# Feeding all canned food



## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

I was thinking about this after reading that it may be much healthier than kibble. Right now I feed wellness small breed puppy kibble and mix about a tablespoon of the wellness puppy wet food too. I go through maybe three cans a month. I was reading the label to see what it might cost. According to the feeding instructions, I would feed about half a can a day. :blink:

Here those cans of wet food are close to 3 bucks each. So, that would mean about 15 cans a month at 3 bucks which would be 45 a month for one dog. Now, that's overshooting the cost just a bit, as it's not quite $3, but I would rather over budget than under. That just seems like so much to me!

What do you guys who feed wet foods do to get away from the kibble? Do you really spend that much or more on dog food a month? If Rocky were ten times his size, or three dogs, I might be able to see it, but 45 a month for one dog, on our budget just seems a bit much to me.

I wonder if there are other brands that are just as good in quality but cost less.... somehow I doubt it


----------



## CrystalAndZoe (Jul 11, 2006)

If you think about it, those who have a large breed dog and get a higher quality 30 lb bag of kibble are paying over $45 for that one bag. It lasts them about a month. 

Another way to think about it is you may be paying more now for a better food, with the goal being you will hopefully be saving more in the long run on health issues.

I'm finding the dehydrated mixes that you reconstitute with water can be more cost effective if you want to check into some of those.


----------



## MoonDog (Jun 6, 2011)

I don't know much about feeding wet but I read on Dr. Becker's site that good quality wet is better than kibble. I was surprised by that. I just don't like dealing with wet though. Cans, the smell, having to spoon it out into the bowl, disposing of cans... As far as cost goes, I'm not sure what is average. I have three dogs, two on Natural Balance (a $30 bag lasts just over a month) and one on a special food for diabetic dogs that runs me about $60 every three weeks... I do feel like feeding high quality saves money in the long run though.


----------



## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

Yup, I agree that wet food is much healthier than kibble for many reasons. When I first got Bailey last year, I had him on kibble mainly, fixed with a variety of healthy canned food brands. At the beginning of this year, I switched him to a completely wet food diet. At first he was on a limited ingredient food (Addiction Duck & Sweet Potato) - I used to get a case of the smaller cans and he ate 1.5 cans a day (9 ounces). That first month it cost me $90! Then I started buying the larger cans and that cut my monthly costs by about half (duh, I felt kind of stupid!) 

Right now, I feed Bailey Party Animal Organic canned food which is about $2.30/large can here - if I fed only canned, it would cost about $35 a month. I do half canned and half dehydrated raw (The Honest Kitchen). Between the two, my monthly costs probably come out to about $40 as well, I believe. 

Have you seen Dr. Becker's videos? She always says canned is the most expensive thing to feed your pets, but convenient if you can't do homecooking but still want to feed a "wet" food. If canned food is not in your budget, you could look at dehydrated foods like Grandma Lucy's as well.


----------



## almitra (Apr 24, 2009)

Not a fan of canned wet...too messy. And yes, expensive too. Sorry, no help here, but I am interested to see what responses are.


----------



## Tanner's Mom (May 27, 2005)

Mine like a little kibble, probably because of the crunchyness, but not much, i.e., 6 pieces in the morning. Morning & nite, I give them a big spoonful of wet food. Tanner eats Chicken Soup Senior (low protein, he has MVD), the other 3 get Nature's Balance Chicken. Then I top that with about 2 tbls of chopped up chicken that I actually boil myself. I was feeding them Weruva chicken which they loved, but that is some expensive dog food. That's when I started boiling 2 whole chickens a week for all of them (7 dogs). It's a lot cheaper. I go thru a can of dog food every day and order mine from Pet Food Direct on their auto ship program. Their prices are great, and the 15% discount for auto ship covers most of the shipping charges.


----------



## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

First, let me tell you that I know exactly how you are feeling! 6 months ago I was forced more or less to make the decision on going from dry kibble to wet food.

London, who is almost 4, started having weekly bouts of diarrhea and tummy rumbles. Crystal & Jackie on SM suggested I try switching to a canned food for a while with limited ingredients to see if it was easier for her to digest. I also added daily Probiotics to help her digestive tract heal. I fed her California Natural Salmon & Sweet Potato because it had one source of protein and one source of carbs. It was also the least expensive grain-free limited diet I could find, at only $2.15 per can (plus tax). So, I had to spend about $35-$40 per month on her food alone. During that time, Preston was getting dry food (Now! Small Breed) and I started feeling bad for him...

