What Food Is Best For Golden Retrievers

Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula: Adult Large Breed

This food is one of the best there is, mostly because chicken is the first ingredient. That fact alone means that this food has lots of protein , which Golden Retrievers need. However, the makers of this food don’t stop with proteins. It also includes multiple vitamins and other compounds to promote joint, bone, and coat health. It’s one of the most well-balanced foods out there.

Of course, many people trust Blue Buffalo to provide quality food for their dogs, and in this formula, the makers don’t disappoint!

American Journey Dog Food

Youll notice the first ingredient is a high quality, deboned source of animal meat, followed by a very concentrated protein source. Then we have the grains necessary for cardiovascular health and other fiber-rich sources.

Ingredients: Chicken meal, deboned beef, brown rice, peas, rice bran, barley, chicken fat, brewers rice.

Origen Puppy Large Breed Formula

The top five ingredients are deboned chicken, deboned turkey, yellowtail flounder, whole eggs, and whole atlantic mackerel.

This recipe contains a minimum of 43 percent protein, 18 percent fat and 30percent estimated carbs, creating a fat-to-protein ratio of about 41percent.

This high-quality food is more expensive than many five-star rated foods.

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Top Joint Supplements For Golden Retrievers

Although there are no specific feeding requirements for a Golden Retriever, it is very important that you feed your Golden a suitable diet that is age appropriate and meets all their daily nutritional and energy needs. A premium, balanced Large Breed Adult Dog Food from reputable pet food brands should provide tailored nutrition that your Golden needs. Premium large breed formulas contain balanced levels of protein, fat and carbohydrate plus vitamins, minerals and antioxidants for health and wellbeing. We also stock Large Breed Puppy Dog Food for growing Goldens.

As some conditions are specific to Golden Retrievers, there are breed specific diets that can help reduce the likelihood of disease. Royal Canin Golden Retriever Adult contains taurine and omega 3 to support healthy cardiac function. It is also rich in omega fatty acids to protect the skin, and has adapted calorie content to reduce obesity. Plus, this diet has a tailored kibble shape to encourage chewing. For puppies, Royal Canin Golden Retriever Puppy is available to support healthy growth and development specific to this breed.

Your Guide To Preventing Disease By Choosing The Best Dog Food For Your Golden Retriever

• Stay away from artificial flavors, colors or preservatives such as propylene glycol
• Formulas should offer real meat or chicken instead of meat meal or chicken meal
• Must contain a good source of calcium
• Dog food formulas must meet AAFCO nutrient requirements for the correct life stage
• Must be manufactured by a reputable company
• Dog food formulas should offer antioxidants, healthy ingredients, Omega 3s, and the right amount of micro nutrients.
• The formula should not contain hormones or steroids
• Dog food should not be overly processed
• Dog food formulas should state which life stage they are intended for
• Ingredients should not contain unnamed meat sources
• Ingredients should contain veggies and fruit

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How To Choose The Best Dog Food For A Golden Retriever

Goldens Retrievers are generally healthy dogs. Still, there are some genetic health issues to keep in mind:

• certain cancers

A healthy diet may help to prevent some of these diseases. The best way to select a quality dog food is to consult your veterinarian and read the dog food label to ensure your Golden Retriever is getting the proper nutrients. Generally, a large breed dog food will be a good fit for an adult Golden Retriever.

Best Dog Food For Golden Retrievers In 2021

This is our review of the best dog food for Golden Retrievers in 2021.

The best dog foods for this breed feature concentrated nutrition that supports heart health.

Goldens are beloved for their friendliness, intelligence, and confidence. But they are especially sensitive to dietary concerns that may cause health issues.

Im a former veterinary technician who researched the best dog foods for Golden Retrievers to help you find the best food for your dog.

I found that Wellness Large Breed Adult Complete Health Dog Food is the best overall dog food for Goldens.

Every dog is an individual. So, Ive included reviews of the best brands for every category of dog food for Golden Retrievers.

Lets get started.

• Royal Canin Golden Retriever Adult Dry Food

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Royal Canin Golden Retriever Loaf In Sauce Canned Dog Food

• FORMULATED FOR PUREBRED GOLDEN RETRIEVERS: Royal Canin Golden Retriever Wet Dog Food is designed to meet the nutritional needs of purebred Golden Retrievers 15 months and older.
• TASTY LOAF IN SAUCE: Soft dog food featuring Loaf in Sauce for a paté that appeals to a large dogs appetite.
• SKIN AND COAT: Adult dog food formulated with EPA and DHA from fish oil to support healthy skin and coat.
• HEART HEALTH: Targeted levels of sodium, taurine, and L-carnitine promote healthy cardiac function
• COMPLETE AND BALANCED: Soft dog food can be fed alone or mixed with Royal Canin Golden Retriever Adult Dry Food.

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What About A Grain

Only if your dog has allergies, and only if its a good quality food.

Grain-free diets have been hugely popular recently, but arent always the best or healthiest choice. Fillers that replace grains can often be less nutritious than their counterparts.

