Dog Food: Wet vs Dry

In order to tackle this commonly asked question I think we should start by talking about what makes a good dog food regardless of whether its wet or dry. A good dog food should be natural, by this I mean that it should be free of any artificial flavours or colourings and it should be free from any preservatives. The food should contain a good amount of minerals and vitamins and be easy for a dog to digest.

Now having said that, some of these benefits are included in both wet and dry food but they are not inclusive of both. For example as wet food is sold in an airtight can, it is less likely to contain preservatives whereas dry food is more likely to. Wet food is also known for containing more meat protein, minerals and vitamins than dry food. Another benefit of wet food is that it normally contains water which is good for hydrating a dog, especially if they do not drink enough water on their own.

Dry food on the other hand has often been associated with promoting healthier teeth in dogs as it helps when they are teething at a young age and is good for dental cleaning. There is also likely to be less plaque build up when a dog eats dry food compared to wet. Whilst dry food comprises on the no added preservatives, it does last longer and is cheaper to buy therefore making it more economical. Lastly, dry food is more energy dense than wet food as its made up of less water than wet food.

So what’s the verdict? After reading this, I think its clear that if you limit a dogs diet to wet or dry food you will be comprising on certain benefits. For example if you limit your dogs diet to wet food your dogs teeth will not benefit from the dental cleaning of dry food and if you limit them to dry food they may not be getting as much protein, meat and vitamins. This is why a dogs diet should contain a balance of both wet and dry.