How Long To Feed Puppy Food Golden Retriever

Wet Foods Vs Dry Foods

Both wet and dry foods are the most common types of dog foods you will find in the market. They are available in commercial quantities and come with different formulations for your dog breed, age, and size.

One of the many reasons dog owners prefer wet and dry foods is that they can easily access and store them. Plus, they contain most of the nutrients that your dog needs for growth.

The major difference between wet and dry foods is the moisture or water content. Wet foods contain more moisture than dry foods.

With dry food, pets eat lots of calories in small quantities. In contrast, your pet must eat twice or triple times as much wet food to gain similar calorific values as dry foods.

Wet Foods

Wet foods are suitable for young Golden Retrievers that are just weaning off their mothers milk. Because they contain about 60 to 85 percent moisture content, your pet can easily adjust to eating wet foods.

If your dogs are elderly, picky, have problems with chewing, or drink very little water, wet foods may also be your best bet. The moisture in the wet food will hydrate your pet and provide the nutrients they need.

Because wet foods are usually more palatable, your dogs may eat larger portions per meal. And due to the high water content, they need to take in more quantities per meal to get the ideal amount of nutrients they need.

Here are some of the downsides of wet foods.

Dry Foods

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Is It Better To Feed Grain

Grain-Free food is expensive compared to traditional dog foods but it is equally beneficial for your puppies. But if your doggy is sensitive to grains then Grain-Free Food might cause diseases like dilated cardiomyopathy , life-threatening heart disease in dogs. Few Golden Retrievers pups love having Grain-Free dog food and hence for them this formula in dog food is essential, avoiding it is not a good idea! Having a talk with your vet will help you a lot because the Grain-Free formula in dog food is not suitable for every dog breed!

How Much Should A Golden Retriever Eat Daily

On average, an adult Golden Retriever will eat between 2 and 3 ½ cups of food per day. However, the exact amount of food varies from one dog to the next and depends on age, activity level, weight, health problems, and quality of food.

Furthermore, neutered golden Retrievers need fewer calories compared to their unaltered counterparts, and nursing females will have to eat more to maintain their weight and produce milk for the puppies.

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What Is Puppy Food All About

Providing a good start is essential for a healthy puppy. The ideal puppy food is designed to provide all-round nutrition to growing puppies. A puppy is full of energy and its needs are much more than a grown dog. This food must be able to support rapid growth in a puppy that includes its bones, muscles, immune system, and most importantly, its joints.

Ideally, puppy food should contain 30% protein to provide for the energy needs of the growing pup. In addition to this, puppy food contains a high percentage of fat, something which a grown dog does not need. Puppy food also needs to provide vitamins and essential minerals and micronutrition to the puppy.

How Often Should You Feed Your Dog

We all know how much our dogs love to eat. Traditional dog foods, treats, and even table scraps are the stuff of puppy dreams. Our pups would eat a lot more than necessary if left to their own devices, but eating too much can be just as bad as eating too little. Truthfully, our ravenous little pups are lucky to have us humans to keep them in check. Whether youre the pet parent of a Golden or just a teeny, tiny Chihuahua, this guide will help you to better understand your dogs unique nutritional needs.

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What To Do If Your Golden Eats Too Fast

What if your goldenâs still hungry after eating? As long as his weight and health are fine, donât give in to those pleading puppy eyes.

Goldens are generally eating machines and wonât regulate the amount of food they ingest.

If he eats too quickly, you can buy a bowl thatâs like a maze or puzzle to slow him down. Thereâs also a stainless steel ball you can buy that you put into his current food bowl to slow him down.

Eating too quickly can lead to digestive upsets and even bloat, which can be deadly.

I rescued my golden retriever Riley when he was about six months old.

To say that he ate as if it were his last meal would be an understatement. He had a voracious appetite.

I bought one of the maze bowls to slow him down. The kibble is placed between each section of the bowl, and he had to forage for his food.

It worked! He ate at a more normal pace. And he didnât have any stomach upsets.

Of course, dogs should be given free access to fresh water. But itâs inadvisable for them to drink large amounts right after or before eating as they may bloat.

Now Lets Break Down The Recipe For My Easy Homemade Dog Food Shall We

The recipe box below contains a printable version of my go-to recipe for homemade dog food, which consist of lean ground sirloin, brown rice, carrots, hard boiled eggs, parsley, and a few tablespoons of oil that is high in Omegas. But sometimes, especially since social distancing, Ive found that it is helpful to have a list of easy substitutes for when ingredients run low. Plug in or swap out any of the items below based on what foods your pup likes/needs and what you have on hand to create your pups ideal dog food flavor profile.