In the world of dogs, legume-based grain-free diets have been the center of controversy. Dogs fed these diets have been found to be lacking in taurine, which is essential to heart health. Too little taurine in a dogs system can cause heart failure.

If you suspect your dog is allergic to grains, have a talk with your veterinarian about foods available that can fit your dogs unique needs.

How To Choose A Puppy Food For Golden Retriever

We recommend that you first feed your puppy the same food that the breeder fed him. Because your puppys gut has already built up a certain microflora. And to digest the new ingredient, the puppy doesnt have enough gut bacteria. Even an adult dog is advised to add bifidobacteria for the gut when transitioning to a new Golden Retriever food. You can check out 10 of the best Chewy brands that make really high quality event food.

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Best Food For Golden Retriever Grades

• Super premium This is the best food for Golden Retriever, crafted using fresh quality meat with added grains . Digestibility of super-premium class feeds is more than 80%. Their energy value is above 450 kcal/100 g, which significantly reduces their consumption.
• Premium Premium class feeds contain meat of fish, poultry, good quality by-products, as well as rice and/or vegetables: Carrots contain many trace elements, beet, potatoes. They contain vegetable proteins, colorings and flavorings. Premium class feeds are digestible by 75%, and their energy value exceeds 350 kcal/100 g.
• Economy. This is a low-quality dog food made from second-rate ingredients, slaughterhouse waste and low-quality grain. Bone meal, animal fat, soy, corn, etc. are used instead of meat. The food contains various flavorings, artificial additives and preservatives. The daily intake rate is high and the energy value does not exceed 350 kcal/100 g.

How do I read the contents of dog food?

In the composition of the food, the ingredient that contains the most is written first. Then comes the ingredient that contains less than the first ingredient, and so on.

Best food for Golden Retriever puppy must have meat first. But it is important that it be dried, dehydrated meat or meat meal, since drying reduces the amount of meat by 80%. It can be beef, pork, lamb, duck, fish or chicken. Yes, pork can also be fed to the dog.

Second place is taken by cereals corn, oats, barley, rice.

Further Reading…

What Kind Of Homemade Snacks Can You Make A Dog

• Peanut butter: Rascal has his own dedicated jar of peanut butter. He loves a traditional kong but you can also mold and freeze peanut butter in any shape for a quick frozen treat. When the jar is almost finished I break out my peanut butter spoon.
• Greek Yogurt Ice Cream: In the summer we blend up unflavored Greek yogurt, fresh berries, and peanut butter. Place a spoonful or two into a silicone cupcake pan and freeze for a few hours. These make for a great dog ice cream.
• Dehydrated Sweet Potatoes: Rascals favorite easy treat. We love bringing these over to family and friends houses so Rascal always has a healthy treat on hand.

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Best Dog Foods For Golden Retrievers In 2022

Luckily, we can help you with these decisions. We have reviews of the best dog foods for Golden Retrievers so you wont have to wander up and down the aisles at the pet store to choose your dogs food. As long as you know your dogs age and something about his health, you can use our reviews and your own personal preferences to choose the best dog food for him.

As you probably already know, the Golden Retriever can grow to be about 75 pounds as an adult . They are one of the most popular breeds in the United States and around the world. Goldens are beloved for their friendly, gentle, and devoted personality. They make wonderful family dogs and are good with children. They are large, active dogs so they do best in a home where they will have room to run and play. Goldens are also super intelligent and easy to train. Since they are big, active dogs, Golden Retrievers need good nutrition to help them grow from puppyhood into a mature adult. Your budget, your dogs age, and your own approach to feeding your dog will determine what kind of food you select. There are lots of good options and we can show them to you here.

Supplementing With Fruits & Veggies For Golden Retrievers

Any Golden Retriever lover probably knows that dogs are best served with dog food specially formulated to provide the ideal levels of nutrients that canines specifically benefit from. Research is spotty on whether Golden Retrievers absolutely need supplementary food like fruits and veggies, but in most cases , its more healthy than giving your dog table scraps.

Generally speaking, its best to stick to dog food unless advised otherwise by a veterinarian. Treats like fruits and veggies are best used sparingly to minimize potential health risks caused by some ingredients in them.

Some tips for feeding fruits and veggies:

• Fruits are often high in natural sugars, so its best to serve only very small portions. For overweight dogs, fruits arent advisable at all. Youll notice in our list of fruits and veggies for Goldens below that there are only a couple of fruits listed. Fruits are best given sparingly, or not at all.
• Many vegetables, including leafy greens, are high in fiber. Fiber can be a great supplement for your Golden Retrievers digestive system, but too much can lead to vomiting.
• When introducing any new ingredient to your Goldens diet, watch them closely for any adverse reactions that may occur. Consult a vet if you observe any concerning reactions.

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Blue Buffalo Wilderness Adult Dry Dog Food

PetListed Verdict:

Blue Buffalo Wilderness dog food is formulated specifically for dogs that require high protein and high carbohydrate diets. This dry kibble features a mixture of meats including beef, chicken, lamb, and venison, as well as healthy carbs including peas and sweet potatoes.

