# How much do you feed your Golden?



## Emmy1014 (Jul 28, 2008)

I adopted Maggie from a Golden Rescue when she was 3 years old. She is a small-boned dog. The paperwork I got showed her weighing 84 lbs when the Rescue had her spayed. I took her home about two weeks after her surgery. After 4 days, I saw blood on my rug and brought her to my Vet. She weighed 78 when they got her. She was a very sick dog. Tissue had been left in when she was spayed.

She went back up to 84 by the time I took her for her next routine visit. The Vet pointed out that she had gained 6 lbs and needed to loose weight. I got her down to 78, but that was as far as I could get. They tried Slentrol (??), but it didn't work for her. 

She now weighs 73 lbs. She gets two cups of lite dry dog food. Her treats are carrots and maybe 4 or 5 of the smallest milk bones you can buy. The Vet wants her down to 68 lbs. She is 9 yo and starting to slow down. I can't imagine giving her less than 2 cups a day. I know dogs have different needs, but I might get some insight if I know what range is the norm for Goldens.


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

How much to feed her depends on what you're feeding her. If you eat a veggie patty with no bun, your calories will be significantly lower than if you eat a big Mac. One cup of kibble has different calorie counts depending on the brand and type of food. I have a rescued, tall male dog who weighs 64 pounds and gets 1 cup of Canidae twice a day. It's not unreasonable to feed your girl 3/4 cup twice a day and make up some bulk with steamed vegetables....they're no cal!


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

My dogs vary in size and depending on the time of year how much they are fed. I feed more in the summer as we are all more active. 

Maxine is my senior. As a pup I thought she would eat us out of house and home. She ate 9 cups of puppy food a day at 6 months. She was SKINNY, but then she stopped (eating that is). The next 10 years was a battle to get her to eat. She never looked too thin so she always ate what she needed. Her maximum weight (she is a big girl) was around 90 pounds. She is now around 70 and thin. Our vet wants us to keep her there as she is older, has had both knees operated on. She is active and healthy. She gets about 1 cup senior formula 2 times a day.

Teddi my young'un is taller than Max. She weighs right around 60 pounds. She is on the thin side of normal. Again we have to keep her thin, as she has HD (has had a THR on the right). She looks so much thinner than Max since Teddi has no under coat. She gets when she is active about 1 1/2 cups 2 times a day. 

Belle my lab is HUGE! She stands 27" tall. She was up to 135 pounds at one point but we changed her life style and she is a svelte, athletic 85 pounds now. 

All my dogs get regular exercise. They walk 3 times a week, run (with a bike) 2 times a week, swim as often as we can, and work agility. Pretty much unless the weather is awful, they get exercise everyday. In the winter I wimp out if it is too cold, so we start cutting their food in take down during those months.


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Tuker eats approx. 750 calories a day. Shadow eats approx 1600.


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

Have big is your girl? I had a 100 lb male, but he was never fat, just tall and long. My Vet kept telling me Sam needed to loose weight, so I put him on a diet and he got down to 85 lbs and looked emaciated. I put his weight back on him slowly and kept him in the 90's. That was a good weight for him. Your girl may be the same. Does she feel fat, can you easily feel her ribs?
I think 2 cups a day is a good amount. That is what both of mine have had. Sam weighed 90 plus and Ike's 75 lbs. Same amount of food. If you want fewer calories, cut out the milkbones, that is what I removed from Sam's diet to get his weight down. He loved bread, I let him keep that treat.


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## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

I have a similar situation with my dog, Emmy1014. She's almost 8 now and weighs around 75, maybe a few pounds lighter. I want her to lose 5 more. Weight management has been a huge issue with her throughout her adult life. I feed her 1-1/2 cups a day of Wellness CORE Reduced Fat (grain free). She gets a few treats throughout the day and her diet is supplemented with raw fish she catches at the lake a few times a week.

She gains weight very easily, loses it not so easy. I was giving her 2 cups a day but found that I had to cut back even further, even with the low calorie food. She's not an extremely active dog because of knee injuries. 

But there was a time when I couldn't comprehend giving her only 1-1/2 cups a day. I was sure she'd starve. Not so. She happily eats what I give her and always searches for more ... but she would do that if I was feeding her 4 cups a day too.

Try a high quality grain free reduced fat food and go down to 1-1/2 cups a day for a few weeks. See how it goes. It sounds like not enough food, it sure looks like not enough food (LOL), but really it's fine.

Good luck and kudos to you for rescuing Maggie :heartbeat


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

We also had our girls on 1 1/2 cups of the Wellness Core Reduced Fat. This food is 350 calories/ cup. It is important to know that they can do well on less food; equally important to know what the calorie content of their food is. For example the Innova Adult food is over 500 calories/cup !!!!! The difference is HUGE. If you cut her food down to 1 1/2 cups, you can add some green beans ( make sure there is no sodium if you use canned or frozen) which will make her feel full. Also take her "snacks" out of her kibble allotment for the day.


