# Wainwrights Trays / Tins Help



## Helbo (Sep 15, 2010)

Hi Everyone

My Beagle Charlie is fed with the Light Wainwrights Adult Dry Complete food - the Turkey and Rice one that is 25% less fat than other varieties.

_(Ingredients say: 40% Brown Rice, 20% min Turkey Meat Meal, 20% Whole grain Barley, 9% Sugar Beet Pulp, 2% Alfalfa, 2% Poultry Digest, 1% Poultry Fat...and then lists a lot of minerals...but says overall it's 20% protein, 4.5% crude fibre, 7.5% oils and fats, crude ash 8%, moisture 8%)_

Although the feeding instructions say for a medium dog i should be feeding 225-335g a day, I've found Charlie only needs about a cup full / 150g of dry food plus he also usually gets a spoonful or two of wet food (so maybe less than 100g?). Doing this, on top of the chews and veg he gets per day has maintained his weight nicely.

Now my question...

*Could anyone please tell me though whats the difference between the tins and trays?* Do the tins have different ingredients? More nutritional? Do the trays go off quicker? Tins go in the cupboard but trays go in the fridge?

Or would I be better just cooking some plain chicken breast (a staple in my house - always in the fridge) and adding that instead? Given the ingredients of the dry food - would it be better or worse to give plain chicken or the high meat trays....

All comments about tins/trays appreciated  
*BUT* I do not want to change his dry food - so no arguments please :nono:


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## shoreset (Apr 19, 2008)

I cant find the ingredients to check, but i dont think there will be much difference, atleast not enough to worry about so its up to you and what you preffer 

Trays only have to be kept in the fridge once they're open, same as with tins really lol.

you could cook the chicken for him and use that insted of the wet, but cooked chicken hasnt got much (if any) goodness so it would be abit pointless and youd be better off using it as training treats


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## henry (Mar 16, 2009)

Apparently the ingredients are the same for the trays and tins (PAH told me this). Both have to be refrigerated once opened. 

WW tins/trays are complete foods, whereas the chicken mince, etc, wouldn't be complete so you'd probably need quite a bit of the dry food to balance this out if you were just going to feed mince, etc.


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## Helbo (Sep 15, 2010)

Thanks for the replies guys - so chicken is a bit of a waste and not a good idea to add to his food. Got it. 



The tins (for example Lamb & Rice) have 5% more lamb than the trays. 

If they're the same - why are there two types? There must be some differences, even if it's just practical rather than based on ingredients...


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## mstori (May 22, 2009)

my dog wont eat the dry, so went into pets at home and they gave me a tray to try to mix it with. Its the only way he will eat it.

I asked about tins and they said to stick with trays as tins have more water in and the trays last longer as you just need a small amount, but i havent checked this.


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## shoreset (Apr 19, 2008)

they also have pouches i think 
I think its just down to prefference. I preffer trays, easier to open etc, and also if we go anywhere i dont have to take a bowl (he drinks water from the bottle) and can eat his food out of the tray (as i have done in our friends card shop once ) which would be possible with a tin. 
whereas my friend preffers tins because "its more normal" 

I wouldnt say the chicken is a waste as such, if you planned on feeding dry one meal, wet the next, it would make his dry abit nicer and just add abit of variety, or for dogs that wont eat dry on its own but cant tolerate wet etc, it does come in handy lol


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

The trays are v high fibre - approx 5% whereas the tins are comparable to most wets at around 1%. Nobody knows why this is.

Lyceum is trying to get to the bottom of this at the moment. I have tried but kept drawing a blank so threw in the towel The list of ingredients is v similar so it's a bit up in the air as to what provides the fibre.

The trays are a lot firmer whereas the tins are v sloppy - the fish in particular and someone mentioned the chicken is too. So I would say plump for the lamb tins. The tins are also more expensive compared to a box of 12 trays.

I prefer the trays, the meat is solid and I've only had one damaged - 2 years ago which they replaced no prob. Being high in fibre, they are great at resolving tum upsets (if only we knew the mystery fibre ingredient!). The RDA is very small compared to other wets and presumably that's because of the fibre. When asked that question [email protected] say you feed less because "it's so concentrated" Mine has more than they recommend.


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## lexie2010 (Jun 7, 2010)

Lexie is a little older than charlie and she was a difficult feeder from day one, at the mo she gets 200g dry wainwrights (the cereal free one-turkey and veg) and half tray of wainwrights wet (so thats about 195-200g wet) i feed the trays as they are easier to store once opened as some days a tray gets started and doesnt get finished until 2days later as she is fed raw twice a week. so she finally looks a better size and is certainly the picture of health, shes 15 and half months and weighs 15.5kgs. she gets a little bit of kibble in a treat ball after walks and has 2-3treats/day (rawhide sticks, dental stix, etc) and a bit of raw veg when im preparing dinner as she loves raw veg and sits waiting on me to give her some!
sorry i didnt offer any insight on nutritional value/content of trays/tins


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## Guest (Jun 26, 2011)

I know that the puppy pouches are no where near as good quality food as the puppy trays.


