Wet vs. Dry Pet Food: The Benefits of Each For Your Pet

Choosing the right food for your pets is a very important aspect of everyday pet healthcare. Whether your pets are young, old, big, or small, their daily nutrition is a crucial aspect of their growth and overall maintenance to stay healthy throughout their lives. There are so many options out there to choose from when it comes to pet food, including options of wet and dry food.

Each has its own benefits and can provide a lot of nutritional value in their own ways. But if you stick to one type, you may not know much about the other. Understanding the benefits that each provides is important so that you can make an informed decision on what you want to include in your pet’s diet.

With dry food being the most common option, let’s dive into the benefits that come with a dry food diet.

Benefits of Dry Food

Dry Food Supports Dental Health

With dry food being more solid, it takes more of an effort to chew it up and break it down. That means your pet’s teeth have to work more, strengthening them while they feast. This helps reduce tartar and plaque build up, keeping their teeth healthy and clean on a daily basis.

Good For Pet Enrichment

Dry food is easy and great to add to pet enrichment feeding tools like slow feeders and puzzles. This helps with slowing down how fast your pets eat their food, while aiding with their digestion. It also forces their mind to work to earn their food, keeping their brains sharp as they fill up.

Convenience

If you’re looking for an easy and quick option for pet feeding, you won’t find anything better than dry food. It’s easy to pre-portion, so you can have your pet’s meals ready at all times to make feeding time a quick process. If you want to allow free feeding, you can also leave it out all day in your pet’s bowl and it won’t go bad. Additionally, you can use an automatic feeder with dry food. This will drop a pre-portioned amount of food at a scheduled time, adding to the convenience if you can’t be at home when your pets need their next meal.

Great Mix of Nutrients & Balance

Dry food is made with lots of vitamins, minerals, oils, and fats that help support your pet’s overall health. Loaded with protein and carbohydrates, dry food is great to provide essential nutrients to help your pets grow and give them lots of energy for them to do what they do best - be pets.

Now that we’ve learned about the pros of dry food for your pet, let’s take a look at the benefits of wet food and how it can support your pet’s health in ways that dry food won’t be able to.

Benefits of Wet Food

Higher Moisture Content

Wet pet food will always have a much higher moisture content than dry food. You’ll typically see anywhere from 75-85% moisture on the nutritional label of wet food cans. This makes wet food a great option if your pets don’t drink as much water as they should be, supporting their kidney health.

Palatability

Since wet food includes not only protein, but gravy as well, it’s going to give off stronger tastes and smells than dry food will. If your pets are picky eaters, it’s likely that they won’t be able to resist the tasty goodness from a can of their favorite wet food.

Your Pets Will Feel More Full

With its nutrient-dense ingredients and higher levels of protein and fat, wet food will make your pets feel more full for longer periods of time. This makes it a great option for those looking to manage their pet’s weight and food intake, since you can trick them into thinking they’ve eaten more than they really have. Wet food will also help out with those pets that need more energy, whether you’ve got an active dog or a growing kitten.

It's Easier to Chew

Finally, since wet food is soft and more liquified, it's a lot easier to chew than dry food is. For those older pets that have lost teeth or have dental issues, chewing and eating will be a lot more enjoyable for them if they have a plate full of wet food.

Mixing Wet & Dry Food

If you want a little bit of the best of both worlds, you can mix your pet’s meals with both wet and dry food! Pets can get bored of the same old meal every day, so mixing the two can be a great way to switch up the pace, or it can be a great special treat for them. You’ll need to be careful when doing this though, so you don’t overfeed your pets. Pay close attention and be mindful of serving sizes, and what your vet recommends for daily calorie intake. 

Ultimately, what type of food you give your pet is going to depend on your specific pet. Some are picky and won’t look twice at a new type of food, while others just like food in general and will love anything you put in their bowl. If you’re thinking about making a change to your pet’s diet, it’s best to consult with your vet to discuss the pros and cons of each to determine if there’s a better option for your pet. This will help narrow down the choices for you depending on your pet’s age, overall health, and what nutritional requirements they might have for their diet. 

You can shop our full selection of top-branded pet food online at FleetFarm.com, or in store at your local Fleet Farm store.