Canned Food

[mushka]

I've seen a few posts about people not feeding canned food, so I have a question, why not? Is it just the poor value for money or is there a reason to be more suspicious of the ingredients in canned food versus dry?

[caffiend42]

Because they're shit.

[FionaC]

lack of quality for me and also dogs don't chew it to eat it therefore it doesn't clean the teeth

and it stinks!

Edited March 27, 2011 by FionaC

[minxy]

Not great for their teeth, contents of a lot of canned products aren't very nutritious, and they can tend to give dogs runnier, smelly poos.

[mushka]

So, would a high quality brand of dry food be expected to have an equally high quality of canned food? I.e. Are dry food and canned food fairly equivalent apart from the water content?

[Sandra777]

So, would a high quality brand of dry food be expected to have an equally high quality of canned food? I.e. Are dry food and canned food fairly equivalent apart from the water content?

I would believe this.

I have used Nature's Gift canned and it did mine OK. We were living without any refrigeration in November in Queensland, not really the place for anything except cans! Mixed with some sardines and the odd egg, the girls did just fine on this and some dry food until our fridge made it off the boat

They had bones on supermarket days and even though they were previously raw fed they coped without so much as a runny poo - but I certainly noticed the difference in output!

[twodoggies2001]

I feed my boys raw and natural because my feeling is that's what dogs were intended to eat. They are thriving on this method of feeding including gaining many benefits too. Smaller poops, clean teeth and sweet smelling breath not to mention gas. One of the other big factors in steering away from canned and dried foods is the fact they are highly processed. I wouldn't like to be fed processed foods day in and day out and I am sure you don't eat out a can every night.

[Staranais]

I don't think canned diets have a single advantage for dogs! It's crap for the teeth (worse than kibble) and generally contains little meat (those "meaty" chunks are actually soya protein, look at the label). It's also usually more expensive than a good kibble as you're paying for the water content, and more expensive than raw foods.

The exception would be that we do use canned (usually hill's a/d) in the clinic as a recovery diet, that works very well, it's very high energy and palatable and squishy for tube feeding. But I won't preferentially feed canned to a healthy dog or cat.

[JulesP]

If I had to feed either canned or dry only I would pick dry for the simple fact they get to chew. Dry also tends to contain more stuff, which could be good or bad!

No soy products in my canned food of choice - Nature's Gift. The chicken one contains:

* 70% Real Chicken (contains no red meat)

* Rice

* Vegetables

As for the water content argument - fresh meat contains water. If you want to avoid water than you need to feed meat meal.

[Crisovar]

I feed my boys raw and natural because my feeling is that's what dogs were intended to eat. They are thriving on this method of feeding including gaining many benefits too. Smaller poops, clean teeth and sweet smelling breath not to mention gas. One of the other big factors in steering away from canned and dried foods is the fact they are highly processed. I wouldn't like to be fed processed foods day in and day out and I am sure you don't eat out a can every night.

There is no reason why a good quality tinned food cannot be part of a varied diet, I don't think anyone here has mentioned feeding it as a sole diet.

I have Natures Gift tinned food on hand all the time, the oldies love it and it adds variety to their diet.

It was also a blessing during the floods when we were unable to source any fresh food for the dogs, All our dogs and our canine flood evacuees ate it for some time with no ill effects, no sloppy poo and no foul odours.

[Crisovar]

I don't think canned diets have a single advantage for dogs! It's crap for the teeth (worse than kibble) and generally contains little meat (those "meaty" chunks are actually soya protein, look at the label). It's also usually more expensive than a good kibble as you're paying for the water content, and more expensive than raw foods.

The exception would be that we do use canned (usually hill's a/d) in the clinic as a recovery diet, that works very well, it's very high energy and palatable and squishy for tube feeding. But I won't preferentially feed canned to a healthy dog or cat.

Look at the Natures Gift label, not all are made equal.

[Staranais]

I don't think canned diets have a single advantage for dogs! It's crap for the teeth (worse than kibble) and generally contains little meat (those "meaty" chunks are actually soya protein, look at the label). It's also usually more expensive than a good kibble as you're paying for the water content, and more expensive than raw foods.

The exception would be that we do use canned (usually hill's a/d) in the clinic as a recovery diet, that works very well, it's very high energy and palatable and squishy for tube feeding. But I won't preferentially feed canned to a healthy dog or cat.

Look at the Natures Gift label, not all are made equal.

Hence my saying generally. But, unless they have some technology I'm aware of it's still crap for teeth, and I'd be surprised if it's as cost effective than raw or a good kibble.

[mushka]

I should have mentioned that I am considering canned food as part of a diet that is about 50% raw so the canned food is for variety. I don't think kibble is better for teeth than canned food - it just seems wrong; do your teeth feel cleaner after eating biscuits? I'd accept that kibble gives a better jaw work-out.

