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Original poster

Dry Or Tinned Food for Dog

16 replies

gscrym · 28/03/2008 16:27

Our Mutt is about 11 years old. We've been feeding her dry food for years which, when we put in her bowl, she looks at us, looks at it then walks off. She picks at it but eats it eventually. We were doing this because we had heard the complete stuff was better for them.

She was looking very depressed last weekend. Was at the point of phoning vet friend to ask what the pooch equivalent of prozac was. I thought I'd get her a treat of a tub of dog food chunks. I've never sen her eat so quickly. I then gave her some with mixer in it and she licked the bowl.

My question is, should I just give her tinned food with mixer or try to get her back on the complete food? She's an old dog so should I just let her have what she prefers.

OP posts:
TurkeyLurkey · 28/03/2008 16:30

My dogs an oldie too (13), he was on dry food but it didn't look to tasty and meaty so I felt sorry for him....I went all soft in his old age and put him on a can of tinned meat plus mixer. OOh he wolfs it down now... Not too expensive as buy Sainsburys own chunks in jelly with Sainsburys dog mixer...he's fighting fit too.

Be kind to him in his old age!

TurkeyLurkey · 28/03/2008 16:33

Sorry, her in her old age...

Original poster
gscrym · 28/03/2008 16:34

She's actually been a bit spritelier this week as well. Okay, chunks and mixer for the rest of her existence it shall be.

OP posts:
CountessDracula · 28/03/2008 16:35

We cook veggies for our dog and give her meat
She loves it

Supplement with glucosamine and seaweed powder (and maybe other things for old dogs, check with your vet)

I'm sure you know that anything you do you must do slowly, ie change gradually

WiiMii · 28/03/2008 16:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

CountryGirl2007 · 28/03/2008 20:06

I wouldn't feed too much tinned stuff, it's fine as a treat or a little bit mixed in with the kibble. what brand of kibble is it? A healthier alternative would be to give her some fresh meat or chicken with her kibble.

NutterlyUts · 28/03/2008 20:07

I feed my dogs nature diet (www.naturediet.co.uk) which isn't too expensive and is a good wet food (because its first two ingredients are meat and not meat byproducts)

bethoo · 28/03/2008 20:08

i give my dog dry as tinned can lead to bad teeth and the meat does not have much nutritional value as it is high moisture.

yorkishbirdy · 28/03/2008 20:11

I agree with the gravy suggestion, if you make it from meat juices of your own meat then you don't need much/any gravy powder or whatever to make up the flavour. Using warm water lets the dry food go soft and so is easier for an older dog to eat.

Having said all of that though, at 13 I would also suggest that it is most improtant your dog gets a good amount of food that she enjoys, while complete is better decent meat food is not that bad!

NutterlyUts · 28/03/2008 20:14

Gravy will be very salty, and not very good for her, but in small quantities for a treat will be fine

CountryGirl2007 · 28/03/2008 20:16

I also forgot to say eggs make a good treat as well, boiled or scrambled, mix with a bit of butter. my dogs love them.

SpecialOffer · 29/03/2008 08:06

Chappie is really good for older dogs as it is easier to digest. I have an old GSD and he has a mix of tinned and dried food and loves it!!

beautifulgirls · 29/03/2008 21:51

Has she had a check up at the vets recently? If she has previously eaten dried food without a problem then there could be an underlying reason such as dental pain that is stopping her from being able to eat dried foods, but of course she is still hungry hence the tinned chunks are very welcomed. It would be sad to think she has pain that you are unaware of and don't get checked out.

LittleB · 30/03/2008 12:33

I used to give my old dog a complete dry food with half a tin of meat, she always ate the meat first then the dry food! My pup has complete dry food, sometimes just dry, other times with a bit of gravy, oil from the tin of tuna, oily fish once or twice week as its good for his coat or some of dd's left overs - he'll have some of her leftover egg with this evenings meal. But like beautiful girls says it could be something else if she's only recently started doing this so best to get her checked out. And I developed quite a sensitive stomach as she got older, you don't want to give her an upset stomach from too much rich food.

Qally · 30/03/2008 22:42

We feed ours Nature Diet. You can actually see little chinks of carrot and the grains of rice in it, and it's fully nutritionally balanced, with all meat - not meat and animal derivatives (which is basically ground up beak.) It's a bit expensive, so we order straight from the manufacturers, who are lovely - and it keeps vey bills down to feed a pup well, just as it does humans and illness!

www.naturediet.net/index.html

We have a cavalier king charles spaniel, which are wonderful for kids but prone to a lot of illness, so we decided prevention in the form of an excellent diet was better than cure. Our lab was fed a dry diet as well, but if we had another, we'd stick to this one - it's not processed heavily, which is obviously healthier. I'd so recommend carefully reading the ingredients on pet food, because so many of them have cheap fillers without nutritional benefit (maize, beet) or various forms of very cheap, mechanically recovered meat.

Qally · 30/03/2008 22:43

nutterlyuts, I just saw you feed yours the same! So really, I just needed to say "I agree with nutterlyuts."

And I meant vet bills, not bey bills.

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