Best Moist Dog Food: Top Brands Reviewed for 2023

What Are the Benefits of Moist vs. Dry Food?

Dog food comes in a variety of shapes and forms, though wet food and dry food are the two main options. Many dog owners prefer dry food for its convenience, but if they were to take the time to learn about the benefits of wet/moist dog food, they might make a different choice.

Read on below for our complete and in-depth discussion about the topic and our recommendations for the best moist dog food brands in the market today.

Our goal is to provide you with the information you need to make the right decision for your dog, so here are some of the benefits of wet over dry food:

• Canned dog food has a much higher moisture content than dry food which can help to keep your dog hydrated – it may also promote healthy digestion.
• Canned dog foods typically don’t require any synthetic preservatives because they are packaged in air-tight cans that are sealed and sterilized.
• When unopened, cans of wet dog food can remain fresh for longer than most dry foods—the fats and oils in the food don’t spoil or become rancid as easily.
• With most wet dog foods, meat ingredients are closer to their original state, which often makes wet dog foods more palatable and more appetizing for some dogs, especially dogs that have trouble chewing hard food.
• Because of the high moisture content, wet food usually offers the same quality of nutrition as dry food in a larger volume—this can make your dog feel full on a smaller portion, a benefit for dogs on a diet.
• Senior dogs and dogs with dental problems usually do better on a wet food diet because the wet dog food is softer and easier to chew and digest.
• A canned dog food has a stronger odor profile than dry dog foods, which can be helpful in enticing picky eaters, dogs with low appetite, or pooches who cannot smell well.
• Canned food has the same protein content as dry foods but lower carbohydrate content and less fiber—this can be good for dogs with food allergies or sensitivities.

Although canned food provides many benefits over dry food, there are some drawbacks to consider. Wet food remains fresh in their cans for months on end, but once they are opened, they must be refrigerated and will only be fresh for 3 to 5 days.

Canned foods also tend to be more expensive than dry foods—this is why some pet parents feed their dogs a mixture of wet and dry food.

OUR TOP 3 PICKS FOR BEST MOIST DOG FOOD

Top 10 Best Moist Dog Food Brands

Now that you have a better understanding of what wet dog food is and the benefits it provides, you might be thinking about making the switch for your dog.

If you do, be sure to transition him slowly onto the new diet because any sudden changes to his diet could lead to digestive upset.

When you start shopping around for a canned dog food product, be careful to evaluate the quality of the product—don’t just shop by price or brand.

To help you get started, here are our top four recommendations for canned dog food brands:

Recommended Moist Dog Foods

1. Taste of the Wild High Prairie
2. Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Senior Chicken Dinner
3. Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Tender Chicken, Sweet Potato & Pea
4. Natural Balance LID Sweet Potato & Venison Formula
5. CANIDAE All Life Stages Less Active Chicken, Lamb & Fish Formula
6. Whole Earth Farms Red Meat Recipe
7. Purina Beyond Alaskan Cod, Salmon & Sweet Potato
8. Merrick Grammy's Pot Pie
9. Wellness CORE Grain-Free Turkey, Chicken Liver & Turkey Liver Formula
10. Weruva Dogs in the Kitchen Funk in the Trunk

1. Taste of the Wild High Prairie Formula

First 5 Ingredients: Beef, Lamb Broth, Vegetable Broth, Lamb Liver, Dried Egg Product

The Taste of the Wild brand is aptly named because its products do, indeed, offer dogs a taste of the wild. Every dog food recipe is formulated with real roasted meats and supplemented with legumes, fruits, and vegetables in flavorful, grain-free formulas.

This brand takes seriously its job of providing pets with premium pet food options that nourish their bodies through the use of high-quality ingredients with no artificial additives.

Every recipe is designed to mimic your dog’s ancestral diet, relying only on the freshest, most wholesome ingredients to deliver the maximum nutritional benefit.

Taste of the Wild may not offer as large a selection of products as some pet food brands, but you can rest assured that every product is an example of the highest quality.

