Best Dog Food For Golden Retrievers

We all want the best for our dogs. Golden retrievers are a notoriously loveable breed that returns your affection in heaps. You will of course want your golden retriever to live a lengthy, happy life for as long as possible.

The best way to do this is by ensuring that they are eating the right diet. If your golden retriever doesn’t eat the right food, this could have a detrimental impact on their health. They could become sluggish and even put on weight.

Golden retrievers are very similar to labrador retrievers in the sense that they are very active dogs who need the right amount of exercise, and to eat the right type of food. But how can you find the best dog food for golden retrievers? 

Best Dog Food For Golden Retrievers

That’s where we come in! We’ve done all the research for you so that you don’t have to worry. We’ve researched and reviewed hundreds of products and whittled it down to the best of the best.

So you can rest assured that the products we review in more detail below are the best dog foods for golden retrievers.

Contents

Best Dog Food For Golden Retrievers Reviews

Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Natural Adult Dry Dog Food

The Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Natural Adult Dry Dog Food is the ultimate pick for your golden retriever.

This is a fantastic dog food for the vast majority of breeds, but your golden retriever will quickly clean out their bowl with this food of choice.

This particular dog food has been designed with adult dogs in mind, and works to give your golden retriever the fully balanced diet that they need to thrive.

Another great feature of this particular dog food is that it only uses real meat as the main ingredient. This gives your golden retriever the high protein diet that they need to help them build and maintain healthy muscles.

Your golden will also get a fully balanced diet thanks to the inclusion of wholesome whole grains, as well as fruit and garden vegetables. This will give your dog all the vitamins and minerals they need to flourish.

This particular dog food comes with antioxidant rich lifesource bits. This is a precise blend of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, which have been carefully selected by both animal nutritionists as well as holistic veterinary surgeons.

The lifesource bits work to support your golden retriever’s immune system, so they can live a healthy and happy life.

You won’t have to worry about finding any unpleasant ingredients in this dog food. Blue Buffalo only uses natural ingredients so as to give your dog the right vitamins and minerals they need to live a healthy life.

You won’t find any cheap filler ingredients such as chick by product meals, wheat, corn, soy, or any artificial preservatives or flavors.

Pros

  • Natural ingredients – only uses the finest ingredients for the right vitamins and minerals
  • Real meat – features the high protein content your golden retriever needs
  • Lifesource bits – features a carefully cultivated blend of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals

Cons

  • Pricey – one of the pricier options on the market

Purina Pro Plan Adult Dry Dog Food

The Purina Pro Plan Adult Dry Dog Food is another excellent choice for your golden retriever.

This particular dog features a high protein content so that your dog can build the healthy, lean muscle they need. Purina Pro Plan uses real chicken as the main ingredient to give your dog the high protein content they need in their daily diet.

This particular dog food will have the whole of your dog’s health in mind. It has been specially fortified using guaranteed live probiotics so as to help improve your dog’s digestive and immune health.

So it will look after all aspects of your dog’s health to keep them happy and ensure that they can enjoy life.

Another great feature of this dog food is that it features hard kibble that has been specially combined with tender, shredded meaty pieces for improved taste.

This will give your dog the beautifully flavored and textured food that your golden retriever will crave. 

What’s really great about Purina Pro Plan dog food is that it’s available in multiple package sizes. So you can choose the best sized dog food bag for your needs.

If you know your dog loves this particular food, you can save money by opting for one of the larger bags.

If you want to try the dog food first before committing to a larger purchase, you can buy one of the smaller bags and see how your dog gets on with Purina Pro Plan first.

Pros

  • Real chicken – gives your golden retriever the high protein content they need
  • Easy to eat – features hard kibble mixed with tender, shredded meaty pieces
  • Multiple sizes – available in different package sizes

Cons

  • Packaging – doesn’t easily reseal after you’ve opened the bag

The Honest Kitchen Whole Grain Dog Food

The Honest Kitchen Whole Grain Dog Food is the ideal food of choice if you’re looking for a more organic option. This particular dog food makes use of real, free range chicken as well as organic grains for its main ingredients.

