# dog food...



## Goldens&Friesians (May 31, 2014)

Love Purina, but get either Pro Plan or One if you use Purina because those are their top of the line foods. My first golden was fed exclusively Purina One and she lived to 15 1/2 yrs. My sister's lab/gsd mix is currently 13 1/2. Not saying it makes your dog live longer or anything, but its served ours very well.


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## suzydee (May 7, 2012)

Wow!! 15 yrs. thats great!! Merrick I believe is owned by Purina...It has great reviews but just not certain. We recently lost our 13 yr. old so I guess this is where I'm double checking myself with everything I do. My Murphy is 5 now, he is healthy other than the paw issue ...which could be environmental. But thought maybe should start with the food. Thank you so much for your insight!


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## usually lurking (Apr 21, 2017)

There are a lot of people on the forum with allergic dogs that feed (and get good resutls with) Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon, if you want a fish based food.


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## suzydee (May 7, 2012)

Thank you! will look into that one.


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## zozopup (Jan 28, 2017)

I just signed on here for the very same thing. Our 9 month old has an infected paw from the constant chewing/licking she has been doing. Also scratches her head. Sneezing a bit. I think it may be the tall grasses she runs through but also was told could be food. I feed her a little of everything so I have no idea where to begin. I heard lamb is pretty good. Bison and Venison too. Beef and chicken supposedly the worst.


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## usually lurking (Apr 21, 2017)

zozopup said:


> I just signed on here for the very same thing. Our 9 month old has an infected paw from the constant chewing/licking she has been doing. Also scratches her head. Sneezing a bit. I think it may be the tall grasses she runs through but also was told could be food. I feed her a little of everything so I have no idea where to begin. I heard lamb is pretty good. Bison and Venison too. Beef and chicken supposedly the worst.


That sounds environmental, but, typically, the way to begin would be to feed a single meat protein kibble for at least 8 weeks and see if your dog improves/gets worse/stays the same. During that time, you ONLY feed the kibble. No treats, etc. If you then suspect your dog is still allergic, you'd pick a different food with a different single meat protein. Just be aware that the majority of single meat protein foods are grain free, which has recently become a suspect in some cases of DCM in certain breeds, including Goldens. 

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...low-taurine-grain-free-foods-dcm-goldens.html


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## ScottTheMurse (Jul 30, 2017)

I feed Bailey Wellness Grain Free Puppy food and she loves it! I originally had her on Blue Wilderness but her stomach didn't handle it. Switched her over to Wellness her her stools hardened up and she started to gain weight. I'd recommend it.


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## NothingbutGold (Apr 2, 2017)

My 13 week puppy decided he no longer liked Orijen. I have a neighbor who has two King Charles Spaniels who struggle with skin allergies and other allergies. They feed their dogs Blue Buffalo Basics (Salmon and Sweet Potato) and their dog's allergies have cleared up. I fed my pup some of their kibble and he loved so much that I bought the puppy version for him. He does not have allergies but he is no longer fussy about eating.


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## LdyTlfrd (Jan 11, 2017)

You could try looking here


Dry Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Advisor


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

suzydee said:


> Wow!! 15 yrs. thats great!! Merrick I believe is owned by Purina...It has great reviews but just not certain. We recently lost our 13 yr. old so I guess this is where I'm double checking myself with everything I do. My Murphy is 5 now, he is healthy other than the paw issue ...which could be environmental. But thought maybe should start with the food. Thank you so much for your insight!


Actual food allergies are rare. Environmental or contact allergies are much more common. If you haven't done specific allergy testing, I would forget about that for now and look for a kibble that the dog likes and does well with. 

I agree with your Vet. Pro Plan makes a number of formulas suitable for most dogs. Eukanuba isn't bad either. Both companies do life long feeding trials with their products so they know how well the product works when fed to real dogs for a lifetime. This is something that the others don't do and it has lead to some problems (DCM).


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Swampcollie said:


> I agree with your Vet. Pro Plan makes a number of formulas suitable for most dogs. Eukanuba isn't bad either. *Both companies do life long feeding trials with their products so they know how well the product works when fed to real dogs for a lifetime. This is something that the others don't do and it has lead to some problems* (DCM).


This is part of why I like Pro Plan. The other part is the results I see in my dog. She was on Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy, then Adult Chicken and Rice, and now is on the Sensitive Skin and Stomach salmon formula. My vet spent some time at Purina's animal nutrition lab and said she was blown away by the level of research they do.


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## Ivyacres (Jun 3, 2011)

We are_ home body couch potatoes_ who go to the lake occasionally so to keep Honey trim we chose Merrick Healthy Weight formula a few years ago. 
This spring when she seemed itchy we switched to Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon formula. The scratching stopped and her coat's beautiful but I didn't pay attention to the Kcal per cup of food and one day I was shocked when I noticed that my beautiful redhead looked like a sausage! 
We're switching to Merrick Salmon formula. Hopefully this will work well for her.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Ivyacres said:


> We are_ home body couch potatoes_ who go to the lake occasionally so to keep Honey trim we chose Merrick Healthy Weight formula a few years ago.
> This spring when she seemed itchy we switched to Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon formula. The scratching stopped and her coat's beautiful but I didn't pay attention to the Kcal per cup of food and one day I was shocked when I noticed that my beautiful redhead looked like a sausage!
> We're switching to Merrick Salmon formula. Hopefully this will work well for her.


Why not just check the calories and adjust if you like the results from the Pro Plan?


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## Ivyacres (Jun 3, 2011)

Sweet Girl said:


> Why not just check the calories and adjust if you like the results from the Pro Plan?


That's what we're doing right now but Honey seems hungry after eating the reduced amount of kibble in her bowl.

My bad, I never thought to check the difference in calories and adjust the amount we fed Honey when we switched food. 
Purina Pro Plan is 447 Kcal/cup, the Merrick is 360 Kcal/cup, a big difference since our goal is between 600 and 650 Kcal/cup. 

We follow the formula of 100 kcal/cup for each 10 lbs of weight, so 600 kcal/cup should be good for a goal of a weight of 60 lbs. Honey was content when we fed her about 3/4 c of kibble twice a day plus a little carrot and of course some treats during the day. She's not so happy with her kibble reduced to just over 1/2 c. twice a day.

Both brands are healthy choices so we're going back to Merrick but the Salmon and Sweet Potato flavor (Honey loves both of these!) with 354 Kcal/cup. :smile2:


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## Marry Ann (Aug 20, 2017)

You can see here 

https://petcaresunday.com/best-dog-food-for-golden-retriever/


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