Top 10 Best Semi Moist Dog Food

Top 10 Best Semi Moist Dog Food

With all these trendy diets, homemade recipes, and endless commercial foods on the market—how do you keep them all straight? If you have heard of dry moist or semi-moist dog food, you may wonder what the difference is and if it’s significant.

We did all the guessing work for you. We thoroughly researched and compared these types of food to explain gray areas between dry kibble and canned food. Hopefully, our information and reviews can give you all of the information you need if you’re considering a diet switch.

About Dry Moist & Semi-Dry Moist Dog Food

Dry moist, or semi-dry moist, dog foods are essentially the same thing—they offer more moisture than dry kibble but less than wet food. Dry moist to semi-moist dog foods offer a diet with higher moisture content and softer pieces than standard dry dog food.

Some recipes have a combination of semi-moist pieces with dry kibble, while others are strictly soft. Entirely soft foods usually come in individual pouches for easy measurement and storage. Combination kibble comes in regular bags but might have a shorter shelf-life than traditional dry dog food.

You can also buy semi-moist toppers to add in with your regular kibble selection. Each semi-moist recipe has varying moisture levels, so make sure to check the content of every brand.

To summarize, dry moist and semi-dry moist dog foods are one category. You might also hear these recipes referred to as “soft food.” So, if it’s a commercial diet using any of the previously mentioned keywords, you’re viewing dog food in the spectrum between dry and wet.

The 10 Best Semi Moist Dog Food

Here are our top three favorite recipe picks that offer solid nutrition for your pooch.

Purina Beneful Simple Goodness With Farm

Choosing A Semi-Moist Dog Food: Know Which Brands are Best in [year] 24

Purina Beneful Simple Goodness With Farm-Raised Beef is a semi-moist dry dog food made of real beef and vegetables.

The tender morsels provide complete and balanced nutrition, so it can be given as a meal on its own. The semi-moist kibbles can also be mixed with crunchy dry kibble or wet dog food.

This Purina Beneful Simple Goodness recipe is packed with flavor from beef and beef fat. It has nutritious carrots and peas that you can see in each morsel. It is enriched with vitamins and minerals to help support your dog’s overall health.

Purina Beneful Simple Goodness With Farm-Raised Beef has no by-product meals. It is free from artificial enhancers such as flavors, colors, or preservatives.

With this product, your dog can indulge in a tasty, semi-moist meal without you worrying about potentially harmful ingredients.

Reviews for this Purina Beneful beef recipe say that this semi-moist dog food is enjoyed by dogs so much that some owners even give them as treats.

Pups just love to have it for meals, snacks, and treats. Even dogs who have sensitive stomachs and skin thrive on this food.

The first five ingredients of this Beneful recipe are beef, soy flour, soy grits, malted barley extract, and water.

Purina Pro Plan High Protein Shredded Blend Chicken & Rice Formula

Choosing A Semi-Moist Dog Food: Know Which Brands are Best in [year] 21

If you’re interested in a dry dog food with semi-moist pieces, the Purina ProPlan Savor line (previous name) of dog foods include soft-moist pieces in their kibbles.

You may or may not like some of the other ingredients in their foods but ProPlan is considered to be a nutritious food and Purina has excellent quality control.

If you are interested in feeding semi-moist dog food, we recommend reading the ingredients and figuring the dry matter basis of the food as you would with dry dog food or canned foods. This makes comparisons much easier.

Dogs nearly always love semi-moist foods so you can’t let your dog make this decision. Read the labels and look at the percentages

Purina One SmartBlend True Instinct Natural Adult Dry Dog Food & Wet Dog Food

Purina One SmartBlend True Instinct Natural Adult Dry Dog Food & Wet Dog Food

The Purina One SmartBlend True Instinct Natural Adult Dry Dog Food & Wet Dog Food is a nice blend of dry kibble and soft, meaty morsels. It’s enough to kickstart your pooch’s appetite, even if they are a bit picky. It has a strong aroma, rousing interest.

Aside from being tasty, this recipe offers adequate nutrition, providing whole salmon as the number one ingredient. In this recipe, there is 30% crude protein, 17% crude fat, 3% crude fiber, and 12% moisture.

Each ingredient caters to a different aspect of canine health like immunity, skin health, and muscle maintenance. There are twice as many soft, delicious morsels in this recipe compared to others, so you know your dog is getting a solid dose of crunchy kibble and easy-to-chew bites.

Cons
  • Not completely soft
Pros
  • Real meat as the first ingredient
  • Easy-to-chew morsels
  • Covers total body nutrition

Cesar Filet Mignon Flavor & Spring Vegetables

Choosing A Semi-Moist Dog Food: Know Which Brands are Best in [year] 25

Cesar Filet Mignon Flavor & Spring Vegetables Garnish Small Breed is another product that is made specifically for small breed dogs.

