Left to their own devices, golden retriever puppies will eat as much as they can. In fact, golden retrievers overall tend to be good eaters and will munch on anything they can find. However, to keep your dog healthy, you will want to feed it a quality diet and ensure it eats a proper amount of food without overeating.
A golden retriever puppy is still growing and needs quality nutrition. Ideally, feed your puppy three times a day, including early in the morning, midday and early in the evening. Try not to feed your puppy or offer water after 7 p.m. as this will impact housetraining. When your puppy is about 11 or 12 weeks old, you can switch to twice-daily feedings.
When feeding your golden retriever puppy, try to keep a quiet environment with no distractions and allow about half an hour for your puppy to eat its meal. If it eats very fast, try placing an obstacle in the dish’s center to slow the dog down.
Determining how much to feed a golden retriever puppy will depend on age and the puppy itself. Your veterinarian can help you determine the right diet and amount for your dog. In general, a golden retriever puppy that’s about 7 weeks old will eat between a third and a half a cup of dry puppy food every meal. Make sure you have water available with all meals.
You will want to increase the food volume gradually. At 3 months old, a puppy may eat up to 1.5 cups a day. At 4 months, it may eat 2.5 cups a day. At 6 or 7 months, male dogs may eat up to 4 cups a day, but female golden retrievers may eat 3 cups. Since there is such a variety, it’s important to adjust the volume for your dog specifically.
As with puppies, how much an adult golden retriever should eat will depend on the dog’s condition, sex and health, as well as the type of food. General guidelines suggest a fully grown adult golden retriever should eat 1,300 to 1,700 calories daily. A senior dog that is sedentary may need less than 1,300 calories, however, while a very active or large golden retriever or a pregnant dog may need more than 2,000. Even over a lifetime, a golden retriever’s caloric and nutrition needs will change.
Your golden retriever must start life with a quality diet to keep it healthy and strong. At Golden Meadows Retrievers, we have been breeding golden retrievers for over 25 years and take great care to carefully screen applicants and offer our puppies a quality diet from the start. Even after you find your perfect match, we’ll make sure you know how much to feed a golden retriever puppy now and as it grows.
Contact us to learn more or fill out a puppy request form to find your perfect puppy.
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