Dry food or wet food for dogs?

Dog food also began to be rich and varied, but in daily life, dogs eat nothing but two kinds of food, dry or wet food. Of course, these two dog food have advantages and disadvantages, can provide important nutrition, the question is how the owner should choose, only for the dog's body is the most suitable. Let's take you to understand the difference between dry food and wet food, and how the owner needs to match.

What is the difference between dry food and wet food for dogs?

Basically, the biggest difference between dry food and wet food is the difference in water content. The moisture content of dry food is only 3% to 12%, while wet food is between 60% and 84%. This difference greatly affects the shelf life of dog food, so the storage time of dry food is longer than that of wet food, and the owner should pay more attention to the shelf life when buying wet food. The other difference is in calories. For the same amount of calories, a dog may eat two or three times as much wet food as dry food. As a result, dogs are more likely to be full when they eat dry food.

Two, the advantages and disadvantages of dog dry food

1. Advantages:

The biggest advantage is that the calorie content is high and easy to save, the owner only needs to give the dog a certain amount of dry food every day, can meet its energy needs for a day, compared to wet food is a cheap choice. At the same time, another reason in favor of dry food is clean and convenient, after all, dry food is generally pellets, the dog is finished eating, the rice bowl is clean, the owner does not need to special cleaning. Even if dry food falls out of the rice bowl, the owner can easily clean it up.

When going out, dry food can be ready to take out at any time, and do not take a lot. Not only that, dry foods are rich in carbohydrates and protein and have a higher energy density than wet foods. Some owners who favor dry food also believe that dry food is generally harder and can help clean teeth.

2. Disadvantages:

Although the price of dry food is cheap, the owner should pay attention to some low-quality dry food, which may contain more preservatives and artificial flavors. At the same time, puppies and elderly dogs may not be able to eat hard dry food, especially elderly dogs with poor appetite and indigestion.

Third, the advantages and disadvantages of dog wet food

1. Advantages:

Wet food mainly helps the dog's body more, because it is more moisture, so it can prevent the dog dehydration, while helping those dogs who do not like to drink water or elderly dogs with slow metabolism. Not only that, some dogs may be picky eaters, and the smell and viscosity of wet food is more for the dog's appetite, and it will eat more smoothly. For dogs who need to lose weight, wet food is the best choice, after all, compared to dry food, the same portion of wet food is lower in calories. Wet food not only satisfies the dog's large appetite, but also controls the dog's weight.

2. Disadvantages:

The biggest drawback of wet food is the shelf life, even if it is not opened, wet food can not be put for too long, otherwise it will deteriorate. When going out, because most of the wet food is canned, it will be inconvenient for the owner to carry. And the wet food is sticky, and the dog that eats it is ugly may spill the dog food outside the rice bowl, and the owner has to clean it up seriously after eating

Third, how should the host match dry food and wet food?

Obviously, since dry food and wet food have their own benefits, they should be fed to dogs together when they can. But the owner still needs to know how to get it right for the best results.

1. Calories are the same

Although it is recommended to mix and match dry food and wet food, the daily calories for dogs are the same, so owners need to control the portion of wet food and dry food, so that dogs do not eat enough or eat too much and become obese.

2. Change your dog's food slowly

Sometimes the dog's stomach can be very sensitive, so the owner is best to slowly switch between dry food and wet food. For example, if the dog is fed dry food at the beginning, the owner can add a small amount of wet food on the first day, and then slowly change the proportion, reaching a balance between dry food and wet food after a week. But for dogs with poor digestive ability, such as most elderly dogs, the owner is better to give it only one kind of food. Because repeatedly switching between dry and wet food can lead to diarrhea or constipation.

3. You don't have to mix directly

Sometimes the owner does not have to directly mix dry food and wet food in a bowl, in fact, the dog can eat different types of dog food at different times. As long as the dog can adapt, the owner can feed dry food in the morning and wet food in the evening.

4. Keep your dog hydrated

Although the wet food contains a lot of water, but this can not fully meet the requirements of the dog, so the owner still has to put a bowl of water for the dog, so that it can replenish water at any time.

When choosing dry or wet food, owners need to consider their dog's age, weight, activity level and health status, if not clear, you can consult your pet doctor to determine the best food for your dog. Before buying, the owner can also look at the nutrition table in the packaging bag, after all, ultimately the dog needs not dry food or wet food, but the nutrition. Choose dry food or wet food, depending on which is more convenient for the dog to get enough nutrition.