These ingredients help to give your dog the healthy, fully balanced diet they need. It includes ingredients such as organic oats and bananas, which are gently rehydrated to help with maximum nutrient retention as well as digestion.

The great thing about this particular dog food is that it is perfect for both adult dogs and puppies alike. This dog food will give your adult golden retriever or puppy the complete and fully balanced diet they need to grow up happy and healthy.

It makes use of only natural ingredients for a better quality food, and has been manufactured right here in America.

What’s really interesting about this particular dog food is that it uses human grade ingredients.

Whereas other pet foods would use lesser quality ingredients to create a cheaper product, this dog food is made using only human grade ingredients that we would be happy to eat as humans.

This gives your golden retriever a higher quality food. You also won’t have to worry about finding any filler ingredients, by product meals, GMO ingredients, preservatives, soy, wheat, or corn.

It couldn’t be simpler to prepare this food for your golden retriever. All you need to do is add warm water, and the food will be ready to go.

This particular food can be used as a complete food, or can be added as a topper for your golden retriever’s usual kibble.

Pros

  • Natural ingredients – only uses 100% human grade natural ingredients
  • Versatile – can be used as a complete meal or as a topper for dry kibble
  • Dogs of all ages – can be given to both puppies and adult golden retrievers

Cons

  • Amount of food – some customers found the food didn’t last as long as traditional kibble

Hill’s Science Diet Dry Dog Food

If you want your golden retriever to have the best of the best, then Hill’s Science Diet Dry Dog Food is the pick for your dog.

This is a brand that comes highly recommended by vets in America and around the world, so you’ll know you’re buying a quality dog food.

This particular dog food will be the best pick for golden retrievers who struggle to maintain a healthy weight. It has been clinically proven to assist with weight management.

If your golden retriever tends to put on weight easily, Hill’s Science Diet Dry Dog Food is the perfect choice.

It has been proven to help over 70% of adult dogs to lose extra weight within 10 weeks of switching to this particular food. This will help you to better manage the weight of your golden retriever so that they can live a healthy and happy life.

Another great feature of this particular dog food is that it helps to support lean muscle maintenance. It features the high protein diet that your dog needs to maintain this lean muscle.

This will also give them the energy they need to live life to the fullest. This particular dog food features real chicken as the main ingredient to give your dog the high protein content they need from their everyday diet.

This is a great choice for dogs that tend to wolf down their food as soon as their bowl touches the ground. Hill’s Science Diet Dry Dog Food features medium sized kibble, which will be much easier for your dog to eat without any risk of choking.

Pros

Cons

  • Expensive – one of the pricier options on the market

Royal Canin Golden Retriever Adult Breed Specific Dry Dog Food

The Royal Canin Golden Retriever Adult Breed Specific Dry Dog Food is perfect for golden retrievers.

In fact, this particular dog food from Royal Canin has been designed specifically with golden retrievers in mind. This is so that it can easily meet the nutritional needs of your golden retriever providing they are 15 months and older.

This particular food features a kibble that has been designed with your golden retriever’s muzzle in mind.

The kibble has been specially shaped so that it’s even easier for your golden retriever to eat. This works to encourage chewing, so your dog won’t just wolf down the contents of their bowl.

Another great feature of this dog food is that it works to promote healthy skin and coats. It contains all the essential nutrients your dog needs for a shiny coat and healthy skin.

It also works to promote heart health and improve cardiac function. So your golden retriever will be able to live their best doggo life.

The Royal Canin Golden Retriever dog food works to help maintain and encourage a healthy weight for your pooch. It does this by using a precise calorie and fat content, which has been designed with your dog in mind.

So you won’t have to worry about your golden retriever putting on weight if this food is given in the right quantities.