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## Maiisiku (Feb 20, 2009)

If you want to feed chicken breast I'd not cook it first. By cooking it you are taking out all the nutrition that they need. Just let him have it raw. Or you could mix the dry with wet but I wouldn't personally. It can cause problems with digestion as they digest at diffirent rates. I give kibble first and then wet in the afternoon, that is if I am feeding any wet food. If I give any meat, it is raw.


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## Guest (Jun 26, 2011)

Maiisiku said:


> If you want to feed chicken breast I'd not cook it first. By cooking it you are taking out all the nutrition that they need. Just let him have it raw. Or you could mix the dry with wet but I wouldn't personally. It can cause problems with digestion as they digest at diffirent rates. I give kibble first and then wet in the afternoon, that is if I am feeding any wet food. If I give any meat, it is raw.


I think most people agree these days that it's ok to feed kibble and wet together, they're both 'cooked' food and the digestion isn't particularly different. It's raw and cooked that you need to avoid feeding together.


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## Helbo (Sep 15, 2010)

Wow lots of great info!

I was wondering about the fibre - If I'm feeding what is meant to be a complete dry food - should i therefore go for the lower or higher fibre wet food mixer?

I like the idea that they do a lower fat tray...not available in tins.




Part of me is wondering whether Charlie would eat the dry food on it's own...
Whether theres any point adding wet at all...


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

The trouble is whatever you decide the final say is down to Charlie

If you are happy to feed kibble alone and Charlie goes along with it then you're away. If he prefers a bit of wet food he may be happier with the tins. Heidi loved the fish tins and her output was great but oh dear what a grey sloppy mess Fortunately it wasnt me that had to eat it but I didnt buy anymore

High fibre suits some dogs really well and produces nice firm output, others it does the reverse. I've not heard many bad experiences with the WW trays and lots here feed them with no problems.


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## bagpuss4 (Mar 7, 2011)

Baxter prefers the trays soo he can lick them clean 

I prefer then as much easier to get the food out easier if been in fridge, I end up with half still in the tin. I prefer the texture of the trays too.
its duck, turkey or tripe i get.


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## lexie2010 (Jun 7, 2010)

i would have preferred to feed dry on its own but lexie just wont eat it, even when its been soaked, hence the wet addition and her improved condition. i feel that both the wet and the dry are supposed to be complete foods so both should individually meet all requirements 

i would not want to put her on a purely wet diet, but thats just MHO


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## ballybee (Aug 25, 2010)

I use both as it's a bit annoying that i can't get chicken or fish trays, the tins are very watery and ye gods does the fish tin stink but Tummel loves it all. He can't get the duck as it gives him skitters but apart from that i have the fish tins, chicken tins, turkey trays and lamb trays  I also have chappie(original and chicken) for runny bums and some fish ND which he's not the happiest on but he does eat it


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## Marley boy (Sep 6, 2010)

i havent tried the tins, it seems you need to feed alot more of the tinned food compared to the trays. I really find the trays such good value cant recommend highly enough.


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## Mum2Heidi (Feb 17, 2010)

I wasnt going to say anything but ................ 

I would never feed 100% dry again. Some dogs dont have a problem with it but Heidi did and it made me look at it in a different light. 

It's definately harder to digest because manufacturers advise soaking it for upset tums to process.

They need to drink extra to compensate the dried food. Heidi isnt a great drinker which I dont think helped. The kibble takes water from their system which we rely on them replacing. 

It's as far away from a natural food as you can get.

However I think it has it's place. It's more economical (and we need that at the mo), and is more convenient than wet. With all the controversy surrounding food at the moment a bit of kibble covers all angles. 

I feed a few kibble meals but always with water, usually a chunk of diluted wet with kibble mixed in.

Just the musings of a worrypants


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## Helbo (Sep 15, 2010)

I think, just like us, some tums need the slower digestion. It's always said on PF to be a bad thing but it isn't necessarily. 

For some tums, faster digestion means runny stool (dogs and humans!). Some people in fact take tablets that slow down their digestion in order to combat IBS and/or Diarrhoea. 



I think it just depends on your dog - as always - and what suits them best.


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## henry (Mar 16, 2009)

Mum2Heidi said:


> I wasnt going to say anything but ................
> 
> I would never feed 100% dry again. Some dogs dont have a problem with it but Heidi did and it made me look at it in a different light.
> 
> ...


I agree - I feed a breakfast of Acana plus a good amount of warm water and then mainly wet at night such as ND, NM, AG Partners. Wouldn't feed 100% dry meals all the time, but just my opinion.


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