Dried food vs wet food

Anyanka · Master

Dried food vs wet food

Suzanne · Guru

Anyanka wrote:

We changed procedure when we acquired Piper, though - she seemed to be having problems eating her breakfast dry, coughed and spluttered a lot; and Bonnie bolted her food faster than ever because of the competition,

Advice please!

Hi there - Id advise to try & stick with the dry tbh - Piper will adjust to eating dry & it will definiately do their teeth & gums far more justice - as you know Greys are notorious for having teeth problems - especially as they get older. Stick it out - she will learn to love it. If it helps a lot of food manufacturers do a range for the large breeds which has large kibble sizes (I use Arden Grange & i know for a fact thay have a large kibble size feed) - this is designed for dogs that bolt their food down as it really forces them to actually chew & slow down (in most cases! ;) .

Are your food bowls raised off the floor?? this will also alleviate Piper choking & dropping her food - for Greys it should be at least a foot off the ground (2 steps height is ideal) - if you dont have raised bowl stands, then you can use an upturned bucket, or indeed the 2nd step in the garden or something - i used to open the oven door (obviously when off...;) & use that as a shelf to put the food & water bowls on b4 I could afford to buy a raised food stand)

might be worth a try? - by soaking your dry food its kinda defeating the purpose...

(btw - there is no nutritional difference whatsoever between dry 7 wet - just the water content varies brand for brand, so always make sure there is loads of fresh water avail when on a dry diet)

Hope that makes sense & Im not teaching a grannie to suck eggs....sorry if this was all blatently obvious already.

Kind regards, Suz x

-- Edited by Suzanne at 15:37, 2006-06-14

Anyanka · Master

Thank you very much. This forum is such a brilliant resource for a first-time grey owner like me! I sort of thought 'she's just another dog', but she is so very different from all other dogs I've known & lived with (have just purchased the training guide from the GAL shop for further study...)

They do have raised bowls already; but I'll look for the large kibble size and go back to feeding it dry. (At the racing kennel the greys get their food soaked, which is probably why Piper had problems with it.)

emma · Guru

I've had similar probs with mine but perserverance paid off. Mine ate meat and veg at the kennells, so dry food was a bit of a challenge.

My first grey used to steal veggies out of the kitchen because he knew what they were, many a time the brocolli went missing! The dry does really help their teeth though. Mine like the dental-rasks too.

Em xx

MojoTilly · Master

We know that dry is best for their teeth but suppose it's whatever works best for the individual dog. Suppose greys have likes and dislikes just like us humans do!

-- Edited by MojoTilly at 21:21, 2006-06-15