Pros

  • Breed specific – designed with golden retrievers in mind
  • Healthy diet – promotes healthy skin and coat, as well as supporting cardiac health
  • Special kibble – size of the kibble designed with golden retriever’s muzzles in mind

Cons

  • Larger kibble – not ideally suited for dogs that don’t tend to chew their food

Buyer’s Guide

Finding the best dog food for your golden retriever can be a real challenge. There are so many different types of dog food on the market that it can be tricky trying to choose between them.

What factors should you consider as the most important so that your golden retriever can get the fully balanced diet that they need?

While it may be tempting to opt for the cheapest dog food that you find, you should hold fire. Cheaper products often use cheaper filler ingredients, and likely won’t be as gentle on your dog’s digestive system.

We’ve put together this useful buyer’s guide to help you find the best dog food for golden retrievers.

As long as you bear the below factors in mind when it comes to choosing the next food product for your dog, you can rest assured that it will be perfect for your pooch.

Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about the best dog food for golden retrievers, or skip ahead to the frequently asked questions.

High Protein Content

One of the most important factors to bear in mind when choosing a dog food for golden retrievers is that it needs to have a high protein content.

This is so that your dog can get the high protein content they need in their everyday diet. This works to support and maintain healthy lean muscle growth. It will also give your dog the energy they need to live a happy and fulfilling life.

It will be important to look for a dog food that uses real meat as the main ingredient. This will give your golden retriever the high protein content they need, and ensure that it’s the right type of protein that they are eating.

Protein sourced from synthetic sources won’t be healthy for your dog. They will need to eat food containing real meat to get the high protein content that they need.

Fully Balanced Diet

You should ensure that you are choosing a dog food that will give your golden retriever the fully balanced diet that they need to live a happy and healthy life.

This will mean selecting a food that gives your golden retriever all the essential vitamins and minerals they need.

Protein should be the main ingredient, but you will also need to look for a dog food that includes healthy vegetables as well as wholesome grains.

A fully balanced diet will help your dog to maintain lean muscle. It will also help them to maintain healthy skin and a shiny coat, as well as support digestive and immune system health.

A good quality dog food will also give your dog the cardiac support they need, as well as give them the energy they need to live a happy life.

Natural Ingredients

When it comes to choosing the right dog food, it will be crucial to look at the ingredients used. You should opt for a dog food that only uses natural ingredients.

A lot of the cheaper products tend to use cheap, filler ingredients such as chicken by product meal, as well as cheaper grains that will irritate your dog’s digestive system.

Make sure that you avoid any dog foods that use artificial flavorings or preservatives, wheat, corn, soy, or chicken by product meal.

Weight Management

Golden retrievers are one of those dog breeds that always struggle to maintain a healthy weight. Just like labrador retrievers, they find it all too easy to put on weight. This is partly because their stomachs won’t tell them when they’re full.

Your dog will constantly be giving you puppy dog eyes for a refill. So you will need to exercise your judgment as a dog owner as to what the correct portion should be for your pooch.

It will also be worth looking for a dog food that promises to help with weight management. This should ensure that your dog is getting the right amount of calories for their weight, age, and gender, without overeating.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Food Should Golden Retrievers Eat?

The best food for golden retrievers are:

  • Blue Buffalo Life Protection Formula Natural Adult Dry Dog Food
  • Purina Pro Plan Adult Dry Dog Food
  • The Honest Kitchen Whole Grain Dog Food
  • Hill’s Science Diet Dry Dog Food
  • Royal Canin Golden Retriever Adult Breed Specific Dry Dog Food

What Foods Are Bad For Golden Retrievers?

Chocolate – especially dark chocolate – is a massive no-no for all dogs, including golden retrievers. They also can’t have macadamia nuts, avocado, onions, garlic, raisins, grapes, sultanas, or xylitol.

Some of these foods – particularly onions, garlic, and grapes – are even more toxic for your dog than any kind of chocolate.



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Written by Vanessa

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