Both wet and dry food have their benefits and drawbacks, prompting many dog owners to mix the two to get the best of both worlds. Your dogs get the fun mix of textures and varieties that stave off food boredom, and you get the cost benefits of supplementing your dog’s wet food with cheaper dry formulas. Wet food also gives your dog additional moisture to prevent dehydration.
Mixing dry and wet food can be beneficial for dogs who get picky or bored easily as well. Here are our seven picks for the best wet food to mix with dry, based on reviews from pet owners.
A Glance at Our Top Picks in 2023
Image Product Details
Best Overall
American Journey Active Life Dog Food
Complete and balanced nutrition
No animal by-products, wheat, or soy
Beef as first ingredient
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Best Value
Purina Beyond Grain-Free Canned Dog
Salmon, chicken, and cod as top ingredients
Responsibly sourced animal protein
Formulated with pet nutritionist guidance
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Premium Choice
The Honest Kitchen Wet Dog Food
Cage-free duck, turkey
Complete nutrition
No fillers or preservatives
Click to Save 30% Use code PETKEEN30
Best for Puppies
Purina Pro Plan Development Canned Puppy Food
Real chicken for high-quality protein
DHA for brain and vision health
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Forza10 Nutraceutic Legend Canned Dog Food
Limited ingredient
Salmon as first ingredient
No fillers
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The 7 Best Wet Dog Foods to Mix with Dry
American Journey Active Life Formula Beef & Garden Vegetables Recipe Canned Dog Food is the best overall wet dog food to mix with dry. This recipe has a well-rounded, balanced diet with real beef and beef broth as the first ingredients, wholesome vegetables, grains, and plenty of nutrition.
Main ingredients: Beef, beef broth, beef liver, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes, brown rice flour, barley, oatmeal
Protein content: 9.5%
Fat content: 5.0%
Calories: 393 kcal/can
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Each bite is hearty and meaty, so your dog is sure to love it. This food contains no animal by-products, wheat, or soy ingredients, so it’s perfect for dogs with high energy and food sensitivities. As a complete and balanced meal, this food can be fed on its own or used with dry formulas. Some reviewers complained of quality control issues and the texture of the food.
Pros
Complete and balanced nutrition
No animal by-products, wheat, or soy
Beef as first ingredient
Cons
Quality control issues
Unappealing texture
Purina Beyond Alaskan Cod, Salmon & Sweet Potato Grain-Free Canned Dog Food is the best wet dog food to mix with dry for the money. Perfect for pet owners on a budget, this delicious high-protein wet food uses ingredients like salmon, chicken, and cod to satisfy your dog’s nutritional needs, as well as natural prebiotic fiber for gut health.
Complete and balanced nutrition
No animal by-products, wheat, or soy
Beef as first ingredient
- Complete and balanced nutrition
- No animal by-products, wheat, or soy
- Beef as first ingredient
Quality control issues
Unappealing texture
- Quality control issues
- Unappealing texture
Main ingredients: Cod, chicken, fish broth, turkey, liver, salmon, sweet potatoes
Protein content: 8%
Fat content: 5%
Calories: 401 kcal/can
The fish used in this recipe are responsibly sourced from fisheries that earned the MSC certification, and pet nutritionists ensure the food is completely balanced for your dog’s health. There are no wheat, soy, or poultry by-products in the dog food. Some dogs experienced digestive upset, however.
Pros
Salmon, chicken, and cod as top ingredients
Responsibly sourced animal protein
Formulated with pet nutritionist guidance
Cons
May cause digestive upset
- The Honest Kitchen Wet Dog Food – Premium Choice
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Use code PETKEEN30 to SAVE 30% on your first order over $30 on thehonestkitchen.com
Main ingredients: Turkey, turkey bone broth, turkey liver, duck, sweet potatoes, carrots, cranberries
Protein content: 8%
Fat content: 5%
Calories: 343 kcal/box
The Honest Kitchen Butcher Block Pate Turkey, Duck & Root Veggies Wet Dog Food is a chef-inspired meal for your dogs that’s perfect to mix with dry food. Each pate is made with cage-free turkey, cage-free duck, and root veggies like sweet potatoes and carrots. This food has no gums, carrageenan, feed-grade ingredients, meat meals, fillers, artificial flavors, or preservatives.