When it comes to the company’s wet dog food products, Taste of the Wild offers five different options, each made with premium-quality proteins and digestible carbohydrates. This formula features fresh bison and roasted lamb with potatoes and peas for carbohydrate support.

This wet food formula made with both fresh and smoked salmon for maximum flavor and palatability. It is loaded with lamb and sweet potatoes, while the Southwest Canyon Canine Formula features wild boar for unbeatable natural flavor.

The Wetlands Canine Formula is a wet food recipe made with smoked turkey, roasted quail, and fresh duck in a flavorful formulation that will appeal to even the most finicky dogs.

All of these canned food recipes are loaded with antioxidants and supplemented with probiotics for healthy digestion. They are all free from gluten and grains as well.

2. Blue Buffalo Homestyle Recipe Senior Chicken Dinner

First 5 Ingredients: Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Carrots, Peas

The Blue Buffalo brand is known for its whole nutritional philosophy that revolves around the belief that pets should be fed only high-quality natural ingredients and these recipes should always put real meat first.

There are never any corn, wheat, soy, or poultry by-product meals in any of the brand’s formulations. The ingredients are all carefully selected by a team of animal nutritionists, veterinarians, and food scientists. 

Blue Buffalo has two state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities where the brand makes its own dry and wet foods. This is also where the company formulates each recipe, tests it for safety and effectiveness, and post processes the products to ensure all quality standards are met.

Blue Buffalo Homestyle Senior Recipe (a formulation specifically for senior dogs) is under the Life Protection Formula line, one of the five core product lines managed by the company. The other product lines are made up of Wilderness, Basics, Freedom, and Natural Veterinary Diet. 

The Life Protection line is distinct for its use of high-quality meats and the brand’s LifeSource Bits, which are a precise blend of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to support oxidative balance, immune system health, and all life stage requirements. 

This line is one of the brand’s most extensive with about 86 recipes (dry and wet dog food formulas). Some recipes are specifically designed to cater to a particular life stage or breed size. 

Aside from the dog foods, the product line also features treats, such as Health Bars, Dental Bones, and more.

3. Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Tender Chicken, Sweet Potato & Pea

First 5 Ingredients: Chicken, Chicken Broth, Pork Broth, Sweet Potatoes, Chicken Liver

Nutro is a pet food company whose recipes are called Feed Clean — simple, purposeful, and trustworthy made with recognizable, real, and non-GMO ingredients.

The brand makes high-quality protein the foundation of every recipe and makes sure that every ingredient serves a purpose. There are never any fillers or artificial preservatives, colors, and flavors.

You also won’t find any chicken by-product meal, wheat, soy, or corn in any of Nutro’s recipes.

Nutro exclusively sources non-GMO ingredients as close to the ingredients’ native farm as possible and gets supplies from trusted farmers only. To ensure that the food arrives safely, Nutro only prepares the food in trusted facilities and rigorously tests each one for safety and quality.

The company currently produces treats and dry and canned foods for cats and dogs. It has three complete dog food sublines—Natural Choice, Nutro Ultra and Limited Ingredient Diet. Two of those, Natural Choice and Ultra, feature dog food recipes that are crafted for a specific breed size or life stage.  

Nutro Natural Choice is the most popular sub line of Nutro. It used to be filled exclusively with dry kibble and grain-inclusive diets but has recently expanded to include wet food and grain-free formulas too. 

Nutro Ultra is the more premium sub brand containing more meats and better ingredients. And lastly, Nutro Limited Ingredient Diet is a sub line that is dedicated to single animal protein recipes. There is no chicken or grain in any of the Limited Ingredient Diet’s nine formulas.

4. Natural Balance L.I.D. Sweet Potato & Venison Formula

First 5 Ingredients: Sweet Potatoes, Venison Broth, Venison, Potatoes, Potato Protein

Natural Balance is a premium pet food company that was founded in 1989 with the goal of developing natural dog food that is based on scientific principles and truth, instead of just marketing hype.

