Wet 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.

A Glance at Our Top Picks in 2024

The 7 Best Wet Dog Foods to Mix With Dry

1. American Journey Canned Dog Food – Best Overall

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.

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

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.

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3. The Honest Kitchen Wet Dog Food – Premium Choice

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.

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

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.

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5. Forza10 Nutraceutic Legend Canned Dog Food

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.

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

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.

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7. Wellness CORE Simply Shreds Wet Dog Food Topper

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.

Buyers 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.

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.

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Featured Image Credit: Jiri Hera, Shutterstock