1. Everyone here will post their favorite foods. Some will be right, some will be clueless. Here is an objective evaluation of food quality: www.dogfoodanalysis.com and you should plan on getting a 5 or 6 star-rated dog food.
2. The claim about high protein is wrong. You don't want to give high protein levels (above 28%) to a puppy that is still growing (basically, a small dog up to 9-10 months, a larger dog up to 15-16 months) because you don't want the body mass and muscle develop to outpace the skeletal growth. That said, there were studies done 4-5 decades ago that found that high protein levels caused kidney problems with dogs. BUT....those studies involved poor sources of protein (animal scraps, diseased carcasses, rats thrown in, chicken beaks, etc.). What we've since found out is that given a high quality protein source, there is NO kidney damage. In fact, in the wild, feral dogs often live off diets of 98-100% protein. And necropsies of dead wild canines shows an almost total absence of renal problems (ie: kidney issues). There is only one concern to have with a high protein food (again, anything above 28%) and that is: has your dog basically finished developing skeletally/structurally? Oh, it will add some weight. But if the growth plates have fused, the bones have stopped growing, than there is no problem going with protein.
3. I feed my dog a couple of different foods (not all at the same time--I rotate). This is to avoid developing an allergy and to give my dog a routine. I just finished 3-4 months of Orijen (which he does fine on) and am now back on Innova Evo. Before the Orijen, he had 3-4 months of Wellness CORE. I've also used Solid Gold "Barking at the Moon" too. I recommend all of those foods. Merrick is also good. California Natural is supposed to be good (but I've never tried it). The dogfoodanalysis.com site will steer you in the correct direction.
4. A couple of other things to look at with dry kibble:
--no wheat. It's a filler. Dog's short gut don't process complex carbos well. It's also a major source of allergies. In fact, all grains are bad for dogs (wheat is the worst).
--no corn. It's like wheat and also a prime allergen.
--proteins should be no less than 2 of the first 5 ingredients and ideally 4 of the top 5. And look for pure protein sources (ie: "white fish" rather than "fish" or "chicken" or "turkey" rather than "meat"). That's because a generic title like "poultry" may often be an excuse to mix meats (which is a way of reducing quality control) or throwing in other body parts (beaks, claws, feathers).
--omega 3 and 6 ingredients are a good thing
--fat is important. Dogs and humans process food differently. A low protein, low fat diet leads to an energetic, healthy, lean human. A diet of 12% protein and a dog will DIE of malnutrition. And high fat is actually good for a dog. A range of tests with field and performance sport dogs found that a dog eating a diet high in fat had....more energy, more speed, better focus, and got injured less. So the ONLY dog I'd put on a low-fat food is one that is aging and sedentary (which is not the case with your Golden).
