Finding the Best Dog Food for Golden Retrievers

Food is one of the most essential things that helps you ensure a long and happy life for your dog.

Your dog gets all his nutrition and energy from the dog food that you provide for him. So, the quality of food, the ingredients used to make it, the content of meat, the proportion of macronutrients, etc. matter when looking to buy the best dog food for your Goldy. .

Golden Retrievers are very active and playful dogs.

So, they need a dog food that caters to their unique nutritional requirements to keep that fur shiny and beautiful.

In this blog post, we will go through five different dog food brands to help you determine the best dog food for Golden Retrievers.

Let's get started, shall we?

The Macronutrient Breakdown for Your Golden Retriever

Protein

Fat

Carbohydrates

Best Dog Food for Golden Retriever Puppy: A Review

Wilderness Blue Buffalo

Nutro Dry Dog Food

Blue Buffalo Protection Formula

Canine Formula: Taste of the Wild

Natural Balance Original Ultra

The Bottom Line: The Best Dog Food for Golden Retrievers

The Macronutrient Breakdown for Your Golden Retriever

Have you ever been on a diet?

If so, you know that counting the calories doesn’t matter as much as the source does. The calories in your food comes from three vital macronutrients---carbs, proteins, and fats.

Your dog needs them all in adequate quantities to thrive.

However, you need to know that macros need to be adjusted keeping in mind the dog’s height, age, level of activity, etc.

1.Protein

The best dog food for Golden Retrievers needs to have at least 30% amount of protein.

2.Fat

12-18% is the ideal amount of fat that should be in Golden Retriever’s diet.

3.Carbohydrates

Carbs need to be adjusted according to the dog’s level of activity and age. A good dog food must contain a minimum of 30-35% carbs.

You should feed your dog foods that are rich in omega fatty acids  help keep your his coat shiny and healthy.

Best Dog Food for Golden Retrievers: A Review

Finding the right food for your Golden Retriever takes a lot of time and research.

I tried to make things easier for you by making a list of the top five dog food options available and reviewing them in detail.

Take a look:

Food Name	Protein	Fat	Carbs	Our Rating	Prices
Blue Buffalo Wilderness	34	17	41	5 Stars	Check Prices
Nutro Dry Dog Food	24	16	52	5 Stars	Check Prices
Blue Buffalo Protection Formula	27	16	50	4.5 Stars	Check Prices
Taste of the Wild Grain-Free	32	17	43	4.5 Stars	Check Prices
Natural Balance Original Ultra	26	14	52	4.5 Stars	Check Prices

Let’s take a closer look at the dog foods, shall we?

Wilderness Blue Buffalo

So if we look at just the ingredients, Wilderness Blue Buffalo is an above-average food and is made from high-quality ingredients.

But, that’s not all we should look for.

This food contains the following macros:

• Protein: 34% which is above-average
• Fat: 17% which is near-average
• Carbs: 41% which is below-average

This food is a good pick for lazy or aged Golden Retrievers.

The dog food has a notable amount of animal-sourced protein and also contains a wholesome amount of fruits and vegetables.

Let’s talk about the pros and cons.

Here’s the deal:

Pros	Cons
This Golden Retriever food has an above-average amount of protein and is a good choice for inactive Goldies This has a low amount of fat especially good for senior Goldies A notable quantity of meat content	Can cause diarrhea Contains below-average carbs

Moving on.

Nutro Dry Dog Food

When we take a look at just the ingredients and assess the Nutro Dry Dog Food on that basis, it looks like an average dog food product.

We should go through the macros on this one. Let’s take a look.

• Protein: 24% which is average
• Fat: 16% which is near-average
• Carbohydrates: 42% which is above-average

But, that’s not all we should be looking at.

After singling out the effects of the plant-based protein sources such as lentils and peas, this dog food has a moderate amount of it from animal sources. This kibble also contains Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids which give your dog a healthy coat and skin.

To make the final assessment, we also need to know the pros and cons of this kibble.

Let’s take a look:

Pros	Cons
Contains average amount of protein Contains a near-average amount of fat making it good for lazy and aged dogs A moderate quantity of meat	Switching to this may cause your dog to have an upset tummy

Blue Buffalo Protection Formula

When assessing the Blue Buffalo Protection formula just by the quality of its ingredients, it comes out to be an above-average kibble.

Let’s first take a look at the macronutrients this dog food is known to contain:

• Protein: 27% which is near-average
• Fat: 16% which is below-average
• Carbohydrates: 50% which is above-average

But, that’s still not all.

So, when we take out the content of protein from plant-based ingredients, this dog food contains a moderate quantity of animal-source protein in it. The food contains a no poultry by-products or cheap filler ingredients.

Now, let’s look at the pros and the cons of this kibble:

Pros	Cons
This kibble contains a moderate  amount of meat in it which is important for Golden Retrievers Below-average quantity of fats is good when you’re trying to keep your dog’s weight in check The above-average quantity of carbohydrates is good for active Golden Retrievers	May cause the thinning of hair around the eyes as well as the coat for come breeds May not suit the digestive system of some breeds

Moving on…

Canine Formula: Taste of the Wild

When you look at the quality of ingredients in Taste of Wild Canine Formula, you find out that it is an above-average kibble in this regard compared to all other dog foods in the market.

And, I feel this one deserves a spot on my list of the best dog foods of Golden Retrievers.

Let’s look at the macros this dog food contains. So, here’s the deal:

• Protein: 32% which is above-average
• Fat: 17% which is average
• Carbohydrates: 43% which is below-average

After singling out the protein content from plant-based ingredients, you come to find that this kibble contains a moderate quantity of meat in it as well. This dog food is that it is made of roasted meat.

Let’s talk about the pros as well as the cons of this dog food, shall we?

Pros	Cons
This dog food contains above-average protein which is really good for active dogs An average quantity of fat ensures that the dog doesn’t gain unnecessary fat and weight This dog food also contains below-average amounts of carbohydrates which is also effective for weight loss Moderate quantity of meat	This dog food is known to cause itching  and skin irritations in some breeds

Natural Balance Original Ultra

When you judge Natural Balance Original Ultra Dog Food by just the quality of its ingredients, it comes out to be an above-average dog food available in the market.

Following are the macros this dog food contains:

• Protein: 26% which is near-average
• Fat: 14% which is near-average
• Carbohydrates: 52% which is near-average

But, don’t make a final decision just yet!

Natural Balance Original Ultra Dog Food contains a moderate quantity of meat in it. This kibble helps your dog strengthen his immune system as it contains antioxidants.

Now, let’s finally talk about the pros and the cons of this kibble, shall we?

Pros	Cons
This dog food has a near-average quantity of carbs good for the less active dogs This food contains a near-average quantity of fat making it a good choice for dogs that need to lose weight	May cause diarrhea in some dogs The shelf life isn’t very long

The Bottom Line: The Best Dog Food for Golden Retrievers

I hope that I helped you figure out the best dog food for Golden Retrievers.

But, always keep in mind that you should never make tweaks or adjustments to your doggy’s diet without consulting the vet. The thing is that the vet is a trained professional who knows more about your dog’s dietary needs.

And, there’s one more thing! You should follow the 90-10.

This basically means that about 10% of your doggy’s daily caloric needs should come from treats and the rest should come from the kibble.

Have you tested out any of these dog foods previously? What did your dog think? Share it with us!