I guess I am wondering whether including canned food is any better/worse than including kibble or if its the same thing just in a different format with a higher price tag?

Thanks for the heads-up about Nature's gift, I'd never heard of it. I'm currently feeding Optimum which definitely stinks, and am considering switching to a better brand like Canidae or forgetting canned food altogether.

[Crisovar]

I don't think canned diets have a single advantage for dogs! It's crap for the teeth (worse than kibble) and generally contains little meat (those "meaty" chunks are actually soya protein, look at the label). It's also usually more expensive than a good kibble as you're paying for the water content, and more expensive than raw foods.

The exception would be that we do use canned (usually hill's a/d) in the clinic as a recovery diet, that works very well, it's very high energy and palatable and squishy for tube feeding. But I won't preferentially feed canned to a healthy dog or cat.

Look at the Natures Gift label, not all are made equal.

Hence my saying generally. But, unless they have some technology I'm aware of it's still crap for teeth, and I'd be surprised if it's as cost effective than raw or a good kibble.

As a part of a varied diet who cares if it isn't cost effective. It adds variety, tempts oldies, and certainly wont kill them.

I'm sure the teeth will survive the occasional meal too.

No one is advocating it as a sole diet, and the dogs surely wont sprout a third eye from the odd meal of it.

[wuffles]

And Nature's Gift is good for freezing in a Kong

[JulesP]

NG smells like casserole. I'm a vego and it smells quite tasty. lol. NG has been part (note part) of my dogs diet for over 20 years. I tend to use it if I've forgotten to defrost meat/bones. I've tried (not personally!!) some expensive tinned food and prefer the NG. Never had tummy problems with it either but have with some expensive brands. They are a smallish Aussie company too which I like.

[twodoggies2001]

I should have mentioned that I am considering canned food as part of a diet that is about 50% raw so the canned food is for variety. I don't think kibble is better for teeth than canned food - it just seems wrong; do your teeth feel cleaner after eating biscuits? I'd accept that kibble gives a better jaw work-out.

I guess I am wondering whether including canned food is any better/worse than including kibble or if its the same thing just in a different format with a higher price tag?

Thanks for the heads-up about Nature's gift, I'd never heard of it. I'm currently feeding Optimum which definitely stinks, and am considering switching to a better brand like Canidae or forgetting canned food altogether.

That makes some difference if the canned stuff only makes up a part of the diet. You didn't say that in the first place. By the way, you can give plenty of variety feeding raw too. Many different meats,fish and organ meats. With the cans or dry food, the main thing you need to keep in mind is to take note of the ingredients. The earlier an ingredient comes up on the listing, the more of that ingredient is in the can. Can't comment on Nature's Gift but just as an example, Beneful is full of grains and 'meal' which are cheap and of no value to the dog yet because of very clever advertising, owners are led to believe that it is a great product. Vets sell the some of the processed foods but don't forget, they make money out of if and I am led to believe that in their studies, nutrition plays only a very very small part. But in the end, it is up to the dog owner to feed what they feel is correct for their pets and my choice is to say away from the commercially produced one.

[k9katz]

I've seen a few posts about people not feeding canned food, so I have a question, why not? Is it just the poor value for money or is there a reason to be more suspicious of the ingredients in canned food versus dry?

Not all canned foods are made equal and if you choose a good quality canned food I do not believe it to be poor value for money. The new Artemis range of dog and cat canned foods are a high quality option containing human grade ingredients only and no grains. Feedback has been extremely positive.

[Staranais]

With the cans or dry food, the main thing you need to keep in mind is to take note of the ingredients. The earlier an ingredient comes up on the listing, the more of that ingredient is in the can.

Not exactly. Remember that ingredients are listed by weight when added, and the ingredients list does not include added water. That means if the can says "lamb meat, rice", you might conclude that the can contains a lot of lamb and a lesser amount of rice. However the can will probably contain largely cooked rice, as the rice will have been added dry and the lamb wet, and rice greatly expands during cooking.

[twodoggies2001]

With the cans or dry food, the main thing you need to keep in mind is to take note of the ingredients. The earlier an ingredient comes up on the listing, the more of that ingredient is in the can.

Not exactly. Remember that ingredients are listed by weight when added, and the ingredients list does not include added water. That means if the can says "lamb meat, rice", you might conclude that the can contains a lot of lamb and a lesser amount of rice. However the can will probably contain largely cooked rice, as the rice will have been added dry and the lamb wet, and rice greatly expands during cooking.

Well that's even worse. Rice is not a staple diet for dog, so in the case you pointed out, there is even less meat in the canned/dry food.