The brand manufactures dry and wet dog foods for all breed sizes and life stages, from toy breeds to large breeds and from puppies to seniors.

There are currently three sub brands under Natural Balance, which are Limited Ingredient Diet, Ultra, and Targeted Nutrition.

The Limited Ingredient Diet, like its name implies, features a limited ingredient content. It focuses on giving dogs a single animal protein source—a big help for a pup with a sensitive stomach or food allergies, or for pet parents who want to minimize the number of ingredients their dogs are exposed to.

Ultra features more meat content from different animal sources, while Targeted Nutrition contains healthy food recipes that target certain issues in dogs.

For example, there are recipes for chunky fellows, sensitive pooches, and canines who need all the help they can get for joint and hip pain.

All dry and wet dog food formulas contain balanced levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids to help maintain a healthy skin and luxurious coat in your pups. There are never any artificial colors, colors, or preservatives.

5. Canidae All Life Stages Less Active Formula

First 5 Ingredients: Chicken, Chicken Broth, Brown Rice, Chicken Liver, Lamb

Canidae is a pet food company that has its own nutrition plant where it researches and develops its pet food recipes, allowing the brand to have complete control over the formulas, quality, and nutrition of the food. 

Canidae believes in “goodness-first” ingredients that are wholesome, like hearty grains, farm-grown veggies, and premium proteins.

All of its dry and wet dog food recipes are nutritionally dense and contain more calories and protein per cup than many other leading brands.

The brand currently manufactures six sub-brands of dog foods under it. These are Canidae Sustain, CA, All Life Stages, PURE, Under The Sun, and Goodness. 

Canidae Sustain offers an array of environmentally conscious dog foods that feature premium recipes made with responsibly-sourced proteins and the highest PCR% packaging available in pet foods. 

Canidae CA features dog foods that are filled with varying levels of optimum proteins to meet different activity levels.

All Life Stages are vet-formulated dog foods for all ages, breeds, and sizes. They’re one-size-fits-all recipes designed for multiple dog households to make feeding a breeze.

The PURE range contains limited ingredient formulas crafted with 10 or fewer ingredients. There are grain-free dog foods, grain-inclusive recipes, and raw-coated ones for sensitive pets. These formulas are available in dry kibble and wet dog food forms.

Canidae Goodness offers balanced nutrition through real meat and wholesome grains, and powered by probiotics, glucosamine, omega fatty acids, taurine, chondroitin, and antioxidants.

Lastly, Under The Sun are holistic dog foods that use single animal proteins paired with bountiful fruits and vegetables like butternut squash, blueberries, and more.

Canidae’s thoughtfully-curated dry and wet dog food recipes are all perfectly balanced and come with probiotics, antioxidants, and omega fatty acids in every bite. There is no corn, wheat, soy, or animal by-product in any recipe.

6. Whole Earth Farms Red Meat Recipe

First 5 Ingredients: Beef, Beef Broth, Beef Liver, Lamb, Pork Liver

Whole Earth Farms is a pet food brand that is passionate about doing the best for pets using nutritious and natural foods crafted from its trusted network of farmers. 

The brand offers perfectly balanced nutrition for cats and dogs with dry and wet food recipes designed by a team of veterinarians and pet nutrition experts to bring you the best dog food—the kind that’s backed by science and features great-tasting ingredients backed by nature.

The brand’s dry kibble and canned dog foods are cooked in the USA. There are never any corn, wheat, soy, or by-product meals in the formulas. Also left out are artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives. 

There are two kinds of dog food that Whole Earth Farms makes—Grain-Free and Healthy Grains. 

Dogs need carbohydrates to turn them into energy and also to get fiber, which is essential for a healthy digestion. Healthy Grains ensure that your pup gets all the balanced meals he needs with recipes crafted from a mix of white rice, brown rice, and sorghum. 

