Everyone who has them wants what is best for their precious Golden Retrievers and the food you feed them is a huge part of that equation. There are WIDE ranging opinions on this subject and an amazing amount of suggestions on the web, some of which almost sound religious. Terri and I have received quite a few requests for advice on this topic so at the risk of enduring the ire of the misinformed or companies with a vested interest, I decided to write something up. The following advice comes from our own extensive research and is stock full of our opinions based on that research. We are not veterinarians nor certified pet nutritionists (although we do include a great interview with one) but it is what we believe to be the best way to go about choosing the right food for our Golden Retrievers. It is however, just advice. You should do your own research and make fully informed decisions on your own.
Dog Food Ingredients
Let’s start here: Dogs do NOT need to eat all meat and nothing else. It is a myth that wild dogs eat only meat and that really high protein with no grain is a good plan for a domesticated dog’s diet.
The facts are that wild dogs actually DO eat grains and other non-meat things. Wild dogs mostly feed on herbivores. When they consume a kill, they consume it ALL which includes stomachs and other organs full of non-meat things. The healthiest pack members (the alphas) typically get to eat those prime bits.
Dogs are omnivores, not carnivores even though they need a reasonable mix of protein. It is also important to realize that our Golden Retrievers are 15,000 to 40,000 years removed from their ancient wild dog ancestors and are not wild any longer; their needs, while similar, are not the same as their wild ancestors. Domestic dogs do not need to be “grain free”, they do not need to eat exotic meats like rabbit, kangaroo, venison or bison. In fact there are some scientists that believe these exotic meats may be contributing to heart problem since many of them are naturally low in the building blocks that allow dogs to create Taurine. In any case, domestic dogs certainly don’t need an all meat or pure protein diet.
The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) generally recommends a minimum of 18% protein for adult dogs and 22.5% for growing puppies but be careful here; these recommendations are based on dry weight. Most dog food manufacturers use pre-processing wet weight to figure report quantities and that, while legal, is at best misleading since processing dramatically changes both weight and content of each ingredient. For example: Meat is full of water, corn is not. When you dehydrate both, meat will be most heavily affected. It would be useful for you to read the full details on minimum nutrition/ingredient amounts by dry weight table in THIS AAFCO publication. Note that there is wiggle room in the recommendations in that the quantities listed are minimums (except where noted) but it does go to show that having like 80%+ protein is complete overkill.
All that said, your Golden Retriever does need a diet with sufficient protein mixed in proper quantities with a healthy group of vitamin rich ingredients designed specifically for large breed dogs.
Important note: A Golden Retriever has different dietary requirements compared to a chihuahua, miniature poodle or any other smaller breed dog. Feeding large breed dogs like Golden Retrievers foods not specifically designed for large breeds, especially as puppies, can cause weight, health and bone formation problems.
Ingredient lists
I wrote an article entitled “The Truth About Dog Food Ingredients Lists” that is worth a read but I’ll summarize here. The FDA requires dog food manufactures list the ingredients used by order of volume or weight prior to processing. they tend to do it by weight since processing takes out all water and dramatically reduces weight, especially in the meat products. That said, while ingredient lists are important to evaluate and required by law, we MUCH prefer reputable and established dog food manufactures that actually list percentages based on dry weight. Note that you may have to go to the manufacturer’s web site to get this more valuable information.
Note: Don’t be afraid of “by-products” or a named “meal” (ie: chicken meal, byproduct meal, etc) listed in ingredient lists. There is nothing nasty in them. Government regulations define and restrict what is allowed to be in “By-products” and “meal”s and does not allow things like hides, hair, hooves, companion animals, etc. This fact is another excellent reason to stay with American Made dog foods. In truth, “meal” is typically denser and higher in protein than the original product. AAFCO rules only allow certain things to be listed that way. Take a look at THIS ARTICLE for more detail but if someone is claiming that “by-products” in the list for AAFCO certified foods is evil, you should probably avoid that source of information as they are either misinformed, lying, trying to sell something or any/all of the above..
Grain Free Foods
Much has been written recently and I included a bit on it in many of my articles. In my article entitled “Schedule vs Free Feeding your Golden Retriever“
I even included a now somewhat dated but useful YouTube Video that I did for a university course in 2018. The short version is this: The FDA and UC Davis have determined that “Grain Free” foods are linked to a sudden spike in deaths in dogs (including Golden Retrievers in a big way) due to diet related Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) heart problems in Golden Retrievers. The common thread in most of those deaths was food claiming “Grain Free”.
Both organizations are still actively studying the issue to determine specific causes but your food choice as it relates to this is simply DO NOT feed your Golden Retriever foods labeled “Grain Free” unless your veterinarian specifically recommended it for allergy issues based on actual and specific allergy testing and there is no other non “grain free” option to remove the specific allergen.
The following podcast is definitely worth a listen. It does a great job explaining the science about the problems with “Grain Free” and “Raw” diets and comes from a leading and unbiased expert in the field.
Helpful links
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- The Truth About Dog Food Ingredient Lists
- Scheduled vs Free Feeding your Golden Retriever
- UC Davis Study linking Grain Free foods to potentially fatal heart problems
- FDA Study linking Grain Free Foods to potentially fatal heart problems
- Taurine Deficiency in Golden Retrievers Facebook Group
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Kibble or Wet (canned) food?
This one is easy; kibble is your friend. Kibble is less expensive, is less smelly, is eaten a little slower and does not spoil as fast but most importantly, it is MUCH better for the dog’s teeth and gives them a little chewing exercise which is a good thing (as opposed to socks).
