5 Best Dog Foods for Golden Retrievers (2024)

Lily’s Kitchen Grain-Free Adult is a popular diet that is consistently rated among the best dog foods for Golden Retrievers on the market today. This diet bases its carbohydrate content on antioxidant and fibre-rich fruits and vegetables to ensure ample support for good digestion and a healthy immune system.

This high performance food is free from preservatives, derivatives, and fillers. Its formula prioritizes the use of the highest quality foods included in their most natural form. The main ingredients in this exceptional quality diet are chicken and duck, whole meats that are lean and easy for the Golden Retriever to digest well.

Lily’s Kitchen Grain-Free Adult includes both glucosamine and chondroitin in its recipe, providing a vital help for the Golden Retriever’s joint functionality. Prebiotics have been supplemented in this diet to promote fluid digestive processing. The inclusion of salmon oil ensures ample servings of the essential fatty acids required for optimal coat and skin health.

Pros:

• Two powerhouse meat proteins lay the foundation of this diet, ensuring ample support for a healthy body.
• The absence of grains makes this diet well-suited to Goldens with sensitivities to whole grains.
• Ample support for joint, eye, and gut health are provided through the inclusion of prebiotics, omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, and glucosamine and chondroitin.

Cons:

• This diet is quite expensive.
• The heavy emphasis on peas/pea proteins and lentils can be problematic for breeding dogs as these ingredients have been linked to lowered fertility.
• The high protein formulation may be too rich for some Goldens to properly process and utilize effectively.

For an exceptional quality diet to well meet the nutritional needs of the Golden Retriever, it’s hard to go wrong with Forthglade Natural Grain-Free Adult. This premium shelf food formulation, considered to be one of the best dog foods for Golden Retrievers, utilizes a unique cold press process to ensure no nutritional value is lost when manufacturing the kibble pieces. Each piece of food has been crafted for ease of digestion, providing a vital help in preventing bloat in the Golden Retriever.

A grain-free diet, this high performance food is the ideal choice for dogs that suffer from food-related allergies. The main ingredient in this recipe is whole duck, a lean meat that is rich in amino acids to support strong muscle development.

Pros:

• The cold press procedure utilized to craft this food ensures the kibble breaks down easily in the Golden’s system, helping to prevent bloat.
• Duck, the main ingredient in this food, is an exceptional quality protein that is rich in nutrients to support a healthy body.
• The addition of both salmon and flaxseed oils promotes optimal joint functionality.

Cons:

• This recipe includes dried peas, an ingredient that has been connected to lowered fertility rates in dogs.
• Prebiotics and probiotics have not been included in this recipe; however, there is ample high quality dietary fibre provided in such ingredients as dried beet pulp and sweet potatoes.
• There is no added taurine in this diet, a vital nutrient that supports optimal cardiac health in the Golden Retriever who is predisposed to heart-related problems.

For Golden Retrievers able to enjoy a grain-inclusive diet, Harringtons Complete Adult is well worth a try. A diet that is often recommended as one of the best dog foods for Golden Retrievers, this top quality diet bases its recipe on lamb meal, a lean and concentrated meat protein that offers a powerhouse punch of the nutrients required for optimal health and wellness in active breeds.

Whole grains form the basis of this diet’s carbohydrate profile with each ingredient selected for its abundance of dietary fibre to support good digestion.  Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids are present in sufficient qualities to promote excellent coat and skin health.

Pros:

• Lamb meal included as the primary ingredient in this diet ensures ample support for a healthy body.
• High fibre whole grains promote fluid digestion in the Golden Retriever.
• The addition of yucca extract assists with reducing excess gas.

Cons:

• Maize is a plant-based protein that can be difficult for dogs to digest and is a common allergen for many dogs.
• There are no added supplements included in this diet, meaning there is no additional support for vital body systems including joint, eye, and skin health.
• This recipe contains very few fruits and vegetables, and as a result, the antioxidant content is lower than in other foods that prioritize the use of these ingredients.

Acana Sport and Agility Food is an amazing food formulation that well meets the Golden Retriever’s nutritional needs. A diet designed specifically to address the requirements of active sporting dogs, this recipe is protein-rich, including free range chicken, eggs, and flounder as the basis of its formula. These meats are lean, easy for dogs to digest, and full of the nutrients required for optimal coat and skin health, strong reserves of energy, and healthy muscle development.

One of the best dog foods for Golden Retrievers available for purchase today, Acana Sport and Agility Dog Food is a grain-free diet, making use of such ingredients as lentils, pumpkin, squash, and kale in its carbohydrate profile. The fruits and vegetables in this diet boost the overall antioxidant content to encourage good digestion and a thriving immune system.

Pros:

• Acana’s recipe is protein-rich and based on lean meats of exceptional quality.
• Locally sourced fruits and vegetables form the basis of the carbohydrate content in this food, providing the nutrients required for good digestion and a healthy immune system.
• Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids have been included in sufficient quantities to encourage excellent skin and coat quality.

Cons:

• This Acana formulation places a high emphasis on lentils and peas, meaning its protein content is comprised of a number of plants in addition to meat.
• The amount of protein found in this diet may make this formulation too rich for some dogs.
• Some dogs may benefit from a diet that includes some grains to promote fluid digestion, making a grain-based Acana recipe a better choice.

Often recommended as one of the best dog foods for Golden Retrievers available for purchase today, Pooch & Mutt Calm and Relaxed offers the premium tier nutrition active dogs need to thrive. This diet places a high emphasis on ingredients that help to promote a state of relaxation in dogs with excessively high energy levels and/or anxiety. Turkey is the foundation of this food, a meat that offers powerhouse servings of l-tryptophan to promote feelings of calmness and low stress.

The dietary fibre found in this diet comes from antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables. Sweet potato plays a starring role in this recipe, a nutrient dense and flavourful ingredient with many health benefits to offer the Golden Retriever. A powerful supplement blend known as Nutra-Bionic features prominently in this recipe, contributing glucosamine, chondroitin, and omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.

The addition of both chamomile and brewers yeast promotes feelings of relaxation in dogs feeling stressed. This diet contains no grains, cereal, gluten, GM produce, artificial flavours, colours, or preservatives. Pooch & Mutt Calm and Relaxed is proudly produced in Great Britain.

Pros:

• The turkey included as the foundation ingredient in this food imbues this food with l-tryptophan, a nutrient associated with calming and stress-relief in dogs.
• The inclusion of Nutra-Bionic ensures support for joint, coat, and skin health.
• This diet is free from the most common allergens, making it an excellent choice for Golden Retrievers with allergies.

Cons:

• Pooch & Mutt Calm and Relaxed is only available at an expensive price point.
• Potatoes, peas, and pea proteins are less optimal carbohydrate sources, increasing blood sugar levels and potentially lowering fertility rates in breeding dogs.
• The calming effects of chamomile and brewers yeast are only anecdotal at this time.