my dog only eats wet food

Dogs do not need the variety that you speak of.

Right. You don't need variety, either. Go get yourself a bowl of Total cereal, and a multivitamin. You'll do just fine.

Surviving is not what I want for my dogs. There is a huge difference in surviving and thriving. Most doctors agree that we need fresh fruits and veggies, and variety for optimal health. Why would dogs be any different? Fresh foods are an optimal source of nutrients. They are the most bioavailable, and the most absorbable.

also many vets have told me, that dogs do NOT need variety in food, as long as the food that is fed is of good quality. now, i guess you could argue about that. but what i do know, is that my dogs get diarria (sp??) from eating even small amounts of "new" stuff.
i had to put moca on a canned food diet, because she had tooth problems a while back and even though i switched very very very slowly, i was still battling the diarria. not all dogs handle variety in food very well.
on a total different note: one of my neighbour's dog is 14 years old and healthy as can be (i never even would have guessed!!) and she says, she has NEVER fed him anything but dry food. now that's something to consider in a nation, where the maximum life span of a dog is believed to be 3-7 years!
 
also: about dogs begging for people food: that doesn't say anything about whether it's good for them or not. i crave fast food, potato chips and ice cream ALL THE TIME. thst still doesnt mean it's good for me..

Since a lot of folks here claim canned food is much healthier than kibble for our dogs, but does anyone have any experience with feeding mainly canned food causes soft stool?

also: about dogs begging for people food: that doesn't say anything about whether it's good for them or not. i crave fast food, potato chips and ice cream ALL THE TIME. thst still doesnt mean it's good for me..

What do you think your grandmother's dogs ate? There wasn't "dog food" until 50 years ago, or so. Dogs who are accustomed to variety accept it well. Dogs who are not tend to have sensitive bellies. Imagine if you ate the same thing every single day. You'd have a sensitive belly, too. You can't tell me that the watermelon my dogs are snacking on is bad for them, or that the pork and fresh greens that I purchased and prepared last night for their dinner is bad for them. I wish that everyone could put their hands on everyone else's dogs. I put my hands on a LOT of dogs. The best conditioned dogs I know are not fed kibble, at all. I walked five miles on the beach Sunday, with a ten year old Boxer. Spar played with Emma and his "baby brother" (Reno is ten weeks old), and carried a pack full of dog toys, treats, poop bags, leads, our keys, etc. He has more muscle than most young dogs I know. I haven't met many dogs who look as good as he does. Of course, I'm sure that part of that is due to the fact that he is a working protection dog, but...... It's at least partially the food.

ORIGINAL: jennie_c_d

Dogs who are accustomed to variety accept it well. Dogs who are not tend to have sensitive bellies. Imagine if you ate the same thing every single day. You'd have a sensitive belly, too.

I don't want to get into most of this, but I have to say that this part is not true. I'm living with a dog who has been super-sensitive since six weeks old. Every time I tried to inroduce something new he got sick, and it didn't matter how long I took to transition or how long he was on the foods. So in his case, variety is the worst thing for him.

ORIGINAL: losinsusan

  Dogs do not need the variety that you speak of.  Humans want them to have that.  99% of dog food marketing is aimed at the owner, its all about emotional response.  Am I the only one who thinks that many here are "over-zealous" about dog food?   

 
Um...is it not the dog food companies' marketing that tells us that they don't need variety?  That is where people (and vets) get this ridiculous idea that dogs are healthiest eating the same dry cereal day in and day out for the rest of their lives, which has no resemblance to not only what wild dogs eat, but to what domestic dogs have evolved eating for thousands of years.  I don't know about you, but my instinct and education in biology tells me that variety and fresh foods are necessary for optimal health for dogs and humans, and I'm not going to let dog food companies which stand to benefit from my purchase of their products convince me otherwise. 
 

i'm not saying that certain "people foods" are bad for dogs.
but i don't think variety is necessarily as important as it is for humans. i was considering feeding them a raw diet for a while, but to be honest i don't think i can afford it in the long run. and my dogs are too sensitive to make food decitions when i can't follow through with them. in that case i think it's just not worth it.
anyways, i know that there was no dog food back then. what i meant was that just because the dog WANTS to eat something, doesn't mean that it's good for him. after all my dog also WANTS to eat cat poop, vomit and wood (don't ask. lol). also i think nowadays we know a lot more about a dog's nutrition needs than we knew back then.
about the sensitive bellies. maybe it's a chicken-and-egg question. do they have sensitive bellies because they are not accostumed to variety, or are they not fed a diet that varies a lot, because they have sensitive bellies?
anyways, i can say this much: around here i see 95% of the dogs are fed tablescrabs exclusively, and that can not be good for the dogs FOR SURE! so i think feeding them kibble is still a very healthy diet, relatively speaking.. yes, there may be better options. but not for my dogs at the moment and i don't think it is a big deal. in many aspects we tend to think of a dog's needs in terms of human needs. but after all a dog is not human. mentally or physically...

but i don't think variety is necessarily as important as it is for humans.

