Best food for a Golden Retriever Puppy

[JodiM]

She has been on Nutro Natural Choice, large breed lamb & rice puppy, and to be honest, I'm not that impressed.

I want to make sure I get a good one for her, since we have to worry about hip dysplasia (sp??) later on since she's a golden.

What is another good dog food?

[Sailor]

You could feed raw; it really is the best for them.

I happen to feed my GSD Timberwolf Organics. But, that's only because he refuses to eat raw. This is very uncommon in dogs, usually they prefer raw over anything else. So, if you go that route, I'm sure your pup will love it. It's also cheaper, too.

[JodiM]

Originally Posted by Sailor

You could feed raw; it really is the best for them.

Raw food? Or is that a food name?

[Eman'smom]

Raw as in well raw, uncooked meats and a such, I'm sure someone has a link I don't seem too.

We did raw for a bit, but I couldn't make it affordable, I don't know what I was doing, most people can do it cheaper.

We feed Innova and am very happy with it. When our pup was a puppy we did large breed puppy, now we just do reg.

[EdlynsMom]

http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm

Raw is great! If you can find a good butcher, it can be cheaper, but you need more freezer space.

[thekimballs]

If you want to stick to kibble, I've had a lot of success with Sold Gold Wolf King (I wouldn't use puppy food, even large-breed puppy food; a good adult food is great for him). My other favorite kibble brands are Natural Balance, Back to Basics, and Canidae. Brands that I think are way overrated: Innova, Eagle, Chicken Soup.

Don't feed lamb and rice unless the dog is allergic to chicken. Lamb and rice foods have always been second best, designed for allergic dogs; I don't know why they got so popular but the normal version is usually the best.

My site in my signature has a raw diet explanation and sample menu.

[JodiM]

I know my dog needs a special supplement (glucosamine ???) for hip dyslpasia- will she get this doing a raw diet? Or would I have to get her some kind of vitamin?

[thekimballs]

Does she HAVE dysplasia? or is this just maintenance?

If she has dysplasia, she should get a glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM supplement no matter what she is eating. If you're just trying to prevent it, a raw diet is sufficient.

[JodiM]

Originally Posted by thekimballs

Does she HAVE dysplasia? or is this just maintenance?

If she has dysplasia, she should get a glucosamine/chondroitin/MSM supplement no matter what she is eating. If you're just trying to prevent it, a raw diet is sufficient.

No, it's just to help so she doesn't get it.

[Sailor]

Is there a specific reason as to why you're so worried about hip dysplasia? Did you get the dog from a pet store? A rescue organization? A breeder?

If all you want to do is prevent, as the previous poster pointed out, raw is all you need. Beyond that, you can only hope (if you don't know) that her genetics are sound. If you're really worried, you can do preliminary x-rays at around the 8 month mark to see how her hips look. Conversely, when you neuter the dog, you can ask the vet to do hip x-rays.

[JodiM]

She came from a breeder, but we weren't that impressed with her.

I am worried about it because I've heard it's common in Golden Retrievers... she has become such a big part of our family, I don't want anything to happen to her

[~PurityLake~]

Originally Posted by thekimballs

If you want to stick to kibble, I've had a lot of success with Sold Gold Wolf King (I wouldn't use puppy food, even large-breed puppy food; a good adult food is great for him). My other favorite kibble brands are Natural Balance, Back to Basics, and Canidae. Brands that I think are way overrated: Innova, Eagle, Chicken Soup.

Don't feed lamb and rice unless the dog is allergic to chicken. Lamb and rice foods have always been second best, designed for allergic dogs; I don't know why they got so popular but the normal version is usually the best.

My site in my signature has a raw diet explanation and sample menu.

I second that

[mamanurse]

Originally Posted by JodiM

I know my dog needs a special supplement (glucosamine ???) for hip dyslpasia- will she get this doing a raw diet? Or would I have to get her some kind of vitamin?

I don't know if your dog "needs" to have extra glucosamine chondroiting, but if she does you can buy it fairly cheap at Trader Joe

[QueenOfThePride]

Blue Buffalo has glucosamine and chondroitin already added into the food. Blue mixes in a cold formed (basically raw) kibble in with the cooked kibble. They are called Lifesource Bits and contain the glucosamine and chondroitin, antioxidants, Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, and other nutrients that would be damaged by heat processing. www.bluebuff.com

That is if you prefer to feed a kibble rather than raw.