Expert QA

I have a standard poodle that was given to me by a relative. He will not eat dry dog food, so I’ve had to give him just wet foods. But is dry food better?

From the Editors of The Dog Daily

High-quality pet food manufacturers ensure that both their wet and dry food lines contain all of the essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that your pet needs. From a nutritional standpoint, therefore, dry food is on equal footing with moist dog chow. If you look at the ingredients list of your dog’s wet food, you might see “water sufficient for processing,” or a similar phrase, as the first component. So water and the preparation methods are the biggest differences between dry and wet foods. Water seems like such a simple thing, but it can affect the flavor, aroma and texture of the product. Some dogs prefer the mouth feel and smell of wet food, while others like to crunch on crispier dry chow. Dogs also become accustomed to eating a certain type of food over time, so your relative probably always fed your standard poodle wet food. He may now expect it all the time out of habit. If you’d like to transition him to a dry food, make the change gradual. Feed both types of chow, side by side, over a weeklong period. Be careful to stay within the recommended feeding guidelines, so as to not overfeed your dog. Overfeeding can cause potentially dangerous weight gain. Gradually increase the amount of dry food over the amount of wet food as the week goes on, until you are feeding him only dry food by day seven.