Grain-free dog food?

So I read some more about different dog foods and came across Orijen dog food. Since I would prefer to feed my dog a grain free dog food, I decided to properly check out this alternative. In the table below I compare Hill's Science Plan VetEssentials Puppy Large Breed, Eukanuba Lamb & Rice Puppy All Breed (both containing grains but not wheat), to Orijen Puppy Large, a dog food that doesn't contain any grains. The reason why I chose to compare Orijen to Hill's and Eukanuba is that I already compared those two and in that comparison Hill's came out the winner. [link]

	Hill's	Orijen	Eukanuba
Protein	27.8 %	38 %	28%
Fat	15.6 %	16 %	16%
Carbohydrate(NFE)	37.6 %	25 %	n/a
Fibre(crude)	5.2 %	3 %	2%
Moisture	7.5 %	10%	n/a
Calcium	1 %	1.5-1.7 %	1.2%
Phosphorus	0.8 %	1.2-1.4 %	0.9%
Sodium	0.5 %	0.4%	n/a
Potassium	0.8 %	0.77 %	n/a
Omega ratio	4.2:1	2.6:1	5:1
Omega-3 fatty acids	0.71 %	1 %	0.4%
Omega-6 fatty acids	2.99 %	2.6 %	2.0%
DHA	0.17 %	0.60 %	0.10%
Vitamin A	20000 IU/kg	16000 IU/kg	15000 IU7kg
Vitamin D	1175 IU/kg	1000 IU/kg	750 IU/kg
Vitamin E	668 mg/kg	400 IU/kg	200 mg/kg
Vitamin C	90 mg/kg	55 mg/kg	n/a
Beta-carotene	1.5 mg/kg	0.44 mg/kg	1 mg/kg

Orijen has a best omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, 2.6:1 instead of 4.2:1/5:1. There is more protein in the Orijen dog food, than in the one from Hill's and Eukanuba. Theories that too much protein in the growing dog's diet would be detrimental has not been clinically proven. What has been shown though is that it is bad for growing dogs of large breeds to have too much calcium and phosphorus in their diet. This can cause too rapid growth of their skeleton and in the end lead to joint problems and other skeletal disorders. According to one article I've found the optimal level of calcium in a growing large breed dog's diet is 0.75-0.95% by weight, and the levels of phosphorus is 0.62-0.72%. In another one I found the values to be 0.80% calcium and 0.67% phosphorus. According to both of these all three puppy foods I've looked at have too much of these minerals, but Hill's is the better alternative.

Orijen also has less vitamins than Hill's puppy food, but more than the Eukanuba puppy food does. It has been theorized that too little of vitamin A, D and E could cause skeletal problems too, while too much of vitamin C can give the same result. So while the vitamin C levels might be better in the Orijen, the higher levels of the other vitamins in the Hill's food still makes it the better choice.

Nutrition is a complex science, and it is not to be taken lightly. The puppy in the video below suffers from hypertrophic osteodystrophy, a skeletal disorder that can be caused by less than optimal quality of the food fed to the dog. If there is one thing you should spend money on for your dog's health, it is a good dog food.

Just to be clear, the puppy foods mentioned in this post has nothing to do with the puppy in the video. The video is merely meant as an illustration of how important good nutrition is.

Female or male dog, that is the question..

Some of the puppies from the litter I'm getting a puppy from.

 Initially I was getting a female dog, or at least that was the plan. But the other day, when we visited the breeder, she asked if we didn't want a male instead. So now I have to decide. Do I want a male or female dog?