Instead of grains, the Grain-Free recipes use field-grown russet and sweet potatoes as carbohydrates sources for energy to meet the nutritional requirements of pups with a sensitivity to grains.

Each dog food formula features high-quality meat as the first ingredient to support healthy muscles. It also includes antioxidants, glucosamine, chondroitin, omega fatty acids, and the brand’s Wholesome Harvest Blend that provides natural fiber for digestion.

7. Purina Beyond Alaskan Cod, Salmon & Sweet Potato

First 5 Ingredients: Cod, Chicken, Fish Broth, Turkey, Liver

Purina is one of the largest pet food manufacturers in the US. It has a lot of dog food product ranges under it, like Alpo, Beneful, Dog Chow, Pro Plan, Beyond, and more. 

Beyond is Purina’s premium line of natural dog food. This line features purposeful recipes that include mixers and dry and wet dog foods with added vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. The line also has sub-ranges under it which are Beyond, Beyond Simply, Beyond Mixers+, Beyond Organic, Beyond Wild, and Beyond Superfood Blend.

Beyond is the basic natural dry and wet dog food line offered by Purina for pet parents who wish for diets crafted with premium animal proteins and no artificial additives, soy, wheat, corn, or poultry by-products in the food. 

Beyond Simply dog foods are like the basic Beyond but with limited ingredients. Mixers+ are convenient single-serving wet food recipes that bring a boost of nutrition and flavor to the meals of adult dogs. These also offer targeted support for different needs, like your dog’s immune system or digestion.

Organic is the sub-range that uses only non-GMO Project Verified and USDA organic ingredients (raised without hormones or antibiotics), while Superfood Blend contains a mix of ingredients regarded as superfoods to bring your pup the right amount of nutrients.

Lastly, Wild is the wet dog food line that contains recipes inspired by the ancestral diet of dogs. No veggies, fruits, or anything else. Just pure clean meat and no unnecessary additives. 

All recipes contain real and recognizable ingredients you know and trust. Meats are raised without steroids or hormones and there is natural prebiotic fiber as well as complete nutrition in each cup of dog food to help your pet live a long and healthy life.

8. Merrick Grammy's Pot Pie

First 5 Ingredients: Deboned Chicken, Chicken Broth, Potatoes, Carrots, Apples

Merrick is an old pet food company that was founded over 30 years ago in Hereford, Texas. It has stayed true to its roots and still hand crafts its recipe in the brand’s original kitchen, a Safe Quality Food (SQF) Level 3 facility.

Merrick is committed to delivering superior nutrition to pets by using higher quality ingredients and real whole foods. Every dog food recipe starts with USDA-certified meats and fresh-caught fish and only whole fruits and vegetables, like apples and baby carrots, will do. 

It uses no fillers, sweeteners, additives, colors, or preservatives. Nothing artificial in any of the brand’s foods. Just wholesome, natural goodness.

Merrick buys its foods directly from farmers and ranchers that it trusts and knows. This way, each ingredient is traceable to its source. Recipes are also tested multiple times to ensure that these meet safety standards. 

Currently, Merrick has many sub-ranges of dog food offerings. These include snacks, dental treats, and toppers. The product line for meals are divided into these: Backcountry, Full Source, Grain-Free, Healthy Grains, Lil’ Plates, Limited Ingredient Diet, and Slow Cooked BBQ.

Healthy Grains contain recipes that use wholesome grains to provide the much-needed carbohydrate and fiber requirements of dogs. Grain-Free provides dogs with much the same nutrition but does it without grains. Instead the recipes use sweet potatoes for carbohydrates.

Backcountry contains an array of protein-rich recipes using exotic animal ingredients that mimics an ancestral dog’s nutritional diet. The balanced meal lineup combines freeze-dried raw food with freeze-dried raw coated kibble that dogs love.

Full Source is filled with nose-to-tail dry and wet dog food recipes that use more parts of the animal, like organs and cartilage, for a more sustainable and nutrient-rich meal. The dog food recipes are made up of 85-95% protein then finished off with a freeze-dried coating. 

