i don't see why adding a small amount is bad. i mix dry kibble with a little canned green tripe that i have added a little water to so that it's runny. i just really don't see a problem with what you are doing. what reason did your friend give?

Sometimes I give wet kibble to my dogs and they love it too. I think it helps give them extra moisture and is easier on their teeth- they're 10. But it's only several times a week.
I'm interested too if this is bad...can't be worse than the dead animals they chew on sometimes or the rabbit poop in the yard.

My vet does not have a problem with this - particularly if your dog, like mine, is a Hoover, who will gobble his food in one mouthful and almost choke to death (he is a 22 lb. Eskimo). Warm water is preferable to say chicken broth, particularly in breeds that are prone to stones (Eskies are - and so is Mommy). As your dog gets older softer food may well be called for - our Beagle was about 10 when he decided enough with the kibble - and Beagles are true gourmands. Of course this was before we had our Dachshunds - the gourmets of gourmands. Our Eskimo just thinks he will never be fed.

While it is quite possible someone ELSE's dog has a diet where adding water to kibble isnt a good idea, Adding water to kibble is not going to hurt your dog at all. Did your friend just blurt this out without stating why this fact was a problem or did she just leave it at that.
I advocate adding water to a dogs food especially if dogs dont always hydrate on a regular basis or if they are getting older. I think adding water to kibble helps a dog feel fuller. Maybe that was an issue for a bigger breed dog where adding excess water might produce bloat.

i posed this question at my great dane forum and was told that many times, "cheaper" kibble is so full of fillers, it will swell when it's watered down. apparently, a good test is to soak some of your kibble for a while and see what happens. i feed california natural lamb meal/rice. i soaked a few pieces of kibble for 30 minutes and they hardly swelled at all.

There is nothing wrong with adding water except that if it isn't all eaten at once it gets kind of nasty pretty fast.

I do this now and then. Maybe once a month.

Now I might get blasted on this forum... but maybe once a month... I SKIP a day of feeding. Yes, that's right. I don't feed them for a day (i have 3 large dogs).

It might sound cruel, but I sometimes skip meals myself, and I have 3 fat healthy dogs. In the wild dogs miss meals all the time. I don't do it often, but I don't feel at all guilty when I skip them either. Once day a month, no food. For our "pack", it's more of a lesson/reinforcement of "who controls your food" and "who is your pack leader?".

BTW... all 3 dogs eat right next to each other - 1 ft. apart. They know who's bowl is who's, and line up for it. I can take a steak out of my dogs's mouths without even considering they would growl or be mad. They respect us.

I have great dogs.

Cindy, growing up in Germany it was considered good practice not to feed your dog one day a week. All the dogs I knew were striving.
Katharina

We feed our lab every day, but some days she doesn't eat anything. We found this true with other dogs in the past. I think it is normal. The food is always available though.

Cindy- No such thing as a "fat healthy" dog. If it is fat, it is not healthy.

Fat dogs die on average 2 years before healthy weight dogs. They also suffer from osteoarthritis and cancer at a higher rate than healthy weight dogs.

The best thing anyone can do for their pets is to keep them at a healthy weight. If you don't know what your pet should weigh, ask your vet.

Thanks for all the replies. I think the original comment about wet kibble was just repeating unfounded pet advice: "it will give your dogs a stomach ache." So far, I haven't noticed any adverse symptoms so I'll keep doing what I'm doing.

So far, I haven't skipped them on any meals, but I cut Layla back 1/2 cup at breakfast since she's gained a little padding over her ribs. Bo is getting a little extra since he's so skinny and had worms and other assorted diarrhea when he was picked up out of the shelter. No way to tell how long he'd been sick. Now that the metronidazole is finished, it's time to get a little weight back on him :) Keep your fingers crossed that his stools stay OK.

Our dogs get one meal of just premium dry, and one meal of the dry mixed with premium canned or boiled chicken breast. We boil it because we save & refrigerate the water/juice and mix a little with the wet meal (and, of course, heat the meal some, because our one won't eat it if it's not the right temp;-). They love it! We've been doing this for quite a while, and no problems.

Thanks Meghane and you are correct. Mine are all healthy I should say. My exception would be Mocha (the one with epilepsy). He's on a high dose of phenobarbitol and soloxin at this point. Although not diagnosed with any thyroid disfunction, and not free-fed, he is a bit overweight. The meds make him ravenous. However, according to the vet and our observation, he's very healthy. He's been a successful epi-pup for 7 years, and pushing 10 years old now (I got him at 8 weeks).

I would never advocate a "fat" dog. You are absolutely right for pointing that out. I was just pointing out that now and then, I do skip a day of meals and don't feel guilty for it. Its actually probably a good thing to do.

cal_dreamer -
If you feed wet kibble, make sure you serve only as much as the dog will eat immediately.

If the damp kibble stays in the bottom of the bowl, it gets moldy and that is not good for the dog.