 A male dog is bigger, needs a larger cage/space/bed and eats more, i.e. it is more expensive. A female will come in heat 1-3 times a year (usually, some bitches come in heat more often), then there is the risk of pseudopregnancy and possible pyometra. A male dog is more or less in heat all year round though and is more likely to be aggressive towards other dogs. A female dog is more likely to be moody. A female dog is however easier to train, but will be more unstable and less reliable because of the heat. A male dog might initially demand more in terms of training, but once it has learned it is stable and reliable (unless there is a bitch that is in heat nearby). And before someone says that many of these problems would be avoided by spaying or neutering, let me stop you right there. Spaying and neutering dogs is illegal in Norway, unless it is for medical reasons. We don't have the problem of a lot of unwanted dogs that live in shelters. We don't have shelters at all basically, so there is no social reason to spay or neuter either.

Mother dog with her pups.

 Anyway, back to the question. Do I want a female or male dog? Well as of now, I don't know. There are so many advantages and drawbacks to both sexes.. And I know I've been overly negative in this post. I've focused on the negative sides more than the positive ones. But there's a simple explanation for that; what makes both sexes good is what makes a dog good, they have the same positive sides. What differs is their drawbacks. Well, one good reason to get a male dog is that I can bring it to work all year round, and bring it to the in-laws too (they have a male dog), without risking disturbing the other dogs with a bitch in heat. But the question still stands: Do I want a male or female dog?

Finding the right dog food for my dog

I'm getting my puppy in six weeks, so I've started investigating what kind of dog food I'm going to feed it. Since I'm getting a Golden Retriever, a breed that quite commonly suffers from skin conditions that sometimes could be caused by food allergies, I only want to feed my dog top quality dog food. As I am also a physiologist and very interested in paleo food ("stone age food"), I know a thing or two about "natural food", in other words what we (and dogs) were adapted to eating over the course of evolution. This does not include cereals at all really, but among the dog foods sold at veterinarians, all contain some type of cereal. The one cereal most commonly the cause of allergies in dogs is wheat, which is why it is not among the ingredients of low allergen dog foods. So wheat is one of the things I's like to avoid.
The second thing that is really important (if you ask me), is the omega-3 to omega-6 ratio. In humans the optimal ratio is somewhere between, 4:1 (that is four times as much omega-6 fatty acids compared to omega-3) and 1:4 (that is four times as much omega-3 fatty acids compared to omega-6). What is known is that we need more omega-3 than omega-6, and that the metabolites of omega-3 reduces inflammation in the body while the metabolites of omega-6 increases the general inflammation of the body. There is no real reason to think that dogs are not similar to us in this respect, so I will look for a food with the most optimal omega-6 to omega-3 ratio.
The third important thing is that I don't want there to be too much carbohydrate in the food. Golden Retrievers have a tendency to easily get overweight, and a food rich in carbohydrates, especially sugar, will only increase the risk of this happening. 

Out of the dog food brands we sell where I work, only two have puppy food that doesn't contain wheat, so I will start by comparing them. The first one is Eukanuba Lamb and Rice Puppy All Breed.

 Ingredients: Dried Chicken and Turkey, lamb (>14%), rice (>14%), maize, sorghum, dried whole egg, fish meal, dried beet pulp (>2.5%), animal fat, chicken digest, brewer's dried yeast, fish oil, potassium chloride, sodium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, fructooligosaccharides (0.15%), calcium carbonate, marigold extract.

The second one is Hill's Science Plan VetEssentials Puppy Large Breed.

Ingredients: Maize, poultry meat meal (chicken min. 30%), animal fat, digest, maize gluten meal, dried beet pulp, cellulose, fish oil, salt, vegetable oil, potassium chloride.

