Wet vs dry dog food: which is better?

February 11, 2026

This is one of those debates that generates a lot of strong opinions and not a lot of useful conclusions. Ask five dog owners and you'll get five answers. The kibble crowd says dry food cleans teeth and costs less. The wet food crowd says canned food is more natural and dogs prefer it. Both sides are partly right and partly repeating things they heard somewhere.

Here's what the actual differences are, and when each type makes more sense.

Nutritional differences (once you account for water)

The biggest difference between wet and dry food is moisture content. Kibble is about 10% water. Canned food is about 75-80% water. That means a can of dog food that's 10% protein on the label is actually about 40% protein on a dry matter basis, comparable to or higher than most kibble.

This trips up a lot of people. Looking at the guaranteed analysis on a wet food can versus a kibble bag is an apples-to-oranges comparison unless you convert to dry matter. Here's the quick math: take the nutrient percentage on the wet food label, divide by (1 minus the moisture percentage). So 10% protein with 78% moisture means 10 / (1 - 0.78) = 10 / 0.22 = 45.5% protein on a dry matter basis. That's quite high.

On a dry matter basis, wet foods tend to be higher in protein and fat and lower in carbohydrates than dry foods. This is partly because kibble needs starch to hold its shape during the extrusion process. You can't make a crunchy pellet without some carbohydrate binder. Wet food doesn't have this constraint, so manufacturers can use more meat and fewer fillers.

That said, plenty of cheap wet foods are mostly water and by-products, and plenty of premium kibbles have excellent nutrient profiles. The format doesn't guarantee quality. You still need to read the label.

The dental health myth

You've probably heard that dry kibble cleans dogs' teeth, like a crunchy natural toothbrush. This is one of the most persistent myths in dog nutrition, and it's mostly wrong.

Most dogs don't chew kibble long enough to get any scrubbing effect. They crunch it once or twice and swallow. The pieces shatter into fragments that stick to teeth and gumlines. A 2006 study in the Journal of Veterinary Dentistry found no significant difference in plaque accumulation between dogs fed wet food and dogs fed standard dry food.

There is one exception: specially designed dental kibble with a larger, fibrous structure that forces prolonged chewing (like Hill's t/d or similar veterinary dental diets). These do reduce plaque and have the Veterinary Oral Health Council seal to prove it. But regular kibble? It doesn't clean teeth in any meaningful way.

If dental health is your concern, brush your dog's teeth (yes, really, ideally daily), use VOHC-approved dental chews, and get annual dental cleanings from your vet. Don't rely on kibble to do the job.

Palatability

Dogs generally prefer wet food over dry food. It smells stronger, has a texture closer to meat, and the higher moisture content makes it easier to eat. This matters most for:

• Picky eaters who refuse kibble
• Senior dogs with reduced sense of smell (warming wet food releases more aroma)
• Dogs with dental pain or missing teeth who can't crunch kibble comfortably
• Dogs recovering from illness who need extra encouragement to eat

If your dog eats kibble happily, palatability isn't a reason to switch. But if you're fighting to get them to eat enough, wet food or a wet/dry mix can solve the problem quickly.

Cost comparison

Dry food is significantly cheaper per calorie. There's no way around this. You're paying for a lot of water in canned food, plus the packaging (cans cost more to produce and ship than bags).

For a 50-pound dog eating about 1,100 calories per day, rough monthly costs look something like:

• Mid-range kibble: $40-60/month
• Mid-range wet food (canned): $120-200/month
• Mix of both (half and half by calories): $80-130/month

That's a significant difference, especially for larger dogs. If you're feeding a 100-pound dog exclusively wet food, you could easily spend $300-400/month. For many households, the cost difference alone makes kibble the practical choice.

Convenience and storage

Dry food wins on convenience. A bag stores easily at room temperature for weeks after opening (seal it to keep it fresh). You can leave it in a bowl for the day without it spoiling. Traveling with kibble is straightforward.

Wet food needs refrigeration after opening and should be used within 3-5 days. You can't leave it out for more than a couple hours, especially in warm weather, before bacterial growth becomes a concern. It's heavier and bulkier to store and transport.

For people who free-feed (leave food out all day for the dog to graze), kibble is the only realistic option. Wet food left out for hours is a food safety issue.

Hydration

This is where wet food has a genuine advantage. Dogs eating wet food get a large portion of their daily water intake from the food itself. This can matter for dogs who don't drink enough water on their own, dogs with urinary tract issues, or dogs in hot climates.

Chronic mild dehydration is more common in dogs than most owners realize, especially in dogs eating only kibble. A 2002 study in the British Journal of Nutrition found that dogs fed wet diets had significantly higher total water intake than dogs fed dry diets, even accounting for voluntary drinking. The wet-food dogs also had more dilute urine, which is associated with better urinary tract health.

If your dog has a history of urinary crystals, bladder stones, or kidney issues, your vet may recommend wet food partly for the hydration benefit.

The mixed approach

A lot of owners land on a combination: kibble as the base with wet food mixed in or served as a topper. This gets you some of the nutritional benefits of wet food (higher protein, more moisture, better palatability) while keeping the cost and convenience manageable.

If you go this route, just make sure the total calories from both sources add up to the right amount. It's easy to add wet food "on top" without reducing the kibble and end up overfeeding.

So which is actually better?

Neither, universally. Both formats can provide complete nutrition if the specific product is well-formulated and AAFCO-compliant. The right choice depends on your dog's needs and your practical constraints.

Choose dry if cost matters, you have a large dog, you need convenience, or your dog does well on kibble. Choose wet if your dog is a picky eater, has dental issues, needs more hydration, or you can afford it. Mix both if you want a middle ground.

The quality of the specific product matters far more than whether it comes in a bag or a can. A high-quality kibble beats a low-quality canned food every time, and vice versa. Read the ingredients, check the nutrient profile, and feed the right amount. Everything else is secondary.