Salmon, chicken, and cod as top ingredients
Responsibly sourced animal protein
Formulated with pet nutritionist guidance
- Salmon, chicken, and cod as top ingredients
- Responsibly sourced animal protein
- Formulated with pet nutritionist guidance
May cause digestive upset
- May cause digestive upset
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- Use code PETKEEN30 to SAVE 30% on your first order over $30 on thehonestkitchen.com
All meals from The Honest Kitchen are made in the USA with human-grade ingredients. The pates are kettle-cooked in small batches for ideal texture. You can feed these on their own as a complete meal or add to dry food for some variety. This food is expensive if you’re on a budget, however.
Pros
Cage-free duck, turkey
Complete nutrition
No fillers or preservatives
Cons
Expensive
Purina Pro Plan Development Puppy Chicken & Rice Entrée Canned Dog Food is the best choice for a wet food for puppies. This tender pate is made with real chicken as the first ingredient to offer high-quality protein that will help your pup develop lean muscle. It also has DHA to support brain and vision health.
Cage-free duck, turkey
Complete nutrition
No fillers or preservatives
- Cage-free duck, turkey
- Complete nutrition
- No fillers or preservatives
Expensive
- Expensive
Main ingredients: Chicken, liver, meat by-products, water, salmon, rice
Protein content: 10%
Fat content: 7%
Calories: 475 kcal/can
This wet food has 23 essential vitamins and minerals to ensure your puppy has complete and balanced nutrition. You can feed this food on its own or with dry food. This food is made in a Purina-owned, US-based facility with no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Several reviewers complained that the food is more of a paste texture rather than chunks of meat and vegetables.
Pros
Real chicken for high-quality protein
DHA for brain and vision health
Cons
Unpleasant texture
- Forza10 Nutraceutic Legend Canned Dog Food – Vet’s Choice
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Main ingredients: Salmon, water, cod liver, minerals, guar gum
Protein content: 7.8%
Fat content: 10%
Calories: 358 kcal/can
Forza10 Nutraceutic Legend Skin Icelandic Fish Recipe Grain-Free Canned Dog Food is our vet’s choice for the best wet dog food to mix with dry. This limited-ingredient recipe has a fine-ground puree of Icelandic salmon and cod liver with no grains or fillers to support your dog’s nutritional needs.
Real chicken for high-quality protein
DHA for brain and vision health
- Real chicken for high-quality protein
- DHA for brain and vision health
Unpleasant texture
- Unpleasant texture
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Main ingredients: Salmon, water, cod liver, minerals, guar gum
Protein content: 7.8%
Fat content: 10%
Calories: 358 kcal/can
This food offers complete and balanced nutrition, so you can feed it on its own or with dry food. It’s also fortified with extracts of rose hips, sage, and cranberry to soothe skin irritation. Some reviewers noted a strong fish odor, but that’s expected of a fish formula. Some dogs wouldn’t eat it as well.
Pros
Limited ingredient
Salmon as first ingredient
No fillers
Cons
Strong fish odor
Some dogs don’t like it
- Instinct Healthy Cravings Grain-Free Wet Dog Food Topper
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Main ingredients: Chicken, beef, or lamb broth, chicken, beef, or lamb, chicken, liver, eggs
Protein content: 8%, 9%, 8.5%
Fat content: 2%, 2%, 5%
Calories: 73 kcal/pouch, 73 kcal/pouch, 85 kcal/pouch
Instinct Healthy Cravings Grain-Free Cuts & Gravy Recipe Variety Pack Wet Dog Food Topper is a great wet food to mix with dry food for your dog. This variety pack gives you the option of chicken, beef, or lamb to avoid food boredom and find the formula your dog likes best.
