So one of the more expensive things about ME dogs, aside from initial vet bills, is the food. At least in our case. We have been soaking 1/2 cup of Dry Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy Food with 1/2 cup of Canned Eukanuba Puppy Chicken and Gravy Food. As you can imagine, canned food for a Lab can get expensive. Plus, the cans seem to run out fast (we can't buy 100 at a time) and we are running to the pet store on a more than regular basis to buy the cans. Then while I'm there we spend more money because we want to buy him toys. So, I go in the store for 12 cans of food and get out with double the cost.
Regardless, now that Sidney is about 11 months old and is 100% house-trained and has better bladder control, we are going to try 1 cup of the Dry Dog Food soaked and eliminate the Canned (we are still adding the Fish Oil, the Instant Oatmeal and the Eukanuba Puppy Weaning Formula). The reason we did the 50/50 mixture at first was because we were having to add so much water to the dry food to get it soft enough to be blended into a milkshake that he was wetting himself in his cage every day after the new ME diet. I think we just were giving our puppy more water than his little bladder could handle.
Now that he's older, I hope that not only will the additional water not affect his bladder, but also help him get more hydration. We do feed him about 4 or 5 Knox Blox with each meal, but I think more is better than less.
My main concern is that his stomach and esophagus will allow this change, but it's worth a shot. He'll get the same nutrition. I know a lot of ME dogs can't do soaked dry kibble, but Sidney has done well with it mixed with canned. Wish us luck!