So I researched all of the canned, dehydrated, frozen, & freeze-dried options and even calculated out how much monthly I would spend if I switched them over. I ended up selecting Grandma Lucy's Artisan freeze-dried food, which is one you add water to, to hydrate it. I first made sure Preston could tolerate it, then slowly mixed it with London's canned food (over a one month period) and she loves it. No more tummy issues on a wet food.I will not do dry food with her again for fear she will get sick again.

Cost-wise, if I buy the large 10lb bag of Grandma Lucy's, it will end up costing about $40-$45 per month for BOTH dogs. I just ordered a large bag and it was on sale for $20 less than normal, which means even less per month. If you buy the small bags (2lb) the price will go up per month.

Preston is still currently on a 50/50 mixture of his dry food & Grandma Lucy's only because I had recently purchased a 10lb bag of the dry food, but once that is gone he will be exclusively on Grandma Lucy's!

Canned food is more processed than GL or other dehydrated foods, too, which means less nutrients. I know it is expensive, but we just made the change and now budget for it. Seeing how much they love the moist food also makes it easier to digest the cost.  I would be happy to help you calculate the monthly cost of these foods, even with shipping costs (if you can't find it locally). I have to order mine online.


----------



## S&LP'S Mommy (Feb 20, 2011)

I feed Weruva can. Here in nyc the 14 oz can goes for about 3.57 before taxes!:w00t::w00t::w00t: Ive spent so much money trying different brands of kibble and I cant find one they both agree on. Sasha was on a homecooked diet until Lola arrived. Lola only wants to eat it when there are no supplements in it. Maybe if you have the time you want to try out homecooking. I would say for a 7lb malt its about 20$ a month. After the intial investement of supplements. Can food can be really messy. So what I have started to do lately is mix in 1 tbsp of brown rice or Quinoa or pasta into there can food that not only increases the food quantity but also the moisture. One can is good for 3 meals for the two girls. Last time I went to the pet boutique I bought them to 6 Oz bags of stella and chewy for 11.99 a bag. But we havent started that. In total I probably spend about $50 on both girls.


----------



## Hunter's Mom (Dec 8, 2008)

I haven't calculated the cost of Hunter's food though I probably should. 

For general information: He gets kibble in the morning from FROMM sprinkled with coconut chips (don't ask - but he likes it this way). We were buying the little bag because we needed to make sure he liked it but once this bag is gone we are going to switch to the big bag as long as I can be certain storage won't be a problem. 

In the evenings he gets Grandma Lucy's. We buy the smaller bags because I need to switch up his protein source and with only one dog the larger bag would take too long (right now one small bag lasts us probably 6 weeks since we only do one meal - we also buy from Crystal so we get the SM discount).

We did try canned food several times with Hunter but he just doesn't like it. The only kind he liked was (GULP) Little Ceasar's (GROSS)!!! He only gets that in an emergency when we have run out of food and the order hasn't arrived or we are unexpectidly delayed away from home and don't have our emergency kibble with us and he goes NUTS for it!


----------



## beckinwolf (Sep 2, 2008)

Hunter's Mom said:


> I haven't calculated the cost of Hunter's food though I probably should.
> 
> For general information: He gets kibble in the morning from FROMM sprinkled with coconut chips (don't ask - but he likes it this way). We were buying the little bag because we needed to make sure he liked it but once this bag is gone we are going to switch to the big bag as long as I can be certain storage won't be a problem.
> 
> ...


Hah! Micky is the SAME way! I think he'd do a back flip for some Caesar's wet food. It's the only way I can get him to take a pill, is to hide in some of that slop that he loves so much. Just like little kids who love thier junk foods.


----------



## aprilb (Jul 9, 2010)

My Lily is now on a canned food diet with probiotics. She had some issues with Wellness and strangely chicken & fish. I give her the Natural Balance venison & sw. potato. It has more of a moderate protein and lower fat. (It has more meat protein than the dry.) Rose too began to have some issues with the Wellness. However, the vet wants her on a higher protein and low fat diet. So she is also eating the same thing as Lily except that I plan to mix hers to boost the protein a little. I now order my food online, too. I order from doggiefood.com and they have a flat shipping rate of only $4.95. I found that I actually save money even with the shipping instead of getting it at Petco. I agree that it is very expensive to feed an all canned diet. I didn't do well with homemade, and mine could not tolerate the Grandma Lucy's either. I still may feed kibble now and then.