Limited ingredient
Salmon as first ingredient
No fillers
- Limited ingredient
- Salmon as first ingredient
- No fillers
Strong fish odor
Some dogs don’t like it
- Strong fish odor
- Some dogs don’t like it
Main ingredients: Chicken, beef, or lamb broth, chicken, beef, or lamb, chicken, liver, eggs
Protein content: 8%, 9%, 8.5%
Fat content: 2%, 2%, 5%
Calories: 73 kcal/pouch, 73 kcal/pouch, 85 kcal/pouch
Each meal is made in the USA with cuts of real meat in savory gravy without grains, wheat, soy, potato, carrageenan, artificial colors, or preservatives. It can be used as a topper or a mixer for your dry kibble to add some extra moisture, texture, and flavor. Some reviewers said their dogs wouldn’t eat any variety, while others only liked some.
Pros
Variety pack
Chicken, beef, or lamb
Full nutrition
Cons
Some dogs prefer certain flavors
Wellness CORE Simply Shreds Chicken, Beef & Carrots Wet Dog Food Topper is a natural, grain-free wet food mixer or topper with minimal ingredients to supplement your dog’s dry meal. This is ideal for dogs with food sensitivities or digestive sensitivities, and it’s free of wheat, soy, artificial flavors, colors, or flavors.
Variety pack
Chicken, beef, or lamb
Full nutrition
- Variety pack
- Chicken, beef, or lamb
- Full nutrition
Some dogs prefer certain flavors
- Some dogs prefer certain flavors
Main ingredients: Chicken, chicken broth, water, beef, carrots
Protein content: 12%
Fat content: 0.5%
Calories: 47 kcal/pouch
These meals come in convenient, single-use packages to add to your dog’s food as much as you like. Note that this is not a full and balanced diet, however, and is only meant to supplement your dog’s dry food. This food is expensive, however, especially if you have larger dogs and want to supplement with wet food multiple times a day.
Pros
Limited ingredients
No wheat, soy, artificial flavors, colors, or flavors
Cons
Expensive
Not a full and balanced diet
Buyers Guide: Choosing the Best Wet Dog Foods to Mix with Dry
Mixing wet and dry food gives you the advantages of both for your dog and helps to balance the costs and nutrition of each food formula.
Limited ingredients
No wheat, soy, artificial flavors, colors, or flavors
- Limited ingredients
- No wheat, soy, artificial flavors, colors, or flavors
Expensive
Not a full and balanced diet
- Expensive
- Not a full and balanced diet
Feeding wet food with dry food is more cost-effective than feeding only wet food, especially with larger breeds, and it gives your dog the added enticement of pungent meat and a different texture. Wet food gives your dog some additional hydration as well.
There are downsides, however. Wet food is more expensive than dry dog food, so mixing both adds some money to your pet food costs. Also, if you open wet food, the leftovers must be refrigerated. It can have a more pungent odor than dry food as well, which will be in your refrigerator with your human food.
If you mix wet and dry food and your dog doesn’t finish it, the wet food will make the dry food soggy, and it may get crusty and dried out. This creates more work for you at feeding time.
Choosing the right combination of wet and dry food depends on the pickiness of your dogs, your budget, the accessibility of different food types, your dog’s preferences and nutrition needs, medical issues, and the amount of effort you want to put into feeding times. Be sure to consult with your vet about your dog’s specific needs as well.
Conclusion
Mixing dry and wet food together has numerous benefits for you and your dog. American Journey Active Life Formula Beef & Garden Vegetables Recipe Canned Dog Food is the best overall wet dog food to mix with dry due to its balanced nutrition. Purina Beyond Alaskan Cod, Salmon & Sweet Potato Grain-Free Canned Dog Food is the best wet dog food for the money with its high-protein recipe. Though pricey, The Honest Kitchen Butcher Block Pate Turkey, Duck & Root Veggies Wet Dog Food is a chef-inspired meal for your dogs. Purina Pro Plan Development Puppy Chicken & Rice Entrée Canned Dog Food is the ideal choice for puppies. Our vet’s choice is Forza10 Nutraceutic Legend Skin Icelandic Fish Recipe Grain-Free Canned Dog Food.
Featured Image Credit: Jiri Hera, Shutterstock
