[fernalfer]

When i feed my 14 week old boxer we mix his food with warm water. Is this the right thing to do or should he be eating it dry? We feed him the Iams puppy chow. Also should we be feeding him a better quality food or is this ok? He is healthy and eats well. right now?

 

[JessiesMom]

well you should try and find a better quality food... try dogfoodanalysis.com and you can find the list of top foods there... there is nothing wrong with adding water... but there are other foods you can add, a scrambled egg, plain yogart...

 

[sully]

I was wondering myself at what point people stopped adding water to kibble.  I did it for a few months because Oggie seemed to like it better.  But I read that hard kibble is actually better for cleaning teeth, so now he gets the hard stuff.

 

[HannaBanana]

It depends, some good add an addititive that when mixed with water is no good.

 

[Guest]

I give Jetta warm water in her food because she seems to eat it better...and I personally don't think she drinks enough water if I don't...so I solved two problems with one stone so to say...she gets more water and she eats better

 

[sully]

[quote="HannaBanana\";p=\"62888":3n3592gg]It depends, some good add an addititive that when mixed with water is no good.  I will look that up and find out what the ingredient is.   However if you start at a young age mixing h2o in, then you may find you have a finicky eater over time.  Best to try to let them enjoy the kibble alone so that way you are not trying to add things they like in order to make it more appealing.  

Also kibble good for their teeth is a myth.   The good things for cleaning teeth are regular brushing and or feeding RMB (Raw meaty bones).

----
Millions of dogs eat kibble. And millions of dogs

 

[HannaBanana]

Here is the info on adding warm milk and water to food -

Dry commercial pet food is often contaminated with bacteria, which may or may not cause problems. Improper food storage and some feeding practices may result in the multiplication of this bacteria. For example, adding water or milk to moisten pet food and then leaving it at room temperature causes bacteria to multiply.8 Yet this practice is suggested on the back of packages of some kitten and puppy foods.  

Also I am not a fan of wet kibble because it make the kibble expand.  Which in return can cause or possible contribute to bloat issues.  I know its only a small amount of water, however if you dont have to IMO then I dont do it.  

There are many stories and studies out there, are the 100% correct - who knows, but you have to research the question in hand, and figure out what you are comfortable with

 

[HannaBanana]

Well both, wet more leave residue that can sit in teeth and creat problems, but yet, wet food is the worst.  A dog only fed wet food (no kibble) IMO is most likely to develop an oral issue rather than one fed kibble.

 

[Guest]

wouldn't it be better for the kibble to expand prior to eating it than to expand when it hits the stomach juices in the stomach and then expand?

 

[HannaBanana]

Do a kibble test.  Some kibble expands more rapidly than others  -  

Try not to feed a kibble which expands greatly when wet. Do the kibble test overnight. Put a cup of kibble in a bowl. Add water and let soak over night. What you see in the morning is the amount of swelling this food will do in your dog's stomach. If it's excessive, change to another kibble which doesn't swell as much

http://pets1st.com/articles/00043bloatindogs.asp

 

[HannaBanana]

Oh also wanted to know by wetting kibble is not the worst thing, but there are and could be some underlying issues with doing it, but its not like your dog is going to die if you do it -but wanted to post some info that I have come across when dealing with it

 

[sully]

Good stuff Heather, I like the kibble test idea.  I'd like to feed raw some day, the missus would probably freak and throw me out of the house though   :lol:

 

[HannaBanana]

Oh Raw becomes fun after a bit. Much more variety to feed and can get most of it locally

I never thought I could throw my dogs a turkey neck and say "Here's dinner".   I mostly do premade, give them a meatly marrow as recreational.  I am going to get some backs and necks nextime I order.

 

[Donya]

id also love to start doing raw but i think i need to wait until i have a bigger freezer. I may try giving RMB as a treat. Is that ok or do you have to be giving a raw diet to give the bones?

 

[boxerlove]

We add warm water to our dogs food.  Ziggi seems to have a hard time swallowing his food if it is dry and seems to choke more on it (we think he has a slightly enlarged esophagus).  When we put the water over his food we mix it up so all of it is coated and it is wet, he has a much better time eating it that way.  We do it for Teaki too not that she can't eat the food dry but she eats it better wet...seems to be easier for her to swallow too.  Our guys eat their food as soon as it is put in their bowls so there is no problem with it sitting around or the bacteria issue mentioned.

One thing to do with your food like someone else said is to let it sit in water and see how quickly it disolves.   From dealing with Teaki and the foods she wasn't able to digest we found that most of the foods out there take a VERY long time to actually soften and disolve.  The food we feed now disolves in a few minutes.  Before with other foods Teaki would eat and hours later throw it up and it would still be solid, like she had just eaten it.  

For Berkeley and Calli we never added water to their food, they could and would eat just about anything without any problems!

 

[Nexu]

No doubt that RMB are going to be better for teeth, but ...

Says who?  Some website that advocates feeding RAW?  Don't fall for that and listen to your vet.  Even if vets don't get dozens of hours of nutrition in college they still spend every working day looking inside the mouths of literally thousands of dogs.  I think they happen to know a bit about nutrition and specifically it's effects on teeth and periodontal disease.

 

[Mastray]

The test would be interesting but your dogs stomach doesn't just let food sit in it and soak up water. There are acids and all kinds of other goodies that BREAK DOWN the kibble... bone... etc. So I wouldn't really see the point in doing that. I also think that if you have a boxer like mine... the wet food wouldn't sit long enough to grow/produce bacteria. He'll eat anything in a matter of seconds... at least try. lol I'm glad he's not a finicky eater! I feel for the rest of you.

I would feed raw if I had the time and ability really... but when you have other animals and toddlers and well a busy home... you don't really get to do that.

I'm very pleased with RC right now... Odin's coat looks amazing and his poop is great too. He seems MUCH better energy wise too... It's amazing what GREAT food can do... which is weird since we weren't exactly feeding him something bad... nutro got pretty good score... but like I've mentioned I'm pretty sure they changed their formula.

 

[samsonsmom]

I used to pour a bit of low salt chicken or beef broth in Samson's food and he liked it, not a lot, just maybe a tablespoonful...The danger, depending on the dog is that they get to the point that will not eat unless you add something, so have to watch out for that. As long as your baby is eating fine I wouldn't add anything, for now, maybe as a treat a scrambled egg a week, but start slow....

 

[Brandi]

i use to add things to harleys food.. he got to where he wouldnt eat it dry.. so we stopped and got him back on dry..

however sometimes ill add a little bit of water to his food to make it gravy like.. and of course i add chicken or yougrt once or twice a week

 

[lulu]

Delila was such a poor eater I had to add all kinds of goodies to her food. It got to the point that she wouldn't even touch her kibble unless something was added to it. I decided to try a food switch, and it worked. She will eat 3-4 cups of dry kibble without a problem. I to added water to soften her food when she was real little and I often wonder if that is how she developed her poor eating habits.