A few questions about types of food, and mixing

Dog food and feeding Dog foods
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Hi all, newbie here. I’ve had dogs before but feeding and food have changed A LOT in the last few years and I am getting confused!
Hopefully I will be getting a puppy soon (cavapoochon) and looking around at the best quality of food I can afford and can store. We live on a boat so storage space is very limited.

  1. Tinned food used to be looked down on but I gather it’s now a really good option if you get the right one? Better than kibble in many cases?
  2. Can you mix raw and wet complete foods or is it best to stick to one brand, one type…? In the past the advice was not to chop and change, but now I see people saying you need to offer a variety of foods.
  3. Bones? Raw of course- or not bones? As a treat, and to gnaw and to clean teeth, alongside any kind of food.
  4. I guess this will be a small dog which gives me more options for food because of cost. I want a complete so it has everything it needs nutrition-wise. I can’t store kilos of anything which is why tins might work. Particularly interested in whether you can add things to that sort of food as raw feeders do, to keep it interesting especially if I use one tin/flavour over a few meals (depending on size of dog).
    Thanks for any help! :slight_smile:
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  1. There are some more acceptable wet completes. Forthglade &/or PAH Wainwrights grain free trays are just a couple that are maybe worth a look.

  2. You can change/swap periodically albeit most choose wet compete OR raw independently because they desire the specific advantages of each. I would not keep chopping changing as dogs can take a while to adapt which can result in issues including looser stools.

  3. Raw bones are fine. Avoid choking risks or dental fracture risks…maybe try raw chicken wings or lamb ribs rather than load bearing bone from heavy cattle. Supervise feeding ideally and chuck them before they collect excess bacteria (more so in warmer conditions).

  4. Agreed…Maybe take a look at cold pressed foods. Closer to raw than dry extruded kibble and can be stored in cool dry locations…on a boat this might be an insulated store cargo hold away from moisture.

HTH

2 Likes
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Hello and welcome to the forum. As Coaster says, there are some good wet foods available. In your circumstances tray or pouch packaging might be useful. Because storage is tight, look for one that is available in store e.g. Forthglade, the aforementioned Wainwright’s (Pets at Home), Natures Menu, Burns Penlan Farm. Morrisons, Tesco etc sell some other tray foods, Harrington’s being one. I haven’t checked the composition of those.

On the subject of bones, some people give them, some don’t so it is up to you. Many vets advise not to give them due to the risks. If you are going to do this, give your dog a separate area that can be washed down when he’s finished gnawing. Also keep an eye on him and remove the bone if he has any problems. Some dogs resource guard when given a bone so make sure early on that he gets used to having it removed.