# Dry vs wet food



## Kenzie (Jan 7, 2013)

Our new standard poodle will not eat just dry food. We mixed it with canned food but he has good teeth and should be able to eat dry. It will be too expensive (and bad for him) to feed just canned food. SO....my husband suggested putting a few squirts of spray butter on the dry. It worked great!! He gobbles it up and cannot pick out just the parts he likes. Does anyone see any issues with this? He is on Purina ProPlan Puppy for large breed dogs.
Kenzie


----------



## chinchillafuzzy (Feb 11, 2017)

I would maybe look at getting a better quality dry food for your puppy. I feel like puppy nutrition is so important, because they grow so fast. And I would definitely not recommend using spray butter on food. Spray butter has propellants and a whole bunch of artificial stuff. I avoid eating it myself, and can’t imagine how bad it could be for a growing puppy. There are so many other things you could use. A small amount of canned food, plain cooked chicken, no or very low sodium chicken broth, plain cooked ground beef, even adding water can improve it. Have your tried other dry foods or is this the only one?


----------



## scooterscout99 (Dec 3, 2015)

Sometimes I add a few sardines, or even the oil from the sardines (which I eat!) for my fussy adult dogs. Dog food advisor is helpful for evaluating foods. They use a star rating system amd evaluate by ingredient.


----------



## Kenzie (Jan 7, 2013)

Thanks for the info chill. I tried mixing with wet food but he manages to get only give up when he thinks the wet food is gone. Will try chicken broth. The spray butter doesn't have propellant ( pump sprayer) but probably does have some artificial stuff. I can't find the best dog food that has not had recalls or issues. He cannot be on raw diet because I want him to be a therapy dog (can't be on raw). I don't want to keep changing his food. What do you recommend? Tasty and nutritious.


----------



## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

You will create a picky eater by adding this or that but I'd stay away from spray butter. You could try a little pure coconut oil. I add a teaspoon-tablespoon of canned food to y dogs meals twice a day. One can typically lasts a good week. He was getting that when I initially got him from the breeder and I kept it up, in fact all my dogs get a hint of canned. I he snubs his nose or walks away give him 20-30 minutes to eat, if he doesn't eat take it away and don't offer food again until its time for his next meal. He will not starve himself. How old is your new stpoo? Is pro plan what the breeder was feeding?


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Yeah I wouldn't use spray "butter" to entice a dog to eat, especially a puppy. I would soak kibble in water (or maybe a bit of dilute broth) to make it a bit easier to eat. Also make sure that you are feeding fresh and high quality kibble. Stale kibble is unappealing and poorer quality kibbles won't support puppy growth the way one wants to. Remember that what you do now will set patterns for life so be careful not to start patterns that are either not healthful or too expensive to maintain.


----------



## Kenzie (Jan 7, 2013)

Beaux is 11 weeks old. Breeder was feeding regular Purina dog chow 
I think Purina has the money for research and quality products but my previous poodle breeder recommended ProPlan. I went thru every food with my previous picky eater. Do you think just a few squirts of spray butter is bad? His food stays crunchy. If I mix with wet he only eats what he can find with wet on it. Eats all the dry if "flavored" with spray butter. Thoughts?


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Do you think it is good to potentially plan to spray butter on this dog's food for the duration of his life?


I think what I said in this thread https://www.poodleforum.com/5-poodle-talk/264703-bowl-dog-scared-bowl.html applies to your situation too. I don't think dogs are generally picky eaters, but we can make them into picky eaters. Lily was not a meal feeder when she was a puppy so we allowed her to graze instead, but we never did anything other than soaking kibble in water for any of our dogs when they were puppies. When we indulge we create patterns that become what the dog expects.


----------



## Mufar42 (Jan 1, 2017)

The spray butter as I said I wouldn't do. While it may in moderation not be bad but your adding more fat to his diet. You can wet it some with water or even a little broth or the two combined to bring out the flavor more. I still put a teaspoon of pro plan canned in I mush it up, then I put in the kibble (I use Victor) and I stir it around and around. Mine gets fed 2x a day 6:30-7 am morning/evening 4:30 pm. If for whatever his reason is, if he doesn't eat in the first half hour I take it up, and he get nothing. You can also put his kibble in a puzzle, mine loves to play with the puzzle and will also eat his kibble that way.


----------



## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

You mention in your other thread that you were feeding him Pure Balance but then got concerned that it was for 'All Stages'....all stages is just fine, and if he was eating it, it is a much better food than the Purina. The suggestions of adding either fish oil or coconut oil is good too! Do take a look a the Dog Food Advisor site! 
(I have used the Pure Balance Bison formula and Molly liked it!)


