Attitudes about dog foods have changed significantly over the last 5+ years. The old advice to never feed dogs tablescraps is shifting toward “Supplementation with quality meats and slightly cooked vegetables might be a smart idea.” A percentage of the people ‘in the know’ carry the philosophy further, to “Why use prepared dogfood with chemicals and inferior ingredients, when I can make my own?” Most of us frankly do not have the time or inclination to prepare our own home made dogfood. We can guard our canines’ health by providing quality dry dogfood (“kibble”) instead of doggy junk food.
Golden Retrievers (and some other breeds) commonly battle food allergies, sensitive skin, and susceptibly toward cancer. GRR notes obvious differences in the health, skin, and coats of dogs surrendered to our program, directly relating to the quality of the food they have been fed over their lifetime. The old adage is generally true. You DO get what you pay for.
The first question is "What type of diet do you want for your canine?”
Many of the super premium kibbles are made from ingredients "fit for human consumption" and have fewer processed ingredients. Difference between premium and super premium is the quality of the ingredients and the digestibility of the food. If dogs are able to utilize the food better, you feed less food so you pick up less poop.
Lynnie Goodman of “Wonder Dogs!?” has a Bachelor’s Degree in Animal Behavior from the University of Vermont, and belongs to multiple training, behavior and rescue associations. She uses positive reinforcement to teach canine obedience, clicker training, and agility. Lynnie specializes in private consultations for behavior problems, generally with dogs, cats or birds. She has done a fair amount of research in the area of canine diet and nutrition. We asked Lynnie for an overview of food choices for our canine companions.
