Like many other topics relating to food and health, it's difficult to get objective information about proper diet.

That means anyone interested in finding out the scientific facts about what is and what isn't good for their Golden Retrievers has to do a lot of research. A short article can't be anything more than another voice in that dialogue.

Selecting the proper food, therefore, will require the exercise of some common sense and a fair amount of diligence. Any extreme claim should be met with skepticism.

Even those opposed to the more popular, commercial dog foods agree on some basics about Golden Retriever diet. As canines, they are by nature carnivores. That means they are animals that eat meat. All dogs, though (and Goldens in particular), have the capacity to digest some grains and vegetables.

Wolves in the wild will eat not only the muscle meat, but also the internal organs of their prey. In doing so, they'll ingest what their kill has previously eaten, which is often grasses and vegetables and other plant material. Since Golden Retrievers ultimately are descended from, and closely genetically related to, wolves they have similar capacities....

To read the rest of the article, please go to Feeding Your Golden.

My mom and I were discussing this point not to long ago, and as I told her then, the cost of feeding your dogs goes up many times when you cook for them, as I do, or buy food that is made from human grade ingredients. But, now that we know for sure what is contained in dog food, it is really hard to feed that to our pets.

As I told her, most people are not able or willing to spend the kind of money necessary to feed their animals good wholesome food. For many years I would pick up a 50 pound bag of, what I thought, was good dry dog food. The price, around $20. That would last almost a month, back when I had only 2 dogs. Today, I actually only cook for one of my 3 dogs, a German Shepherd we inherited when no one really wanted him who has all sorts of problems, and his food alone, runs about $3 a day. Of course, he weighs about 90 pounds and does have special needs and he also gets different vitamins and minerals in his food.

But, I am switching to meals outlined in "Dog Food Secrets" for all my dogs. Then I have to find some recipes for the cats.

If you don't have larger dogs like I do, of course, it becomes much easier and cheaper to feed your small dog nourishing food like the rest of your family.