How to feed my dog

[catsnatcher-CDN]

Hi all,

Right now Max has made the leap from IAMS to Kirkland Lamb and Rice with no problems. He never skips a meal the way he would with IAMS.

Today, I gave him WELLNESS Chicken and Sweet potatoe (2 small cans) and he gobbled it down like I've never seen before. The can says I have to give him at least 10 cans for his weight! I can't afford to feed him 15$ per canned food a day. But I would love to incorporate wet food into his diet for variety...

He's about 90 -ish lbs., a bit overweight and not overly active. He's half doberman, half blue-tick coonhound (best guess).

So how do I do it?

1.Should I give him wet food once a week? Twice a week?
2. How much wet food should I give him in variation to dry food?
3. Which wet food is the best of the most expensive?
4. Which wet food is the best of the least expensive?
5. What's White Solid Disco Gold that Prin keeps braggin' about? Is it wet? Dry?

[Prin]

LOL Ok, I'll answer one by one:

1.Should I give him wet food once a week? Twice a week?
It's up to you. Wet is not really a necessity if you're feeding good kibble. Feed whatever you are comfortable with, but keep in mind the more often you do it, the more he'll expect it. I also mix it in REALLY well, so that my babies can't get any chunks of wet alone and realize it might be tastier alone than with kibble.

2. How much wet food should I give him in variation to dry food? I feed Boo 2.5 cups of dry and then about 1/4 can of wet really mixed in. You can do more than that, of course. Boo is just really sensitive and if I put too much, he doesn't digest too well. But you see how little you can add...

3. Which wet food is the best of the most expensive? Merrick seems to be the best. It's about $3.29/can. Go here, under "entrees":Merrick

4. Which wet food is the best of the least expensive? Hmm... I can't really answer that one. Wellness is good for canned, but they're not inexpensive. I would feed less but better quality canned (which is what I do). Most of the really good kibble companies have a few canned varieties too. I'm not as informed on the canned because so many of them have some kind of poultry in them, which Boo can't have.

5. What's White Solid Disco Gold that Prin keeps braggin' about? Is it wet? Dry? The one I brag about is dry. It's Wolf King. It's Bison and salmon kibble. Go here: Wolf King

[SunGurl372]

Here I come....Prin's back up!!!

1.Should I give him wet food once a week? Twice a week?
I also make a concerted effort to mince up Harley's canned food into the smallest bits possible. By the time I'm done, it's seems more like adding in a gravy than anything resembling a canned food.

2. How much wet food should I give him in variation to dry food? Again like Prin, I daily mix in a small amount of wet food (Merrick's canned) with Harley's Solid Gold Wolf King kibble, but only with her evening meal. So she get's a single can over the course of about five days.

3. Which wet food is the best of the most expensive?
Okay, now I really sound brainwashed. But Prin's right. Merrick's is great quality, and they have a ton of varieties. Which means I can still give Harley some new flavors without having to resort to the dreaded poultry family!!!

4. Which wet food is the best of the least expensive?
I haven't really compared, because I'm also a Merrick's devotee. But when you are just feeding a bit of canned in with a good quality kibble, its really quite inexpensive. The Merrick's I buy here in the US is about 1.70 a can, and those last at least five days. So for the value and variety, its a deal!

5. What's White Solid Disco Gold that Prin keeps braggin' about? Is it wet? Dry?
I'm also a SG Wolf King devotee. My girl looks amazing on it, and is always happy to get her next meal!!!

[wdawson]

i'm feeding beathoven 1 1\2 cups of solid gold wolf cub puppy and one 14oz can of merricks daily.....grammies pot pie is his fave but likes then all , he is 10 mths and 56lbs.

[Prin]

I like this thread... Everybody feeds good things.

[catsnatcher-CDN]

I would LOVE to give Gold Disco Wolf to Max, but it gets expensive with 4 pets inside and 5 strays outside. I was so glad that Kirkland's Lamb and Rice was half the price of IAMS and better for my baby.

I love the idea of mixing the dry and wet together!

I usually feed Max 2 cups in the morning and 2 cups in the evening.

1. If I cut it to 2 cups of dry in the monring and 1 cup of dry in the evening, how much wet food can I incorporate with his dry food? (in ounces)?

2. Is it bad to feed a dog wet food often?

3. Is there a need to feed a dog wet food ever?

4. What about giving wet food as a treat once a week? How much wet food would it take to replace either morning or evening meal (so that would be one meal wet and one meal dry)?

Thanks for your help everyone! I'm so excited for him! He went nuts for the Wellness can. I just gave him 2 small cans cause I wasn't sure how he would react to it.

