Dry Kibble Only vs. Dry/Wet Food Mixed

[CaSHMeRe]

Hello my fellow NNers ...

Short Background/Cliff Notes:
* Breeder Fed Purina Puppy Chow mushed/mixed with water
* Once home. She has been on Eagle Pack Holistic Dry with 1/4 can Wet and water each meal. (besides her small lunch)
* Kaylee won't touch kibble alone. Must be mixed with Wet.


My question ... For those that DO NOT feed Raw, and feed Dry Kibble Only or Dry/Wet Food Mixed ... what is your preference and why?

We are going to keep Kaylee on Eagle Pack till around 1-1.5 years, at which time we will probably switch to Orijen.

If the consensus is that most just eat Dry Kibble for the most part with random wets (ie: cottage cheese, yogurt, etc...) mixed in, how do you ween a dog off wet/dry?

Thanks for all the help !!!

 

[Charlie'sMom]

Charlie was on a locally made kibble plus cottage cheese/yogurt to soften it up a bit until he was about 6 months. Then I tapered off the add-ins (every second meal for a while, then every few days, and no he only gets it as a special treat). If they are hungry enough, they will eat, if he didn't eat a meal, I took if away after a 1/2 hour, then gave it back at the next mealtime. We switched to Orijen at 8 months due to Charlie's apparent grain allergy (hot spots plus soft stool and gas) which went away right after we switched.
For Charlie's future sister, we will start with Orijen soon after bringing her home (my breeder is agreeable with the plan) since she will be from similar lines as Charlie, and his lines do tend to have some grain allergy issues. Not to mention, an incidental exposure to grain for Charlie gives him the runs now.

 

[nowhavethreebears]

My three eat dry kibble only....Eagle Pack holistic formulas. If someone has an upset tummy they get boiled turkey and brown rice. No wet, even as a treat. Occasionally a spoonful of peanut butter, licked off the spoon, or a bit of pumpkin, which they love. Birthdays and other "special" treat days are celebrated with canned salmon or mackerel. I used to buy them sardines as treats before they hit 1.00 per tin.

 

[Leonard and his bud Snuffles]

Snufles won't eat plain dry hardly. Never has. He use to eat it mixed with a bit of water to make a gravy like. He generally ate it up before it became mush. About the time Nutro Large breed lamb and Rice disappeared, and had to use with regular lamb and rice, he got that nose infection, so he seemed to loose his appitite. Not sure if it was food, the antibiotic or both

He is done with the antibiotic, but still a bit picky on the food. So now he is eating about a 50/50 mixture of lamb and rice and large breed lamb and rice with a bit of canned Herring and Sweet Potato with a bit of water. He licks the bowl clean almost every time.

 

[charityd]

Mine eat dry kibble only. They don't seem to mind and NEVER skip a meal.

 

[CaSHMeRe]

thanks for all the posts!

Jen ... that's what I am planning to do! Thanks for showing me how you tapered off, will use that as a starting point!

nowhavethreebears and charity, did you guys start on Dry right from the get go?

and snuffles mom, glad to see we are somewhat in the same boat

 

[nowhavethreebears]

Yes, I have started all my puppies on kibble as soon as they get home....That's what they were eating at the breeder's.

 

[charityd]

We started out with plain kibble. For the first couple of weeks when Louis was tiny I moistened the food with water. When I switched to plain dry kibble without the water he didn't seem to notice. Louis and Katie eat Canidae and they act like every piece of kibble is a treat. They love the stuff.

 

[kam237]

Tomorrow we start our first Orijen breakfast, (see Larry's Hunger Strike Post) We did a taste tonight on the Puppy formula, and he is eagerly waiting tomorrows meal. We do only dry, treats are only for special occasions and what got us into this predicament, this is what prompted the hunger strike in the first place! I think, Larry thinks, Orijen is a treat, lets hope it stays that way!!

 

[Nasus]

U can always wet your kibble. Add water and wait 10 min or so. The kibble will absorb the water and expand. I am not a fan of dry and wet food together but that is just me.
Hope you have your girl on adult food and not puppy or large breed puppy.. Adult for the giant breeds is best. U want slow growth, so those joints can mature.

Just an added caution, if your girl does not finish the wet kibble cut back the next time. do not save for next meal.. you will figure out what is enough. She should also be feed 3x a day.. no big huge meals. At some point down the road u can start giving two meals a day.. and that should be for the rest of her life.

 

[CaSHMeRe]

thanks for all the replies guys ... :icon_bb: ... the last few days, we have been having issues with hard, then very soft/runny stools, so i think the wet food may be causing it. we cut dairy from her diet and have kept everything else the same, but she is still having runny stools. (will make a new post on this in a few)

Anyways ... Nasus, we feed Eagle Pack Holistic Puppy. However, their Puppy food is not like others. It has the correct protein levels (23ish%) along with the right amount of Calcium and Phosphorus.

http://www.k9cuisine.com/p-170-holistic-select-large-giant-breed-puppy-food.aspx

We feed 3 times a day.
Feeding Schedule:
* Morning (7 am) - 1 cup dry, with 2-3 tablespoons of wet mixed in (does not normally finish. leaves about 1/8 cup or less)
* Lunch (12:30pm) - 1/4 - 1/3 cup dry, with a single tablespoon of wet. (She doesn't eat much at lunch, and still sometimes leaves a little bit)
* Dinner (7 pm) - 1 - 1.25 cups dry, with 2-3 tablespoons of wet mixed in (Finishes her dinner every night, and normally wants more)

 

[charityd]

I can't recall if this was mentioned on another thread, but have you tried probiotics to help Kaylee's soft stool problem?

 

[CaSHMeRe]

I can't recall if this was mentioned on another thread, but have you tried probiotics to help Kaylee's soft stool problem?

I haven't ... i new Pumpkin help, but didn't see anything about probiotics. Will definitely give it a try ... I googled it and it just gave me a definition. Is there a certain brand or place to get this?

Charity (or other NN members) ... can the vet give Kaylee a test to see what allergies she might have? (grain, dairy, etc...) ??? or is it just flat out trial and error?

 

[blstarke]

I feed dry and canned