Best Puppy Food for Golden Retrievers
With so many dog food choices out there, finding the right food for your Golden Retriever can be difficult and overwhelming. This article was written by Dr. Traas, president of Golden Retriever Society and veterinarian, and includes input from our other staff veterinarians. We look specifically for foods that are formulated for large breed dogs and foods that are backed by science made by reputable companies that have spent considerable time researching each ingredient.
Here we share our top choices of dog food that will provide your Golden Retriever with a healthy and complete diet. We will also give details about the nutritious ingredients found in each food and how they will benefit your dog.
Our Top Pick
Purina Pro Plan Large Breed
Purina Pro Plan Large Breed is our top choice for Golden Retrievers. Corey’s dog Brady has been eating this food since becoming an adult and he loves it. This dog food provides a complete, healthy, and nutritious diet for all large breed dogs.
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Table of Contents
Best Dog Food for Golden Retrievers
Our Pick Brand
Best Overall Purina Pro Plan Large Breed
Our Second Choice Royal Canin for Golden Retriever
Our Third Choice Eukanuba Adult Large Breed
Our Fourth Choice Hills Science Diet Large Breed
Best Budget Purina One Smart Blend Natural Large Breed
Budget 2nd choice Iams Large Breed
Just as important as getting quality dog food for your Golden, is knowing how much to feed them. After you decide on the food for your dog, be sure to visit our article Golden Retriever Feeding Chart. We cover more feeding information and look at other common questions you may have.
Best Overall Dog Food: Purina Pro Plan Large Breed
Purina Pro Plan Large Breed provides an overall nutritious diet to your Golden Retriever. This food comes highly recommended by our staff veterinarians. The number one ingredient is chicken which provides the protein needed to help develop strong muscles and healthy body function. It is also formulated with live probiotics that helps with your dog’s digestive and immune systems.
The Purina Pro Plan adult product line has 19 different dry foods to choose from. The food is specially formulated to fit your Golden Retriever’s needs. You can choose food that is good for sensitive skin or stomach. It also has different choices of meat like chicken, beef, or lamb. Having a variety of different formulas to choose from is beneficial due to different medical needs that your dog may have at certain times in their life.
Purina Pro Plan is the highest quality line of Purina dog food apart from the prescription diets. This food is highly digestible promoting optimal nutrient absorption to give your Golden the energy they need.
Top Ingredients:
Chicken
Ground rice
Whole Grain Wheat
Corn Gluten Meal
Poultry By-Product Meal (Source of Glucosamine)
*GLUCOSAMINE: natural compound found in cartilage can help joint health.
Product Features:
Chicken is the #1 ingredient
Contains omega-3 fatty acid for joint health and shiny coat
Helps maintain ideal body weight
Can be bought as wet or dry food
This dog food provides many health benefits for your Golden Retriever through natural ingredients that will help live a long, healthy life. In addition, we like its reasonable price.
Our Second Choice: Royal Canin for Golden Retriever
Our Second Choice
Royal Canin for Golden Retriever
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Royal Canin for Golden Retrievers is our second choice and comes highly recommended by our staff veterinarians. It is designed specifically to meet the nutritional needs of a purebred Golden Retriever. The shape and texture of the kibble is designed to fit a Golden Retriever’s straight muzzle and scissor bite that encourages them to chew. It also contains exclusive nutrients that help reinforce the skin barrier to protect skin and help maintain a beautiful golden, long coat.
The nice thing about Royal Canin dog food is the exact calculations of how much to feed your Golden Retriever based on their activity level for the day (low, moderate, or high). On the back of the bag, there is a chart that shows these exact amounts. They can do this because there is a veterinary nutritionist on staff who chooses high quality ingredients for a nutritionally balanced meal.
Even though the one downside we found is that the #1 ingredient is chicken meal instead of chicken, high quality chicken meal can be nutritionally better than chicken.
