The 12 Best Dog Foods For Golden Retrievers With Allergies

When Your Golden Retriever Has Allergies, Here's What to Look for in Dog Food

Purchasing dog food for a Golden Retriever with allergies differs from purchasing food for one without. When looking for dog diets that can help prevent allergic responses or sensitive stomachs, there are a few things to look for.

Ingredients in Short Supply

Because they include fewer ingredients, limited ingredient dog diets are ideal for dogs suffering from allergies or digestive disorders. So, seeking for a dog chow recipe with minimal components should be your first port of call. Some restricted ingredient recipes may still contain a reasonable number of components, while others will just have a few, so determine how limited you want to go and check the ingredient list to see if it fits the sorts of things you desire.

Protein Source Alternative

Because chicken and beef are two of the most prevalent food allergies for dogs, seek for meals that have protein sources other than those. There are several options available, including salmon, lamb, bison, and others. What you choose will be influenced by your pup’s preferences, but as long as you avoid common proteins, it should be beneficial.

Grain Free vs. Grain

Not every dog need a grain-free diet, but yours may. However, we recommend speaking with your veterinarian before transferring them to one to guarantee their safety. If your veterinarian advises a grain-free food, seek for those that are still limited in ingredients. However, examine ingredient lists carefully because grains are occasionally disguised in items labeled “grain-free.” Also, bear in mind that grain-free meals typically contain some kind of peas or legumes.

Legumes and peas

You should also be cautious about how much of your dog’s diet contains peas and beans. This is due to research indicating that certain substances may be connected to heart disease in dogs. If that is a concern, you should avoid grain-free diets and carefully check all of the components in a dish.

Calories

Because Golden Retrievers are prone to obesity (almost 63% are obese or overweight), you should consider how many calories a meal includes. If you’re unclear about your dog’s calorie requirements, consult with your veterinarian. Also, make sure your dog gets adequate exercise and playing every day!

Price

Dog food is available at a variety of price points, so you should have no trouble selecting one that is within your budget. Shopping around is a good idea, though, because you could discover the same brand for a lower price elsewhere, or a product with comparable components for a lower price.

Reviews

Who better to inform you if a dog food is suitable for allergic Golden Retrievers than other Golden Retriever owners? Reading reviews of dog meals will assist you in selecting the best one for your dog.

Conclusion

Ollie’s Fresh Lamb formula is the finest overall dog food for Golden Retrievers with allergies since it’s fresh, nutritious, and provides a great alternative protein source. Merrick Minimal Ingredient Diet Turkey & Brown Rice Recipe Wet Dog Meal is the greatest food for the money because of the low cost and incredibly limited ingredients.

If you’re looking for a premium choice, we recommend CANIDAE Grain-Free PURE Limited Ingredient Salmon & Sweet Potato Recipe Dry Dog Food, which has few ingredients but additional probiotics. Purina Pro Plan Puppy Sensitive Skin & Stomach Salmon & Rice Dry Dog Food is particularly created for puppies.

Finally, Hill’s Science Diet Adult Sensitive Stomach & Skin Tender Turkey & Rice Stew Canned Dog Food is vet approved and appears to be particularly beneficial in cleaning up stomach disorders.

BestForPets (bestforpets.org) hopes our evaluations and guide assist you in finding the best dog foods for Golden Retrievers with allergies.

Reviews

Best Value: Dog Food Merrick Turkey & Brown Rice Recipe

• Deboned turkey, turkey broth, turkey liver, and brown rice are the main components.
• 8% protein content
• 6% fat content
• Calories per can: 402 kcal

If you’re looking for the finest dog food for allergic Golden Retrievers for the money, go no further than Merrick’s Limited Ingredient Diet Turkey & Brown Rice wet food! This restricted ingredient dog chow (just five!) is designed for the sensitive pet.

This meal is gentler on your dog’s digestive system, thanks to the use of genuine turkey as the only protein source and a combination of healthful carbohydrates, including brown rice. To make it even better, major dog food allergies are taken out of the formula.

However, this meal is low in protein, so if your dog need a larger protein level, you should explore elsewhere. There have also been a few complaints regarding the meal now appearing to be more watery, which is a negative.