	Hill's	Eukanuba

Protein	27.8 %	28 %
Fat	15.6 %	16 %
Carbohydrate(NFE)	37.6 %	n/a
Fibre(crude)	5.2 %	2 %
Moisture	7.5 %	n/a
Calcium	1 %	1.2 %
Phosphorus	0.8 %	0.9 %
Sodium	0.5 %	n/a
Potassium	0.8 %	n/a
Omega ratio	4,2:1	5:1
Omega-3 fatty acids	0.71 %	0.4 %
Omega-6 fatty acids	2.99 %	2.00 %
DHA	0.17 %	0.10 %
Vitamin A	20000 IU/kg	15000 IU/kg
Vitamin D	1175 IU/kg	750 IU/kg
Vitamin E	668 mg/kg	200 mg/kg
Vitamin C	90 mg/kg	n/a
Beta-carotene	1.5 mg/kg	1 mg/kg

 Now, just so that it's said, it does say on the package of the Eukanuba Lamb and Rice Puppy All Breed that dogs with an adult weight of more than 25 kg are recommended to eat their normal puppy food for large breeds. So that can explain why there are less vitamins and more calcium and phosphorus in their puppy food than in the one from Hill's. I do think they should stop labeling it "all breed" though, since it clearly is only meant to be fed to small and medium sized breeds, and the recommendation to use the other puppy food is only written in very small letters on the package. It should also be said that when it comes to vitamins and minerals, more is not always better. The dog should have just the right amount of these, in balanced proportions.

Still, all that being said, it is not even a hard choice for me. The puppy food from Hill's is the far better choice in all respects, for my dog. First of all, it is made especially to meet the needs of pups of large breeds. This means, to the best of my knowledge, that the levels of vitamins and minerals are optimized for the larger breeds. It also doesn't contain any extra added sugar, like the Eukanuba food (fructooligosaccharides is a long and complicated word, but still means sugar). It has the best (even if not optimal) omega-6 to omega-3 ratio (4,2:1 compared to 5:1 in Eukanuba), although I will probably still add extra fish oil to the food to increase the omega-3 portion. If you do this, make sure that the there isn't any vitamins added to the fish oil, since the food already has all the vitamins the dog needs and as I already mentioned, more is not better. Some vitamins can actually be poisonous in large amounts. All of these factors put together makes me certain that Hill's Science Plan VetEssentials Puppy Large Breed is the food I will choose for my dog.

Remember, it is not only humans that are what they eat, so are dogs. It is important to find a food that keeps your dog as healthy as possible, and which is specially made for your type of dog. Ask your veterinarian for advice if you are uncertain of what to look for in a dog food and what your dog needs. No two dogs are exactly alike, you have to find the food that works for you and your dog.

Sources:
http://www.eukanuba.com/en-UK/product/puppy-all-breeds-rich-in-lamb-rice.jspx
http://www.hillsproducts.com/General.aspx/en-GB/SP/vetessentials-puppy-large-breed/original/bag
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omega-3_fatty_acid#The_omega.E2.88.926_to_omega.E2.88.923_ratio

Golden Retriever

The Golden Retriever is a relatively new breed of dog that was created to meet the increased demands for retrieving dogs in the 19th century. The new and improved firearms made hunters able to shoot small game quicker and from longer distances than before, and this in turn made it harder to find the game. In other words the hunters needed a dog that could find and retrieve game, but at the same time carry and deliver the game without chewing and otherwise damaging the game, an ability known as a "soft mouth". Another ability deemed necessary in such a the dog, was for it to sit quietly and wait while the hunters were shooting only to find and retrieve the game upon command. A dog that was moving around or barking would soon scare all the game away. These qualities also happens to be what a lot of people are looking for in a companion dog and because of this, the Golden Retriever is one of the most popular dogs in the world today.

A modern Golden Retriever

The breed was created in Scotland, where the dogs would have to be able to retrieve game both on land and in water. The breeds from which the Golden Retriever is derived are:
Tweed water spaniel (a now extinct breed of dog from Scotland), Retrieving dogs of unknown origin (found in the same area and that gave rise not only to the golden retriever but many of the other retrievers), Irish Setters, Bloodhounds and St. John's water dog (also extinct).

A painting of the Tweed Water Spaniel

An Irish Setter after a swim.

The modern Bloodhound

A young St. John's water dog and its owner in 1971.

