This past summer my wife and I made a big decision. We decided to get a Golden Retriever puppy. Being the researcher I am, I was immediately overwhelmed with questions and in search of answers. One of the biggest questions I had to answer was what should I feed my puppy. How much does dog food cost? Is there a difference between premium dog food and standard dog food? What kind of food should I get? After looking in to it further, I was quite surprised by my findings. First, there is not a large price variance in dog food. There are cheaper brands most of which you want to avoid, however, most food in my area was approximately $50 for a 30lb bag.
When you are looking to purchase dog food, make sure you read the ingredients. The first ingredients should be a meat that you would consume. Many foods, including some premium brands, list low quality ingredients. When you get a puppy and are looking to decide on a food there are two easy sources for advice, your breeder and your veterinarian. Many new dog books advise you to consult with these two sources. In our case our breeder was feeding the puppies Beneful, which is a low quality food that is marketed as a wholesome food. Here are the first ingredients: ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour... Our veterinarian sells Hill's Science Diet. The surprising fact is that Hill's is also low quality. Here are the first ingredients: ground whole grain corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, liver flavor, dried beet pulp... I am sure there are breeders and veterinarians that recommend quality foods, my advices is to make sure you do your homework before you accept their recommendations.
After not finding great results from my breeder and veterinarian, I turned to the Internet in search of a protein rich, high quality food for my puppy. I quickly found that there are very few foods of good quality on the market. I decided to try Orijen which offered a large breed puppy kibble. Here are the ingredients: Fresh deboned chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, russet potato, fresh deboned salmon, herring meal, sweet potato, peas, fresh deboned lake whitefish... When I read this, I knew that I had found the right food. Orijen is manufactured in Canada and is sold through boutique retailers in the United States. It averages around $59 for a 30lb bag. Thankfully I found a great online pet store, Pet Net Direct, that offered the Orijen line and had reasonable shipping costs. My puppy has been eating Orijen now for 7 months and I could not be happier with this food. He has a great coat, which is a sign that he is eating healthy, and he is happy as can be.
I hope this helps you as you try to find the right solution for your puppy.
