Goldendoodle & Bernedoodle Health: “The Forever Dog”
Can Goldendoodles be healthy as they age?
We deeply desire to see our Goldendoodles and Bernedoodles thrive, so we are always learning and seeking new insights and wisdom.
One wise quote claims that “the two things that will help you grow the most over your next years are the people you meet, and the books you read.”
Books are an amazing source of knowledge and wisdom, and they’re a great resource for us in our journey towards increasing health and vitality for our Bernedoodles and Goldendoodles.
However, books can take a lot of time to read and distill. So from time to time, we’ll try to offer a brief overview of some books we’re reading for anyone looking for something a little more bitesized. Of the bat, we want to say that we don’t necessarily endorse everything from this book - or any book we discuss - but feel like it’s nonetheless important information to at least engage with.
Here, we’ll discuss The Forever Dog; Surprising New Science to Help Your Canine Companion Live Younger, Healthier & Longer by Rodney Habib and Dr. Karen Shaw Becker. This book was released last year, and has created a bit of a splash since its release. The title captures its focus: how can science help our dogs stay young, healthy, and alive.
Dr. Becker, DVM is one of the world’s most recognizable and influential veterinarians, and passionate pursues pet wellness. and Rodney is a pet author, speaker, and influencer, who has a substantial presence on Facebook among other platforms.
We are responsible for the health of our Goldendoodles and Bernedoodles
So here are some key points for us from The Forever Dog:
Our Bernedoodles and Goldendoodles can not only live longer, but better longer
There is a growing field in science that focuses on the study of lifespan and longevity. Scientists like Harvard’s Dr. David Sinclair, believe that scientific discoveries can help people live much longer lives. These discoveries can also help increase our “health span”, the part of our life where we are healthy.
More data is also showing that we have much more influence over both our lifespan and healthspan than previously thought. For instance:
”New calculations show that genes account for well under 7 percent of people’s life span - not the 20-30 percent of most previous estimates. That means that the majority of your longevity is in your hands and base on your lifestyle choices” (Habib and Becker, 7).
Many of these discoveries are in the field of “epigenetics”, which explores how our environment and experience impact our genes, for instance “turning on” some traits, while “turning off” others.
The Forever Dog combines many of these longevity discoveries in humans with the most recent veterinary science. The authors do this to help you help your dog flourish for longer.
The Two Acronyms to Remember
Most science books have at least one thing in common. They are full of acronyms, short pithy words or strings of letters that help capture long names or processes, DNA for instance.
This book is no exception, as there are plenty of AGEs and VOC’s to go around. However, here are the top two acronyms from the The Forever Dog to remember.
“DOGS (Diet and Nutrition, Optimal Movement, Genetic Predispositions, Stress and Environment) - According to Habib and Becker, dog owners should focus on these four main categories in order to help our doodles thrive, and thrive for longer. “Diet and Nutrition” is the most important category, but the others are not too far behind.
2. “the 5 R’s” - These are the overarching guidance principles that Habib and Becker recommend.
“Reduce Processed Food” - Most dog food is heavily processed, which has dubious health consequences (think about eating fast food all the time). So they recommend integrating fresh dog-friendly foods, starting with around 10%.
“Revise Meal Timing and Frequency” - Think “intermittent fasting”. More science is showing that fasting leads to significant health benefits through good stress, and that is true in dogs along with people.
“Ramp Up Physical Exercise” - Doggy exercise promotes good stress and helps with stress management. Dog’s bodies were designed to move, and function best when they are.
“Refill deficits and deficiencies with supplements” - Many nutrients can be tough to get through diet alone, and are particular fur baby can have their own personal deficiencies. These can be diagnosed and understood with testing and technology.
“Rethink Environmental Impacts” - Modern living can be tough on humans and dogs, regardless if it’s in the city or suburbs. Bad stress, BPA, and flame-retardants are just a few aspects of modern living that can have a harmful impact on you and your puppy.
The Five Fresh Food to Avoid
“Can my Goldendoodle have an avocado? What about my Bernedoodle puppy and anchovies? How about almonds?”
There are so many lists of foods that are toxic for dogs, and many of the lists contradict each other, so what’s a Golden Doodle daddy to do?
Habib and Becker spend quite a few pages addressing this, along with urban myths, and what lists to consult. While there is much ado about many foods, they claim that there are actually very few foods toxic to Bernadoodles and Goldendoodles. They recommend avoiding only five foods, and here is the short list.
Grapes (and raisins)
Onions (and chives)
Chocolate
Macadamia nuts
Nutmeg
That’s it. I love it’s simplicity - and am somewhat skeptical of it as well. Don’t take it as canon and do your own research; connect with your vet and other resources. However, the authors do offer strong support of this simplified list.
Anything is better than Nothing
Sometimes when I talk to people who feed their bernedoodles a raw diet, I can feel like I’m being judged by using any kibble whatsoever. However, this isn’t the feeling I got from Habib and Becker.
Instead, the authors say that using any kind of fresh food topper or addition to your Goldendoodle’s food is way better than nothing. They encourage a puppy owner to think about switching even less than ten percent of your doodle’s calories to fresh food. This is because 10% is a common number veterinarians use to limit caloric adjustment in a pets diet.
They suggest the owners use dietary additions they’ve dubbed CLT’s (Core Longevity Toppers) with their kibble diet to introduce some of these fresh foods into a kibble diet for your Golden Doodles. This way, your Bernedoodle puppy could have access to some of the longevity benefits from consuming meat, veggies, herbs, and other longevity foods, even if you are a RAW skeptic.
This seems like an approach that’s right up our alley, as we’ve already diversified our Goldendoodles and Bernedoodle diet to mix in different kinds of kibble that may have contrasting strengths and benefits. With so many people making contradictory claims, we feel like this approach is diversifying your dietary portfolio in order to increase benefits while reducing risk.
The Forever Bernedoodle and Goldendoodle
Forever Dog Conclusion
The Forever Dog offered a lot of science-based information, and with the hopes of helping your Bernedoodle and Goldendoodle thrive. I found myself revisiting particular bits of information to get a better understanding. We found the previously discussed points to be interesting and helpful. We want to see everyone of our doodles do great, and live well into the future. This book gives some good insight into that.
Raw diets can be a pretty divisive topic among dog owners, so its important to allow this book to be part of a conversation. It can be a conversation starter with your veterinarian or other pet professionals to help give you an informed and diverse perspective. We tend to advocate for a wide perspective that takes into many points of views, instead of giving authority to a single voice
Our puppies are too cherished to not take this seriously. So we will continue to use this platform to share and discuss helpful pieces of information that we find interesting and helpful for raising Goldendoodle and Bernedoodle puppies. We will continue to review dog books from time to time, and would love any recommendations.
We’d love to hear from you, especially if you have any thoughts on The Forever Dog, or have other resources to recommend.
Warmly,
Erin and Jay