# How much should I feed my 60 lb male Golden?



## sameli102

Mine get 1 1\2 cups morning and evening and look good. They would eat 5 times that if I let them and I'd have to roll them out the door.


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## fostermom

I feed my 60 lbs golden 3/4 cup twice a day. He is a mellow dog who doesn't burn a ton of calories. I feed my 75 lbs golden a cup twice a day. He is high energy and is in constant motion. Goldens are chow hounds and will eat just about anything and everything you give them. They also get fat because of this.


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## looking4goldengirl

thanks. He looks great with 1 cup 2x/day at the moment, so well stick with that for now.


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## janine

Chester weights 65 pounds and eat 1 cup twice a day, he is eating Cal. Natural herring and sweet pot. Tell hubby to give a few carrot slices, or green beans for snacks you don't want an over weight golden. My two beg everytime someone walks into the kitchen.


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## BeauShel

My three eat 1 cup twice a day. Daisy would eat all day if I let her and she would be a big fat elephant too. Goldens are well known for wanting to eat all the time. It us up to us to be tougher than their begging.


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## Taz Monkey

My golden and my lab mix are both between 60-65 lbs depending on the time of year. They each get 1 cup, twice a day. Is the cup your breeder gave you a standard 8 oz. measuring cup?


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## LOVEisGOLDEN

depends on what you are feeding. if it is grocery store garbage, he will need a lot more. if it is a premium food, he will need less. my 55 pound girls get a measured cup twice a day. I tend to feed about a 1/4 cup less than the bag recommends, and closely monitor their weight.


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## CarolinaCasey

Just wanted to check to see the size of your "cup." I work at a vet office and you'd be surprised what people call a "cup." Sometimes it is a "Super Size Cup" leftover from a McDonald's meal or a dog scoop that came with your food container that might actually be 2 cups.... double check it with a real measuring cup! 


My parent's dogs would eat an entire bag if you left it out for them. Be careful- goldens can pack on the pounds quickly. Stick to measuring and tell hubby to give some veggies if he thinks that Jake is still hungry. What are you feeding?


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## tippykayak

Goldens beg even when they don't need food. Use it as a training opportunity, but absolutely do not let a dog's begging determine his caloric intake. In most Goldens, that'll result in obesity fast.

How much volume of food to give is entirely dependent on how calorie-dense the food is, the dog's activity level, and the dog's own metabolism. My guys eat 2-3 cups of high calorie food a day, but they're very active and burn it right off.

It's absolutely crucial to keep a dog lean. They live almost 2 years longer on average than even slightly obese dogs, and the experience a 2 year delay in the onset of most geriatric diseases. It's a no-brainer, and the human has total control over the dog's food intake, so there's no excuse for letting a Golden get chubby.

You should be able to feel his ribs, spine, and hip bones easily, and you should be able to see a waist when you look down at him, unless he's very fluffy, in which case you should still be able to feel a defined waist.


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## NewToGoldens

EEk! My 14 month old intact male golden is 80 lbs and getting just under 5 cups a day of TOTW Pacific stream.

Everyone thinks he is too thin; vet (owns Goldens) says he is a perfect wieght.

He gets moderate exercise.

How does everyone get away with 2-3 cups/day?

Didn't mean to hijack but the feeding stuff is so interesting.

Thanks!


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## Ranger

Ranger gets about 1 cup two times a day. He's approx 18 months and 75 lbs, and should be around 72 lbs. He's a very calm guy in the house, sleeps about 10-12 hours a night, and only gets excited when his buddy Blue is over or his dog walker comes. So all in all, he's fairly low energy for a retriever. He's packed on a few lbs since the winter started and our walks have gotten shorter and shorter (my bad). 

