Foo - Why do dogs consistently prefer canned food over dry?

And why am I willing to make an exception for it to my rule that I won't feed a dog anything I would refuse to eat myself?

Mine doesn't- he's perfectly happy with Iams dry food. But he does like to clean up the kitties' canned food leftovers when they're bing finicky. I think he might pray for that to happen...

you dog is spoilt

Try some of each and then see if you can figure it out. Good quality dry food is better for their teeth and digestion.

Its probably the same as me preferring machos to tuna salad.

dogs are carnivores, an all dry diet is not natural and will shorten a dogs life span, I feed my dogs dry with ground beef and when they get tired of that I switch over to ground turkey or ground chicken, when I can afford it they eat beef, just a plain old chunk of beef, they really love it and one can see a huge difference in their over all health and apperance.

you dog is spoilt

Actually, I only feed mine dry.

However, I dog sit for a number of people and sometimes the guests eat the stuff. Dogs are always interested in whatever the others are eating, but I noticed that when one of the dogs is eating canned, the level of interest and excitement goes way up.

dogs are carnivores, an all dry diet is not natural and will shorten a dogs life span, I feed my dogs dry with ground beef and when they get tired of that I switch over to ground turkey or ground chicken, when I can afford it they eat beef, just a plain old chunk of beef, they really love it and one can see a huge difference in their over all health and apperance.

I feed our animals (one dog and two cats) an all-raw diet as well. I switch it up throughout the week between chicken, pork and one other meat (generally beef, turkey or fish). They also get hearts, kidneys, gizzards and some bone different times throughout the week. I've only been doing it for about six months now but, like you, I see a huge difference in health, appearance and activity level compared to when they were on an all kibble diet.

Maybe moist food is more palatable? Sort of like while you are biking, it's hard to eat anything dry.

Learn to speak dog, and perhaps you can ask them.

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Maybe moist food is more palatable? Sort of like while you are biking, it's hard to eat anything dry.

I don't think it has anything to do with being palatable, just that they are natural carnivores, they natually love meat, its what they crave.

I've never given my dog canned food, but she does share all sorts of stuff from our dinner plate. She loves rice, sweet potato, white potato, just about any kind of meat and fish (she loves salmon skin; it's the only thing she's ever stolen from the trash), she's a total fiend for tortilla chips, and one of the most entertaining things is to watch her play with a scrap of pita bread before she eats it.

I prefer steak over corn flakes too.

My Border Collie can and will eat anything, including the squirrels and birds she catches. It is a thing of beauty to watch her in full flight in pursuit of a squirrel. Deadly poetry in motion. Regardless of the input, the output remains constant and not bothersome. She also enjoys her Purina Dog Chow.

My wife's Daschund, can and will eat anything and then assault your senses with a mind numbing array of sound and odor and fecal ejections. It is best to leave him on whatever boutique brand of food he started on months ago, as it does not seem to make him emit foul odor and substances.

I quail to think of what would occur if he ingested canned food.

And why am I willing to make an exception for it to my rule that I won't feed a dog anything I would refuse to eat myself?


so which do you prefer. which one tastes better?

also, i don't get it. dogs eat poo. they are also fussy eaters?

so which do you prefer. which one tastes better?

also, i don't get it. dogs eat poo. they are also fussy eaters?

they only eat the good poo. have you ever tasted the poo a dog would not eat? it is horrible, even for poo.

If given a choice would you only eat steak or cereal?

That said, I only feed my cat dry food. Sure I know he rather have that stinky wet stuff but until he could earn the money and drive himself to the store to buy it, he gets dry.

Wet food is really not what they eat in "nature" - it's horrible processed food with additives and all sorts of things critters should not eat. Dry food is probably not much better but at least it won't rot out their teeth and their poop smells better!

so which do you prefer. which one tastes better?

For some reason, I can't get myself to eat the canned.

Not that I'm picky. On Sunday after eating 3 quesadillas, I discovered that the sour cream I was heaping on them expired at the beginning of last September. Since I had one more to eat and figured I had nothing to lose at that point, I went ahead and added sour cream to the 4th. I did throw away the container immediately afterwards.

I am somewhat disappointed to report that I suffered no ill effects.

Wet food is really not what they eat in "nature" - it's horrible processed food with additives and all sorts of things critters should not eat. Dry food is probably not much better but at least it won't rot out their teeth and their poop smells better!

Kibble is just as bad as canned, if not worse due to the amount of water is absorbs from the animal's system (ever notice how much more water cats and dogs tend to drink when on a kibble-only diet?). Kibble also doesn't do as much for the health of the teeth, gums or jaw as people like to think it does.

Our dog eats leftovers, from butchering. Spoiled rotten he is... He loves to follow me around in the garden, eating cucumbers, papaya, turnips. He doesn't really like carrots though. Basically, his bowl has leftovers, his veggies he gets while walking the plantations with me.

he gets plenty of bones too.

And he hates dry dog food.

dogs eating salad? amazing. this healthy eating trend is going too far.

and banerjek eating dog food. what is the world coming to.

dogs eating salad? amazing. this healthy eating trend is going too far.

and banerjek eating dog food. what is the world coming to.

Dogs aren't pure carnivores. Ever see one munching grass before? Granted they usually puke it out...

