Golden Retriever Homemade Food Recipes
Here are our favorite homemade dog food recipes for Golden Retrievers. We also threw in a homemade yummy smoothie treat for your Golden because why not!
Note:Please consult with your pets veterinarian and use personal judgment when applying this information to your dogs diet. The recipes below do not include serving size because portion sizes will vary depending on breed, weight, activity level, age, and the health of your dog. A common recommendation is to feed your dog a comparable amount of ounces/cups to what you would usually feed in kibble BUT check with your vet to be certain.
What To Do If Your Golden Eats Too Fast
What if your goldens still hungry after eating? As long as his weight and health are fine, dont give in to those pleading puppy eyes.;
Goldens are generally eating machines and wont regulate the amount of food they ingest.
If he eats too quickly, you can buy a bowl thats like a maze or puzzle to slow him down. Theres 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 didnt have any stomach upsets.
Of course, dogs should be given free access to fresh water. But its inadvisable for them to drink large amounts right after or before eating as they may bloat.
Is Puppy Food Different To Adult Dog Food
While puppy food should have many of the same ingredients as adult dog food, puppy meals tend to have higher concentrations of essential nutrients. This is because puppies have different requirements to older dogs; just as human babies have different diets to adult humans. Puppies have a lot of growing and developing to do and building these tissues requires lots of protein, calcium and numerous other nutrients, as well as lot of energy.
Feeding a puppy adult dog food means you will need to feed them more often to ensure they get the nutrients they need, or risk stunting their development. One interesting example to illustrate this is that smaller dogs, including puppies, have a higher surface-to-volume ratio than larger dogs, which means that, relative to the amount of body heat they can create, smaller dogs have a larger area through which to lose heat. It is for this reason that puppies dont only need to eat and exercise more to keep their body temperature at normal levels, but why many tend to love a nice heated dog bed.
Equally, feeding an adult dog puppy food can also be dangerous, as it can lead to an overload of nutrients which can lead to problems later in life. For example, large dogs are already prone to skeletal issues, which the extra calcium in puppy food can exacerbate.;
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Maintaining A Healthy Puppy Weight Of Your Golden Retriever Puppy
A puppy grows faster, no doubt! But nobody loves an overweight or underweight puppy so make sure that your feeding schedule is proper and you have to monitor your poochs weight on a regular basis when your Golden Retriever is in the puppy phase!
Overweigh can develop health and orthopedic problems in your Golden!
Monitoring your pups weight is really important, and make sure you dont ignore that! Monitoring and adjusting the diet accordingly, you should be able to feel but not see your pups ribs!
If your puppy is obesethen make sure you check out this article which I wrote a month back! Best Weight Loss Dog Food For Golden Retrievers
Also, you can define your pup is overweight or not by letting your Golden Stand and you just need to observe the abdomen, if the abdomen is round and bulgy then your puppy isoverweight and if the back is all good no bulginess then its good.
Regular visits to your vet is recommended!
What Should You Add To Kibble
In most cases, wet puppy food is not designed to provide complete and balanced nutrition in the same way as with dry kibble puppy food.
However, there can be some cases where feeding wet puppy food is advisable, either as a kibble topper or on its own.
One such case might be if your puppy is recovering from an illness or a procedure and doesnt have much appetite.
Wet food is quite palatable.
Wet food can also add more moisture to your puppys diet to make sure she stays well-hydrated.
Wet puppy food can be a tasty treat to liven up mealtimes. Weve reviewed our favorite dry and wet foods for Golden Retriever puppies here.
You can also add scraps such as meat, scrambled organic eggs, organic vegetables and fruits, canned pumpkin for healthy digestion, or probiotics such as yogurt.
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Avoid Overfeeding A Golden Retriever
For those who have Golden Retrievers at home, how to avoid overfeeding a Golden Retriever is an important issue. You have probably noticed that no matter how much food you put, your Golden Retriever wants to eat more and acts like he is on the brink of starvation! Because dogs are usually greedy, they often dont know when theyre full. Especially for delicious food, it will never eat enough. However, eating too much can have a bad effect on your dogs health. A lactating Golden Retriever mother should not control how much she eats. Because breastfeeding mothers need to eat a lot, in order to ensure adequate milk. When a golden dog mother has indigestion, we can give him some medicine such as lactase to help digestion, but do not give him less food.
