Too make a long story short, my neighbors went abroad and they asked me to take care of their 1 year old retriever for the duration of their 3 month trip and i know diddly squat about golden retrievers.
My neighbor asked me to feed him about 5 cups of kibble, 2-3 milk bones, and 2-3 turkey strips per day but he hates the milk bones and he has this indifferent reaction to the kibble. So I thought perhaps i would try feeding him some people food tommorow to cure his cardboard kibble doldrums.
What can you recommend?
Answers:
As the owner of a Golden Retriever who loves to eat, I find it surprising that so many people said Golden's had stomach problems. I've had three Golden Retrievers, and every one has gotten a combination of kibble and canned food, which changes daily. I've never had any problems whatsoever. Back to your question. First, have you checked to be absolutely certain that his kibble is not on the pet food recall list? There are now 136 kinds of canned foods, kibble and treats on the list, including some of the "premium" foods made by Nutura and Diamond. Kibble includes Food for the Pet Lover's Soul, Foster's and Smith, Kirkland (Costco), Eukenuba, and Iams. If he's eating a decent kibble (i.e., Canidae, AvoDerm, Hund n' Flocken, California Natural or Innova), you probably don't need to worry. You might try switching to a different kibble by mixing a new kind with the old kind. Don't buy grocery store kibble, it's garbage! You can also add cooked shredded carrots, green beans, peas, grated apple, cooked egg yolk or pieces of cooked meat or chicken to his kibble. If you add mixers, reduce the amount of kibble by about a cup. DO NOT give him chocolate, raisins, grapes, onions or garlic. These can cause major intestinal and liver or kidney problems. I'm assuming the turkey strips are hard. Be very careful with these - he can choke on them. You may also want to invest in a better quality biscuit. Your local feed store or large pet store probably sells biscuits made by Innova, which are good healthy treats. While you're at it, give him lots of play time and pets. Golden's thrive on interaction.
Golden retrievers love people food. But it makes them beggars and it makes them fat.
I had them for years. Do not get them started on table scraps. Your neighbor will kill you when he gets back if you ruin his dogs manners.
Meat scraps
Bones but no chicken bones
Raw or cooked egg
Be careful tho introducing new foods into a dogs diet could give him the squirts.
Absolutely not. Don't ever feed a stranger's dog something different than what he is used to! Especially 'people food' - there are certain foods that a dog can't digest the way a human can. They need the nutrients that are in the dog food, and sometimes certain foods can even make them severely sick. Another problem with this idea is if you feed him people food, he might not want to go back to his own food, and then you have a problem.
Also, people food can be very fattening to a dog. If you must change it a little, put some veggies or fruit on top of his kibble. Like broccoli or bananas. Those are healthy solutions and it will change the taste and texture.
I have a golden retriever and my parents have one as well.. We try to stick to a regular brand of dog food when we feed them.. Their digestive tracts can be weird sometimes and feeding them things that they don't normally eat upset their stomachs and give them diarrhea. If you feel he is lonely which Golden's often get you can give him a special little treat aka table scraps.. Ours will take anything you give them. Just be sure to stay away from cooked bones (raw ones are fine since they aren't chewy like the cooked ones) and chocolate.
You could try mixing a little scrambled egg or shredded cheese with his food or as treats, but don't substitute people food for his kibble completely because even though he'll love it, he'll get too used to it and it will be hard to get him back into his normal routine. Also, watch the quantity of people food you give him because too much of one thing or another can cause digestive problems, (constipation, diarrhea, etc.) as many goldens have sensitive stomachs. If his eating habits seem a little inconsistant, try not to worry too much - a lot can be contributed to his anxiety over being separated from his owners. The best cure for this is to give him lots of love (petting, cuddling and brushing!) - they're such affectionate animals! Good luck and I hope this helps!
This is a young dog and Golden's are family dogs and love attention. Three months is a long time to just take off and leave a dog. He is missing his family I don't think it's the food. That was very kind of you to care for him, but he needs more than to just be fed. He needs to play go on walks what one does with their dog. It's a shame they didn't get a house sitter for that amount of time. If you have the time just play with him in the yard and talk to him. He then may eat, he just needs some one on one time. Good luck;^)
Feeding people food is not a good idea. Nor is changing a dogs food suddenly, you can cause stomach upset and give him/her the runs. Stick to the food the dog is used to eatting. As its not your animal the neighbours will not thank you to come back to a dog who has become ill because of improper feeding or fat or a begger.
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