# Old Gold Owners.. What do you feed, now and then ?



## jnmarr (Mar 7, 2008)

I am over thinking this food thing, I know. So far we are sticking with the Canidae ALS and home baked cookies and treats. Every time I think there may have been a problem I stuck it out and so far it has resolved itself. You must be doing SOMETHING right! Please share so we can all have ours for 2 decades, too. I know good genes are important.. but envirnment and nutrition have to play big roles, IMO.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

I really hope this thread gets lots of input... I think it will be so interesting......


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

I was using Canidae and loved there food until the new came out.... Thats when all 4 of my dogs started having problems, I switched to Innova evo and so far things have been good and I have noticed Cruiser's ears arent full of goop. As for treats they love there carrots and apples so I have stuck with those...


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## Mandy's Dad (May 27, 2008)

Mandy is only 11 plus now, but she has been eating "Hill's Prescription Diet CD" for the past three-four years. She previously had a slight food alergy (gnawing at her paws and scratching) and used to develop crystals in her urine, so the Vet put her on "CD". Seems to work pretty good!


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## Ash (Sep 11, 2007)

LOL I am not THAT old but then: Purnia ProPlan now: TOTW and Acana. Treats anything from ProPlan cookies, Nutro cookies and jerkey things, Natural Balance Roll, Greenies etc. etc.


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

My angel Cody, who died at almost 14 1/2, ate Canidae ALS for most of his life. His brother Toby, who died at 16 1/3, ate Costco food almost his whole life. I made homemade peanut butter treats, and Toby's mom made homemade pumpkin treats. They were from a BYB who did no clearances, but my Cody had a ton of medical issues; Toby was never sick in his life!


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

My Joplin lived 4/20/1987 to 9/14/2002 eating Eukanuba. 
Raleigh was 5/25/1993 to 6/26/2007 eating Eukanuba and then Canidae ALS as a senior.
We lost Acadia too young to hemangiosarcoma-8/18/1998 to 8/28/2007 eating Eukanuba. Her dad, Twin Beau D's Montego Bay also died at this age, so I'm not sure if genetics/food/or what happened, but it scared me so much.

We fed Finn, Tally, and Tango all Canidae ALS until the formula change, and are now struggling. Tango is eating Innova puppy, Finn and Tally are eating Eaglepack Holistic. We do sometimes use California Natural if someone has an upset tummy.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Beau is now eating Natural Balance low fat/senior food and they all have the natural balance beef roll that I cut pieces off and give as a snack. Beau is now 12 yrs 3 mo


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## nellie'smom (Dec 27, 2007)

Not goldens, but my Tasha (husky mix) ate anything that was "on sale".
(Back then, Pedigree the yellow bag with the pretty dogs was "expensive" to me)
When I got my beagle Molly, her and Tasha ate, (I am so embarrassed) Ol'roy canned with Ol' roy moist & meaty.:yuck: I fed the generic moist & meaty,:doh: not even purina 
I was in high school and worked at a local store, so thats what I could afford, or my parnets could afford at the time.
Tasha lived to be 17.
Molly lived to be 12-13.
Nellie (currently 5 yrs.) was on purina puppy chow @ 9 weeks.
So I began read various information on the internet about dog food and decided to try iams puppy. She hated it, she literally blew her nose in it and walked away.
She went back on puppy chow. At about 6 months I decided to try iams adult and she actually ate it. Then I read more on the net and decided to try various "healthier" foods. ( I have nothing against natural/holistic foods, I think they are great, they just don't work for Nellie) All ending up with the same result. Loose stool, stinky dog, anal gland issues:yuck::yuck:
So I have decided to quit messin' with the food and keep her on "chicken" based iams/ eukanuba. It is what she does best on.


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## amy22 (May 11, 2008)

I fed my Golden Sandy Nutro Lamb and Rice then switched to the Lite formula when she started packing on the pounds. She lived to the age of almost 13


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## Ardeagold (Feb 26, 2007)

I have Sasha who is 12 (soon to be 13), DD who is 11 (soon to be 12). They're both Goldens who we've owned since they were babies.