Top Ingredients:
Chicken Meal
Brown Rice
Oatmeal
Rice
Corn Gluten Meal
Product Features:
Specially made for Golden Retriever purebred dogs
Contains EPA and DHA to help with heart health
Has a precise amount of calories and fat to maintain a healthy weight
Can be bought as wet or dry food
Our Third Choice: Eukanuba Adult Large Breed
Our Third Choice
Eukanuba Adult Large Breed
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Eukanuba Adult Large Breed dog food is our third choice and comes highly recommended by our veterinarians as well. Like the two foods above, this one provides a well-balanced diet for your Golden Retriever. This food is gentle on a dog’s stomach because it is made with a prebiotic blend that aids in digestion. It also contains high-quality chicken combined with glucosamine (compound found in cartilage) and chondroitin sulfate (chemical found in cartilage) to help support lean muscles and agile joints.
Eukanuba provides exact calculations of how much to feed your Golden Retriever based on their activity for the day. Having this information at your fingertips helps to make sure there is no overfeeding or underfeeding. For example, if your Golden had moderate exercise for the day it will tell you the exact amount of cups to feed them based on their weight. If you’ve ever wanted to know the exact amounts to feed your Golden Retriever, then this is the food for you.
Top Ingredients:
High-Quality Chicken
Corn meal
Ground Whole Grain Sorghum (complex carbohydrate rich in nutrients)
Chicken By-Product Meal
Ground Whole Grain Barley
Product Features:
High-quality chicken is the #1 ingredient
Keeps muscles lean and joints limber and strong
Has 3D Denta Defense which reduces tartar build-up
Can be bought as wet or dry food
Our Fourth Choice: Hills Science Diet Large Breed
Our Fourth Choice
Hills Science Diet Large Breed
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Hills Science Diet Large Breed dog food is made of natural ingredients that are easily digestible to fuel the energy needs of your Golden Retriever. It is packed with a precise amount of omega-6’s and vitamin E to give your dog healthy skin and coat. It is also formulated to have a great taste that dogs love. The natural fibers in the food promote healthy digestion for your fully grown dog.
When feeding your Golden Retriever Hills Science Diet be sure to use the feeding chart on the back of the bag. It tells you how much food you should feed your Golden Retriever based on their weight. On some of their bags, especially the perfect weight recipe, they provide a chart that gives the amount of food for weight loss if your Golden Retriever is needing that specifically.
It is veterinarian recommended and helps your Golden Retriever live their best when they are in their prime.
Top Ingredients:
Chicken
Cracked Pearled Barley
Whole Grain Wheat
Whole Grain Corn
Whole Grain Sorghum
Product Features:
Chicken is #1 ingredient
Has a great taste for the dog
Made with natural ingredients
Can be bought as wet or dry food
Best Budget Dog Food: Purina One Smart Blend Natural Large Breed
Our Budget Choice
Purina One Smart Blend Natural Large Breed
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Purina One Smart Blend Natural Large Breed is our budget friendly top pick. If you are looking for a dog food that is easier on the pocket book, but still high in nutritional value, then this is for you. The price per pound is about 96 cents or 3 cents per day. That is considerably less that the average price of $2.49 per pound or 10 cents per day.
This food is made with natural vitamins and minerals and features a combination of tender, protein-rich meaty morsels, and crunchy kibble that your Golden will enjoy. It contains no artificial flavors or preservatives and no fillers. Every high-quality ingredient has a purpose. This dog food uses a moderate amount of by-product meal which contains a good amount of nutrients.
If you are looking for a budget friendly dog food, but still has the nutrients your dog needs, then this is the food for your Golden Retriever.
Top Ingredients:
Chicken
Rice Flour
Chicken By-Product Meal
Whole Grain Wheat
Soybean Meal
Product Features:
Chicken is #1 ingredient
Complete and balanced nutrition in every serving
Supports lifelong whole-body health
Can be bought in wet or dry food
2nd Best Budget Dog Food: Iams Large Breed
Our 2nd Budget Choice
Iams Large Breed
Available on Amazon
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Iams Large Breed dog food is another great budget friendly food for your Golden Retriever. It is a complete and balanced nutritional food with no artificial flavors or fillers. It is made in the USA and is a great start for a puppy all the way up to a senior. Dr. Traas feeds this food to her dogs. It also contains a blend of wholesome fibers and prebiotics for easier digestion.
The downside of this food is that it has a high amount of carbohydrates. It does have excellent meat and fat quality though. Some reviews said that when they started feeding their dog Iams that their dog started scratching less. They believed that the vitamins and fatty acids were helping with skin and coat issues they were previously dealing with.
This dog food is filled with the nutrients your dog needs but can also fit just about any budget.
