diet and made it a little more tasty.  I also felt like it filled her up a little more.    There really is no rule as to how much.  Whatever, you can afford and your dog does well with.  Keep an eye on the stool, if it gets a little soft, cut back.  Also, keep an eye on the calories it will add, you may need to cut back the kibble a little.    PS--That brand and flavor is one of Willow's favorites.  It smells like cat food! [] 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• schlep Posted : 3/28/2006 3:24:52 PM I don't have a problem at all with him eating his food (quite the opposite); his stool is very good. When the vet gave me the pano scare, I kinda freaked and got some Eagle Pack Tuna, Salmon, and Shrimp locally and gave him about a third can of that a day and he seemed to like it quite a bit. I'm just debating whether the extra $15 a month or so is going to be worth it for him, since I'm a struggling college student and all. [sm=lame.gif] I'm also really high on Solid Gold. Link loves the Wolfcub formula, and their Cinna-bones and shampoo are great too. I'm surprised that dogs like that turkey & ocean fish formula...seems crazy. Link will wolf down anything with fish in it, though (Wolfcub, Menhaden Hollistix, that canned Eagle Pack). 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• John Posted : 3/28/2006 3:50:18 PM I agree with Willow - I always mix in a forkful or two of canned to add some more protein and flavor.  Mine loved different types of canned mixed in with their Wolf Cub.  It's basically whatever you can afford! 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• papillon806 Posted : 3/28/2006 3:54:52 PM I haven't been mixing mine, but every evening I give my pup some of the Evangelers (I think that's how you spell it) duck, pheasent, or chicken canned (100% of the protein source!) and he has been doing very well.  Since he eats EVO dry and needs the extra water to digest the protein, I think the canned helps by adding more moisture to the diet if you feed mostly dry (IMO).  0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• He is The Boss Posted : 3/28/2006 9:54:15 PM Mine get canned mixed in with both meals each day. Unfortunately I did it with Boss because he is spoiled and won't eat his food without it, and now Gracie is the same way. I don't mind. I feed Boss Evo and Gracie gets Eagle Pack. I switch up with the canned, I use Evo, California Natural, Solid Gold, Canidae.   I use one can a day, and that's between 2 dogs, 2 meals a day. It's enough to get them to eat. Somedays I do let them have the whole can at one meal, but not often. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• loveukaykay Posted : 3/29/2006 12:36:33 AM Bailey is a mutt we dont really know what she is, but we feed her dry with Innova canned.... so Im getting the impression from reading this that I can give her ONLY canned and she would get the nutrients needed?  Or the same amount of nutrients as when mixed?  Ive never thought about just canned, it seemed to me like something to add just for the moisture and taste like others have said.  Is only canned better?  Mixed better? Dry better?  Although even if dry was better I would still mix it because I know she likes it much better like that.  We also add in an organic raw egg a few times a week.   Edit to add :  I mentioned shes a mutt because I was thinking maybe only canned or only dry and which is better may vary from breed to breed...?  But more so just asking in general which is btter. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• jessies_mom Posted : 3/29/2006 9:00:12 AM schlep, Your young Golden is so cute. Even a little canned food added to kibble is good because if compared to kibble on a dry matter basis, it has a lot more protein :                 [linkhttp://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/dm.html]http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/dm.html[/link]     So by adding a little canned you are increasing the amount of protein your dog is getting, and that IMO is a good thing. When I buy meat for the family, I save small portions and freeze them. When I feed Jessie, I cook the meat I froze. I then mix a small amount of warm water to her kibble and serve the meat with it. That's an inexpensive way of adding a good source of protein to your dog's food. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• mudpuppy Posted : 3/29/2006 9:09:56 AM Canned foods are generally superior in nutrition than dry kibble. And eating dry foods just isn't good for dogs-- think of how icky you'd feel if you ate nothing but dehydrated food. Dry kibble exists solely for the convenience of the owner. It's not even close to an ideal diet. If you can afford it, feed an all-canned diet, or, definitely cheaper, a home-prepared wet diet. You can buy recipe books that have excellent easy to prepare nutritious meals. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• schlep Posted : 3/29/2006 10:30:13 AM jessies_mom: thanks, I'll pass it along...[sm=biggrin.gif] mudpuppy: No, I don't really have the money to go all canned. I'm in college and barely cook for myself, so I'm not gonna trust that I'll cook for Link with any regularity. Something new that I've started considering is instead of using canned food, supplementing his kibble with FarMore's Raw Frozen Buffalo. The company that makes it is about 10 miles from here, and I think the price actually comes out cheaper than canned in the end. Again, I can't afford to feed 100% of this food (it would be $170 a month at Link's adult weight). 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• loveukaykay Posted : 3/29/2006 10:49:04 AM Thanks mudpuppy, I think I may go with all canned, or mostly canned.  This may seem stupid but is the raw egg still good to give if they are getting more canned or all canned? And I guess I have to wonder with such a huge difference in the list of ingredients are you sure that they are still getting all the vitamins and stuff that they need with all canned? 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• Alicia Posted : 3/29/2006 10:50:06 AM I also mix a little canned with the dry food.  I used to free feed, and that wasn't working, because the food would have to be down for hours for everyone to eat, and one of my dogs would have multiple helpings.  So, I wanted to feed them seperately and a spoon of canned helped them eat it quickly : ) 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• probe1957 Posted : 3/29/2006 11:02:32 AM If I were a struggling college student, and couldn't afford canned, I would find a high quality kibble, that my dog liked and that he did well on, and I would feed that.  OTOH, you could feed him a bit of canned with his kibble.  It would probably be better for him and tastier and maybe wouldn't stretch your budget too thin. 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• schleide Posted : 3/29/2006 11:46:06 AM I hand feed Wesley his 2 meals a day during 15 minute or so training sessions...  so, he gets dry kibble (I didn't think of mixing in canned, since I feed it to him out of my hand and he certainly is not picky enough to require any supplement to the kibble []).  Is it important enough to get him that extra protein that I should either let him eat 2 spoofulls or so during the meal or that I should mix it in and feed the mixture to him by hand? 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login
• papillon806 Posted : 3/29/2006 11:59:11 AM Thanks mudpuppy, I think I may go with all canned, or mostly canned.  This may seem stupid but is the raw egg still good to give if they are getting more canned or all canned? And I guess I have to wonder with such a huge difference in the list of ingredients are you sure that they are still getting all the vitamins and stuff that they need with all canned? Be careful though...you need to feed a lot more canned than you would dry because it has a significantly less dry matter content, usually around 78-82% moisture! (so technically your paying for mostly water or liquid...which leads me to think that canned food is way over-priced).  Also need to be careful about dental health.  An all-canned died can cause major dental issues.  Just something to consider...  [] 0 LIKE Like Share You have posted to a forum that requires a moderator to approve posts before they are publicly available. Hey, it's way more fun when you sign up or log in Connect With Connect With Sign Up Login