When we first got them they were on Purina Puppy Chow, and then we moved them on to Nutro Natural Choice LB. 

They did so so .... Sasha had chronic ear infections, and both became overweight.

About 5 years ago we switched them to Canidae ALS. The ear infections cleared up, and after about 2 years the extra weight came off.

When Canidae's formula changed, we kept them (and our other dogs) on it for about a month. Sasha and DD never did adjust. We were having problems with diarrhea...and they started getting UTI's, which neither had ever had in the past.

So, we switched them to Taste of the Wild about a month ago. They get a mixture of Wilderness Blend and whatever it is with Duck....or we'll add the Pacific Stream formula.

They're doing great on it. The diarrhea is gone, the UTI's are gone too.

Our other dogs are on it as well. We have an "old" Newf, who's doing great....and and "old" Lab who's also doing great.

Coats are shiny, energy level is good, digestion is good ... no problems at all.

I wish Canidae hadn't changed that formula ... I really didn't want to switch food, but we had to. We were also seeing ear infections in some of the younger dogs, and a couple of the Newfs were having diarrhea as well.


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## janni518 (Oct 13, 2008)

My Midas (almost 10 years old) was raised on Eukanuba until a few years ago. My daughter had some issues with their animal rights record and he was getting too fat. I tried him on all he pricey alternative foods but he was having constant digestive upset. My hubby brought home Pedigree Weight Maintainence from Target and he's been eating that fine until just recently. We supplement with brewers yeast tabs, and a bit of glucosamine.

I've noticed in the past 6 months that his coat isn't as shiny and his skin is flaking quite a bit. My groomer gave him a "hydro-massage" treatment which helped for a while but I'm thinking he needs a better diet. 

Open to suggestions.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

BeauShel said:


> Beau is now eating Natural Balance low fat/senior food and they all have the natural balance beef roll that I cut pieces off and give as a snack. Beau is now 12 yrs 3 mo


That sounds interesting for snacks, and I have never heard of a "beef roll". Do you keep it in the fridge? Would it be okay to try with a different brand of regular food? Thanks for the tip!


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## LOVEisGOLDEN (Jan 4, 2008)

Ljilly28 said:


> That sounds interesting for snacks, and I have never heard of a "beef roll". Do you keep it in the fridge? Would it be okay to try with a different brand of regular food? Thanks for the tip!


We refer to the lamb roll as "puppy crack". I use it with clients dogs & so far can get any dog to do any thing for it! I slice the entire roll & place 1 -2 slices in individual snack sized ziplock baggies. then keep them in the freezer. 

It can stay out in cool temps for a few days, but it really needs to be refrigerated. I have had some that got lost in my training bag & smelled horrible in 5-6 days. (it was left in my car in july...)


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

Ljilly28 said:


> That sounds interesting for snacks, and I have never heard of a "beef roll". Do you keep it in the fridge? Would it be okay to try with a different brand of regular food? Thanks for the tip!


Our trainer uses this as treats.... you can cut some up and keep it in the fridge and freeze the rest of the roll.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Thanks everyone. I am off on a Natural Balance "Roll" mission.


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## gggirl (May 8, 2008)

I had a Shihtzu growing up who lived to only 9. Her liver went on her. My mom fed her some grocery store food that was moist and looked like cut up spaghetti that came in packets. Who knows!!! She ate grapes! Bad now that i know all about food. She ate McDonalds when we traveled with her. Now that i look back, we brought on her death. How sad is that. But we didn't know back then what we know now.


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## magiclover (Apr 22, 2008)

Magic ate Iams until last spring. She had developed some digestive issues so I switched her to Canidae Lamb/Rice and then Canidae ALS. She has done well overall but I don't like the new formula as much. It seems like her poop is a little softer/runnier. I was thinking of trying Innova with her. I am going to feed the new pup Innova Lg Breed also.