Pros

• Best price
• Ingredients are few.
• There are no typical dog allergies.

Cons

• Not very high in protein
• Recent complaints about watery meals

 

Premium Choice: Grain-Free Limited Ingredient Dry Dog Food by CANIDAE

• Salmon, salmon meal, menhaden fish meal, lentils are the main components.
• 32% protein content
• 14% fat content
• Calories per cup: 459 kcal

Looking for a high-quality dog food for your allergic Golden Retriever? Then look no farther than CANIDAE‘s cuisine. It’s not just limited in ingredients, but it’s also grain-free; grain-free diets aren’t for every dog, but if yours does, this meal has you covered.

What does this meal give your dog besides having only eight ingredients and no grains? Salmon, for example, provides an alternate protein source to chicken and beef (two of the most prevalent dog food allergies), while vegetables give a variety of fatty acids, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.

Furthermore, this dog food contains CANIDAE’s exclusive combination of probiotics to support your pet’s digestive system.

This grain-free dog food does include lentils, which have been linked to heart disease, so keep that in mind. Furthermore, numerous pet owners reported the odor of this meal as “awful.”

Pros

• Ingredients are few.
• Grain-free diets are available for people who require them.
• Probiotics are present.

Cons

• It is possible that this product is not suited for all pets.
• Lentils are included.
• Complaints about food smelling bad

 

Best for Puppies: Sensitive Skin & Stomach Purina Pro Plan Dog Food

• Salmon, rice, barley, and fish meal are the main components.
• 28% protein content
• 18% fat content
• Calories per cup: 428 kcal

If your Golden Retriever is still a puppy, you’ll need puppy food, such as this one from Purina. With salmon as an alternative protein source and readily digested rice, this dish is gentler on sensitive stomachs. The salmon also supplies all of the protein your puppy requires to grow up healthy and powerful.

This Purina dog food also contains omega fatty acids, calcium, phosphorus, antioxidants, and other vitamins and minerals that your puppy requires for optimum growth.

Purina Pro Plan Puppy food also contains probiotics and prebiotic fiber, which help the digestive tract function correctly. In fact, some dog owners reported that it enhanced the gut health of their puppies.

If you have a picky eater, they might not like this one, since several pet parents reported that their fussy eaters wouldn’t touch it.

Pros

• Specific to puppies
• Beneficial for sensitive stomachs
• High protein content

Cons

• Picky eaters did not appear to appreciate it.

 

Vet’s Choice: Sensitive Stomach & Skin Dog Food by Hill’s

• Chicken broth, turkey, carrots, and pork liver are the main components.
• 2.80% protein content
• 1.90% fat content
• Calories per can: 253 kcal

You could feel better about giving your dog a vet-recommended food, such as Hill’s Science Diet. This canned meal is just for adult dogs and has readily digested components including turkey, rice, and chicken to aid with stomach issues.

It also contains tasty vegetables like carrots and spinach, which provide essential nutrients to your pet. Furthermore, this dog food contains omega fatty acids and Vitamin E to help your pup’s skin and hair. Many pet parents said that this diet relieved gastrointestinal concerns such as frequent vomiting and loose feces.

On the other hand, numerous users reported that the consistency of this meal was quite mushy and watery, so things may become messy while your dog eats. A few finicky eaters were put off by the scent and flavor.

Pros

• Veterinary recommendation
• Ingredients that aid digestion
• Pet owners said that this meal alleviated gastrointestinal troubles.

Cons

• The consistency was quite mushy.
• Some finicky eaters were not pleased.
• Only mature dogs should use it.

 

Natural Harmony Dry Dog Food with Salmon and Brown Rice Recipe

• Salmon, menhaden fish meal, brown rice, and brewers rice are the main components.
• 24% protein content
• 12% fat content
• Calories per cup: 340 kcal

Another minimal ingredient recipe, Natural Balance’s dog food starts with a wonderful alternative protein source in salmon, then enhances the protein amount with fish meal as the second component.

Following that is a fiber boost with the addition of brown rice, which will aid in both improving your dog’s digestion and keeping them fuller for longer.

