What is the best food to feed adult Golden Retrievers?

Question

I have a beautiful Golden named Cashew. Unfortunately, finances are scarce at the moment, hopefully that will change. So in the meantime he has been eating Pedigree. He doesn't love it but he eats it. Any reccommendations as to food I could make at home or something that is healthier than Pedigree but not expensive? Thank you for any help.
Claire

Answer 1

You can feed your dog Purina Dog Chow. This food is relatively cheap and is really not as bad as no name brand. I work for two vets and they feed all of their animals Science Diet...but this is really expensive. When I asked them what would be ok to feed them that is cheap.....they said Purina. Otherwise for a treat you can splurge by mixing a cup of Purina with a 1/2 cup of canned chicken. Cashew will love it!

Answer 2

The thing is, if you feed a quality dog food, it might seem to be more $$$, but in reality, they get their nutrition in smaller amounts, and the food is more digestible and they eat a whole lot less. So it really works out to be fairly close in price in the end..

Avoid Pedigree, Old Roy, Beneful, Iams, Eukanuba,
all those crappy foods that are either preserved with cancer causing chemicals, or are corn based diets.
You might think that feeding a cheaper diet is better, but you end up cleaning up more dog poop, but you also end up spending far more money at the vet for problems that could be avoided by feeding a better dog food.

Check out the Canidae, Great dogfood, dogs love it, coats are great, lost of energy, nice poops, and it's not all that expensive...

Answer 3

Nutro Natural Choice is one of the better foods in the lower price range, though I'm sure it's still noticably more expensive than your grocery store foods.

If your supermarket has a discount meat section, or you can get in good with a butcher shop, feeding actual meat and bones is actually very heatlhy for your dogs. You'll want to research raw or BARF diets and recipes online to get a good understanding of what you can or can't feed the dogs (no cooked bones - could choke on splinters!).

Another thing to consider - high quality foods actually have more calories in smaller amounts of food, so even though a pound of premium food costs more, you end up feeding your dog less of it and the dog still looks fantastic. Rather than calculate how much a bag costs, calculate how much you spend per month based on how much you end up feeding.

Answer 4

Your Golden should be getting a large breed food. Look at Nutro Large breed dog food or even Canidea dog food. Both are just about the same price. They a bit more than Pedigree but it is better for your Golden than Pedigree.
What ever you decide to feed him just dont get O'Roy from Wal mart. It's the worst food on the market OK.

Answer 5

Anything is better than Pedigree. Homecooking is a great choice.. but you need to do your homework and learn how to make sure your pet gets all the vitamins he needs to be healthy. Last thing you'd want to do is make him sick because he is not getting complete nutrition. I'd try looking into Canidae dog food... it is a premium dog food but it works out to a little over $1 a pound. If you feed him a better quality food he will actually have to eat less to get what he needs to be healthy... you should compare serving sizes with Pedigree.. he has to eat way more Pedigree to get what he needs..besides you are feeding such a crappy food he is more likely to suffer from allergies and other illnesses which you might think you are cutting corners by feeding him a grocery store food.. but really you are setting him up for more expensive vet visits. You real choice should be getting on a good food so he will be more likely to stay healthy while you are unable to afford this expensive vet bills. Instead of buying your cigarettes or a mocha save a couple dollars and buy better quality food.

Answer 6

I'm a sales consultant for Nutro Pet Foods--I would highly recommend Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed. It comes in Chicken or Lamb and Rice Flavor.

It is reasonably priced, and much better quality than Pedigree. Nutro has no fillers, preservatives corn or meat by products. It is all natural!

Answer 7

You could try a raw diet. I feed a raw diet to my labs. They are fairly large, the biggest one weighs in at about 100lbs. By switching to a raw diet I have actually been able to cut my dog food bill in half. You just need to shop around a little.

My dogs have never been healthier or happier. They absolutely love meal times now.

Here's some information about raw diets.

There is another diet option other than dog food. Some people choose to feed a raw diet. This involves feeding the dog raw meaty bones and organ meat. However it is not as simple as throwing a couple chicken bones in a bowl everyday. If you wish to feed this type of diet, do lots and lots of research first. Switching to this diet without knowing what your doing can lead to nutritional problems for your dog. I'll give you some links as a starting point in research if you are interested in this type of diet.

http://www.willowglen.com/barf.htm.........

http://www.bestfrisbeedogs.com/diets.htm...

http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html.....

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html.....

http://www.rawdogranch.com

What's Really In Pet Food
http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&m...

Answer 8

At least your doing the right thing, pedigree is better then ol'roy from wal mart! Try Diamond, its a good dog food at a good price. Its up there with Iams e.t.c. They dont advertise on tv because they put their money in the food. I've been using Diamond for 10 years or so, and the dogs coat is healthy, shiny and think. Thats the first thing to look for. Good Luck! God Bless!

Answer 9

If Money is an issue but you want the best quality for your dollar, Start reading the ingredients. Get the one that is in your price range where the very first ingredient on the list is a meat like chicken, beef.

Answer 10

I feed my golden vet prescribed food. Now, I know it is expensive but you need LESS of it. I find it works out cheaper than standard food you buy at the supermarket.

Also, vegetables are good as is rice - you could add some of this into his food.
Good luck - goldens are awesome pets. Take care.