sheena Posted September 15, 2011 Share Posted September 15, 2011 (edited) It would be good if you could get a generous sample of whatever food you choose, before you buy. If you get in touch with Black Hawk in Victoria, they will send you out a sample to try. That's what I have raised my Border Collie Pup on (the Adult mix)...don't see why it wouldn't suite a Golden Retriever Pup. The Adult Mix is 25% protein & 14% fat. It contains lots of good stuff for their coat etc. I have just visited a friend in Sydney & they have a Golden Retriever (this is probably off topic). She is overweight & has the roughest coat which falls out every time she shakes or has a scratch. I asked them what she gets fed....hmmmm.....4 cups of supermarket kibble with a slice of supermarket pet roll each day & no bones. I took them down a kilo of Black Hawk, but they wern't even interested enough to read the bag Maybe other pet food companies can send you out samples as well. Edited September 15, 2011 by sheena Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesn184 Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 (edited) well I dropped into a pet store on the way home after starting this thread. The person gave me the options of Royal Canin, Pro plan, Science diet and Barf... It was also mentioned there was 1 ingredient in Royal Canin that is a little suspect interms of cancer... I only picked up a small bag of science diet to try it out as rosey had a habbit of trying to eat her stool which means something was missing out of her diet.. I also dont want to feed my puppy red meat. Edited September 16, 2011 by jamesn184 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 what is suspect in terms of cancer? I find it one of the best around? Red meat, if your dog can tolerate it, is better then all poultry diet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesn184 Posted September 16, 2011 Author Share Posted September 16, 2011 what is suspect in terms of cancer? I find it one of the best around? Red meat, if your dog can tolerate it, is better then all poultry diet. Well the breeder told me that red meat would make her constipated and shorten her life span... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WreckitWhippet Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 what is suspect in terms of cancer? I find it one of the best around? Red meat, if your dog can tolerate it, is better then all poultry diet. Well the breeder told me that red meat would make her constipated and shorten her life span... Too much bone will make a dog constipated and no, red meat will not shorten a dogs life span. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted September 16, 2011 Share Posted September 16, 2011 Jamesn thats just not true at all!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panzer Attack! Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Artemis is another really good food if you can source it! Medium/Large Puppy. You may as well just feed straight Supercoat if you're going to mix Hills in with it, the quality is too similar unfortunately Good on you for trying to do the right thing by your pup tho, it's a steep learning curve for everyone! Of the more widely available foods, I'd be feeding either Royal Canin Maxi Puppy or RC Lab Junior, as has been recommended by others. In terms of feeding red meat, my dog and foster both eat it or a bone at least every second day, the pup since I brought him home, and he's healthy and bright as a button. Neither of them have ever been constipated! My other dog has eaten red meat for the 7 years we've had him and is one of the healthiest dogs I have ever met, being to the vet once in that entire time! He's also never been constipated. Also interested in hearing about what it is in RC that causes cancer... E x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesn184 Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 Artemis is another really good food if you can source it! Medium/Large Puppy. You may as well just feed straight Supercoat if you're going to mix Hills in with it, the quality is too similar unfortunately Good on you for trying to do the right thing by your pup tho, it's a steep learning curve for everyone! Of the more widely available foods, I'd be feeding either Royal Canin Maxi Puppy or RC Lab Junior, as has been recommended by others. In terms of feeding red meat, my dog and foster both eat it or a bone at least every second day, the pup since I brought him home, and he's healthy and bright as a button. Neither of them have ever been constipated! My other dog has eaten red meat for the 7 years we've had him and is one of the healthiest dogs I have ever met, being to the vet once in that entire time! He's also never been constipated. Also interested in hearing about what it is in RC that causes cancer... E x Well I was informed that 1 ingredient was a carcinogenic. Last couple of meals Rosey has been turning her nose up at Science diet food... this morning she barely touch it and last night she left half of her dinner I might look at another type of kibble. Or is it possible to create my own diet with chicken pet mince, vegies etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Online Pets Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 I have my pup on Royal Canin lab junior, think they do a goldie formula too?? They do but the Golden Retriever formula is only available as an adult formula not junior.....yet I would suggest either the Royal Canin Lab junior or the Advance Growth Lge Breed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danois Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Just check the protein levels. You need to make sure the protein levels are about 22% and about 12-14% fat for a large breed. I can't stress how important that is. They need to grow slowly, especially for their first 12 months. Actually it is not the protein to fat ratio which is the important bit. The calcium to phosphorous ratio is also as important (if not more so). Or is it possible to create my own diet with chicken pet mince, vegies etc? Plenty of time for a raw diet once they're an adult. It is really important that large breed dogs are grown slowly and steadily with the right ratios (per my comment above). A decent dry food will help you do that without the hassles and research. I have raised my giant breeds on Eagle Pack and Canidae and Royal Canin and recommend any of them. I would not put any weight on the comment re RC from the pet store. From what I have read RC spends a lot of time and money on research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotdashdot Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Artemis is another really good food if you can source it! Medium/Large Puppy. You may as well just feed straight Supercoat if you're