Strong Bones And Optimal Growth With A Healthy Diet
The Goldie can be classed as a large breed. Puppies from this breed shouldn’t be given food that is too rich in calories so that they don’t grow too quickly. A consequence of the food containing too many calories can be the genetically determined final weight being reached or even exceeded earlier than expected, although the skeleton is not yet stable enough. This can be lead to misalignments of the limbs. Golden Retriever puppies need an adequate energy intake as well as a balanced supply of minerals, especially calcium and phosphorous.
In order to ensure healthy growth for Goldie puppies, the diet should be species-appropriate with a balanced proportion of calories, minerals, trace elements and vitamins.
Feeding recommendations for puppy food are based on the puppy’s current weight and the predicted weight of the dog as an adult. The weight of the parent animal of the same sex can be taken as a guideline. In addition, the quantity of food is adapted to the puppy’s activity level.
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How Much Should You Feed A Golden Retriever
Many people think that puppies are supposed to be chubby. However, the truth is that golden retriever puppies should be fairly lean. They are also supposed to always act as if theyre hungry, even when youre feeding them the right amount of food.
You definitely do not want to make your puppy obese since this could interfere with his growth and development and cause long-term health implications.
The following amounts listed below are some general guidelines for feeding your golden retriever puppy at different ages:
- Two months: 1 and a half cups per day
- Three months: 2 cups per day
- Four months: 2 and a half cups per day
- Five and six months: 3 cups per day
- Six to seven months: 3 and a half to 4 cups per day for males, 3 cups per day for females
Of course, you should keep in mind that these guidelines might not apply to every single puppy. These amounts can vary quite a bit, depending on your puppys weight and energy levels as well as the type of food youre buying.
If you are buying cheaper food, for example, these generally contain fewer calories and a lot of fillers, so you will have to give them more to fulfill their nutritional requirements.
Most of the time, you should be giving your dog a high quality puppy food instead of regular dog food. If you have any doubts, you should consult with your veterinarian about how much your puppy should be eating.
How To Read A Dog Food Label
To help make an informed decision about what youre feeding your golden, youll need to read the food label.
But food labels can be a little vague and confusing, so below is an explanation of what some of these terms mean, according to the Merck Veterinary Manual and the;AKC.
Ingredients are listed in order of weight
The first ingredient listed is the ingredient that theres the most of in the food, while the last ingredient is the ingredient that theres the least of.
There is one caveat though.
Ingredients are listed in the exact type that theyre added in.
For instance, flaked corn, ground corn, and kibbled corn could be sprinkled in an ingredient list and not be listed as the first few ingredients, but in reality, if you were to add them all up , you might find that this food is made mostly of corn.
The same goes for chicken, chicken meal, and chicken byproduct.
Meat vs. Meat Meal vs. Meat Byproduct
Lets say youre looking at a food label and you see chicken, chicken meal, and chicken byproduct.
Chicken means that its chicken muscle, skin and/or bones.
Chicken meal means that its essentially ground and dried chicken muscle, skin and/or bones.
Chicken byproducts means that its byproducts .
Chicken byproducts meal means that its essentially ground and dried byproducts.
The quality of these ingredients can vary widely, so be sure to talk to your vet about this and choose a reputable brand of food.
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How Much To Feed A Golden Retriever
Golden Retrievers usually weigh from 55 to 75 pounds and reach their full height and weight when they are 12 to 18 months old. Keep in mind that every dog is an individual and that it can take more or less time for your Golden puppy to reach his adult size. However, your Goldens caloric needs will greatly decrease when he reaches 12 to 14 months and he will no longer need the same amount of food as before.
An adult and active Golden will need to eat between 1,300 to 1,700 calories per day. However, keep in mind that age, weight, activity level, health problems, and overall lifestyle will determine how many calories your Golden needs per day.
For example, nursing mothers and dogs that perform heavy work will need more than 2,000 calories per day in order to maintain their weight and stay healthy. On the other hand, if your pooch is more of a couch potato type than an athlete he will probably need around 1,000 calories a day in order to maintain a healthy weight.
During adulthood, your Golden Retriever feeding schedule should consist of two equally spaced meals ideally, you should feed your dog in the morning and evening. If you opt for feeding high-quality large breed dog food, an optimal Golden Retriever food amount will be:
- Females: 2 to 2 ½ cups a day
- Males: 3 to 3 ½ cups a day
- Active Males: 4 cups a day
- Nursing Females: 5 to 6 cups a day
Dry Vs Wet Puppy Food
Although dry kibble is a popular choice, its not the only option. As you walk the dog food aisles, you may see both dry and wet puppy foods.
