Kibble W/ Or W/o Water?

[Guest Parsniptoast]

Both Reg and Meg get their kibble soaked for half an hour or so and absolutely swimming in a 'gravy'. I boil beetroot or cabbages and other veggies/peelings and some chicken stock or liver stock and then whizz it up with a hand blender and add this to the pre-soaked kibble. it's still crunchy but they also get lots of juice and they both drink up the whole lot and clear their bowls just about every meal.

 

When I boil beetroot the end result is inevitably purple poop but it makes it easier to spot in the grass

 

Also, when Meg came here she was a bag of bones with super dry skin. She's now fleshed out beautifully and her dry skin has disappeared and I think she did tend towards dehydration. As she favours the pond water I would rather over fill her food bowl to try and keep her away from that!

[Wendie]

Hard dry kibble here.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Water or no, depends on the dog. For a dog that eats slowly and chews their food, IMO there is no need to add any water. For a gulper, especially one that is prone to regurgitation, a little water mixed in can make it go down more smoothly. I only add the water though just as I'm about to feed the food, not long enough for the kibble to expand and get soggy. There are some studies out there that suggest that water-logged kibble can do more harm than good, so I avoid water if not necessary.

 

FYI, when Gavin/Jacoby ate at my house he ate slowly and carefully. (The Praire kibble are very small too). I don't think he will need any water to be added.

 

 

 

greyhounds do not produce as much saliva as other breeds which is why they they have such bad teeth.

Greyhounds seem to have a genetic predisposition to bad teeth, I'm not sure saliva plays a huge role. I know many slobbery dogs that also have bad teeth.

 

 

 

[Guest BunnyBlab]

Thanks again, all, for this advice.

 

Lindsay, I'll just have to keep an eye on him when he eats, then... Slow and carefully is much better than gulping, IMHO.

 

[Guest Bang_o_rama]

I wet the dry food, but certainly not enough to be considered "floating." More like (as my grandmother pronounced it) a bit merst.

 

Dave

Edited November 30, 2009 by Bang_o_rama

[Guest Amy_Bee]

I add only enough water to moisten the food. Gretchen used to choke on the dry food, so that's why I started. I would never soak the food, though.

[Guest GreyFan09]

Dry kibble mixed with yogurt in the morning and pumpkin at night. Also fed from elevated feeding bowls (vet recommended for preventing bloat).

[Guest FordRacingRon]

I voted water. What we really do is buy stew beef from the store and boil it, then use that liquid in every bowl of kibble,,,and the meat makes a tasty treat for an add-in.

[MarcR]

I add water for two of my girls... Kara in particular because she has only seven teeth (poor girlie) and Cleo. Honey and Nadia get theirs dry.

[Guest EMcElfresh]

I moisten the dog food with a bit of water, not often floating unless I've over estimated the water. And I use cool water, and don't let it soak so the kibs are still crunchy. It's just for Gordon (not Pepper) because he doesn't chew much.

[Guest Hollys2hounds]

I too, make a chicken stew for my guys, and add two or three tablespoons to their kibble, mix it all up with warm water, and serve. (not floating, but very moist)

They love my cooking!

 

 

(I make a big pot of stew once every 2 weeks or so, freeze some and refridgerate the rest)

Edited December 9, 2009 by Hollys2hounds

[Guest Javagirl]

I don't float the kibble, but I do put about 1/2 a cup of water in and micro it for 30 seconds so there is some gravy to the food. I don't add anything to it. I make Ladd a frozen yogurt kong a few times a week.

[Guest karma98104]

I add water to avoid the lovely choking sounds. They don't really eat that quickly, but they don't seem to actually chew, either...

[Guest BunnyBlab]

I don't float the kibble, but I do put about 1/2 a cup of water in and micro it for 30 seconds so there is some gravy to the food. I don't add anything to it. I make Ladd a frozen yogurt kong a few times a week.

 

Frozen yogurt Kong? Is that as simple as putting frozen yogurt in a Kong? The ice-cream kind or the yogurt kind? Do tell!

[Guest jtavants]

I've been adding 2/3 cup hot water to Tucson's kibble in addition to either yogurt, pumpkin, or canned veggies. The water, along with elevating his food bowl, seems to help prevent Tucson from choking on the food he prefers to inhale rather than chew and swallow.

 

Speaking of elevating food bowls. Instead of shelling out $40+ for an elevated food bowl, I picked up this pet bowl stand from IKEA for only $6.99: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90141133

 

It works reasonably well considering the price!

[Robin1017]

I add water, but not very much and I don't let it sit, so it is still crunchy.

For T's food, we have to add water for his meds and with one brand, have to let it sit for 15 mins so he get soft mush stuff. I much prefer kibble in bowl, add a little water, put it down for them to eat without waiting.

 

same

[GreyPoopon]

The ones who choke on dry food get it in water--a fair bit, although not actually floating--and the others get it dry. FWIW, only 2 of 5 (formerly 2 of 6) hounds get it dry. The poodles also get it dry.

 

The water is added before any other supplements/meds, which takes a few minutes (especially in the morning), but the kibble doesn't really get soft.

[Beautybabe]

We add a shot of water and then put yogurt on top of the kibble in the morning and some kind of protein--tuna, chicken, ham, whatever--in the evening. When DH feeds them, he warms the water first. Sometimes we substitute homemade soup or stew for the water.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I add a little bit of water, and a heaping spoonful of canned food to three or four cups (Depending on the dog) of quality dry. They do well with this. I feed once per day, or else the slightly picker dog won't eat. The amount of water I add is not excessive. Maybe half of a standard dogfood can's worth (I do it that way to get every last bit of flavor out of the can).

[vsrenard]

I float the kibble. Zola was not drinking enough water for years so this is how I conned her into getting reasonable fluid intake. Now it's just habit.

[Guest jvandover]

Lovie eats slowly and chews, but she won't eat it without water. I add some warm water and swish it around immediately before giving it to her. I liken it to my own breakfast cereal - I like milk on it to make it moist, but I still like it crunchy, not soggy. Lovie seems to like it that way too.

[scullysmum]

I have to add water to Sadi's kibble or she just inhales it....and then stops breathing ...I find that when it is wet it slips down easier.

[silverfish]

I only ever feed plain dry kibble if I think they might still be hungry when they 'shouldn't' be. I figure if they're really hungry they'll eat it dry, if they're not, they'll leave it. That's always worked for us.

 

Normally, Sid will get his kibble mixed either with a portion of commercial wet food like canned Butcher's Tripe, or with a home-made stew, or just a pot of plain yoghurt or cottage cheese - or sometimes a can of pilchards or sardines in oil.

 

Personally, I don't think dry kibble does anything for cleaning teeth, because they hardly chew it anyway. They get much more mileage out of a hard, long-lasting chew treat like dried tripe or a pig ear, venison trachea or whatever. I agree if you feed mush it's worse for their teeth, but if you clean them and/or give a chew treat afterwards, it's probably not going to affect them too badly.

[Guest awvase]

I add water for the simple reason to slow them down. If I give our 2 out of our 3 hounds dry, they eat it to fast and bring it back up in the middle of the living room.

 

Most of the time they just drink the water before eat the food though, either way it slows them down and they seam to like it.

[Guest greysonly]

I also float kibble in water. We call it their cereal Otherwise they hack it up cuz they eat to fast.