hi all,
i just answered on another post regarding wet and dry food, i thought appropriate to post here my experience hoping it will help:
quoting: "HI all,
sorry to intrude.
I'm new and still not fully aware of the etiquette of forum...however the debate wet or dry has taken up a lot of my time in the past and i wanted to share my opinion/experience:

Wet food is 70% - or more - water...to feed a large dog (30+ kilograms) on that you'll need around or more than 1 kg of food per day to supply your dog's needs. this is 1) very expensive, 2) put under stress the tummy and 3) -by consequence- produces excessive amount of smelly poo (with the problem that can cause to the dog to pass it several times a day and whoever picks it up).

In my opinion the best way to feed our companions is to vary their diet as much as possible and i use dry food and cook for them (once a week and then freeze the lot). their bowls is usually 1/2 of dry food, and 1/2 of mix of meat, vegetables and rice (I do not use onion obviously) sometimes i add stale bread and some gravy. (fresh and clean water should always be available either with dry or wet food).

I suppose that for small dogs wet food can be fine (but still, in proportion, the problem will be the same); for puppies, especially of large breeds, i am planning of applying the same principles that's working so well with the mother and "aunty", except puppy food goes in the blender with added puppy formula milk and water .

In choosing their feed, i always look for small and independent companies that have some sort of arrangement with vet colleges for trying their products on a long-ish term basis. there is only a little number of these companies left in the UK, however they are still out there! the problem with these companies is that they have a network of suppliers very underdeveloped and more often than not i have to buy over the internet.

At the moment and for quite some time, i am buying Sneyd's Wonderdog, the company is based in Doncaster and has a range of very high quality food, without additives. the only draw back is that the BestBefore date is not as long as the high-street brands (that's because Sneyd;s does not contain any additives) so you cannot buy in bulk. however the price is extremely competitive (about £10-£12 pound for 15kg for adult dogs) and a bit more expensive for puppies and juniors.

By the Way, i am in no way connected with this company, or any other company, for that matter...i just like their products.

I hope this contribution helps in the choice!" end quoting.