Adding Water to Kibble

2hounds · 04-06-2007, 04:06 PM

Hello all,

Due to Lily's mouth injury (in health and genetics emergency vet visit) we've had to wet her dog food for her. Turns out her and Gibbs both like it better this way. Other than causing pickiness (sp?), is there any harm in this?

~Heather

Scully · 04-06-2007, 04:10 PM

I wouldn't imagine there's any harm in that. When Scully had her last dental, the vet actually suggested that we add water to her kibble for a while to make it more comfortable for her to eat.

sadeyes2 · 04-06-2007, 05:08 PM

A while back, I read a report (think it was from Purdue University). They stated that dried food which uses VitC (citric acid)as a preservative should not have water added as this could possibly increase the chances of bloat. I changed the kibble I fed after reading this to one which does not use VitC as a preservative as my dogs prefer their food moistened too. Just figured that it wasn't worth taking the chance.

Maggie's Mommy · 04-06-2007, 05:22 PM

I heard that (rumor??) too about it contributing to bloat?? Don't know if there is any truth to it??

2hounds · 04-06-2007, 06:14 PM

Thank ya'll for your input. I will keep an eye on them and if I notice them eating too fast or anything I'll use some tricks to slow them down. The reason I'm thinking of keeping their kibble moist is because since I've taken them off Beneful and switched to a higher quality food they don't eat much, but since I've been adding water they actually eat.

~Heather

Scully · 04-06-2007, 06:16 PM

Quote:

A while back, I read a report (think it was from Purdue University). They stated that dried food which uses VitC (citric acid)as a preservative should not have water added as this could possibly increase the chances of bloat.[/b]

I'd never heard that....yikes! I thought that wetting the food would decrease the amount that the food would "swell" in the stomach and therefore decrease chances of bloat. I guess I misunderstood that somewhere along the way.

pinehawk · 04-06-2007, 07:09 PM

you can wet there food with out any problems,i've never heard of them getting bloat from eating wet food.when we feed puppies they get there kibble wet.now when i say wet i mean moist just enough to soften the food not swimmimg in it.I always during the wintertime wet the food with some hot water from the tap just to give them a warm meal.

Agnes_and_Lucille · 04-06-2007, 10:18 PM

DO NOT ADD WATER TO DRY KIBBLE!!!!!!!!!

Agnes Marie Basset Hound (AT

bloated in 2005. Since she had horrible dental problems, I had been wetting her food with tap water. It was the only way to get her to eat it. The vet said she wasn't sure what caused Agnes to bloat, but wetting her food certainly could have contributed to it. Adding the water causes extra gas in the system. If you want to moisten food, mix wet food with kibble instead. Please stop adding water to your baby's kibble today! Bloat is horrible and I was very lucky that Agnes survived. I don't want you to have to go through it too. And if there's even the slightest chance adding water to kibble can cause this awful condition, please don't do it.

sadeyes2 · 04-07-2007, 06:10 AM

Thankyou for that info Melynda. The kibble I use expands very little when I add water to it and doesn't really soften either. It would be just as easy to add a wet food with no water. Think I'll take your advice and do just that.

Mary if you are interested in bloat (or like me just totally obsessed by it) then go to the health&genetics forum and read the bloat post.Mikey T has put up a pretty comprehensive list of possible causes.

Mikey T · 04-08-2007, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Thankyou for that info Melynda. The kibble I use expands very little when I add water to it and doesn't really soften either. It would be just as easy to add a wet food with no water. Think I'll take your advice and do just that.

Mary if you are interested in bloat (or like me just totally obsessed by it) then go to the health&genetics forum and read the bloat post.Mikey T has put up a pretty comprehensive list of possible causes.[/b]

Adding water to dry food only contributed to bloat if the food was preserved with vitamin C which is not that common. When Toughy had oral melanoma , what i had to do was use a food processor just adding water would take hours to soften the kibble.

04-06-2007, 04:06 PM	#1 (permalink)
2hounds Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 1,152	Hello all, Due to Lily's mouth injury (in health and genetics emergency vet visit) we've had to wet her dog food for her. Turns out her and Gibbs both like it better this way. Other than causing pickiness (sp?), is there any harm in this? ~Heather __________________ Mommy to Gibbs and kitty kitty Eva Dear sweet *Lily (ATB )* you will never be forgotten.

04-06-2007, 04:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
Scully Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: West Coast of Canada Posts: 278	I wouldn't imagine there's any harm in that. When Scully had her last dental, the vet actually suggested that we add water to her kibble for a while to make it more comfortable for her to eat. __________________ Mom to Larsen, Ninja, and Scully (ATB ~ forever in my heart) www.countercruiser.com

04-06-2007, 06:14 PM	#5 (permalink)
2hounds Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 1,152	Thank ya'll for your input. I will keep an eye on them and if I notice them eating too fast or anything I'll use some tricks to slow them down. The reason I'm thinking of keeping their kibble moist is because since I've taken them off Beneful and switched to a higher quality food they don't eat much, but since I've been adding water they actually eat. ~Heather __________________ Mommy to Gibbs and kitty kitty Eva Dear sweet *Lily (ATB )* you will never be forgotten.

04-06-2007, 07:09 PM	#7 (permalink)
pinehawk Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Cassville,N.J. Posts: 936	you can wet there food with out any problems,i've never heard of them getting bloat from eating wet food.when we feed puppies they get there kibble wet.now when i say wet i mean moist just enough to soften the food not swimmimg in it.I always during the wintertime wet the food with some hot water from the tap just to give them a warm meal. __________________ </font>[list]<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">

04-06-2007, 10:18 PM	#8 (permalink)
Agnes_and_Lucille Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Pawshington, DC (DogsnotCats) Posts: 85	DO NOT ADD WATER TO DRY KIBBLE!!!!!!!!! Agnes Marie Basset Hound (AT bloated in 2005. Since she had horrible dental problems, I had been wetting her food with tap water. It was the only way to get her to eat it. The vet said she wasn't sure what caused Agnes to bloat, but wetting her food certainly could have contributed to it. Adding the water causes extra gas in the system. If you want to moisten food, mix wet food with kibble instead. Please stop adding water to your baby's kibble today! Bloat is horrible and I was very lucky that Agnes survived. I don't want you to have to go through it too. And if there's even the slightest chance adding water to kibble can cause this awful condition, please don't do it. __________________ Melynda, the Momslave to Becky & Lilly, Lucille, Lucien (AT, Agnes (AT, and Max the Really Bad Siamese C@t (AT Pawshington, DC (DogsnotCats) Visit our Dogster page!

04-06-2007, 05:08 PM	#3 (permalink)
sadeyes2 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: glasgow Posts: 589	A while back, I read a report (think it was from Purdue University). They stated that dried food which uses VitC (citric acid)as a preservative should not have water added as this could possibly increase the chances of bloat. I changed the kibble I fed after reading this to one which does not use VitC as a preservative as my dogs prefer their food moistened too. Just figured that it wasn't worth taking the chance.

04-06-2007, 05:22 PM	#4 (permalink)
Maggie's Mommy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 775	I heard that (rumor??) too about it contributing to bloat?? Don't know if there is any truth to it??

04-07-2007, 06:10 AM	#9 (permalink)
sadeyes2 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: glasgow Posts: 589	Thankyou for that info Melynda. The kibble I use expands very little when I add water to it and doesn't really soften either. It would be just as easy to add a wet food with no water. Think I'll take your advice and do just that. Mary if you are interested in bloat (or like me just totally obsessed by it) then go to the health&genetics forum and read the bloat post.Mikey T has put up a pretty comprehensive list of possible causes.

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