going to mix Hills in with it, the quality is too similar unfortunately Good on you for trying to do the right thing by your pup tho, it's a steep learning curve for everyone! Of the more widely available foods, I'd be feeding either Royal Canin Maxi Puppy or RC Lab Junior, as has been recommended by others. In terms of feeding red meat, my dog and foster both eat it or a bone at least every second day, the pup since I brought him home, and he's healthy and bright as a button. Neither of them have ever been constipated! My other dog has eaten red meat for the 7 years we've had him and is one of the healthiest dogs I have ever met, being to the vet once in that entire time! He's also never been constipated. Also interested in hearing about what it is in RC that causes cancer... E x Well I was informed that 1 ingredient was a carcinogenic. Last couple of meals Rosey has been turning her nose up at Science diet food... this morning she barely touch it and last night she left half of her dinner I might look at another type of kibble. Or is it possible to create my own diet with chicken pet mince, vegies etc? Take the Hills back to the pet store, its 100% money back if the dog doesn't like it. Maybe give it a few more days and then take it back to the shop saying you've given it a good go. I work in a pet store - they HAVE to give you money/exchange etc as they get a credit from Hills. Learnt quite a lot this year, especially about reading the ingredients list - grains in higher % than meat is a worry, as is the case with Hills and some Advance unfortunately. We've had great success with EP Holistic Select in store with skin issues, but I personally am switching to Black Hawk Holistic for my dal pup (won't be telling the boss that :D ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesn184 Posted September 17, 2011 Author Share Posted September 17, 2011 Take the Hills back to the pet store, its 100% money back if the dog doesn't like it. Maybe give it a few more days and then take it back to the shop saying you've given it a good go. I work in a pet store - they HAVE to give you money/exchange etc as they get a credit from Hills. Learnt quite a lot this year, especially about reading the ingredients list - grains in higher % than meat is a worry, as is the case with Hills and some Advance unfortunately. We've had great success with EP Holistic Select in store with skin issues, but I personally am switching to Black Hawk Holistic for my dal pup (won't be telling the boss that :D ) I might do that actually, and try the Advance kibble Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumtoshelley Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Buddy And Shelley our goloden retrievers both eat raw minced meat and black hawk. I have found my guys are doing well on black hawk, there coats look and feel 100% better, there isn't as much poo laying around either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Well I was informed that 1 ingredient was a carcinogenic.red meat would make her constipated and shorten her life span... yeah no red meat wont do that. In fact its probably a little healthier then over processed cheap chicken meat. If you are informed one ingredient was carcinogenic can I have the proof please? I feed all my dogs that and I have not seen anything to prove so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 I think the Advance is just as bad but thats just my opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suziwong66 Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 I think the Advance is just as bad but thats just my opinion am really interested to know why M_G. At one stage i was looking at using Advance as the large puppy formula had protein as its first ingredient (unlike the current premium brand i'm using); so your input would be good. taa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.c Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Have you given any more thought to Black Hawk, I have recently switched over to it after trying Advance, Nutro, Royal Canin and Supercoat and my Golden Retriever loves it. He is in great condition as well and their ingredients look really good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 rosey had a habbit of trying to eat her stool which means something was missing out of her diet..I also dont want to feed my puppy red meat. No. Often puppies are housed in such a way that their poo is one of the first things they come in contact with ..and so they may mouth /eat it. ..and so start a habit. Puppies may also eat poo as it smells like whatever food they are being fed .... Red meat is a wonderful food for dogs .. it has iron and protein and all sorts of good things in it . What some people see as 'constipated' I see as normal. Dogs are not meant to poo like cows .. ..and red meat , fed as part of a good diet, will not make a dog constipated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mason_Gibbs Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 I think the Advance is just as bad but thats just my opinion am really interested to know why M_G. At one stage i was looking at using Advance as the large puppy formula had protein as its first ingredient (unlike the current premium brand i'm using); so your input would be good. taa I know heaps of people here in wa fed it to their labs and all was good but then something changed and heaps of dogs got the runs on it ( mine included). My pup is eating royal canin lab pup but when he goes to adult food he will get Canidae like Mason does and half raw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suziwong66 Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 I think the Advance is just as bad but thats just my opinion am really interested to know why M_G. At one stage i was looking at using Advance as the large puppy formula had protein as its first ingredient (unlike the current premium brand i'm using); so your input would be good. taa I know heaps of people here in wa fed it to their labs and all was good but then something changed and heaps of dogs got the runs on it ( mine included). My pup is eating royal canin lab pup but when he goes to adult food he will get Canidae like Mason does and half raw. Thanks for that. I currently use RC lab pup as well (along with chicken frames, chicken necks, small amounts of mince & veg etc) and Wilbur has been fine on it. I did notice when i compared Advance with RC lab pup that the first ingredient of Advance wasn't wheat based but init the RC it was. I'm considering buying a small bag to see how Wilbur goes on it before i make any hard and fast choices about change. If he has the runs then it will be a definite no-go. Thanks for that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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