This filet mignon and spring veggies recipe features a mix of tender, meaty pieces and crunchy kibbles. It has H-shaped kibbles to help keep teeth and gums healthy.

Made with real beef, Cesar Filet Mignon Flavor & Spring Vegetables has the protein your dog needs to help her build strong and lean muscles. This mix of crunchy and tender pieces has 26 nutrients to help support the overall health of small dogs of all life stages.

According to reviews for this product from Cesar, this filet mignon recipe is quite gentle on little dogs’ stomachs. It is also quite tasty, and the little pooches just can’t get enough of this food.

The first five ingredients of Cesar Filet Mignon Flavor & Spring Vegetables are beef, chicken-byproduct meal, ground yellow corn, ground wheat, and brewer’s rice

Redbarn Naturals Beef Recipe Dog Food Roll

Choosing A Semi-Moist Dog Food: Know Which Brands are Best in [year] 19

At the other extreme are the soft-moist dog food rolls like those from Redbarn and Natural Balance. We can look at Redbarn Naturals Dog Food Roll as an example. This food has 14 percent crude protein, 6 percent crude fat, 3 percent crude fiber, and 43 percent moisture.

It has 2,345 kcal/kg, or 333 kcal per one inch of roll so it’s very calorie-dense. The roll has over 50 percent real meat. People who feed using dog food rolls say they are more convenient than feeding a raw diet.

The food is made using a low temperature cooking process to retain more vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. All you do is slice or cube some food from the roll and feed it to your dog.

It also makes a great training treat, a protein supplement for your dog’s regular food, or an easy wide to hide pills if you need to give your dog medication.

AAFCO-approved for all life stages. No corn, wheat, or soy and it’s grain free. Most dogs love these dog food rolls.

This dog food roll does contain some sugar which probably makes it tasty to your dog. And it has some sources of salt like other soft-moist foods. But it still has to be considered an improvement over some other semi-moist dog foods.

Pedigree Tender Bites Complete Nutrition Chicken & Steak Flavor

Choosing A Semi-Moist Dog Food: Know Which Brands are Best in [year] 26

Formulated specifically for the nutritional needs of little pooches, Pedigree Tender Bites Complete Nutrition Chicken & Steak Flavor Small Breed is a dry dog food with soft and meaty morsels.

The size and shape of the tender bites and crunchy kibbles are designed for small dogs to easily pick up in their mouths and chew.

Pedigree Tender Bites is enriched with vitamins and minerals for complete and balanced nutrition, and to help support the immune system and oral health. It has omega fatty acids to promote skin and coat health.

This Tender Bites recipe from Pedigree is free from high-fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors

This is another semi-soft dry food that seems popular among dogs. They enjoy the crunch + soft chicken and steak kibbles.

Even little senior dogs who have lost a few teeth are able to enjoy this Pedigree recipe, according to reviews. However, some pet parents expected softer morsels from Tender Bites.

The first five ingredients of Pedigree Tender Bites Complete Nutrition Chicken & Steak Flavor Small Breed are ground whole grain corn, chicken by-product meal (source of glucosamine & chondroitin sulfate), corn gluten meal, animal fat (source of omega 6 fatty acids) [preserved with BHA/citric acid]), and soybean meal.

Stella & Chewy’s Meal Mixers —Best Topper

Stella & Chewy’s Meal Mixers

These Stella & Chewy’s Meal Mixers are a perfect dry kibble topper. You can serve them any way you choose—freeze-dried or softened. Since they are freeze-dried, they easily reabsorb water. That’s super helpful you have a senior that could use some extra assistance at mealtime.

These meal mixers come in seven different meaty combos, including beef, chicken, duck, lamb, pork, salmon & cod, turkey, and seafood—but we picked the beef. In this recipe, there is 44% crude protein, 35% crude fat, 5% crude fiber, and 5% moisture.

These easy topper pieces are sure to pique the interest of your pup. Each serving enhances the protein and moisture content of food, stimulating appetite and overall nutrition. If you’re looking for a topper that is soft out of the package, this food does require a few more steps for extra water content.

Cons
  • Must add water to soften
Pros
  • Easily reabsorbs water
  • Multiple flavor choices
  • Enhances appetite

Evanger’s Meat Lover’s Medley With Rabbit

Choosing A Semi-Moist Dog Food: Know Which Brands are Best in [year] 22

Evanger’s Grain-Free Meat Lover’s Medley With Rabbit is a semi-moist dry dog food made of rabbit, pork, and beef.

According to Evanger’s website, their semi-moist dehydrated food consists of rough grinding and mixing. The product is then air dried at low temperatures to retain many of the nutrients, enzymes, and flavor.

This grain-free semi moist dog food from Evanger’s has only high-quality meat and nutritious plant-based ingredients such as sweet potatoes, lentils, peas, coconut oil, dried cranberries, and blueberries among others. It contains no corn, wheat, or soy.

