Food recommendations - Golden retriever puppy

[snapdragongirl]

Our 4 month old GR puppy seems to have gone off her food. We’ve been using Royal Canin GR puppy kibble as she had this with the breeder, but she just isn’t eating it, or is taking ages to eat it (think finishing her breakfast in the afternoon). We feed 3 times a day but recently has been more like 2 because she just doesn’t eat it and then it’s too late to give her another meal.

She would happily eat cheese, sausage, chicken and enjoys her lick mats (peanut butter, banana and Greek yogurt usually). If I gave her a bowl of yogurt with some fruit in she’d wolf it down. So she seems to have a good appetite, I don’t think it’s lack of appetite I think she just isn’t excited by the kibble. Please note I haven’t been compensating for not eating the kibble by giving her other stuff, I’ve tried to avoid this to ensure she eats her tailored food, I have only given the odd bit of something else to test her appetite occasionally.

So I’m thinking we should try something new, but I want to make sure it’s got the right nutrition for her as she grows. Is Purina Pro Plan good? I often get ads for Butterbut box or Pure food, but when I’ve read up on it all, it seems the tailored large breed kibbles come out as best for GRs.

I’d be grateful for any advice on this as a first time dog mum!

Mine - also a Goldie- hated Royal Canin. But loves Fish4dogs puppy food which is imo better quality and often has a special offer discount on it too if you order direct

My Lab was the same with Royal Canin, just wandered around dropping bits of kibble. and it made him itchy with numerous soft poo. I swapped him to a salmon and rice kibble and he's never had those issues again, hoovers it up like a Labrador should.

I give mine (labrador) calibra junior and it’s really suited him. After a long stint of research, someone recommended it on here and we haven’t looked back. I put small amount of wet food in with it too (usually a third of a tray of forthglade - you can get forthglade for puppies)
He did go through a very short stage, like yours, of being fussy with it while taking all other food etc but because it suited him so much I decided to persevere. I’d put it down for half an hour and then take it away again if he hadn’t eaten it, within a day or two he was back to eating the whole thing in one go and he has ever since (this was a few months ago) I swap back and fourth between lamb and beef to mix it up a bit - chicken doesn’t seem to suit him.
Good luck!

Whatever you go for, please make sure it's a puppy appropriate with high protein and high fat with carefully controlled calcium levels (for their bones to prevent joint issues).

https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/articles/the-best-puppy-food-for-growth-and-development

Lots of dog foods such as Butternut Box do not have 'puppy' tailoring to their portions - their 'puppy' food is the exact same, just in smaller quantities, as their adult food. So your puppy will not be getting the appropriate fat/protein and calcium levels in her food if you just feed her that. Some of these freezable meals (including raw) do offer puppy options, but you'll need to check.

Mine all eat/ate Royal Canin Golden Retriever puppy biscuits, supplemented with a bit of raw food or butternut box, so I can't really advise on what to do. I also have a very different take on puppy feeding to much of mumsnet (I keep my dogs on puppy food until they're about two years).

Try kibble with smaller pellets, when our GR was little he took ages to eat the Royal Canin Maxi Puppy but wolfed down the other stuff (a mix of Royal Canin Gastrointestinal and Wainwrights puppy) Now he's 14months old and still on Maxi puppy, no such delay in scoffing his food!

Oh that’s interesting @TheHungryHungryLandsharks .

At just turned one,. I’m just about to switch little madam over. Out of interest, what’s your reasoning for the later change?

We fed Essentials The Beginning Large breed for our lab. I think they do a fish based one now too which wasn't available at the time. We never went through any fussiness but I think that's personality as much as anything. It's recommender to stay on that until 18 months.

Royal Canin has a very low meat content for the price.

Our dog has Wainwrights kibble but I make a bit of gravy out of a pouch of Lidl’s own make wet meat food. This smells really meaty and seems to make the kibble more appetising.

I was putting the food down and removing any uneaten, after ten minutes. That and the addition of the meaty flavour, ensures she now eats every scrap.

@Dunnocantthinkofone Simply my worries about joints.

Adult dog food typically contains less calcium than puppy food. Given how prone Golden's are to joint issues, and the fact they're not really physically 'mature' until at least 18 months but more like 24 months, I prefer to keep them on high calcium food for a bit longer. Also the higher protein/fat content is good for them as well. With my boy I kept him on puppy food until mid-last year when he was about 2.5, but he's very large (38kg and over 5,5 when he stands on his hind legs) so I was incredibly cautious with him.

I think most vets these days advise bigger breeds are kept on adult food until around 18 months or so (mine do any way, as do the KC...although this is the KC we're talking about!) 😁

Thanks @TheHungryHungryLandsharks . Makes sense (to me anyway ) - I will ask my vet his opinion as his specialism is ortho
In the back of my head, puppy food beyond the faster growth stages used to be discouraged as calcium/phosphorus ratio was inappropriate for them once mist skeletal growth had been done but maybe current advice has been updated

@Dunnocantthinkofone yes it was! But for bigger breeds advice these days is about 18 months - at least from my vets. I just keep mine on it for longer out of personal preference and it works for my dogs (and completely understand if others wouldn't want to).

My retriever is on Arden Grange large breed, he had the puppy version at first then moved into the normal one. He's got on well with it. We tried moving onto Millie's Wolfheart when he was younger as it reviewed well, it didn't agree with him but I'd consider it for any future dogs.

My pups have been on Simpson’s Premium puppy salmon & sweet potato. Was great for both their tummies and firm bottoms. No grain, no fillers, proper food & hypoallergenic. They’re both older now but agree larger dogs don’t need to be rushed off puppy food as soon as they turn 12 months. In fact Simpson’s puppy kibble that I use, says suitable for large breeds up until 18 months. Simpson’s then do an adult version. Only issue I have is I need to order it from their website as it’s not stocked by Pets at Home etc.