Top Ingredients:
Farm-Raised Chicken
Ground Whole Grain Barley
Ground Whole Grain Corn
Ground Whole Grain Sorghum
Chicken By-Product Meal
Product Features:
Farm-raised chicken is #1 ingredient
Maintains bone and joint health
Promotes healthy digestion and immunity
Can be bought in wet or dry food
What To Look For In A Dog Food?
What To Look For In A Dog Food
Finding the right dog food for your Golden Retriever is especially important. It is something they do at least twice a day, so you want it to be something they like but also healthy. In this section we will discuss some ingredients that should be in a healthy dog food.
Protein
Protein is essential for the growth and maintenance of almost all tissues in a dog’s body. It also has amino acids necessary for a dog’s body to build hair, skin, muscles, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. You will want to buy a dog food that has a source of protein listed first. This means that protein is the greatest ingredient in the food by weight.
Adult dogs need at 18% of protein in their diets. Good protein sources are chicken, lamb, salmon, beef, and turkey. Many dog foods contain meat by-products, such as chicken meal. These by-products are also another good source of protein and vitamins.
Vitamins
Just like humans, dogs need vitamins in their food for growth and maintenance. Most vitamins are found naturally in foods. Be sure the dog food you choose has all the following vitamins.
Vitamin Function
Vitamin A Responsible for good vision, helps immune system
B Vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12) Helps regulate energy and carbohydrate metabolism, blood cell and nervous system function, hormone regulation, immune response
Vitamin C Reduces inflammation and cognitive aging
Vitamin D Known as the “sunshine vitamin” and balances minerals
Vitamin E Essential for cell function and fat metabolism
Vitamin K Activates dog’s blood to clot
Choline Supports healthy brain and liver function
Vitamins are especially important for a dog to have in their diet. It is a good idea to also check with your veterinarian about which food will best provide the vitamins your Golden Retriever needs.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are an important ingredient in dog food because it provides energy to your Golden Retriever. Carbohydrates come from the sugars in plants and grains and should be part of a dog’s well-balanced diet.
Here is a list of common carbohydrates that will usually be listed in the first few ingredients on the bag.
Barley
Oats (or whole oats)
Brown rice
Whole wheat
Whole corn
Potato (or sweet potato)
Millet
When choosing a dog food for your Golden Retriever, make sure it has all the ingredients needed for a well-balanced diet. Most dog foods are regulated by the FDA, so they will be safe and healthy for your Golden Retriever. It is always best to consult with a veterinarian about the food before feeding it to your dog.
When Should I Feed My Golden Retriever?
When Should I Feed My Golden Retriever
Your Golden Retriever should be fed at least twice daily. Once in the morning and then once in the early evening. If you go to work, feeding them before you leave and then when you get home is an example of a good schedule. Oftentimes, people like to feed them when they eat breakfast and dinner themselves.
If your dog seems hungry during the day, giving them a healthy snack can tide them over to their next meal. For healthy snack ideas, check out our article Best Dog Treats For Golden Retrievers.
Keeping your Golden Retriever on a feeding schedule is going to make it easier for you and healthier for them. If they are getting fed at different times it could throw off their routine and ultimately their health. Sometimes it could cause obesity as well. Using an automated feeder can help if your schedule is different from day to day, then you do not need to be home for the feedings.
Are Grain Free Diets Safe For Golden Retrievers?
Are Grain Free Diets Safe For Golden Retrievers
Grain Free diets are not typically recommended by veterinarians. Recent studies from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), have shown that there is a link between certain diets and Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs.
Grains are a great source of nutrients for dogs. Grains are packed with carbohydrates, fats, and antioxidants that support healthy skin, hair, and immune systems. A common assumption is that grains cause obesity, but if they are fed in moderation, obesity should not be a problem.
Some veterinarians will recommend a grain free diet to dogs with allergies. If your veterinarian does recommend grain free, then go with a grain free diet as it is probably best for your dog.
Conclusion
Making sure your Golden Retriever has the right food is essential for their overall health. A food with protein, vitamins, and carbohydrates will provide the needed energy for your dog to live a well-balanced life.
The dog food list we have provided comes highly recommended by our staff veterinarian. We hope you find this helpful in choosing the right food for your Golden Retriever.
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