Grain-free Meat Lover’s Medley also has probiotics to support good gut and overall health. This semi-moist dog food is also enriched with omega-3 and omga-6 fatty acids to help support joint skin and coat health.

According to reviews, dogs just love the flavor-packed, meaty morsels of this Evanger’s product. This healthy, grain-free recipe will assure you that not only are your dogs getting an extra tasty meal, but they are also getting a lot of nutrients from it.

The first five ingredients of Evanger’s Grain-Free Meat Lover’s Medley With Rabbit are pork meal, sweet potatoes, buffalo meal, lentils, and peas.

Purina Moist & Meaty Steak Flavor — Best Fully Soft Food

Purina Moist & Meaty Steak Flavor

Purina Moist & Meaty Steak Flavor is an entirely soft meal choice that is individually wrapped for convenience. It provides a powerfully enticing scent to attract even finicky eaters. You can fully seal it up after you portion out the meal to keep it nice and fresh for next time.

You can use this food as a topper, snack, or standalone diet—totally up to you. In each serving, you have 18% crude protein, 7% crude fat, 3% crude fiber, and 33% moisture. The first ingredient is a beef byproduct, which can be irritating to some dog’s tummies.

This all-soft food is perfect for dogs who have dental issues or pain while eating. There is no need to crunch vigorously, but this also means teeth brushing is essential. This recipe also contains fillers and artificial flavors—so it’s not for sensitive diets.

Cons
  • It contains byproducts and fillers
  • May trigger allergies
Pros
  • High moisture content
  • Great for dental issues
  • It can be a topper, treat, or solitary diet

Authority Tender Blends Chicken & Rice Formula

Choosing A Semi-Moist Dog Food: Know Which Brands are Best in [year] 23

Authority Tender Blends Chicken & Rice Formula is a dry dog food that has soft bites, crunchy kibbles, and garden vegetables. Made of real deboned chicken, you can be assured that your dog is getting a high-quality source of protein.

Aside from having deboned chicken as the most plentiful ingredient, this Authority Tender Bites has a unique antioxidant blend of selenium, zinc, and vitamin E for a stronger immune system.

Prebiotics and natural fiber help support gut health for better digestion as well as absorption of nutrients. Omega fatty acids as included for skin and coat health.

Authority Tender Blends Chicken & Rice Formula is not only tasty and nutritious. The crunchy kibbles that come with the soft bites are specially formulated with Authority’s Ora-Shield. Ora-Shield gives the crunchy kibbles an abrasive texture that helps reduce plaque and tartar.

According to reviews, pups of all ages just love Authority Tender Blends’ mix of soft morsels, crunchy kibbles, and veggies. Some dogs who dislike dry food has been converted by this recipe from Authority.

The first five ingredients of Authority Tender Blends Chicken & Rice Formula are deboned chicken, chicken meal, corn, brown rice, and oat groats

Dry Moist or Semi-Dry Moist Dog Food: Pros & Cons

So, you might be wondering what semi-moist dog food does for our pooches. Each dietary choice is up to you as a pet owner. But educating yourself about the pros and cons is a perfect way to make sure your dog gets exactly what they need.

Like anything, it also has downfalls:
  • High-calorie content
  • Shorter shelf-life
  • Can cause plaque or tartar buildup
  • Usually has artificial color, preservatives, and flavor enhancers
  • Higher sugar and salt content
Semi-dry moist dog food has its perks:
  • More appetizing scent for dogs
  • It gives dogs a boost of hydration
  • It comes in convenient feeding pouches
  • It can double as a snack choice or topper
  • Helps seniors and adults with dental issues

Only you and your veterinarian can determine if semi-moist food is a good choice for your pooch.

Homemade Diets

If you have been looking for a dry kibble alternative but don’t like all the ingredients in semi-moist foods, consider homemade diets. With the help of your vet, you can offer your pooch a soft, warm meal that is easy to chew and appealing to the taste buds.

With homemade diets, each ingredient should offer balanced nutrition. These meal types are often a healthier option to semi-dry moist or wet food diets. Speak with a professional about homemade diet nutrition.

Final Thoughts

What do you think about dry moist or semi-moist dog food? It has some positives and negatives that you have to consider thoroughly before making a diet switch. It has a more appealing smell, comes with easy packaging, and has lots of moisture.

But it might not last as long as dry kibble as far as storage is concerned. It might also have unnecessary ingredients that can be harmful to your pooch. Speak with your vet for professional guidance and advice

Edward Hollon is an avid dog lover and writer, knowing all there is to know about our furry friends. Edward has been writing for petdii for three years now, wanting to use her knowledge for good and share everything she can with new dog owners. Edward has two dogs herself - a German shepherd called Banjo and a chocolate labrador called Buttons. Edward knows more than anyone how adjusting to new life with a puppy can turn your life upside down, and she wants to ease some of the burdens through her articles.