Comments on: Dry Matter Basis… The Only Reliable Way to Compare Wet and Dry Dog Foods

By: Mike Sagman

Mike Sagman — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:14:57 +0000

Hi Bev… You’re right. That’s one of kibble’s main advantages. In general, dry dog foods are certainly cheaper than wet foods. But we use dry matter basis because it’s the only way to properly compare meat protein content… not prices.

By: bev

bev — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 17:50:05 +0000

Granted protein on a percent dry matter basis is higher in the canned food, but you are paying for and filling your dog’s stomach with something that is 75% water. While I have not compared prices for dog food on a dry matter basis, I pretty strongly suspect you would spend less money and your dog would not have to eat so much to get his nutrition with kibble. If you feel your dog needs more protein, perhaps throw a little cottage cheese on top of his kibble, or, easier, buy a dry kibble formulated with more protein. How much protein does a dog require?

By: Diane

Diane — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:44:22 +0000

This is very helpful, but causing me some grief. We are supposed to be keeping our dog on a reduced protein diet due to liver and kidney disease, and it appears we have been giving her much more protein than we realized. The labels are also misleading in that they list “guaranteed minimum % protein”, when the actual analysis is sometimes much higher. We are trying to feed her a quality dog food instead of Hills g/d that is almost as low in protein.

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:05:55 +0000

I think the information you have provided here is great – I spend a lot of time reading labels and trying to discern what is best for my dogs, but there were things I just didn’t know to look for, nor could I get much guidance from my vet (although I do lover her). I would love to see you do a similar analysis and provide some guidance on commercial cat diets. The more I look at those labels, the more I think commercial cat foods are even worse for cats than those prepared for dogs (or at least, some of them)…..cats are carnivores and if you ever take a look at those ‘special weight loss diets’ for cats….well, I lost sleep over it….I don’t want to give my young cats diabetes…..anyway, great job….food for thought….