Vetinfo.com in part says this on the subject:
Dental Benefits
The kibble food is an excellent plaque remover and this is essential for the dog’s oral health. Dogs need teeth cleaning on a daily basis, but you may not always succeed in brushing his teeth, which can result in plaque deposits. Plaque can calcify within less than 3 days. Calculus deposits cannot be removed and may be the beginning of more complex dental and gum problems.
The kibble food has an abrasive surface, which can easily remove the existing plaque on the dog’s teeth. If the dog eats kibble food daily, the plaque will be regularly removed, so tartar will not form. Wet food doesn’t have this benefit.
Dog Food Recommendations
In recent years, there has been a huge influx of new dog food manufactures creating all kinds of “boutique” foods and fanning the “Grain Free” fad. Because the oversight of the FDA is so loose and there are so few inspectors, many if not most of the newer manufactures have had formulation issues and with so few performing quality tests based in actual repeatable science that is designed and implemented by certified pet nutrition specialists; frankly, we don’t trust them. The new crop of manufactures also advertise in a way that plays on and/or builds incorrect beliefs about wild dog diets and criticize diets that include grains and use established protein sources like chicken, beef, lamb and fish. They are quite simply wrong and are using marketing methods to scare people into buying their overpriced boutique food. Additionally, humans have recently been on a “Gluten Free” diet craze even though the vast majority don’t actually have celiac disease. They then apply their own diet practices to their dogs and this is a really bad mistake. Dogs have completely different dietary requirements compared to yours and seldom have celiac disease. Many of our common foods are actually poisonous or at least harmful to them. There is absolutely NO evidence that grains are bad for dogs and in fact the opposite is true unless there is a proven allergy.
Note also that dog food price is NOT a good indicator of quality. There is no reason to break the bank to feed your dog really good food. Some of the expensive foods break every rule I mention in this article and some others are not all that good so do your research for mid-priced foods and move on.
Our recommendations are simple.
- Do your own research – know which ingredients are acceptable and what percentages are good.
- ALWAYS feed Golden Retrievers food designed specifically for large breeds
- Only buy foods that meet AAFCO guidelines and testing.
- Buy a mid-priced food that comes from an established dog food manufacturer that has been in business at least 15 years.
- Evaluate recall history on your chosen foods.
- Note that not all the food brands that have unhealthy mixes get recalled. Recalls are about dangerous individual ingredients, not the health of the mix. They can however give you an inkling of a specific manufacturer’s quality control in the manufacturing process.
- Only use dog food manufacturers and foods that have been scientifically researched by a certified pet nutritionist, meet AAFCO guidelines, tested in a lab and publish actual percentages of ingredients based on dry weight or volume.
- Never feed “Grain Free” foods to your Golden Retriever without specific and well reasoned instruction from your veterinarian, and then, only to treat a specific, well defined medical issue.
- Even established manufactures also have “Grain Free” lines in order to remain competitive. Do not feed a “grain free” food even though it’s made by Purina (or another established company).
- Avoid peas, chickpeas, legumes and potatoes of all varieties in the first 5 or 6 ingredients as these are the currently suspected problematic ingredients in the Diet Related DCM discussion for Golden Retrievers (and many other breeds).
- Avoid feeding your your dog table and cooking scraps; period. In most cases, that practice is bad for the dog, can contribute to obesity and risks feeding them things that are bad for them or even poisonous. It also trains them to be beggars and pests at the dinner table.
What We Feed Our Dogs at Texas TLC Goldens
We often get this question so I’ve included it in the article. Understand however that while this is the right food for us and is thoroughly researched, it is not the only good mid-priced food out there. This line of foods is the primary food fed to almost all AKC champions, is mid-priced and meets ALL of our food criteria so it is our food of choice.
Note that if you are not prepared to do your own research into other foods as well, we feel safe in telling you this is a good choice.
- Puppies: Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy Focus
- Adults (14 months and older): Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Savor (chicken)
Purina Pro Plan is not your only choice. There are several really good mid-priced dog foods out there. I don’t want to get involved in rating specific brands of food in this article so as always, do your own research and choose the right food for you and your fur-babies but don’t buy into hype; stick to science.
Summary
There are huge misconceptions about what constitutes “good” dog food, especially in recent years due to the marketing efforts of new dog food manufacturers. What our current domesticated dogs need is likely different from their wild ancestors needed several thousand years ago and we are unlikely to understand what that was back then anyway. Do your own research using scientific studies, not advertisements, fads, forums or Facebook and determine what is best for your beloved pet. Avoid the hype and let science guide you.
You should avoid food labeled “Grain Free” at almost any cost for most dogs but especially Golden Retrievers. Additionally you should avoid peas, legumes and potatoes in the first 5 or 6 ingredients in the list. Also don’t be afraid of “by-products” and “name meat” meal (like “chicken meal”) in the list.
There is no need to “break the bank” when buying dog food. There are quite a few really good quality choices in the mid-price ranges. The really expensive foods are not a cost-effective choice in our opinion unless you just have money to throw away and frankly, many of the most expensive foods are not something we’d be willing to feed our dogs even if we did.
We use the Purina Pro Plan line (non grain free). It is a very good mid-priced food and eaten by champions and thoroughly tested with great detail in the ingredient lists but it is not the only choice. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH!
About the Authors
Bryan and Terri Curry love all dogs in general, especially Golden Retrievers. They have had dogs for all but 6 months of their long lives and all have lived happy and much longer than average. Bryan and Terri are co-owners of Texas TLC Goldens; a small responsible breeder producing high quality Golden Retriever puppies.
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