This can make it harder to decide what to feed your puppy. Fortunately, as long as both the wet and dry formulas are complete and balanced for growing puppies, you can feed either one to your pup with confidence.
You and your puppy may have a preference when it comes to dry versus wet. Feeding a combination of the two is also an option.
According to Purina Nutritionist, Allison Millican, PhD, If youre feeding your puppy a combination of wet and dry food, it is extremely important to ensure the total caloric value does not fall short or exceed their daily energy requirement. Use the calories reported on the package to understand how much wet food will replace the dry and vice versa. This allows you to calculate the amount of each product needed to meet your puppys nutritional requirements.
For example, Millican explains, one thirteen-ounce can of wet puppy food may contain four hundred and seventy-five kilocalories and replace approximately one cup of a dry puppy formula with a similar value of kilocalories per cup. In this scenario, you could substitute a thirteen-ounce can of wet food for one cup of the daily dry food recommendation.
The brand websites and your veterinarian are great resources and can help you develop a feeding plan specifically for your puppys needs.
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How Much To Give Your Puppy
Determining how much to feed a golden retriever puppy will depend on age and the puppy itself.;Your veterinarian can help you determine the right diet and amount for your dog. In general, a golden retriever puppy thats about 7 weeks old will eat between a third and a half a cup of dry puppy food every meal. Make sure you have water available with all meals.
You will want to increase the food volume gradually. At 3 months old, a puppy may eat up to 1.5 cups a day. At 4 months, it may eat 2.5 cups a day. At 6 or 7 months, male dogs may eat up to 4 cups a day, but female golden retrievers may eat 3 cups. Since there is such a variety, its important to adjust the volume for your dog specifically.
How Much Should You Feed Your Golden Retriever Puppy
How much you feed your puppy depends on what your veterinarian says and what the label on the dog food says.
Its tough to make general statements like, feed your puppy one cup per day, because 1) all puppies are different, and 2) different foods have different caloric densities.
One cup of Brand X food may have 300 calories per cup, while Brand Y has 400 calories per cup.
And heres an example of why it depends on the individual puppy
When we first got our puppy, Oliver, we were feeding him what the package told us to feed him.
During a vet visit our veterinarian said he looked too lethargic for a puppy his age , and he recommended we feed him a little more.
So when deciding how much to feed your puppy, read the label on your food and talk to your veterinarian to see whats best for them.
As far as how often to feed your puppy, this same rule applies.
Most people feed their puppies three times per day, and then eventually transition to two times per day when theyre a little older.
At this point, theyre not growing as much, so they dont need to eat as frequently, plus it will usually help them poop less!
For us, we fed Oliver three times per day until he was a little over a year old.
Thats when we switched to adult dog food and changed to feeding him two times per day.
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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
| Weight | |
|---|---|
| 4 5/8- 6 Cups Per Day | |
| 110 lbs. | 5 ½- 7 1/8 Cups Per Day |
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.
Essential Nutrients For Golden Retrievers
If you have ever been on a diet, the chances are that you will either or lose some weight or gain some calories. The same is the case for your pet.
The calories in your dog’s food come from vital nutrients that play an active role in growth and development. Their body needs these nutrients in adequate quantities to thrive.
However, the amount of nutrients your pet needs depends on your dog’s height, age, level of activity, etc. So whether you are feeding your dog with wet or dry foods, you need to check to make sure that the meal contains the balanced nutrients your pet needs.
Your pet needs the right amount of carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins, minerals, and water to reach its full potential. And you should keep this in mind when choosing a pet food brand.
Let’s count the necessary macros for your Golden Retriever.
Protein
Protein is an essential nutrient for your pet. It provides enough calories to keep your dog healthy. Proteins also help your pets to
- Build and repair body tissues and muscles and body
- Grow new skin cells, hair, hormones, and enzymes, etc.
So if you are buying commercial food products, you should go for dog foods with at least 30 percent protein content. However, if you are keen on homemade foods for your Goldie, you should consider meals with protein sources like lambs, chicken, turkey, fish, beef, yogurts, and cooked eggs.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates double as sources of energy and glucose supply for optimal brain activity.
Minerals
- Vegetables
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