The Golden Retriever is a very versatile dog that can be used for anything from its original purpose to seeing eye dog for the blind. It is friendly and eager to please, but demands regular walks and will be a lot happier if trained for a purpose rather than just lying on the sofa all day. Golden Retrievers do well in dog sports, obedience, agility and other disciplines, so if you want an active companion the Golden might provide a good companion for you.

A service dog.

Health

The breed, like all other breeds have some breed specific health issues. Allergies, skin and ear problems are relatively common and like many other big breeds of dogs, hip and elbow dysplasia does occur. It is estimated that almost one in five Goldens has either HD or AD or both. The breed also suffers from some eye disorders like cataracts, progressive retinal atrophy, glaucoma, corneal dystrophy and others. Cataracts is the most common condition, and is characterized by opacification of the lens. In the Golden Retriever, this condition is hereditary and dependent on genetic weakness, but the condition in and of itself may have a wide array of progressions and underlying causes.

Cataract in the left eye of a 1,5 year old Golden Retriever.

 Animals used for breeding should have their eyes, elbows and hips checked. Do not buy a puppy from a breeder that hasn't had the parents to the pups checked. Be especially aware of breeders that claim that they have healthy dogs, but have no papers to prove it. If the parents aren't checked, the puppies won't be registered. You might save some money buying an unregistered puppy, but the cost of buying a dog is small in comparison to what it costs to raise a dog. You might think you are saving money but the veterinary-bills aren't cheap, and even if there is never a guarantee that a registered puppy is healthy, the chance is higher if the parents are healthy.

An illustration I've made to show the difference between a normal hip (left) and hips with dysplasia (right).

Due to the hip and elbow problems it is of utmost importance that the dog does not get too heavy, as this puts extra strain on the already sensitive joints. This might be harder than you might think because the Golden Retriever LOVES food. Make sure you are strict from the beginning, if it is bad for a grown up dog to be overweight, it is even worse for a puppy that is still growing. If uncertain, talk to your veterinarian about how much your dog should eat and weigh. Do NOT listen to people that show their dogs at dog shows when it comes to how much the dog should weigh, the dogs that do well in these competitions are usually overweight.

Training

The Golden Retriever is, like all other retrievers, extremely food motivated. They will work for food, sometimes even for their regular dog food. This is very good news since we can reduce the portion the dog gets is its bowl and use some of the food in training instead. This has two big benefits, first the risk of the dog gaining unnecessary weight is reduced since the dog doesn't get extra treats in addition to the food, and secondly the nutritional value of the food is likely higher than in the other treats, so the dog gets healthier food. Anyway, back to training, the Golden is highly trainable and as mentioned earlier, do well in different dog sports. Be aware though, the Golden being a relatively large breed should not get heavy exercise until it is more than 18 months old. That means no running next to the bike for example. Whilst exhaustive physical training is banned for the first 1,5-2 year, you can start with mental training from the first day you have the puppy. One good "trick" to start with is teaching it to sit. Start with sessions only a few seconds long several times a day and then have longer training sessions when it gets older. Always train in a positive manner, never use physical punishments. Ever. It is not necessary to do that with any dog and a dog as sensitive and willing to please as the golden will only be intimidated and might stop doing what you ask in fear of being punished again. There are many ways of training dogs in a positive manner, but that will be the scope of another blog post.

A Golden Retriever retrieving during obedience training or competition.

A Golden Retriever doing agility.

And yeah.. by the way.. The reason I'm writing about Golden Retrievers is that in 7,5 weeks time I will get my Golden Retriever puppy home! Can't wait!!


Sources and references: 
Most photos are form Wikipedia, the picture of the service dog is from http://www.pettravelexperts.com/, the picture of the eye with cataract if from http://www.vmcli.com/veterinary-articles-cataract-referral.html, the illustration of the hips I've made myself, the obedience picture is from http://www.dogsvictoria.org.au/GetInvolved/WhatisObedience.aspx and the agility picture is from http://www.golddustanimalcare.com/classes.htm.