kibble vs. canned food

[Meemoo]

okay everyone let's get on our thinking caps.....

My question is about canned food vs. kibble. There has been conflicting evidence so I'm looking for some guidance. It seems as if the majority of people (who feed dog food) are using kibble as opposed to can. However, I've read that canned food actually has more protein (although the moisture content is very high) and higher quality ingredients. The con for canned (although this is under debate as well) is that it is not good for their teeth. The flip side is that kibble fed dog also can have bad teeth. Canned is considerably more expensive. Is this the reason why people on the whole feed kibble as opposed to canned? What's your opinion...we'd like to know...

[~Jen~]

I think whatever you feed is a personal choice. The reason i dont feed canned food is because it doesnt help clean the plaque off their teeth at all, it tends to cause some stool problems when fed exclusively (this is only what i have heard because i have NEVER fed canned food), its messy, and the BIGGEST reason of all it STINKS! <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm28.gif" border=0>

Thats just my reasoning http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

Jen

[Krista]

I think some canned food has good ingredients, but on the whole, I think high quality kibbles are more abundant and easier to find.

I don't really think that kibble cleans their teeth at all though. I meam if we ate pretzels at every meal would our teeth be any cleaner than if we only ate stew?? Probably not. In Rudy's case, chewed up kibble actually sticks between his gum and cheek sometimes (I'm sure the same thing would happen with canned).

I don't use canned at all, because of the smell factor, no to mention no healthy brands are readily available here. I think if you are feeding a high quality food, it likely is just as good, kibble or canned though.

[Susan63]

Canned dog food spoils easily too, caused a lot from big dents in the can. I recently bought some canned INNOVA, and when I opened the can it was BLACK!<IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm43.gif" border=0> Late exp. date too - 2002. So I would be careful with canned.

INNOVA, CANIDAE, WELLNESS, are good brands.

~Susan~

[Mrs.F]

At our house we use the kibble vs. canned for these reasons:

1. My girls inhale the canned stuff - they are done eating so quickly that I'm tempted to overfeed or they're looking for more food after every meal. The chewing and chomping that the kibble requires slows them down just enough to leave them more satisfied.

2. Breath seems to stay a little bit fresher with the dry stuff - same brand, so I think there may be something to the cleaner teeth theory, at least with Innova and Hill's Prescription foods.

3. Looking at the ingredients, the only extra I'm getting from the canned food is water. I suppose it must be imported bottled water according to the price per pound difference!

4. My dogs are pampered and when and if they
need the canned food I certainly use it, but all things being equal I feel much better about having to dispose of paper packaging once every few months, rather than aluminum cans day after day after day.......

[Heather]

I use Kibble regularly, and only use can for a treat, usually Saturday nights. I don't like the smell, and never use the whole can. I don't like it smelling up the fridge.

I heard that giving only can food was bad for their teeth as well, but I have never investigated the accuracy of that.

[DoxieLady]

Hello, this is my first post, so I hope I do it right!! As far as kibble vs canned....I use both, mixed together. I seem to end up with dry flaky skin when I only use the dry..but, I add about a tablespoon canned...alittle water, and mix it in with their dry stuff. Also throw afew veggies in there too. Dogs love it,and I have no problem with flakes!

[chatty cathy]

Since I am an advocate for HIGH quality kibble (plenty of the omega vitamins) I would suggest adding Derm Caps to this. Although the better brands of dry food have these already, dry kibble cannot retain these vital nutrients and so it is a good idea to add them to food.
I do not have millions of $$ to do the research on dogs and food. That's why I rely on vets and research labs to do the "work" for me.
Cathy
------------------
"Angels are just Dachshunds with wings"http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/angel.gif

<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by chatty cathy on June 12, 2001 at 01:00 PM</font>