[Prin]

So many questions! SIGH! Kidding. I love to help for foody things.

1. If I cut it to 2 cups of dry in the monring and 1 cup of dry in the evening, how much wet food can I incorporate with his dry food? (in ounces)?
I would figure out the percentage. Like if they say feed 4 cans a day, and you're feeding 4 cups normally, then if you cut one cup, give one can to replace it. You know? But beware the food labels- the amounts are usually way too high (i.e. you'll end up with a fatty). Personally, because I don't give wet too often and I don't give them much of it either, I don't even adjust their normal food to it.

2. Is it bad to feed a dog wet food often? Depends on the dog. Some dogs get runny stools if they get too much wet food, while others adjust perfectly and can eat only canned. It depends on the dog. If you are feeding a high quality canned (like Wellness or Merrick) that is appropriately balanced, there is no need for kibble at all. They say there is no difference for the teeth between high quality kibble and high quality canned, so that's not an issue. For sure, canned would keep your dog more hydrated if he's not drinking enough on a daily basis, but it shouldn't affect him in a bad way if he agrees with the food. The only consequence of feeding it everyday is that he might not eat his regular food without it.

3. Is there a need to feed a dog wet food ever?
Not really. If you are happy with your kibble, and it seems balanced and your doggy's coat is shiny and in good shape, the stool's in good shape, he's not itchy, and there aren't any other symptoms of anything, then it is likely he's not deficient of anything, and there is no need to supplement his diet with anything. Obviously, if you were to add canned, it might help, but not significantly enough to say he NEEDS it. Most of us feed it because the canned is good quality, it adds flavor and a little variety. But I could be wrong. I don't like to speak for everybody.

4. What about giving wet food as a treat once a week? How much wet food would it take to replace either morning or evening meal (so that would be one meal wet and one meal dry)? One meal a week, is hard to adjust to. I would spread it out and give a bit for a week a month. That way, for example, you open a can, put ~2 heaping tablespoons in his food, mix it up, saran wrap the can for the next day and put it in the fridge. It can last 3-4 days that way and you don't necessarily have to adjust his normal portion (unless you notice he's getting chubby, then I'd knock out 1/8 to 1/4 cup every day). If you want one day a week, you have to find a way for him to adjust to eating a whole can or a few/half of his daily portion in one day, without stomach upset. For the portion, I'd look at how much you are feeding now, how much the bag says, and then figure out how much canned he should have in relation to how much they say to give. Or you could do the math with the kcal, but that would get tedious.

Personally, I feed them a can of Merrick over 2 to 3 days (morning portion only- that's when they get the bulk of their food) and the frequency is basically determined by me looking in the cupboard, seeing a can and thinking, "You guys haven't had canned in a while, eh?" But then again, my doggies are so sensitive to food changes, and I have to be so careful with the ingredients of the canned.

It's really up to you to decide how much to feed. I guess the more you feed canned and the bigger the quantity you feed, the less kibble you should feed. If it's a treat, there can be very little adjustment. If it's a supplement, you might need more adjustment and if it's a compliment, you would need to really do the math.


If he likes the fishy wellness, he'll probably like the "Campfire trout feast" Merrick. My doggies love it. They hate wellness canned though. It's a buck cheaper by the can, and I so wish they liked it. They also like the Working Dog stew, Venison Holiday stew (both very easy to mix in), Wilderness Blend (fishy too!), Wild Buffalo Grill and the "Cowboy Cookout" (more chunky)... Basically all the ones with no chicken or other poultry in it that I have tried so far... I don't know why I'm listing them.

Hey! I just saw they have a new one! Or at least I've never seen it before now... Mediterranean Banquet, with lamb and chick peas... Med Banquet Look how good it looks:

Originally Posted by Mediterranean Banquet

Lamb, Lamb Broth, Lamb Liver, Whole Brown Rice, Fresh Chick Peas, Fresh Spinach, Fresh Golden Apples, Potato Starch-modified, Lamb Meal, Egg, Cottage Cheese, Olive Oil, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Natural Caramel Color, Flax Seed Oil( For Omega-3), Yucca Schidigera Extract, Mint Choline Chloride, Salt, Lecithin, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Mixed Tocopherols, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin A Acetate, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.

Spoiled doggies.

[BMDLuver]

I have to say out of all of the Merrick canned one's that the Mediteranean Banquet is the one my dogs like least and it's a bit smelly compared to the others.. it's probably the lamb they use is not that young so has that sour odor..

All the others smell good enough for human's to want to taste though.

[Prin]

Lucky I hadn't bought any yet...