Lil’ Plates are recipes crafted specifically to meet the needs of small breed dogs. It consists of dry and wet dog food formulations for all life stages, from puppies to senior dogs. 

If your pup has a sensitive stomach or a food allergy, the Limited Ingredient Diet range provides simplified meals made up of ten ingredients or less. The dry and wet dog food recipes, despite the limited number of ingredients, are able to provide a complete and balanced diet for your pooch.

Dogs love BBQ too, just like humans. And for this reason, Merrick has also come up with a wet dog food line named Slow Cooked BBQ, which has four BBQ recipes (lamb, pork, beef, and chicken flavors) to choose from.

As an established company, Merrick is known for having some of the best canned dog food lineup. The list of wet dog foods is quite extensive, with unique recipes like Grammy’s Pot Pie, Pappy’s Pot Roast Dinner, Brauts-N-Tots, and more taking center stage.

9. Wellness CORE Turkey, Chicken Liver & Turkey Liver Formula

First 5 Ingredients: Chicken, Turkey, Chicken Liver, Chicken Broth, Chicken Meal

The Wellness brand is one of five brands managed by the WellPet company. Wellness is a brand designed for pets and their parents who believe in the power of quality nutrition to transform the life of pets.

Each recipe is designed with input from animal nutritionists, veterinarians, and pet lovers, made with an ideal balance of the finest ingredients.

Wellness guarantees the quality of their ingredients and their products, using only lean meats, whole grains, and fresh fruits and veggies – no corn, wheat or wheat gluten, soy, or artificial additives.

Within the Wellness brand there are four distinct product lines – Complete Health, CORE, Simple, and Trufood.

The Wellness CORE line of products features protein-rich, grain-free recipes for both dry food and wet dog food as well as meal toppers and treats.

For wet food, the CORE line includes eight recipes for canned dog food in the Pate and Hearty Cuts lineups as well as an assortment of Chunky Centers wet food trays. There are also three canned food recipes made with 95% meat ingredients, featuring beef, turkey, and chicken.

Across the entire CORE line of wet foods, there are recipes for puppies as well as adult dogs and even a weight management recipe.

If you’re interested in meal toppers, there are four options in the Simply Shreds line, which features chicken, beef, salmon, and tuna.

10. Weruva Dogs in the Kitchen Funk in the Trunk

First 5 Ingredients: Chicken Broth, Chicken, Pumpkin, Locust Bean Gum, Sunflower Seed Oil

Though it is mostly known for its cat food products, Weruva does offer some dry food and wet food options for dogs as well. This brand produces what they call “people food for pets” which they manufacture in human food facilities using high-quality ingredients.

The brand’s base proteins include the finest cuts of chicken, beef, and fish such as white breast chicken and whole tuna loins. It also uses fresh fruits and vegetables for nutritional balance and healthy supplements as needed.

According to the brand website, Weruva uses ingredients that go into food products for people and it makes its products in human food facilities but don’t describe the products as “human grade”. Even so, the products are popular among pet parents who prefer wet foods for their dogs.

Among the brand’s wet food options is the Weruva Dogs in the Kitchen line of cans and pouches. This wet food line includes six different recipes for different meats cooked in flavorful au jus.

Every wet dog food recipe is made with premium cuts of meat and is completely free from grains, GMO ingredients, MSG and carrageenan. These wet food products offer a complete meal and balanced diet for dogs but they can also be used as meal toppers or mixers, depending on your dog’s preference.

Each recipe is moisture-rich and flavored with chicken broth and supplemented with nutritious organ meats for a boost of meat flavor. No matter which Weruva Dogs in the Kitchen recipe you choose, your dog is sure to be pleased by it.

Tips for Choosing a Moist Dog Food

No matter whether you choose to feed your dog moist food or dry food, you still need to take the time to evaluate the quality of the product to see if it is a good choice for your dog.