Meat || Lean ground beef, ground chicken, ground white or dark meat turkey, & ground pork are all great options. Just be sure to make sure that any meat you feed your animals is free of seasonings when purchasing! Dogs living with a kidney disease diagnosis need meals that are lower in phosphorus so for us a lean ground beef like ground sirloin is best the way to go!

Eggs || Eggs are one the top 5 allergens for dogs and the yolks are very high in phosphorus -which you want to limit in dogs with kidney disease. But, eggs are also one of the highest quality forms of protein you can feed your pet! Ultimately, a hard boiled egg is Hoochs favorite thing on the planet so, with our vets approval we opted to leave them in his food.

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Maintaining A Healthy Puppy Weight

Keeping your Golden Retriever at a healthy weight is tricky but crucial. You may be concerned about your puppy being too skinny.

However, the bigger concern is that your puppy may grow too quickly.

You should constantly monitor your puppys weight and adjust their diet accordingly. You should be able to feel, but not see, your puppys ribs.

If it gets harder to feel your puppys ribs, cut back on the food a little. If your puppys ribs become more prominent, increase how much you feed them.

Its also important to monitor how much calcium and phosphorous your puppy gets in their diet. Too much calcium or phosphorous can cause your puppy to grow too quickly.

Look for puppy food with no more than 1.5% calcium and 0.9% phosphorous.

How Much Should A 6

Meal size will vary for each Golden Retriever pup, but on average, a six-month-old puppy will eat three cups of food a day. Male Golden Retriever puppies usually need more calories and can eat up to four cups of food per day. Once a puppy is six months old, you should start feeding him two meals a day one in the morning and one in the evening.

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Golden Retriever Feeding Guide For Seniors

As your Goldie gets older he will become less active and will need fewer calories to stay on his ideal weight. Your pooch will be considered a senior when he is eight years old, so make sure to tweak his diet around this age.

An older Golden Retriever will need around 900 calories per day served in two equally spaced meals. However, if your senior dog needs to lose some weight, you will have to put him on a diet and lower his calorie intake.

You should talk with your vet and see if there is a need to transition your pooch to senior dog food at this point or not. Food for older dogs has fewer calories and is supplemented with glucosamine and vitamins that are beneficial for older dogs. However, many seniors continue to eat regular food without any side effects, but you should check just in case you need to change his diet.

What If My Golden Retriever Puppy Wont Eat

There are many things that could cause a puppy to lose interest in their food, such as infections, pain, organ problems, or the way youre feeding them. Here are a few of the most common reasons why puppies stop eating as much as they should:

• Stress: Your dog could be in a chaotic home, or perhaps he is being bullied by other pets in your home like the cat. Children can abuse pets as well.
• Digestive upset or obstruction: They may eat food that they shouldnt.
• Digestive infections: There are many viruses such as Parvo, intestinal worms, bacteria, etc.

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Homemade Dog Food Delivery Service

If you wish your Golden Retriever could eat whole, fresh homemade foods more often, but you dont have the time to cook, consider a homemade dog food delivery service.

The Farmers Dog is one of our favorite options. They deliver vet-designed, fresh-prepared homemade dog food tailored to your pups dietary needs straight to your door. Everything is made from real, human-grade, all-natural ingredients

Meals are pre-made and pre-portioned to their calorie needs based on the profile you create. It complies with AAFCOs nutritional guidelines. The food is delivered to your doorstep within days of cooking and never deep-frozen or stored on a shelf for months. This ensures your Golden gets the most out of it.

Let the experts do the cooking for you so you never have to worry about using the wrong ingredients, counting nutrients, portions sizes, and more.

Its worth the cost after you add up the prices of all the ingredients youll need to cook a recipe. Its a huge time-saver and you can spend your time in more important things.

Our readers have access to save 50% off their first The Farmers Dog order. No code needed, just use this link and the discount will be applied!

Learn more about The Farmers Dog in our in-depth review article

Eukanuba Senior Large Breed Dog Food

Eukanuba Senior Large Breed Dog Food is also recommended by our staff veterinarians. It is formulated to fuel your active Golden Retrievers daily activities with optimal levels of fat and carbohydrates. It also helps maintain their natural defenses with guaranteed antioxidant levels for older dogs.

Below is a feeding chart for Eukanuba Senior Large Breed dog food.

Eukanuba Senior Large Breed Feeding Chart

Eukanuba is like Royal Canin in that it provides precise amounts of food for your aging Golden Retriever. The range of amounts is based on the activity of your Golden for the day, either low, moderate, or high level of activity.

