Goldendoodle Facebook Page FRUSTRATION

[Kim P.]

I am a member of a Goldendoodle Facebook page called "Goldendoodles of New England" and I am at my wits end!!!

So many posts about grain-free food and DCM. Everyone posting on how they are switching their dog from foods like Zignature to Purina Pro Plan!!

Do I just ignore everything and say "hey, it's not my dog...they can feed their dog whatever they want"???

I know I should LET IT GO but it is just so frustrating!!!

[Nancy]

What bothers me most is that there are Veterinarian practices who are publicly posting in their FB Groups to NOT feed grain free.  Most pet owners rely on the advice of their Veterinarians and now they are also joining in on the scare tactics for their own profit :(

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes. That's the part that bothers me the most, too. 

The vets have always recommended the garbage foods that they sell, but this is now a cash cow for them. 
Thank God my vet hasn't jumped on this bandwagon. 

[Rosalyn Ancrum]

Oh yes I agree.  My old vet recommended hill science for my bichon . Also when I moved her off of Biljac he asked why.  I told him although the breeder I got her from used Biljac and recommended it, I later learned it wasn't a good food. A local business was selling Biljac and I wonder if that vet had connections with it.

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Thankfully our current and previous vets just asked what food we were feeding and left it at that.  Their only concern was that Luna and now Riley were at a healthy weight and having no digestive issues.  If a vet started pushing the food they were selling I would switch vets.

[Rosalyn Ancrum]

Don't worry I switched vets years ago for numerous reasons. I am not judging anyone but Biljac is trash.

[Nyla]

I'm sorry but i am new to the doodle/dog world

Is grain in dog food/treats bad or good?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There's no simple answer to that. It's neither good nor bad; it depends on the kind of grain, the rest of the ingredients, and the individual dog. 

But this discussion is really not about grains in food. This is about a very complicated and controversial health issue which has cropped up in the past year, and the misunderstandings and misinformation being shared about it on FB, instigated by the Big Three Dog Food companies. As I said, it's very complicated and there is no easy way to explain it all here. But if you read through the responses here, you will see that it is truly not anything you need to worry about.  

[Kim P.]

Well I was kicked out of the Goldendoodles of New England facebook group because I commented on a post from a couple selling puppies born from their two pets. The puppies were F2 and the man was claiming it was the most hypoallergenic. So I commented saying that F2 was the LEAST likely to be hypoallergenic because there is a 25% chance that puppies get 100% golden retriever genes. The OP clarified by removing that statement from the original post. I then left a comment saying that there were many red flags since they bred their own pets. No health testing, etc. Come to find out that this is the SECOND "accidental" breeding of these two dogs!! The couple went back and forth with me on the thread. I was just trying to warn potential buyers. Guess that caused too much drama for the admins so they removed me. 

Good riddance, I guess. 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

I was briefly in my city's doodle group... didn't last long because it's full of people recommending crappy breeders and crappier food.  I decided there was nothing to be gained by being a part of the group.

[Kim P.]

That is probably the case here too! I did like recommending my breeder to people but there are enough other people that can do that besides me I guess. 

If the admins in a group are going to stand behind crappy breeders and banish those that ask questions then I don't want any part of that.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And that's the problem with most FB groups...anything goes, no rules, no guidelines, and no "judging"...meaning that anything anyone does is fine. There is no right or wrong. Any BYB or puppy mill can post puppies for sale, anyone can give bad health advice, and if harm is done, to families or to dogs, oh well. 

I'd say you are well rid of that group. 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

As much as we loved Luna her breeder was not the greatest (BYB with a nice clean facility and lots of love but no health testing).  Anytime someone asks about bernedoodles in the Facebook group that breeder's name comes up :/  

Riley's breeder never comes up probably because she's a bit further away and comes at a higher price point.