Alanis: No! No! No! If you put 20 “dog people” in the same room, they would each have a different opinion on what the best foods are for dogs!
JJ: It can be annoying. Just ask us what the best type of food for us is and we will tell you! The answer? ALL OF IT! Just throw it down and let us eat it!
Tucker: I agree 100%. Is there really such a thing as bad food? Heck, we consider sticks a delicacy!
Alanis: That is true, but I think the topic has nothing to do with that. It has to do with the recent studies that link DCM in dogs to certain diets that silly humans decide to give to us. This is actually quite serious, boys!
JJ: I am sure it is. Can I go steal some socks now?
Tucker: Why is it that dogs are the ones who suffer because of people who put profit over our health?
Alanis: Oh, JJ – we all know you are an independent thinker who does his own thing! Tucker, I agree – as dogs, we just eat what is put in our bowls. We have no idea how good or bad it is for us.
JJ: As Golden Retrievers, the goal is simply to eat, eat, eat. Once we feel full, guess what? We want to eat some more!
Tucker: Is that true of all breeds?
Alanis: Nope! Can you believe that our cousins Mort and Addie, who live together, actually leave their food out to eat whenever? They are Havenese and their parents just put out a bowl and they eat it when they feel like eating it!
JJ: Weirdos. You are supposed to guzzle all food within two minutes! And we have “puzzle” bowls that slow us down!
Tucker: Yep, otherwise we would eat our meals within 30 seconds easily. Heck, Alanis still does.
Alanis: Hush! This isn’t supposed to be about our appetites! This is supposed to be about what types of food are good and bad for us!
JJ: Whatever. Let Daddy discuss that below. I’m hungry.
Tucker: So am I. All this talk about food makes me hungry.
Alanis: At least we agree about something.
JJ: I am going to go raid the dog food pantry and look for some treats. Be right back.
Tucker: OK.
Alanis: You idiot! Do you think he would actually bring anything back for us? Get your tail out from between your legs. We must go with him or he gets everything!
Tucker: Ohhhhhhhh….is that why I am still so skinny?
Alanis: Ugh.
Me: Let me start with this: Golden Retrievers love their meals. It has always struck me as “weird” when I go into a house where a dog bowl is sitting there with food still leftover. Golden Retrievers will not do that – I have never heard of a Golden Retriever who does that. We feed our Goldens two meals per day, and like most dogs, they also get their fair share of treats.
If you have a puppy, let them eat. They are growing and will often be asking you for more. That doesn’t mean you give them an endless supply of food, but Golden Retrievers grow quickly. You essentially have to keep up with their growth when you feed them. We brought JJ home as a puppy and for the first several months of his life, leaving the dog food pantry open was a major mistake and he would just run to the bag and jump in to eat as much as he could. It is true that Tucker is on the skinnier spectrum of the breed (for now), but nobody is concerned about that because he has a wiry build. Alanis and JJ are bigger. Amazingly, JJ has climbed over the 70-pound mark. As stated, they grow FAST.
As for what types of food to feed your dog, I have always gone by a simple philosophy: Buy the best possible food you can that is within your budget. Most of the issues that are coming out with dog foods are being linked to specialty brands that make Grain Free food using exotic ingredients as a protein. While it is easy to just say “Avoid Grain Free!”, it should be noted that isn’t the lack of grain that is likely hurting our dogs. It is the usage of legumes like peas that is likely hurting our dogs. You may already be coming across brands and varieties that promote “Legume Free” just like you see those “Grain-Free!” labels up and down the dog food aisles.
Our dogs are currently eating Farmina, Victor, and American Natural Premium. From the Farmina line, I buy the Chicken & Pomegranate recipe. From Victor and American Natural, most of their lines are legume-free. To be exact, American Natural was one of the first brands I saw that has come out with a food that specifically says “Legume Free” on the label. I am not being paid by these dog food companies when I mention them – I am just giving you information on the types of foods I have bought for our dogs.
As for the raw diet, JJ’s early days were on the raw diet. There are many brands of raw food that are balanced for your dog’s optimum health. If you go more of a home-cooked route, you probably have to pay closer attention to protein ratios and everything else. Why did we take him off of it? Honestly, we have nothing against the approach at all. We did it out of convenience and finding dry foods we thought were healthy for our babies.
We also supplement our dog’s food with products from Stella & Chewy’s plus some sardines (if you go the sardine route, you just buy the plain sardines without any gunk in them!). You do not want to give your dogs sardines every day due to the mercury content. It is a supplement that you can give them a few times a month. I actually don’t even do it that much – it is just one of the foods in our rotation. Stella & Chewy’s makes all kinds of products from beef to chicken to duck, etc. in a raw, freeze-dried form. We just add it to our dog’s meals.
I am particular with the treats I buy as well, which I understand may be a bit on the weird side. I probably look closer at ingredient labels for dogs than I do for my own food! However, if I see peas or pea proteins or pea starch in the list, I won’t buy them. I go as bare minimum as possible. Remember, dogs really don’t care if a treat is labeled “Santa’s Awesome Gingerbread Treat!” vs. “Chopped Liver!” The dog food companies are appealing to us, not them when it comes to labels!
You can also give dogs many types of fruits and vegetables. Just do a simple Google search if you have any questions about a particular fruit you wish to give to them. One example: Grapes are not just bad for dogs – they are TOXIC to dogs. If your dog isn’t used to a fruit or veggie, you may want to start feeding them in moderation. Otherwise, you may have a dog who wants to run outside every five minutes – if you catch my drift.
Dog nutrition is always an evolving field and it can be confusing. I think some vets are starting to catch on to it more. It isn’t something that is taught extensively (from what I understand) in vet school. We heard a while ago that Grain Free was a good diet. Now, a few years later, we are told that most (if not all) Grain-Free foods are made with suspect ingredients that hurt a dog’s ability to absorb taurine. Who knows what we will find out a year from now, five years from now, etc? Don’t be overwhelmed by it all. Just pay attention and do the best you can to keep your dog healthy. That is always the best we can do for them.