Nowadays, deciding to have a pet is a conscious and thoughtful choice. Its health, its well-being, and its habits of life are fundamental points on which the action of the careful and scrupulous owner is based. The hectic life often leads the owner to decide on a diet based on ready-made products: the so-called "industrial foods".

The most common formulations are dry food (kibble) and wet food.

It is often difficult to establish which type of diet is best suited to our dog (or cat!), The question arises; better dry or wet food? What are the differences and their different nutritional intake?



Often, these types of foods are completely different, in the percentage of composition, nutritional values ​​, and intakes of supplements with different degrees of approval by dogs. Dogs only like dry foods if they are tasty, and by comparison, dogs only prefer canned foods. Wet food is certainly more pleasing to their palate, also because they can be formulated more easily with chemicals that "bind" the dog to that particular product.


From recent studies, it seems that the reason for this preference by dogs is that, in the case of canned food, the humidity is between seventy and eighty percent, but in the case of dry food it is only ten percent. However, when considered in terms of nutrients, dry food often contains nearly ninety percent nutrients while canned foods contain only a lower percentage of nutrients, and most of the time, they are not properly balanced.


Only soy products are structured so well that they look like chunks of meat and provide taste and nutrients similar to a meat meal.


Therefore, to compensate for the nutritional balance and the right metabolism, the dog must eat a greater quantity of canned food than dry food. Many dry foods are based on soy and rice and added protein derivatives of flour. More recently, some dry foods have been formulated based on corn and natural supplements.


Often, beef or chicken-based foods are packaged in cans along with mineral and vitamin supplements suitable for maintaining the dog's health. Larger dogs weighing over thirty pounds should be fed semi-moist food or exclusively dry food on most occasions.It is difficult to adequately formulate unnatural food: the dog's stomach receptors have very complex structures and functions, so it is not always possible to fully satisfy their functioning.

Large dogs need a higher nutritive intake in terms of proteins and supplements, so they should eat more dry food, while wet food should be used to support the dog's normal diet. Small dogs, on the other hand, maybe better fed using wet food.


Naturally, both dry and wet food should always be integrated with considerable amounts of vitamins, mineral salts, and ashes, these products, which tend to be scarce in so-called "industrial" food.

The integrations must be made with quality products and under the advice of your trusted veterinarian, who, knowing the animal and its lifestyle, can best advise the owner on the best possible diet.From an economic point of view, the difference is significant based on the quality of the product: in general dry food costs more because it contains a greater intake of proteins and supplements.

Whatever choice the owner decides to make for his four-legged friend, this must always be well evaluated in the absolute safety of his health and well-being.