Key Details:

• High protein and high fat content for maximum performance and lean muscle
• Contains LifeSource Bits, a veterinarian approved mixture of vitamins, minerals, an antioxidants.
• Pricier compared with other dry dog foods

Royal Canin Golden Retriever Puppy Dry Food

Top Ingredients: 1. Chicken By-Product Meal, 2. Corn, 3. Wheat Gluten, 4. Chicken Fat, 5. Wheat

Golden Retriever pups tend to have a different dietary requirement which a regular puppy food might not be able to fulfill. This Royal Canin recipe is formulated to cater to their specific needs. It is created to meet their nutritional requirements during the development stage, without expediting their physical growth. You get all a delicious meal with all the nutrients necessary for the pup to grow into a healthy, active, and beautiful adult. As with the adult formula, this puppy food is also among the best dog food for golden retrievers.

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Expert Tips For Canine Nutritional Management

• Understand your Goldens activity level
• Age plays a role when choosing a formula
• Your dogs breed needs to be taken in to consideration
• Assess your dogs medical condition
• Consult with your veterinarian for the best nutritional advice
• Look for brands that assist with nutritional management for dogs with medical conditions.
• Dog food formulas need to be tested using the AAFCO feeding trial testing methods instead of by formulation
• The nutritional adequacy statement needs to be on the label
• The dog food formula that you choose needs to be complete and balanced
• The formula needs to be for the correct life stage of the dog

When it comes to choosing the best dog food for your Golden Retriever, keep in mind that a high-quality dog food will have better results in helping to keep your Golden healthy than a lower quality dog food.

Goldens may have diseases which are heavily impacted by their diets like inflammatory bowel disease or atopic skin diseases. These can be helped by feeding the correct diet, since Goldens with health conditions will need to follow a diet that is appropriate to their medical conditions. Always consult with your veterinarian for advice before changing diets.

When Should Golden Retriever Puppy Switch Food

Changing Golden Retriever puppy food to adult food is one of the most crucial parts of your beloved dogs life and it can actually cause a permanent injury if its done incorrectly.

Most puppies dont stop growing and arent ready to switch Golden Retriever food until they reach 12 to 24 months of age, in other words, the best time to switch food for Golden Retriever puppy is when the dog is nearing their adult height, keep in mind that other dogs mature at different rates depends on how large the breed, the larger the dog, the more times its going to take him to mature to full size.

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What Are The Differences Between Puppy Food & Adult Food

Since puppies are growing and adults are just maintaining their weight, they have different dietary needs.

According to AAFCO, puppy food should have at least 22.5% protein, compared to 18% protein for adult food.

And for fats, puppy food should have at least 8.5% fats, compared to 5.5% for adults.

As far as when to switch from puppy food to adult food, talk to your veterinarian.

Theyll likely recommend making the switch when theyre done growing at about one year old.

To see a list of other milestones your puppy will hit check out this timeline of Golden Retriever puppy milestones.

Why Do Golden Retrievers Need Good Dog Food

Health starts from within, so it is important to apply that same principle to a dogs food. Dogs that eat low-quality dog food are more prone to sickness because they do not have enough nutrients in their body. Low-quality dog food is often like junk food for dogs because it contains fillers and other ingredients that do not benefit dogs. In some cases, low-quality dog food can even make a dog sick.

Higher quality dog food can ensure better health for dogs, which is essential for big dogs like Golden Retrievers. Dog food that suits a Golden Retrievers needs can meet their nutritional requirements. Moreover, Golden Retrievers are prone to certain conditions, like allergies and skin issues. Dog foods that are specially suited for big breeds like the Golden Retriever often prevent and soothe these issues.

Most dog food brands available at the store will not cut it for a Golden Retriever. Even if the dog food is good, that does not mean it is right for a Golden Retriever. They are a large breed of dog, so they need much more nutrients than medium and small dogs.

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Best Dog Food For Adult Golden Retrievers

If you are looking for the best dog food for Golden Retrievers that are more than 12 months old or are transitioning from puppy food to adult food, it is a good idea to consult with your veterinarian. Your vet can help determine your Goldens current body condition score. With this in hand, you can decide which maintenance adult diet is best.

Normal Body Condition Golden Retrievers

A great place to start for an active, normal body weight/condition Golden is Natural Balance L.I.D. Sweet Potato and Fish Adult Formula. This adult formula is excellent for adults over 15 months of age to 7-8 years of age.

Many Golden retrievers suffer from dry, itchy skin and ear problems. This food can help. As a veterinarian, when I see a first-time itchy Golden in my clinic, I recommend this food.

Golden Retrievers are more prone to dry and itchy skin, most commonly caused by atopic dermatitis or inhaled allergens. Natural Balance L.I.D. Sweet potato and fish are a fantastic choices for supporting your Golden skin and coat health.

This formula contains ingredients that may help your Golden be less itchy. It is packed with highly digestible carbohydrates, high-quality salmon, and an omega-3 fatty acid boost.

Only 15-40% of itchy dogs actually have a food allergy. The majority of dogs with itchy skin have atopic dermatitis, an itchy skin condition caused by environmental allergens like pollen or mold.

Very Active/Hunting Golden Retrievers

Low-Active/Couch Potato