# 8 year old Golden Retriever



## Golden Angel (Jun 14, 2014)

Hi I'm new :wave:

My Golden Retriever Angel is 8 years old and has these problems;
*dry skin
*itchy skin
*red skin
*scabs all over back, chest and tail
*weak hip and joints
*Gains weight really quick
*eats very fast
*Very gassy
She is on Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Senior along with Hill’s Science Diet Large Breed Adult and Wellness Simple Salmon and Potato mixed in. She has only had chicken her entire life. These are the brands that she has tried as a puppy and a adult;
*Eukanuba Puppy
*Purina Pro Plan Puppy
*Purina One Adult
*Hill’s Science Diet Large Breed Adult
*Royal Canine Golden Retriever
*Blue Buffalo Large Breed Senior
*Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Senior
*Wellness Simple Salmon and Potato
None of these I was happy with and none of them did the trick except for Royal Canine (kinda). What can you suggest? I’m open to ANY suggestions, including all life stages dog food. She will eat anything and I mean anything at all. My only stipulation is that I can find the brand in multiple stores. She never gets bored of the same brand or flavor.
Thank You All


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## Anon-2130948gsoni (Apr 12, 2014)

Have you had her thyroid tested? She's the right age for hypothyroid and several of the symptoms you list could be related.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

I agree, have her thyroid tested. If you have not done so yet, have a geriatric profile done which does include CBC, serum chemistry, Thyroid and urinalysis. That is recommended for every senior starting at 6 - 7 years old, depends on the vet clinic. Should be done yearly, the older they get, every 6 months. 

Once you know if she is hypothyroid, take it from there. With medication, some of the symptoms should subside. 
Have you started her on a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement and adding fish oil to her diet? Both are good for maintaining the joints and the fish oil is also great for the skin and coat.

You say she has had only chicken all her life? But you are feeding food with salmon, and the Nutro's Natural Choice she got as a pup has lamb meal in it for protein. 
I think thyroid testing is your first step to do now - that would answer a lot of questions for you and help you stick with just one dog food that agrees with her.


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## Golden Angel (Jun 14, 2014)

She just started the Wellness Simple Salmon and Potato and all of her other brands of dry food were and still are chicken. Thanks for the tip of the thyroid. She's never tried lamb at all.


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## cgriffin (Nov 30, 2011)

Sorry, I thought the Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Senior was lamb meal - my bad.


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## goldy1 (Aug 5, 2012)

Hi and welcome,

Besides having her thyroid tested, here is a suggestion that completely eliminated my Golden's skin problems (many of the same ones as yours). 

Switch over (gradually of course) to a grain free diet. My Golden is also 8 years old and I made the switch to G.F about 4 years ago. His skin is never itchy anymore. He also used to get itchy ears that needed antibiotic. Grain-free completely resolved this as well !

He eats Wellness Core Dry (original) and Merrick G.F. Texas Beef and Sweet Potato. Absolutely loves them both. 

To slow his eating down, I hand feed him. I make his mealtime last at least 10 minutes this way. It gives him time to hopefully digest his meals a little better. 

Hope this helps!


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## Golden Angel (Jun 14, 2014)

My Golden Retriever has food aggression so hand feeding is out of the question. lol 

She isn't picky so choosing a grain free diet sound great. What protein source should I go with?


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

I would suggest going with Salmon, my two do well on Salmon where they haven't on other proteins, especially chicken. 

My girl will be 10 in December.


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