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Dangerous Foods For Golden Retriever Puppies

Golden retrievers are special dogs. Some foods that Golden Retrievers should stay away from are:

• Avocado They contain persin, which is an oil-soluble toxin, They can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and sometimes death for dogs who are highly sensitive.
• Chocolate Chocolate, has a substance called theobromine, which can have a detrimental effect on your dog.
• Grapes and raisins Grapes and raisins can cause serious complications like kidney failure and even death if your dog eats them.
• Xylitol This can be found in gum, candies, baked good,s or other sugar-substituted items.

Some other foods that you should look out for are Pips, seeds, and stones, Mushrooms, Nuts, Unripe tomatoes, Onions and garlic, Nutmeg, Broccoli, Rhubarb, Potatoes plants, Persimmon seeds.

What Is The Best Dog Food For A Golden Retriever

Here are some quick recommendations for good foods for adult golden retrievers that I have tried and tested over the years with no issues. They are not perfect, but they are very good.

• Royal Canin golden retriever soft dog food

Of course, I prefer homemade foods whenever possible, and you can check my full guide on golden retrievers foods for every age here. If you are going for homemade foods, which I believe should always be part of your dogs diet, make sure it never includes any of these 18 human foods that dogs should never eat.

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How Do You Mix Old And New Dog Food

When you are about to switch from old food to new food, do it slowly over a week . Gradually increase the portion of the new food with old food. You can start with 25% new food mixed with 75% old food for about three days, then you can start mixing 50% of the new food with 50% of the old food for the other three or four days.

How To Switch From Puppy Food To Adult Food In 7 Steps

Here is how you can switch from puppy food to adult food step by step

• Start small: Only introduce adult dog food in small amounts
• Do some maths: If you are going to add ¼ cup of the adult food, remove ¼ cup from their current puppy food
• Gradually increase the portion of adult food and decrease the puppy food one every day in an unnoticeable amount while repeating the last step
• When you reach the mid-week, you can make their meal 50% adult food and 50% puppy food
• In that time you need to watch your dogs weight closely for any changes
• In that time you need to determine their body type and the amount of adult food they need.

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Choosing The Right Formula

It is better to feed those formulas to your pups which have been specifically developed for growing puppies. If the formula has been developed specifically for the growing needs of puppies, it will be mentioned on the package.

You should avoid those foods which do not have meat listed as the first ingredient. If, for instance, you see a package with corn or meat by-products listed as the first ingredient, you should not purchase it.

Every Golden Retriever Has A Different Metabolism

One of the dangers of giving a standardized amount of food to your dog is that we stop continually monitoring our dogs weight. Every Golden Retriever is different. We have some Golden Retrievers that eat only 1 1/2 cups of food per day total and we have others that eat 5-6 cups of food per day. Just like people, every Golden Retriever has a different metabolismand that changes. Like humans, the older a dog gets the slower their metabolism normally is.

Their metabolism is also based on their activity level. Obviously the more active your Golden Retriever is, the faster their metabolism is and the more they can eat. Our average adult and puppy Golden Retriever gets 2 1/2 3 cups of TLC Whole Life Puppy Food to eat total per day. But thats average. Some will need more and some will need less. We recommend feeding your puppy twice a day. We feed them after training them at around 9 am and a second time at around 3-4 pm. The same schedule can be kept when they become adults. You could just feed them once a day, but the Golden Retrievers would rather eat twice a day! As your pup gets older, you can move the second feeding to later and even feed your adult after 5 pm.

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Golden Retriever Feedingcommon Issues

To prevent life-threatening health problems, you should serve them two or three meals every day. Unluckily, many people dont understand that Golden Retriever puppies are prone to gastric problems that require immediate medical attention and care. The most commonly suffer from gastric dilatation. Vets are unable to understand the root cause of this problem, but it is revealed that dogs with a deep chest are more prone to it and Golden Retrievers are one of them.

This issue can occur when there is a huge accumulation of gas due to large meals. The stomach will expand due to food and gas buildup and will reach a point when the excessive gas and food cant get excluded. The stomach may get bloated until it rotates and fractures. The burden on the diaphragm may not allow the lungs to expand properly, so that the breathing ability will also be negatively affected. The blood flow to the stomach will also decrease. If he is dealing with gastric dilatation, he may show the following signs:

• Increased anxiety
• Too much drooling
• Stretching awkwardly

If you notice these symptoms, take your pup to the vet immediately and provide emergency care. To reduce the risk of gastric dilatation, you must feed him twice or thrice a day. You can feed senior dogs once a day to minimize the danger of gastric dilatation. Also, he should not be engaged in any physical activity within the hour of eating.