Is wet food a bad thing?

[hviola]

When my vet asked what Triss was eating, I told him I mix a little wet food with her kibble in the morning. Then I let her eat what she wants of the dry during the rest of the day. He said to get her off wet food? I dont understand. Ive been doing this for my dachshund Spike for many years and he enjoys it (and expects it) every morning. I give them Wellness food. I only give a tablespoon to Triss and a little more to Spike. It takes me 4 days to go through one can, and thats one can for both. Is this so bad?

[2Parises]

It is probably because Yorkies are notorious for tooth decay and tartar build-up. Lot's of people skip the "tooth brushing"...that combination along with soft food are the presumed culprit.

[katelin]

Exactly. Check your dog's teeth and see if there is any building up of tartar.

Soft food once in awhile is okay, but I wouldn't suggest it for a regular diet.

[Ellie May]

It is perfectly fine to feed wet food. You can feed it with dry or you can feed all wet food. Vets think that soft food causes tooth problems or hard food cleans them. That really isn't true. While you might get a little bit more tartar build-up with wet (that is even debatable), the dry really doesn't do much to clean the teeth because the kibble breaks on contact. If you want a food that will clean the teeth, you would have to go with a veterinary diet or possibly raw (not suggesting you do either). I have a book here called Small Animal Clinical Nutrition. It was written by some very knowledgeable people who say that the studies done on wet food vs. dry food and tooth decay were flawed in a way.

The people who homecook are technically feeding wet food all the time. Ellie had stage 3-4 periodontal disease and was eating almost all kibble. She had surgery and I switched her to soft homecooked and now I brush her teeth almost every day. Now she is at a stage 1. So whatever you do, you need to brush. Her vet has a special interest in dentistry and is very good at it, so if she doesn't have a problem with homecooked, I don't see why any vet should have a problem with wet food.

So in our case, feeding kibble the majority of the time didn't prevent tooth problems.

[Patti]

I feed mine wet only and only Pixie had bad periodontal disease. I had her teeth cleaned by the vet and now I clean and brush her teeth daily, So I know if I feed wet they need their teeth cleaned everyday.

[mmmxmommy]

I never knew this, i always assumed it was okay because my westie always ate it.
My yorkies love wet food! They get dry food in the morning, and wet at night. They really enjoy it so i assume it's okay.
-Katie

[hollywillis]

I also mix a tiny bit of wet food to my Yorkies dry food, and they love it, They hate dry food on it's own,
I have never had problems with Willis' teeth and he is 6 now. His teeth look great.
If I were you I wouldn't worry too much, you don't have to follow what the vets say

[katelin]

I think yorkies can differ as to how much tartar building on their teeth and how fast it builds. Let your yorkie be your guide, check his teeth, and if they look fine, keep doing what you are doing.

[Yorkieluv]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

It is perfectly fine to feed wet food. You can feed it with dry or you can feed all wet food. Vets think that soft food causes tooth problems or hard food cleans them. That really isn't true. While you might get a little bit more tartar build-up with wet (that is even debatable), the dry really doesn't do much to clean the teeth because the kibble breaks on contact. If you want a food that will clean the teeth, you would have to go with a veterinary diet or possibly raw (not suggesting you do either). I have a book here called Small Animal Clinical Nutrition. It was written by some very knowledgeable people who say that the studies done on wet food vs. dry food and tooth decay were flawed in a way.

The people who homecook are technically feeding wet food all the time. Ellie had stage 3-4 periodontal disease and was eating almost all kibble. She had surgery and I switched her to soft homecooked and now I brush her teeth almost every day. Now she is at a stage 1. So whatever you do, you need to brush. Her vet has a special interest in dentistry and is very good at it, so if she doesn't have a problem with homecooked, I don't see why any vet should have a problem with wet food.

So in our case, feeding kibble the majority of the time didn't prevent tooth problems.