# Wetting Dry Food



## LilTrio24 (Sep 2, 2007)

Simple question...I hope. I feed my dogs dry dog food. Iam currently wetting it for two reasons. First being that I just got a new puppy who is 8 weeks old and doesn't have many teeth so the softer food is better. Secondly because with my other dog his stool was VERY dry and seemed to be uncomfortable for him to pass. So i'm wetting the food to the point that it is semi-soft to almost mushy. Is there any down side to doing this? Am I losing any nutrients? Seems to me like it is fine, but wanted some opinions. Thanks!


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## Inga (Jun 16, 2007)

I think many people do that for a puppy until he/she has strong enough jaws to eat the hard food. I think the advantage to eating it dry is that it helps to keep the teeth clean. That said I have had dogs that pretty much grab and swallow food and it does no good for their teeth. LOL I think adding the water and giving it to them right away might get him to drink more water and the food would not be too soft right away. IMO I think the amount of water food sucks up depends on the quality of food you are feeding as well.


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## flipgirl (Oct 5, 2007)

I wet my dog's dry dog food because I was told when I bought the puppy that it makes it more palatable. She's used to it now so I still do it. Dry kibble does an okay job cleaning the teeth but it doesn't clean them right to the gums. It actually pushes the food toward the gums causing plaque to accumulate. You have to brush their teeth if you feed kibble.


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

flipgirl said:


> I wet my dog's dry dog food because I was told when I bought the puppy that it makes it more palatable. She's used to it now so I still do it. Dry kibble does an okay job cleaning the teeth but it doesn't clean them right to the gums. It actually pushes the food toward the gums causing plaque to accumulate. You have to brush their teeth if you feed kibble.


My puppy's been eating dry food for the last 5 months without getting her teeth cleans and they are fine. However, she spends an inordinate amount of time each day chewing on her Kong ball and a Nylabone, as well as various plushes, so perhaps that helps.

>>That said, I doubt there's any health hazard to wetting your puppy's food as long as you don't let it sit out too long. I wouldn't soak it before serving though...as Inga said just add the water and give it to them so that it maintains some texture.


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## OC_Spirit (Feb 6, 2007)

I add water to my dogs' meal every feeding. Its healthy for them. I dont mean just wetting it down but actually adding enough water that they have to drink some. I do this for a variety of reasons.

BTW, kibble does so little to help clean dogs' teeth its not even worth mentioning. The best thing to keep their teeth clean is to let them chew on a bone a few times every week.


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## crazydays (Jul 24, 2007)

I also run some warm water in both my pups and adults food. Why- it becomes a calorie free gravy when combined with the kibble and, I heard it activates the smell in the food to promote the appetite- (there has never been a appetite problem). It won't hurt the dogs. They love their nylabones re the teeth issue.


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## dcmidnight (Oct 15, 2007)

We add about a half can of wet food to the dry food. Max loves it. We noticed around Thanksgiving he was just bananas for the turkey smell, so we bought the Wellness 95% Turkey and he just goes insane for it.


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## RBark (Sep 10, 2007)

I was doing the same as OC where I added enough that they have to drink before they can eat, but I read somewhere it causes bloat and could kill them. But I don't know how much water will do that.

So I stopped a week or two ago. Any info on that?


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

OC_Spirit said:


> I add water to my dogs' meal every feeding. Its healthy for them. I dont mean just wetting it down but actually adding enough water that they have to drink some. I do this for a variety of reasons.
> 
> BTW, kibble does so little to help clean dogs' teeth its not even worth mentioning. The best thing to keep their teeth clean is to let them chew on a bone a few times every week.


100% correct. It's much healthier and easier on the body when trying to digest. One thing that's worth mentioning is that dry kibble causes a dog to become dehydrated, wetting it down helps with this factor. 



RBark said:


> , but I read somewhere it causes bloat and could kill them. But I don't know how much water will do that.
> 
> So I stopped a week or two ago. Any info on that?


That's not correct - you need to be careful of _soaking_ foods that are made with citric acid. Citric acid has been found to increase the risk of bloat - but certainly not the cause.


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## 007Dogs (Aug 22, 2007)

I have never heard that foods with citric acid and adding water increases risk of bloat. But I have been told that adding water decreases the risk of bloat. Because it is far better for dry foods to expand in the dog bowl rather than in there stomach. 
I have been adding water to my dogs food as well as a tablespoon full of canned food. They really like the canned tripe. And mix it well my putting my hands into it. I do not have a picky eater in the bunch.

As far as teeth, dogs just like humans, some have better teeth than others. Doing regular scalings removes plac, but also removes enamel. So the more tater you can get to pop off in chunks is better for the overall tooth health. I like to feed raw bones for this.


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## BoxMeIn21 (Apr 10, 2007)

007Dogs said:


> I have never heard that foods with citric acid increases risk of bloat.


Here's a few studies...
http://www.vet.purdue.edu/epi/bloat.htm

http://www.globalspan.net/bloat.htm


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

Well after seeing this I decided to add some water to my pooch's dinner the other night. I didn't think it was possible, but she actually became even _more_ enthusiastic about her food, and doesn't seem to be affecting her digestive system at all (at least not noticeably), so we shall continue w/ the wetted dry food...


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