You can feed your Golden Retriever high-quality commercial dog food, but the best way to provide a healthy, nutritious diet is to combine commercial dog food with fresh human food. Whether dry or canned, most commercial dog foods lack the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals that come with fresh foods. Vets agree that fresh food is good for your dog, as long as you practice using it in moderation. Golden Retrievers love fresh food. They can smell it from a mile away, and if it smells good, they’ll eat it!

Commercial dog foods are good sources of protein and vitamins, but fresh foods contain more essential nutrients and a more varied diet. For example, fresh chicken and beef provide more protein and minerals than any commercial dog food on the market today. Fish also contains plenty of protein and helps your Golden Retriever maintain a healthy brain.

As long as you give your dog the proper nutrients and minerals, he can stay healthy. But Golden Retrievers love variety, and they’re delighted when they get the same food they see people eat. To keep your Golden interested in his food, offer him a different food each day. Recommended dog foods include chicken and chicken liver, kale, red beets, chickpeas, and peas. Avoid corn, wheat, and soy, as more dogs tend to be allergic to them. People also feed their dogs some fruits, vegetables, and grains with no ill effects. These include apples and bananas, carrots and cauliflower, peaches, rice cakes, and tuna.

Play it safe. Don’t make big changes to your Golden Retriever’s diet all at once. Add some fresh food one day and wait a day or two before doing it again. Dogs have reacted poorly to drastic dietary changes, so you need to be cautious. There are also human foods that are poisonous to dogs, such as chocolate, onions, garlic, and macadamia nuts. Do not give your dog fruit pits or potato peels, caffeinated foods, broccoli, raisins, or grapes. Before making any changes to your Golden Retriever’s diet, search the internet for foods that are safe and those that are not.

Make sure your Golden Retriever gets enough animal protein in his diet. Dogs are not carnivorous animals. Unlike cats, which must eat meat to survive, dogs can survive on a diverse diet of plant and animal products. They are omnivorous and eat all kinds of food. In the wild, they eat grass, leaves, and other plants. With that being said, dogs thrive on animal-based diets. Although a diet based exclusively on meat is dangerous, dogs need meat.

To be on the safe side, you should feed your Golden a combination of dog and people food to ensure he gets all the nutrients he needs. Make sure his diet is about half animal protein, and spice things up by giving him different human foods each day. Be careful not to overfeed your Golden Retriever while experimenting with new diet combinations. You may want to weigh him once a week to ensure you catch weight gain trends as they occur. Also, watch your Golden Retriever’s reactions to human food in case he has an allergy you didn’t expect.

If you’re ever in doubt, don’t hesitate to call your vet. Your vet knows your dog and his medical history. They will be able to recommend the best diet, including both commercial dog foods and human foods, to maintain proper health and weight.