Why not? I'm being serious, here. Why is variety not only ok for humans, but necessary, and NOT ok for dogs? We are mammals, after all. I've got nasty food allergies (I'm also allergic to cats, some dogs, grasses and pollons), and I've had many doctors over the years tell me that I *must* rotate my foods, and not eat the same thing every day, or I will begin to develop allergies to my food. I choose a different nut butter every time I shop, a different grain, I vary my veggies. The dogs get meat and no grain, but I do the same thing for them, and both of them have gotten much better with allergies. Emma isn't vomiting every few days, and she finally weighs close to what she should weigh (she's on the low end of normal, now. you can still see 3-4 ribs all the time). Teenie's skin has cleared up, her gray hairs have mostly fallen out and been replaced with red, and her (years old)scars are HEALING since I quit feeding kibble. It is anecdotal evidence, I know, but my dogs have never looked better.

well, it might be okay or even beneficial for some dogs. but not all dogs are as lucky as that, being able to handle the variety. my dogs' health WORSENED after introducing even just a little bit of variety. now that i feed exclusively kibble, their health has finally stabilized. i do however give them nutricional additives.
i guess there would be examples for either kind of "feeding technique"...
 
ps: i am not saying variety in food is not ok for dogs. SOME dogs cannot handle it. i do however feel that variety is not as important (if at all, i am far from being a specialist) as it is for humans.
 
pps: also i have never seen ANY comercial saying dogs don't need variety. i have, however heard the opposite many times..

i do however feel that variety is not as important (if at all, i am far from being a specialist) as it is for humans.

But WHY?

Why would it be important for us, and not for them?

All I can say is my adult dog can't tolertate kibbles or canned or homecooked.  It has to be raw and I rotate between beef, chicken and salmon . The canned wild salmon is border line loose stool but it is so good for him that I take the risk.
 
I am rotating my 8 month old pup with all kinds of food (kibble, canned, homecooked, raw) so she never gets allergic.

ORIGINAL: jennie_c_d

i do however feel that variety is not as important (if at all, i am far from being a specialist) as it is for humans.

But WHY?

Why would it be important for us, and not for them?

 
well, it's just that although we are both mammals, humans are, umm, omnivors (sp? sorry again. not a native speaker). dogs however are carnivors. from my understanding, in the wild most carnivors (or at least a lot of them) will specialize in one (or VERY few) rey species. hence they don't get much variety..
another thing to consider is that dog kibble is designed to give the dog all the nutrients it needs. ok, given, maybe just most nutrients (that's why i feed suppliments) and maybe it's just that they SHOULD.. but we as humans have to eat many different kinds of food for different nutrients. fruits and vegetables for vitamins, meat for protein, etc...
 
hmm, i hope i'm making sense. it's pretty late/early here.
 
anyways, as i said i DO agree that raw would probably be the best diet, as it reflects the natural food of dogs the best. as for allergy issues... i have no idea. neither of my dogs have allergies. i dont have allergies. so i have no experience in that area at all...

Am I the only one who thinks that many here are "over-zealous" about dog food?   

And so we should be!

Nutrition/feeding my dogs is one thing i take very,very seriously,and one i dont cut corners or take the cheap or easy route on.When it comes to something as important as the food they eat for each meal every single day only the best of the best for my guys and anything less will not do!

"Leave your drugs in the chemists pot if you can heal you're patients with food"

ORIGINAL: jenns


Um...is it not the dog food companies' marketing that tells us that they don't need variety?  That is where people (and vets) get this ridiculous idea that dogs are healthiest eating the same dry cereal day in and day out for the rest of their lives, which has no resemblance to not only what wild dogs eat, but to what domestic dogs have evolved eating for thousands of years.  I don't know about you, but my instinct and education in biology tells me that variety and fresh foods are necessary for optimal health for dogs and humans, and I'm not going to let dog food companies which stand to benefit from my purchase of their products convince me otherwise. 

I completely 100% agree. The idea that dogs NEED to eat the exact same kibble day for their entire life is ridiculous! That's what dog food companies would love to have people believe. [:-] Common sense however says that variety is very important. [8|] Of course not all dogs can handle every food. The key is to find the ones that they can handle and rotate those.

ORIGINAL: mudpuppy

me too, if I had a small dog I'd never bother with dry food. Canned food is so much healthier. I'm sure there are cheaper options for you as far as canned foods go than the $3 a can one you are feeding. Evangers is probably the most cost-effective-- good quality, low price.

Is that really true?  Canned food is healthier?  If it is, it wouldn't be too bad for me to switch Lucky to canned, since he is a little guy.  But the problem with wet food is that his poop ranges from soft-medium.