----------



## Cute Sandy (Jul 24, 2018)

I also have a poodle puppy but he never picks any food. I think you should change to another better dry food at different ages. Puppy food contains balanced nutrition for his growth. And adult food can maintain his shape and protect the organs. Also, perhaps he just dislikes this flavor, try to choose another one and form a good eating habit. However, to the spray butter, I am not sure whether it's good for dog's health. The food manufacturers have done ample research on the ingredients, they know what is helpful or harmful to the dogs. Therefore, I suggest you stop using the spray butter without an agreement of professional people. :act-up:


----------



## Streetcar (Apr 13, 2014)

I've been told by people I trust that kibble does not maintain clean teeth. Also said by someone I trust, do not use a kibble containing citric acid if you will saturate it in water before serving, due to potential bloat risk. I do not have scientific studies to back that up, just information from someone in GSDs and Mals who does tracking and Schutzhund.

I've begun cooking meatloaves for Oliver, then crumble them up and freeze. He gets a little meatloaf mixed with his kibble every morning. At night, no meatloaf, but more joint support type stuff and sardines sometimes. Ol is not picky at all, just it's fun to give him an extra treat before leaving for work. My guy is almost 10 (!!!???), so different from a puppy, but I'd go with an all stages were I you, and only supplement a bit if desired so as not to offset the nutritional balance in a young dog where the ratios are so key.


----------



## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

Kenzie said:


> Thanks for the info chill. I tried mixing with wet food but he manages to get only give up when he thinks the wet food is gone. Will try chicken broth. The spray butter doesn't have propellant ( pump sprayer) but probably does have some artificial stuff. I can't find the best dog food that has not had recalls or issues. He cannot be on raw diet because I want him to be a therapy dog (can't be on raw). I don't want to keep changing his food. What do you recommend? Tasty and nutritious.


I always feed an all life stages food. You might try Instinct Original, I feed that. It comes in many different protein choices. I also sometimes feed Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural. We had to change foods recently because the one I fed successfully for 16 yrs was discontinued. These choices are closest to our old food. I used to work in pet food business so am very selective (picky) about what I feed. I do not ever use toppers because that sets you up for a dog who will play games about eating this or that food. I also always free feed. I put a measured amount of food down in the morning and she snacks on it when hungry. If she runs out, very seldom, I will add more. Poppy will often eat the majority of her food after 8 PM, but also needs food sometimes right away in the morning. I have fed my dogs this way for 26 yrs and never had a fat dog.

Good luck with your food choices. I hope you find something that works for you and your baby!


----------



## Kenzie (Jan 7, 2013)

*Thanks all*

So I took Beaux to vet yesterday for puppy shots. So no more spray butter. Changed food to Purina Lamb/Rice. It has nearly 1600 reviews with 5 stars. Beaux loves it so I think we have solved the picky eater issue. Vet said don't buy into the the "puppy formula" because they are fine with "all stages" or even adult food. Thanks for all the advice


----------



## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Those reviews are people who are feeding that food not an analysis of the foods ingredients.......Please read the Dogfoodadvisor analysis of Purina products...all are rated very low nutritionally/ingredient wise! I'm just not a fan of Purina..............


----------



## Rose n Poos (Sep 22, 2017)

My boys came from the breeder on a food that wasn't too well rated. As quickly as I could safely, I switched them to a higher quality food, Blue Buffalo Life Protection Puppy, based on what I learned from PF and looking over Dogfoodadvisor. The boys thrived on it. 

It wasn't til just before it was time to transition them off puppy food that they got picky. It was a serious, frustrating and scary time. I tried and returned several foods, wondering how we'd get them thru this. 

I remembered Viking Queen describing her search for a replacement food and thought I'd try the Instinct Original. As I was in the checkout line telling the associate our woes, she restated the no harm no foul return policy and then said "but anything with raw almost never comes back". Instinct uses a freeze dried coating of raw, so to us, it's just dry kibble. I think it smells pretty good myself. 

The boys have gone for it in a big way, so I can say it worked for us. I don't remember where you are, but thru PetSmart and Petco both you can get trial sizes of some of the product line. This can give you a low $$ way to try it for your little Beaux. 

For now, getting some food into him is a priority but I would recommend reviewing foods on DFA. I'm not sure if others would recommend this, but if he loves the Purina and you decide to upgrade him, just mix a bit of the higher quality kibble in so he can get some benefit of the higher quality ingredients and still eat. 


Good luck 

(and thanks VQ for bringing the Instinct to my attention)


----------