----------



## poochie2 (Jan 14, 2010)

I think canned food is much healthier then kibble and I have spent so much time researching this topic. Canned is less processed than kibble and has the MOISTURE their kidneys need especially if they are not visiting their water bowl enough during the day.
I do feed 1/2 kibble for variety though Petcurean Pet Nutrition but I do include canned food daily.....either Weruva or Nature's Variety. 
If you think about it would you want to eat the same dry kibble every single day? i think variety is the key.


----------



## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

Thanks so much for the input guys and please keep it coming! I did see that video, was the name Dr. Becker? At first I was pretty skepticle but the more I read the more I agree wet is better than kibble. Sojo is popular around here, its one of the dehydrated brands, and I am open to feeding something like that, I am open to home cooking too but I have some concerns.

Rocky will be six months the 12th, and the vets I have always used have harped about puppy food as a puppy so I am kind of afraid of home cooking at this age and I am a little afraid of all life stages formulas. They are just new to me is all. I dont know if I should wait to make a change like that or if it is ok to do it now? And there is the dh to consider too, he lets me have free reign of feeding, but if I start to break the bank he might have a thing or two to say 

I will check out online prices for things as well though  it sounds like many of you save doing it that way.


----------



## pammy4501 (Aug 8, 2007)

I truly believe that what you spend on a high quality diet for your dog, you will save in vet bills down the road. I feed a dehydrated raw diet to my three, and it isn't cheap. I would much rather put my dollars toward my dogs good health, than vet bills.


----------



## Lacie's Mom (Oct 11, 2006)

I am currently feeding canned Wellness to my 3 girls. Please re-read your lable about the amount to feed.

I feed 1 can per day between all 3 girls (1/2 can in the morning and 1/2 can in the evening). Each gets a different amount because of their different sizes. Tilly weighs 8.3 lbs, Lacie weighs 6.1 lbs and Secret weighs 3.8 lbs. All of my 3 are in good weight.

When I went by the feeding instructions from Wellness, all 3 of mine started putting on weight.

I think 1/2 can of Wellness for 1 Maltese is way too much.


----------



## Abigail Lilly (Jul 24, 2012)

*Party Animal Pet Foods*



shellbeme said:


> I was thinking about this after reading that it may be much healthier than kibble. Right now I feed wellness small breed puppy kibble and mix about a tablespoon of the wellness puppy wet food too. I go through maybe three cans a month. I was reading the label to see what it might cost. According to the feeding instructions, I would feed about half a can a day. :blink:
> 
> Here those cans of wet food are close to 3 bucks each. So, that would mean about 15 cans a month at 3 bucks which would be 45 a month for one dog. Now, that's overshooting the cost just a bit, as it's not quite $3, but I would rather over budget than under. That just seems like so much to me!
> 
> ...




How would you feel about Party Animal? It's lower in fat and protein th

an Wellness and cheaper too. It's about $33 per month and no shipping costs when ordered from the company and it's ORGANIC too! It's 36% ptorein and 17 % fat, which is better for maltese, I have heard.d :chili:


----------



## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

I'm using nutri source right now for kibble, which they don't care for, but whatever  the protien in this food is 24% which I am happy with. Most of the organic and grain free foods that I find on the market these days have protien that is too high for what I am comfortable feeding to my dogs. On Fromm, I think the highest was 30 and to me, that's still a bit up there.

36 is too high for what I would like to feed-but that doesn't mean it's bad. I checked on the party animal website, I found the canned had 8% protien listed here. When you configure that to what it means vs dry kibble, it works out to 35% (it's 34.somethingsomething above 5) which, I feel is a bit steep. Tips on converting for anyone who is interested can be found here: 

Dry Matter Basis - A Better Way to Compare Dog Foods

For the kibble though, the one I looked at had 23% which is not bad at all.  Looks like good ingredients and I think the canned is sold at our local pet food store-and I trust what they carry.

I'm going to look into Dr. Becker's cookbook and do some further reading on home cooked meals, but for now we are staying with nutrisource.


----------



## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

shellbeme said:


> I'm using nutri source right now for kibble, which they don't care for, but whatever  the protien in this food is 24% which I am happy with. Most of the organic and grain free foods that I find on the market these days have protien that is too high for what I am comfortable feeding to my dogs. On Fromm, I think the highest was 30 and to me, that's still a bit up there.
> 
> 36 is too high for what I would like to feed-but that doesn't mean it's bad. I checked on the party animal website, I found the canned had 8% protien listed here. When you configure that to what it means vs dry kibble, it works out to 35% (it's 34.somethingsomething above 5) which, I feel is a bit steep. Tips on converting for anyone who is interested can be found here:
> 
> ...


I agree. :thumbsup:

36% protein is way too high for most Maltese especially since the breed is prone to MVD.


----------