I tend to give him more food if I know his energy requirements are going to be more than normal. I add half a cup to his morning meal on the days the dog walker is coming and I know Ranger is going to be walking/running for more than two hours in the cold weather. Days where he's going to be doing less than normal, he gets a little under a cup morning and night. It seems to be working well for him. I can easily feel his ribs under his coat and he still has a "waist" when viewed from above, he just doesn't have the "lean" look he sported in the summer. Though to be fair...neither do I! **** this winter weather.

*Edited to add Ranger is on a high cal, high protein food - Orijen Fish.


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## fostermom

I think a lot of it depends on how many calories are in the food that you feed. Just out of curiosity, I looked up Orijen's 6 Fish food, just because it was the last food named in this thread. The poster thinks that it's a high calorie food, and it is higher than a lot of foods, it's 460 calories a cup. I feed a food that is 515 calories a cup. Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream only has 360 calories in a cup, so feeding a young, active dog just under 5 cups a day isn't really that much. I am pretty sure the food that Tippykayak feeds is a bit higher in calories than what I feed. We all just adjust according to the calories and the activity levels of our dogs.


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## RileyPuppy

Thanks for bringing this up! My husband was just commenting the other day that he thinks we need to feed Riley more, since he scarfs his food down in 3 seconds flat. We currently feed him 1.75 cups, twice a day, as per the table/instructions on the bag. He is 9 months old, and weighs about 55-60lbs. He looks just right to me, so I think we'll leave his food as it is for now.


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## Willow52

fostermom said:


> I think a lot of it depends on how many calories are in the food that you feed. Just out of curiosity, I looked up Orijen's 6 Fish food, just because it was the last food named in this thread. The poster thinks that it's a high calorie food, and it is higher than a lot of foods, it's 460 calories a cup. I feed a food that is 515 calories a cup. Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream only has 360 calories in a cup, so feeding a young, active dog just under 5 cups a day isn't really that much. I am pretty sure the food that Tippykayak feeds is a bit higher in calories than what I feed. We all just adjust according to the calories and the activity levels of our dogs.


Exactly, Hank eats Innova LBP which has 367 calories/cup. He gets 3 cups/day = 1100 calories/day. Hank is 7 months about 60 lbs. If he was eating a higher calorie food, I'd lower the ration.


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## MyBentley

tippykayak said:


> Goldens beg even when they don't need food. Use it as a training opportunity, but absolutely do not let a dog's begging determine his caloric intake. In most Goldens, that'll result in obesity fast.
> 
> How much volume of food to give is entirely dependent on how calorie-dense the food is, the dog's activity level, and the dog's own metabolism. My guys eat 2-3 cups of high calorie food a day, but they're very active and burn it right off.
> 
> It's absolutely crucial to keep a dog lean. They live almost 2 years longer on average than even slightly obese dogs, and the experience a 2 year delay in the onset of most geriatric diseases. It's a no-brainer, and *the human has total control over the dog's food intake, so there's no excuse for letting a Golden get chubby.*
> 
> You should be able to feel his ribs, spine, and hip bones easily, and you should be able to see a waist when you look down at him, unless he's very fluffy, in which case you should still be able to feel a defined waist.


Exactly. I've heard so many people say their dog acts hungry all the time and so they keep increasing the amount fed and end up with overweight dogs. Both my senior Bentley and my young lab could get acting awards for their convincing performances.

At 65 lbs. my senior Bentley is fed about 1000 calories per day of kibble with some bits of apple, carrot, organic low fat yogurt, etc. added at times. I tend to feed kibble with higher kcal/cup and not less than 28% protein and 16% fat which keeps them lean and full of energy at this level.


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## NewToGoldens

fostermom,

I'm the TOTW feeder..

Good point on the cal/cup! Time to switch foods I think. I've been eye-balling the Fromm food for awhile. Thanks!!!