I learned our dog loves papaya (and it is good for dogs) when I grabbed one while going to the river to fish. I split it open with my knife, and took a piece to munch, after a bit I looked back on what remained and saw lots and lots of teeth marks, and very little papaya - and a dog wearing papaya all over his face. :lol:

I have a greatt owner! He feeds me the good stuff! I get stuff like real salmon, real Walleye Pike, real Lamb, real Veal.

Last night, I got minced rare prime rib! Cats are carnivores, and need at a minimum, 9% protein content and no gluten in the diet. My Dad makes for sure I get that and better.


If given a choice would you only eat steak or cereal?

That said, I only feed my cat dry food. Sure I know he rather have that stinky wet stuff but until he could earn the money and drive himself to the store to buy it, he gets dry.

Wet food is really not what they eat in "nature" - it's horrible processed food with additives and all sorts of things critters should not eat. Dry food is probably not much better but at least it won't rot out their teeth and their poop smells better!

I have a greatt owner! He feeds me the good stuff! I get stuff like real salmon, real Walleye Pike, real Lamb, real Veal.

Last night, I got minced rare prime rib! Cats are carnivores, and need at a minimum, 9% protein content and no gluten in the diet. My Dad makes for sure I get that and better.

Or you will do what to him? Surely to get this kind of treatment requires some kind of hold over him. Perhaps you wish to reveal what it is for those on the edge of being banned? :rolleyes:

dogs will eat anything, including the little Liv-A-Snaps™ they'll find in the cat box!

Why do they prefer canned?

Just a rumor but I heard they put ground cyclist in the canned.

Well there is this problem of not being able to find mouse flavored cat food. As to the hold over my daddy I like to sit in his lap and purr and love him like a kitty should. I do love to get him pestered when he is on the computer. I had better go he is coming. I do not want him to catch me typing on his computer.
Or you will do what to him? Surely to get this kind of treatment requires some kind of hold over him. Perhaps you wish to reveal what it is for those on the edge of being banned? :rolleyes:

Why do they prefer canned?

Just a rumor but I heard they put ground cyclist in the canned.

Only the slow ones, but that probably says Patentcad needs to be concerned...

My dogs prefer what I am eating but will settle on anything I give them. I'm going to say the smell.

dogs eating salad? amazing. this healthy eating trend is going too far.

and banerjek eating dog food. what is the world coming to.
My dog loves raw spinach -- we give it to her as a treat.


Well there is this problem of not being able to find mouse flavored cat food.
Many things don't taste as advertised. You could feed our last dog pills right out of your hand, but one time the vet prescribed her something that was suspended in an elixir that supposedly tasted like liver. Even though she loved liver and I had no trouble feeding her pills with no chaser, she wouldn't take it.

I tried it and it didn't taste anything like liver -- it just tasted like crap. So I complained at the vet's office. My wife just wanted to melt into the background when the vet asked me if I actually tried it. Damn straight I did. Most stuff they give to dogs is very similar to the stuff they give to humans. It won't hurt you.

I'll bet that many of the better dog treats and dog foods contain a lot less disgusting stuff than most processed food for humans.

i don't know if i am more amazed or horrified.

cuz you let them taste the canned food. once they taste it - that's it - you're done for.

same thing with cats.

I think it has to do with the wetness. meaning - it is closer to killing and eating a living animal and the wetness brings back those primal instincts to eat meat with blood

i don't know if i am more amazed or horrified.

That dogs like canned dog food? I find it amazing myself. But then again, they'll eat rotten birds they find lying around.

I myself prefer canned SpaghettiO's over dry SpaghettiO's .

I liked powdered water.

You can have an entire driveway's worth of my powdered water, come pick it up anytime!

When I come, I will bring you some dry SpaghettiO's

i hear lots of talk about dry kibble being basically downed or euthanised animals. We have bought two bags of eukanuba for our lab rescue. not sure if that brand is the evil bad stuff or the OK stuff. We don't do any store bought treats.

I'd rather feed him real meat bits/brown rice/ table scraps with carrots cheese and meat for treats.

Dogs like smellier stuff. Canned food is way smellier than dry.

i hear lots of talk about dry kibble being basically downed or euthanised animals..

There's a website that rates dog foods....I'd look for it for you, but I"m lazy. Eukanuba doesn't rate real high, but it's mostly fanatics on the site. We switched our dog to a pretty highly rated food - Blue Buffalo Chicken and brown rice -- and she didn't reacte well to two bags of the expensive stuff. So we went back to Nutros Lamb and Rice -- a decent food, and her belly seems happier.

There's a website that rates dog foods....I'd look for it for you, but I"m lazy. Eukanuba doesn't rate real high, but it's mostly fanatics on the site. We switched our dog to a pretty highly rated food - Blue Buffalo Chicken and brown rice -- and she didn't reacte well to two bags of the expensive stuff. So we went back to Nutros Lamb and Rice -- a decent food, and her belly seems happier.

In fact, most of the familiar brands of dry dog food rate poorly. For example, in the ratings I saw, not a single variety of Purina rated well.

Taste...pure and simple. I prefer a thick, juicy steak over a grilled chicken salad but that doesn't mean it's better for me.