Further down the ingredient list, you’ll discover flaxseed, which not only provides omega fatty acids to help prevent skin irritation but also lignans, which may promote immunological function. Pet owners said that this diet relieved itching and firmed up stools in their pets.

However, this dog chow made a few of puppies severely gassy. And if your dog is sensitive to strong scents, they might not like it because it has a strong fishy smell.

Pros

• Ingredients are few.
• It contains flaxseed, which has several advantages.
• It is said to have eased itching and firmed up stools.

Cons

• It is possible that the dog will get extremely gassy.
• Dogs who are olfactory sensitive may dislike the scent of fish.

 

Adult Sensitive Skin & Stomach Dry Dog Food Purina Pro Plan

• Salmon, barley, rice, and oat meal are the main components.
• 26% protein content
• 16% fat content
• Calories per cup: 467 kcal

Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach for Adult Dogs provides a wonderful alternative protein source to lessen the risk of allergic reactions while also providing sufficient of protein to keep your pet running all day. This dry dog food is designed to nourish your dog’s skin and stomach while still being readily digested.

It also has a plethora of additional advantages. Rice and oats give fiber to assist digestion, while probiotics and prebiotics improve your dog’s digestive health even more.

And omega fatty acids, in conjunction with Vitamin A, keep your pet’s hair and skin looking and feeling terrific. After a period on this meal, dog owners stated that their pets vomited up less frequently, had firmer feces, and had less itching.

Some pet parents thought the pricing was a little exorbitant, and there were a few reports of this meal giving dogs bad breath.

Pros

• High protein content
• Probiotics and prebiotics are present.
• Dogs vomited up less frequently, had improved bowel motions, and had less itching.

Cons

• Some people thought the pricing was a little too expensive.
• It is possible that puppies will have awful breath.

 

Grain-Free Turkey & Potato Dry Dog Food by Wellness

• Deboned turkey, turkey meal, potatoes, and peas are the main components.
• 26% protein content
• 12% fat content
• Calories per cup: 430 kcal

This grain-free restricted ingredient dog food isn’t for every dog, but if yours requires a grain-free diet, you should look into it. This food has a lot of protein, with genuine turkey as the main component and turkey meal as the second, as well as readily digested carbohydrates that should help your pup’s gastrointestinal difficulties.

It’s also enriched with glucosamine, which can help keep joints healthy in bigger breed dogs, as well as antioxidants and omega fatty acids to boost hair and skin health. In addition, the kibble appears to be on the bigger side (based on evaluations), so your Golden Retriever should have an easier time consuming it.

And, while many pet parents stated this meal improved their dogs’ allergies and digestive issues, others reported it didn’t, making this diet appear hit or miss. Be advised that this diet contains peas, which have been weakly associated to dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs.

Pros

• Ingredients are few.
• Carbohydrates that are easily digested
• Larger kibble for easier eating

Cons

• Reviews seems to be evenly divided on whether or not this cuisine is beneficial for allergies, etc.
• It contains peas.

 

Wholesome Grains Lamb & Pumpkin Dry Dog Food by ACANA

• Deboned lamb, lamb meal, oat groats, and whole sorghum are the main components.
• 27% protein content
• 17% fat content
• 371 kilocalories per cup

Acana’s limited ingredient dog food has a lot of protein for your pooch, including genuine lamb, lamb meal, lamb liver, and more; this means it should keep your Golden Retriever active and energetic throughout the day.

It also has a lot of fiber in the form of whole grains, pumpkin, and butternut squash, which will keep your pet full and help the digestive system operate properly. In addition, an Acana-exclusive heart-healthy vitamin pack will keep your pet healthy.

This dog food received several positive reviews—dogs seemed to enjoy the flavor (even fussy eaters! ), and pet owners reported it performed a good job of maintaining healthy skin and coats.

The most common complaint about this dish was that it was a little dry, thus more water may be required.

Pros

• High protein content
• Dogs appear to enjoy food.
• It appears to be effective at keeping coats and skin healthy.

Cons

• Because it is on the drier side, you may need to add water.