To start, check the product label for an AAFCO statement of nutritional adequacy – this will tell you whether the product is complete and balanced in accordance with your dog’s minimum nutritional requirements.

Next, check the guaranteed analysis to determine the crude protein, crude fat, and crude fiber content of the product. The thing you need to be mindful of here is that the guaranteed analysis for wet foods are measured “as fed” – you’ll need to convert them to dry matter basis if you want to make a comparison between wet food and dry food.

To calculate the dry matter basis of a wet food product you need to do two things – determine the “as fed” carbohydrate content then convert the values to a dry matter basis.

First of all, you need to know that the protein, fat, carbohydrate, and moisture content of the product will all add up to 100%. The guaranteed analysis will tell you the protein, fat, ash, and moisture content so add up those four numbers and subtract the total from 100 – this will give you the estimated carbohydrate content of the food.

To find the dry matter basis for individual nutrient values, take the nutrient value and divide it by the total dry matter (100% minus the moisture %). Here is an example of how this works using a sample guaranteed analysis:

As Fed:

• Crude Protein = 9%
• Crude Fat = 6%
• Crude Fiber = 1.5%
• Moisture = 76%
• Ash = 2.5%
• Carb Estimate = 6.5%

Dry Matter Basis:

• Crude Protein = 37.5%
• Crude Fat = 25%
• Crude Fiber = 1.5%
• Carb Estimate = 27.1%

 

Once you’ve calculated the dry matter basis for the nutrient values you can compare them to your dog’s minimum nutritional needs. Puppies require a diet that contains at least 22% protein and 8% fat – adults need a minimum of 18% protein and 5% fat.

Keep in mind that these are minimum requirements – more protein is always better for a dog because it helps to support growth and development in puppies and lean muscle mass maintenance in adults.

Fat is the most highly concentrated form of energy available to dogs and it plays a role in nutrient uptake, immune health, and skin and coat health. Because fat contains 9 calories per gram versus 4 calories per gram for protein and carbohydrate, however, you need to be mindful of the fat content of your dog’s food so he doesn’t get too many calories and end up gaining an unhealthy amount of weight.

Other Things To Consider When Selecting A Wet Food Recipe

After reviewing the AAFCO statement of nutritional adequacy and the guaranteed analysis for the moist dog food you are evaluating, your final step is to review the ingredients list. Remember, the ingredients list for any dog food will be arranged in descending order by volume – the more of an ingredient there is, the higher it will be on the list.

This being the case, you want to see at least one high-quality source of animal protein at the top of the list and it should be supplemented by digestible carbohydrates and healthy animal fats.

Avoid any wet food product with carbohydrates (especially grains like corn and wheat) as the first ingredient. The wet food diet should also start with animal protein and not plant protein.

Though plant proteins do contain some of the amino acids your dog needs, animal proteins are complete proteins, which means that they contain all ten essential amino acids.

In addition to checking the protein, fat, and carbohydrate content of the canned food recipe, you should also take a look at the other ingredients listed. It is always a good thing to see fresh fruits and vegetables on the list because they act as natural sources of key nutrients.

Natural sources are more biologically valuable for your dog than synthetic supplements—this simply means that his body can better absorb and utilize these nutrients. It is also a good thing to see dried fermentation products on the list because they act as probiotics to support your dog’s healthy and regular digestion.

Chelated minerals are another excellent addition—they are minerals that have been chemically bound to protein molecules in a process that makes them easier for your dog’s body to absorb.

In terms of ingredients you want to avoid, don’t choose canned dog food that contains any artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives and think twice before you buy dog food that contains corn, wheat, and soy ingredients.

Final Thoughts on Choosing Wet Dog Foods

Wet dog food is highly palatable and easy for many dogs to chew, but it can sometimes be more expensive and more difficult to store once opened than dry food.

If you think that wet food might be the right choice for your dog, take your time in evaluating different brands and individual recipes within those brands.

If you need help getting started with your search, consider one of our top-rated canned dog food brands reviewed above.