Which Dog Food Is Best For My Golden Retriever Puppy?

Overview

While there are many different dog food brands on the market, most types of dog food can be broken down into the following categories (1) Dry food, commonly called kibble. (2) Wet Food, commonly termed canned. (3) Dehydrated. (4) Raw. Each type of food has its pros and cons.

Kibble

Kibble is the standard dog food offered by most pet food companies. Manufactured through a process called extrusion, the ingredients are combined, cooked at high heat, and then extruded through a machine to form small pellets (kibbles). Kibble is easy to store and serve. However, it has a low moisture content and lower quality kibbles often contain fillers, artificial additives, and preservatives. The high temperatures required to make kibble can also cause carcinogens (cancer-causing) agents to form in certain ingredients. Although not common, some dogs can have palatability or taste issues with kibble.

Windy Knoll Goldens recommends Zignature kibble.  Available in a variety of delicious formulas, this is one of the highest quality dry foods on the market. Zignature states, “Our meat-first, limited-ingredient philosophy drove us to create a food Physiologically Tuned™ to your dog. The result was a meat first nutrition with low-carbohydrate ingredients, healthy enough to become your pet’s signature food for life.” Windy Knoll Goldens has been feeding Zignature dry food to our dogs for multiple years. Zignature can be fed to dogs of all ages from puppy through senior stages.

Wet Food

Usually packaged in cans or pouches, wet food is moisture-rich with a softer texture, more flavor, and is generally easier for dogs to digest. Wet food has a shorter shelf life when opened and tends to be more expensive. Quality wet food normally has a higher protein content and fewer carbohydrates than comparable dry food.

Windy Knoll Goldens recommends Zignature wet food. There are several other high quality wet food brands that are also worth a look: Open Farm, Instinct, and Blue Buffalo.

Dehydrated

Dehydrated dog food is a type of food where the moisture is gradually removed from fresh ingredients at low temperature to preserve nutrients and flavor. This carefully controlled process ensures that more vitamins, minerals, and enzymes are saved. It provides a nutrient dense meal for your dog. Packaged, it weighs far less than other types of dog food and has a long shelf life. This type of dog food does require the extra step of adding water or broth when feeding. With high quality, mostly whole food, and often human-grade ingredients, it is expensive. Atlhough produced in a different way, freeze-dried dog food is similar with an even higher retention of nutrients.

Windy Knoll Goldens recommends The Honest Kitchen. It is the only dog food that our kennel assistant was every tempted to eat. The Turkey Recipe has been especially popular with our dogs. The company shares, “The Honest Kitchen believes human grade, whole foods provide pets the best nutrition possible. This whole grain recipe is made with uncompromising quality control standards using real, whole food ingredients, like free range chicken, that are gently dehydrated to maintain nutrients & taste. To meet our 100% human grade standard, we use the same whole food ingredients you’d recognize in your own kitchen, and make this recipe in a human food facility. Just add warm water and wait three minutes for a tasty, homemade meal that you and your pets will love!”

Raw

Raw dog food is essentially the original/pre-domesticated dog food. It is a mix of uncooked meat, bones, eggs, and fruits/vegetables. Raw dog food can be homemade or store-bought. While there are disagreements among veterinary professionals about the value of a raw food diet, it does have potential benefits. It has been shown to improve coats, increase skin health, fuel high energy levels, strengthen teeth, streamline digestion, and promote overall health. Raw food preparation is time intensive and there is a possibility of exposure to bacteria in the raw meat. For those interested in digging deeper into the raw food philosophy, check out the book Give Your Dog a Bone by Ian Billinghurst.

Windy Knoll Goldens recommends BARF. This commercially available product stands for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food. The company focuses on a holistic natural diet, “Raw meat pet food offers living enzymes your dog needs for a lifetime of health, while processed choices are full of toxins and chemicals.  BARF® pet food combines evolutionary science and recent studies to deliver vitamins, minerals, and more to your dog.”

Conclusion

There isn’t one food fits all dog diets. Based on your puppy’s specifics (size, breed, age, activity level), your budget, and your preparation environment, you will have to research and decide what food type and brand is best suited for your dog. Please reach out with any feeding related questions; we would be glad to share from our golden retriever expertise and years of experience.