would it make that much diffrence?

I feed Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete. Its a good all natural food. However my dogs get milkbones as treats. And they always get a spoonful or two of canned pedigree in their dry food. would it really make that much diffrence if i switched them to an all natural dog biscuit and gave them a good canned food? I justify giving them some canned pedigree just because its only a spoonful surely it doesnt matter. My dogs are doing great. Coat, skin, stool, everything seems better than ever.

here is the canned food i mix with the dry
PEDIGREE PLUS? Healthy Digestion | Premium Wet Dog Food

and the milkbones they get. I feed them 2 or 3 a day

I say if you are happywith it, stay. But if it were me, yes I would change the canned food to a natural food. The canned you are feeding isn't that great. I feed Diamond Naturals also, so I would find a better canned food.

Eating just one Twinkie a day will eventually have a noticeable effect on one's health...

Good point. Pedigree is the equivalent of a twinkie! As is Milk Bones.

yes, that is a good point! I have looked at natural balance canned food, and its honestly too expensive. does anyone have suggestions on a less expensive brand?

If I'm going to spend the money on a good kibble, I'm not going to defeat the purpose of that by giving my dogs junk as well. IMO. I might still give out the occasional Milkbone (admittedly, my dad gives the dogs Beggin Strips once in a while which is probably worse!) but I'd stop the Pedigree.

I'm not sure on the prices so this might not be less expensive... but I used to mix Wellness canned food with Juno's kibble.

Instead of canned food, why don't you give them a raw egg, spoon of yogurt or canned pumpkin, raw fruits or veggies, etc.? There are plenty of cheap alternatives that are also extremely healthy. If you're feeding a good food anyway, these are just suppliments to add variety and a little extra vitamins.

great idea lizzybeth. my dogs love all of that you mentioned. they just will not eat plain dry dog food

I have even used potted meat as an alternative to canned food. The first two ingrediants are tripe and chicken broth. It worked during hard times to get picky eaters eating.

Personally, I don't indulge picky eaters. A healthy dog will not starve himself, and missing a couple of meals is not the end of the world. If my dog decides that she's too good for plain dry kibble, that's too bad, that's all she'll get for a few days until she decides it's better than nothing and starts eating again. When she's eating well, THAT's when she gets add-ons, occasionally. I feed her twice a day, and at least one of those meals will be plain kibble.

I do this because, first, I don't want my dog calling the shots. She eats what I give her or she doesn't eat, those are the only two choices.

And second, we travel a lot and I don't want to have to carry around special food for her all the time. Dry kibble is extremely easy to transport. That's one main reason why I haven't switched her to Raw, because it's too difficult when we travel.

Another thing that's easy and cheap to add is chicken gizzards. Beef hearts, too, if you have someplace that sells them or if there's a slaughterhouse nearby (also a good source of raw meaty bones).