Pre-soak or not?

[Rio]

Hi guys and gals, yet another question for you all to hopefully give insight on. Do you all pre-soak dry dog food? Rio eats dry dog food out of my hand ( a few pieces ) just wondered if pre-soaking can help to reduce bloating possibility, or would you suggest dry and letting him get his own water afterwards? He seems to be eating less at his lunchtime meal too, can't decide if I should reduce lunchtime meal by half. All help appreciated, thanks.

[PCC]

I've never pre-soaked. When he has had soggy kibble in his bowl (like when I have poured dripping onto it and he doesn't eat it immediately) he won't eat it.

[Rory's Dad]

I have only pre-soaked with very young puppies to protect the baby teeth from breakage. After that, they need the chewing to help loosen the teeth and make room for the adult teeth. Adult teeth need the activity to keep them strong, and to scrub away the goop. Good quality food isnt likely to cause any bloat unless they really overeat. Its the filler and byproduct in inferior foods thats the problem.

[Rio]

Thanks for the insight, I had read when pups are teething they might prefer slightly moistened, I was concerned with bloating so thought I would ask, we have just switched to Burns mini-bites which I would say is a good food.The company is small but was set up by a vet, they suggested the mini-bites on a trial basis but said because Chows are quite big I could switch to their Canine Extra or Active if Rio seemed unsettled. Ingredients list below (no fillers )
Brown Rice, Chicken Meal, White Rice, Oats, Peas, Chicken Oil, Sunflower Oil, Fish Meal, Seaweed, Minerals & Vitamins

[Cam Atis]

How old is Rio? Pre soaking the dogfood is done only on young puppies (age: 3 weeks to 6weeks).
But giving a dog food, then pouring some milk in it doesn't hurt if your Rio will eat it immediately. The resulting dogfood will still be crunchy to eat. I do that sometime even to my adult dogs as a treat or if they are nursing.
Cassie does not like to eat her dogfood if presoaked, she was 9 weeks old when she decided she's done eating baby food. So she eats dry

[Rio]

Rio is 11 weeks now, he has been quite happy to eat it with a little water, but he does like crunchy treats so I guess I can cut out the water, he has milk in between meals Cam so I wouldn't add it to his meals but thanks for the tip.

[Cam Atis]

You are doing it just fine. Just be observant of her feeding habit and adjust accordingly. You'll notice at age 3-4months she will loose her baby teeth and easily noticeable are missing front teeth. Her feeding habit will be affected during that time.
Inspect her gums everytime so you get familiar with its pinkish color, since a pale gum and eye lids are indicative of anemia or worms. It also helps you analyse the feed quality. I know this is off topic already but I think it will help you have some insight related to feeding and health.