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## janni518 (Oct 13, 2008)

We've decided to give the Purina ProPlan for Seniors a try. Mixed it in with his regular food without the salmon oil to see if he would eat and h he scarfed it right down. I'll increase the ration until we have him switched over. I've found that this way works best for him.

Really appreciate all the good info here.


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## boomers mom (Sep 17, 2008)

magiclover said:


> Magic ate Iams until last spring. She had developed some digestive issues so I switched her to Canidae Lamb/Rice and then Canidae ALS. She has done well overall but I don't like the new formula as much. It seems like her poop is a little softer/runnier. I was thinking of trying Innova with her. I am going to feed the new pup Innova Lg Breed also.


This is the reason we switched from canidae to innova large breed. Boomer was constantly having runny stools and gas like crazy. we switched him a couple months ago to the innova and everything is going great!


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## Griffyn'sMom (Mar 22, 2007)

Oh gosh - Jake started off on plain old Puppy Chow - then Wayne dog food (not sure if they make it anymore - saw a link that it may be Royal Canin?)- he ate everything from junky kibbles N bits - he liked Pedigree and the older he got the yuckier the dog food, the better. He didn't have much of an appetite so I tried everything - he also ate Nutro Lamb and Rice when we suspected allergies. Alpo was one he liked and the Kibbles and Bits canned. On top of all that he usually got a slice of bread each day and whatever was left on our plates after dinner. His favorite thing in the whole wide world? Pizza! He also liked corn on the cob and watermelon.

Crappy diet + lots of love = a 17 year lifespan. Go figure? :


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## jnmarr (Mar 7, 2008)

This is so interesting.. All my life I fed my dogs store brand foods. I started out with Purina Puppy Chow, then thought Pedigree was great.. Then Iams ... I am thinking that a lot of the problems we have now have to do with the fact that we import so much from other countries.. we pay our farmers not to grow then buy junk and put it in our dog foods.. ( people food, too ) Seems really stupid to me. My old dogs lived long happy healthy lives, no cancer, or problems on crappy food and left overs. If the kids dropped raisens or grapes they probably ate that, too. Seems the more advanced we get the farther behind we go! Please, keep the studies coming!


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## Meggie'sMom (Dec 24, 2007)

Meggie (10 years old) started out on Purina Puppy Chow and then Purina One, but at about 1 year we switched to Nutro Lamb and Rice. She stayed on it until the great dog food recall a year or two ago when I decided to look for something I thought may not have imported anything from China. We went with Wellness Senior dry. When Meggie was diagnosed with Lymphoma this year I decided since food is such a joy to her life that she needed to enjoy it as much as possible, so after to talking to friends with dogs and researching a bit I added Merrick canned food to her dry food. When she became so sick from her chemo that she wouldn't eat for a week and a half I began cooking for her also (after we got her stomach straightened out) - mostly chicken and rice . I have continued cooking for her because she enjoys it and I do like to make her happy. I have cut the rice out, just boil chicken in water and have begun adding Honest Kitchen Preference because I was afraid her diet wasn't balanced. She also takes her heart meds twice a day with either canned pumpkin or YoPlait vanilla yogurt (with probiotics).


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## magiclover (Apr 22, 2008)

boomers mom said:


> This is the reason we switched from canidae to innova large breed. Boomer was constantly having runny stools and gas like crazy. we switched him a couple months ago to the innova and everything is going great!


 
Well I just bought the Innova senior and have started mixing it in slowly with what is left of the Canidae. Hoping she does well on it.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

Ljilly28 said:


> Thanks everyone. I am off on a Natural Balance "Roll" mission.


<mission impossible sound track>>>> Good Luck!!

It is wonderful stuff...the dogs go nuts for it - 
Can be stored on a shelf until it is opened, freezes well...can be cut very small and is well-tolerated...


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

When I was growing up....
Wrinkles, a lab mix ate Alpo and Gainsburgers for 11 years. and table sraps. He was very obese through much of his life and I imagine that is why he died early.