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## Noey

tippykayak said:


> Goldens beg even when they don't need food. Use it as a training opportunity, but absolutely do not let a dog's begging determine his caloric intake. In most Goldens, that'll result in obesity fast.
> 
> How much volume of food to give is entirely dependent on how calorie-dense the food is, the dog's activity level, and the dog's own metabolism. My guys eat 2-3 cups of high calorie food a day, but they're very active and burn it right off.
> 
> It's absolutely crucial to keep a dog lean. They live almost 2 years longer on average than even slightly obese dogs, and the experience a 2 year delay in the onset of most geriatric diseases. It's a no-brainer, and the human has total control over the dog's food intake, so there's no excuse for letting a Golden get chubby.
> 
> You should be able to feel his ribs, spine, and hip bones easily, and you should be able to see a waist when you look down at him, unless he's very fluffy, in which case you should still be able to feel a defined waist.


I agree with Tippy - Noah was doing great and we were running low on his adult diet. I mixed in puppy food for two weeks and he gained quickly - my fault. So now he is on a diet again...well not a diet just mom controlled proper eating. He gets 2 cups a day, plus a milk bone. Scout is in transition from puppy food to adult. But he is perfect on the weight side of things.


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## RaftingBear

I suspect that it's not that Goldens beg, but that anyone (dog, human or otherwise) develops a hunger-anxiety if they've been underfed or had to miss meals. Sadly, that happens sometimes with thrifty breeders.

My Golden, Ella, is 14 months old. I leave dry food out for her all the time, but she seldom touches it. She waits calmly to lick our plates clean, but doesn't beg and I never had to teach her that. My guess is that her mother and very-upscale breeder kept her well-fed before I inherited her. She'll eat canned food any time I put it out for her, but I've only been doing that once a day (and read here that that may not be enough; but if anything she'll slightly overweight, probably from Thanksgiving).


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## Lambeau0609

I have a 16month old active dog. That gets 3 cups a day and weighs 63pounds. I feed him TOTW Pacific. He just saw his vet and I was told his weight was perfect. The vet told me that he sees way to many overweight goldens, Goldens would eat nonstop if we let them. The below pic he looks thin but I keep his hair cut short in the summer since we live in Az.


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## Artbuc1

RileyPuppy said:


> Thanks for bringing this up! My husband was just commenting the other day that he thinks we need to feed Riley more, since he scarfs his food down in 3 seconds flat. We currently feed him 1.75 cups, twice a day, as per the table/instructions on the bag. He is 9 months old, and weighs about 55-60lbs. He looks just right to me, so I think we'll leave his food as it is for now.


How quickly he eats food has nothing to do with how much food he requires. You can get special bowls which require slower eating or simply scatter the kibble on the floor forcing him to eat one piece at a time. If you and hubby don't get your emotional reactions under control you will end up with a fat and sick dog.


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## Ranger RX

*Cups??*

What the f.. .. cups .. doesn't anybody talk about certain amounts, what's the point like this, cup can be small or big. How many grams per day is ok for male and female retriever, does anybody know?


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## Gleepers

An old thread
But this may be of assistance if it comes up in a search again

https://vet.osu.edu/vmc/companion/our-services/nutrition-support-service/basic-calorie-calculator


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## Piper_the_goldenpuppy

Ranger RX said:


> What the f.. .. cups .. doesn't anybody talk about certain amounts, what's the point like this, cup can be small or big. How many grams per day is ok for male and female retriever, does anybody know?


Cups refers to the standard American measurement of mass. Lamentably, we Americans use the US customary units/the Imperial system rather than something rational like the metric system. For example, 1 cup is roughly 150 grams.


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## mylissyk

looking4goldengirl said:


> thanks. He looks great with 1 cup 2x/day at the moment, so well stick with that for now.


This is the right amount. Good job. Be sure you are using a standard 8 oz. measuring cup to measure his food. Only 1, 8 oz measuring cup of food per meal.

Goldens will tell you they are starving after eating a whole 30 lb bag of food. Don't fall for it. Don't over feed, they also gain weight much too easily and it is really unhealthy for them.


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