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7 Best Wet Dog Foods to Mix With Dry in 2024 – Reviews & Top Picks

Written by: Nicole Cosgrove

Last Updated on September 13, 2024 by Dogster Team

dry and wet cat food on white backgroundWet and dry food has 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 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 also benefit dogs who get picky or bored easily. Based on pet owners’ reviews, here are our seven picks for the best wet food to mix with dry.

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A Glance at Our Top Picks in 2024

Rating Image Product Details
Best Overall
Winner
American Journey Active Life Dog Food American Journey Active Life Dog Food
  • Complete and balanced nutrition
  • No animal by-products, wheat, or soy
  • Beef as first ingredient
  • Best Value
    Second place
    Purina Beyond Grain-Free Canned Dog Purina Beyond Grain-Free Canned Dog
  • Salmon, chicken, and cod as top ingredients
  • Responsibly sourced animal protein
  • Formulated with pet nutritionist guidance
  • Premium Choice
    Third place
    The Honest Kitchen Wet Dog Food The Honest Kitchen Wet Dog Food
  • Cage-free duck, turkey
  • Complete nutrition
  • No fillers or preservatives
  • Best for Puppies
    Purina Pro Plan Development Canned Puppy Food Purina Pro Plan Development Canned Puppy Food
  • Real chicken for high-quality protein
  • DHA for brain and vision health
  • Forza10 Nutraceutic Legend Canned Dog Food Forza10 Nutraceutic Legend Canned Dog Food
  • Limited ingredient
  • Salmon as first ingredient
  • No fillers
  • The 7 Best Wet Dog Foods to Mix With Dry

    1. American Journey Canned Dog Food – Best Overall

    American Journey Canned Dog Food

    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

    American Journey Active Life Formula Beef & Garden Vegetables Recipe Canned Dog Food is the best overall wet food to mix with dry. It is a well-rounded, balanced recipe with real beef and beef broth as the first ingredients, wholesome vegetables, grains, and plenty of nutrition.

    Each bite is hearty and meaty, so your dog is sure to love it. The Active Life Formula 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, it 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

    2. Purina Beyond Grain-Free Dog Food – Best Value

    Purina Beyond Grain-Free Dog Food new

    Main ingredients: Cod, chicken, fish broth, turkey, liver, salmon, sweet potatoes
    Protein content: 8%
    Fat content: 5%
    Calories: 401 kcal/can

    Purina Beyond Alaskan Cod, Salmon & Sweet Potato Grain-Free Canned Dog Food is the best wet food to mix with dry for the money. It’s ideal for pet owners on a budget. The high-protein formula uses ingredients like salmon, chicken, and cod to satisfy your dog’s nutritional needs, as well as natural prebiotic fiber for gut health.

    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. Purina Beyond does not contain wheat, soy, or poultry by-products. However, some dogs experienced digestive upset.

    Pros
    • Salmon, chicken, and cod are primary ingredients
    • Responsibly sourced animal protein
    • Formulated with pet nutritionist guidance
    Cons
    • May cause digestive upset

    3. The Honest Kitchen Wet Dog Food – Premium Choice

    The Honest Kitchen Wet Dog Food new

    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 for mixing with dry food. Each pate is made with cage-free turkey, cage-free duck, and root veggies like sweet potatoes and carrots. It has no gums, carrageenan, feed-grade ingredients, meat meals, fillers, artificial flavors, or preservatives.

    All meals from The Honest Kitchen are made in the USA with human-grade ingredients. The pates are kettle-cooked in small batches for the ideal texture. You can feed them on their own as a complete meal or add to dry food for some variety. However, the Honest Kitchen’s recipe is expensive if you’re on a budget.

    Pros
    • Cage-free duck, turkey
    • Complete nutrition
    • No fillers or preservatives
    Cons
    • Expensive

    4. Purina Pro Plan Canned Dog Food – Best for Puppies

    Purina Pro Plan Canned Dog Food new

    Main ingredients: Chicken, liver, meat by-products, water, salmon, rice
    Protein content: 10%
    Fat content: 7%
    Calories: 475 kcal/can

    Purina Pro Plan Development Puppy Chicken & Rice Entrée Canned Dog Food is the best choice 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.

    Purina Pro Plan has 23 essential vitamins and minerals to ensure your puppy has complete and balanced nutrition. You can serve it alone or with dry food. It is made in a Purina-owned, US-based facility with no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. Several reviewers complained that the food has 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

    5. Forza10 Nutraceutic Legend Canned Dog Food

    Forza10 Nutraceutic Legend Canned Dog Food new

    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 grain-free pick 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.

    Forza10 provides 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, either.

    Pros
    • Limited ingredient
    • Salmon as first ingredient
    • No fillers
    Cons
    • Strong fish odor
    • Some dogs don’t like it

    6. Instinct Healthy Cravings Grain-Free Wet Dog Food Topper

    Instinct Healthy Cravings Grain-Free Wet Dog Food Topper new

    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

    The 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.

    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

    7. Wellness CORE Simply Shreds Wet Dog Food Topper

    Wellness CORE Simply Shreds Wet Dog Food Topper new

    Main ingredients: Chicken, chicken broth, water, beef, carrots
    Protein content: 12%
    Fat content: 0.5%
    Calories: 47 kcal/pouch

    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. It is ideal for dogs with food sensitivities or digestive sensitivities, and it’s free of wheat, soy, artificial flavors, colors, or flavors.

    These meals come in convenient, single-use packages that you can add to your dog’s food as much as you like. However, this is not a full and balanced diet and is only meant to supplement your dog’s dry food. Wellness CORE 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

    divider-dog pawBuyers Guide: Choosing the Best Wet Dog Foods to Mix With Dry

    Mixing wet and dry food helps balance the costs and nutrition of each food formula. 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 some minor downsides, however. Wet food is more expensive than dry dog food, so mixing both adds 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, 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 can 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 your dogs’ pickiness, 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 your vet about your dog’s specific needs.

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    Our Selection Process For Wet Dog Foods to Mix With Dry

    To create this buyer’s guide, our writing team and editorial staff checked customer reviews, brand reputation, and veterinary approval ratings to present the dog foods we think should be highlighted for our readers. In some cases, we conducted hands-on testing along with seeing how much our dogs liked the dog foods. All these factors were considered when selecting these listed dog foods to help you make the best purchase for your furry friends.

    Why Trust Dogster?

    Since 2004, Dogster has been a trusted brand for dog owners online, which means we have a lot of experience with dog foods. We take pride in promoting the well-being of all dogs—from toy breeds to giant canines. Our in-house veterinarians, writers, and editors examine each product on our lists, ensuring its quality and reputation. As pet owners ourselves, we only want the best for our furry companions. At Dogster, we are transparent about the products we promote. The nutritional information, overall brand reputation, and customer reviews are all considered for these lists. We inform you how we want to be informed.

    Summary

    Mixing dry and wet food has numerous benefits for you and your dog.  The American Journey Active Life Formula is the best overall wet dog food to mix with dry due to its balanced nutrition. The Purina Beyond Grain-Free Canned Dog Food is the best wet dog food for the money due to its high-protein recipe. Though pricey, The Honest Kitchen Wet Dog Food is a chef-inspired meal for your dogs. Purina Pro Plan Development Puppy Dog Food is the ideal choice for puppies. Our grain-free selection is the Forza10 Nutraceutic Grain-Free Canned Dog Food.


    Featured Image Credit: Jiri Hera, Shutterstock

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