My dads collie/shep mix lived to 13 eating the grocery store brands....and of course she was over-weight.

My collie/shep mix lived to be 7 years til I put him to sleep because I felt him a danger to the neighborhood kids. He ate grocery store...VERY ChEAP food (we were so poor) and was the healthiest dog I ever experienced. He got the occasional eye infection but that was it.

Lucky does much better on Eukanuba, pro-plan, Iams. Lesser foods like Pedigree and Dog Chow seem to correspond with flakey skin and drab coat. My other dogs didn't seem to have this problem with cheap food.


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## janni518 (Oct 13, 2008)

Lucky's mom said:


> When I was growing up....
> Wrinkles, a lab mix ate Alpo and Gainsburgers for 11 years. and table sraps. He was very obese through much of his life and I imagine that is why he died early.
> 
> My dads collie/shep mix lived to 13 eating the grocery store brands....and of course she was over-weight.
> ...


Gainsburgers! I remember when our beloved mutt got old and my mom said she was switching her to the "expensive" food and it was Gainsburgers. :lol:


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

On a different list I was reading about peoples' theories that some of the old time foods used to be baked instead of "extruded", and how that might have been better and a reason why dogs lived so long on cheap foods. It is all a mystery to me bc the vets seem behind/in conflict with nutritionists, and I never know who to believe.


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## jnmarr (Mar 7, 2008)

janni518 said:


> Gainsburgers! I remember when our beloved mutt got old and my mom said she was switching her to the "expensive" food and it was Gainsburgers. :lol:


I have a cousin that put her 14 year old American Eskimo on Beniful so he would get more vegetables! ??? :doh:


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## 2StupidDogs (Aug 17, 2008)

Barckley,now 12.5 and healthy, ate Innova as a pup and most of her adult life. (puppy, maintenance, and then senior). We switched around then and have now settled on Wellness Core Reduced Fat. For a while she tended to get ear infections unless she had a omega fatty acid supplement. Now she gets a senior vitamin with her food, some digestive enzymes, and rutin.


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

My old goldens who lived to be 12, 12 and 14 all ate Purina Dog Chow from the grocery store. When we got Selka and Gunner, their breeder fed Nutro Natural Choice so they ate NNC Lamb and Rice untill this last spring. All the websites badmouthing it scared me. We never had any problems with it and I honestly don't think Gunner's mediacal problems (eyes and thyroid) are from that food but maybe I am in denial. Anyway we switched to Nature's Variety Prairie which is an excellent quality food made here in Lincoln. They seemed to be doing alot of scratching but it seems to have calmed down now that the weather has cooled off so I am hoping it was weather related allergies not the food. I have fed the lamb, chicken and now the salmon for their coats. If they seem to like it, I may stick with the salmon. 

Jill, I feed the Natural Balance Turkey Roll for treats. The boys LOVE it!!!!


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Pro Plan here for my 12 year old, previously Pro Plan for my 11 year old but now Royal Canin's IVD Rabbit and Potato prescription food for him since he has inflammatory bowel disease. Pro Plan for the pupper, too.
I've boarded some REALLY old dogs here at the dog hotel (a 16 year old rottie, an 18 year old lab mix, a 19 year old eskie, an 18 year old beagle mix) and the observation that I made is that ALL the really old dogs I've boarded, without exception, ate nothing but commercial kibble from one of the big manufacturers (various ones) their whole life.


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## GoldenOwner12 (Jun 18, 2008)

our australian cattle dog that has now past was feed supermarket home brand food all her life and lived to 16 years old. Einstein has been back and forth with hills science diet and supermarket food. At the moment there geting coprice thinking of changing to supercoat or optimum. My guys also get an raw egg weekly and bones 2 to 3 times a week depending what i have in the fridge. They also sometimes get table scraps potato,pumpkin,carrots,beans,cooked meat and sometimes gravy.


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