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## Charlie06 (Feb 10, 2007)

Charlie is about 60 -62 lbs and eats 2 1/2 cups of Core and 1/2 can of EVO a day.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Another important note... just like in humans, one of the best gifts we can give our pups is to keep them at a good weight. Carrying excess weight can be damaging to joints as well as heart health. It's not easy to disregard those pleading, loving eyes, but just remember the long term impact.


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## Goldilocks (Jun 3, 2007)

Kimm said:


> Tuker eats approx. 750 calories a day. Shadow eats approx 1600.



Wow, Tucker must be so jealous of Shadow. Poor guy..... LOL


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

My boys have lost weight by reducing their kibble to 1 and 1/2 to 3/4 cups a day plus green beans.I use canned green beans but rinse them very well due to the salt.
I also cut out treats but have been doing training again so had been splitting a treat between them and I noticed Selka's waist is disappearing again! Poor boy, like his mom, he gains just looking at food! Gunner gets more exercise also.


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## Jo Ellen (Feb 25, 2007)

No kidding LOL ... how do you manage that Kimm?

Sometimes I eat in the closet :curtain:


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## Goldilocks (Jun 3, 2007)

Pippa is currently 69 pounds and eats 2 cups of EVO (487cal/cup) plus about 1/2 cup of Honest Kitchen per day (around 250 cal/cup). This calorie count has to come down for winter or else she will be getting heavy again. I think the most important thing, as others have said, is knowing the calories per cup in the food you are feeding. One of the vet's at our clinic told my brother regardless of what the dog eats, a normal, healthy Golden Retriever needs 1,200 calories per day. I have trouble with this because there are times that is way too much food for my young, active Golden.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Goldilocks said:


> Pippa is currently 69 pounds and eats 2 cups of EVO (487cal/cup) plus about 1/2 cup of Honest Kitchen per day (around 250 cal/cup). This calorie count has to come down for winter or else she will be getting heavy again. I think the most important thing, as others have said, is knowing the calories per cup in the food you are feeding. One of the vet's at our clinic told my brother regardless of what the dog eats, a normal, healthy Golden Retriever needs 1,200 calories per day. I have trouble with this because there are times that is way too much food for my young, active Golden.


My vet is also a golden owner and says that goldens are the "hybrids" of the dog world. When I asked him to explain, he said think of the hybrid cars that go a LONG way on very little fuel. All that being said, youhave to know your dog... just like humans, their metabolism differs from dog to dog and even at different stages of their life. I think we all have to be aware of how many calories they are getting a day, and be vigilant in seeing what their weight does and how their body looks, day to day, season to season.


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## tintallie (May 31, 2006)

How tall is your dog Maggie at the withers (shoulders)? 

The breed standard for the Golden Retriever is 21.5-22.5" for a female with a weight between 60-70lbs and 23-24" for a male with a weight of 65-75lbs. You can be up to one inch above or below the standard so you are looking at a weight range between 55lbs to 80lbs ideally. If your dog's height is significantly outside of the standard, then the weight range of 55lbs to 80lbs will change.

My dog is 22.5" tall at the withers and his ideal weight is between 65-68lbs and he is stocky with a LOT of bone. People always comment on the size of his blocky head and huge paws (same width as my four fingers).


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## Aprilpa (Mar 24, 2008)

My dogs all vary. My Goldens eat 2 cups once a day. They tend to be on the slimmer side, especially Berkley, so in the summer when they are burning up more energy they will sometimes go up to 2 1/2 or 3 cups a day. They all also get Salmon Oil on their food and sometimes will get some canned as a special treat. 

My outside girl Bandit (who is a mix) gets the same amount except in the winter when she goes up sometimes as high as 3-4 cups a day. She is the same size and weight as the goldens, but needs the extra calories for keeping warmer in the winter.

My JRT gets 1 cup daily. He will sometimes let food sit and not eat for a couple days. He has maintained his same muscular 15 pound frame for 10 years. He never gets fat, he never loses weight, he just stays the same.

My doxies are the ones who tend to gain weight. I am constantly struggling to keep their weight down and adjusting their food. They get anywhere from 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup a day. They also don't get the extra treats or the amount of Salmon Oil like the others do. Doxies are too prone to back issues anyways without letting them carry around extra weight. They are both about the same size as my JRT, but obviously their metabolism, energy levels and caloric needs are vastly different.


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## Daisy's_Mom (Jul 29, 2008)

Daisy gets one cup in the AM and one cup in the PM of Canidae Chicken and Rice. She is 13 months and 52 pounds.


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## Bock (Jun 23, 2008)

Tysen is currently getting 2 1/4 cups of Nature's Variety and 1 scoop of Nupro (100 calories) twice a day. With this he is just a couple pounds lighter than I'd like him to be. He is 25' and 75 lbs.


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## Lego&Jacub (Jul 18, 2006)

Let's see Geddy who is about 67 lbs eats about a lb a day and Sawyer who is 56 lbs eats maybe 1.3 lbs lol!!


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