Best Dog Food for Goldendoodles: 4 Great Options + Advice

Goldendoodles are one of the dog-world’s ‘newer’ mixed breeds. They’re a cross between a Poodle and a Golden Retriever, and were bred with the intention of creating a larger Poodle cross-breed that possessed the friendly, sociable nature of the Golden Retriever. They also tend to be fairly high-energy, which can make feeding them a bit of a choice. Lucky for you, we put together a guide to help you navigate your Goldendoodle’s nutrition needs. Check it out.

Our Top Dog Food Picks for Goldendoodles: 4 Tasty Choices

**Below, you'll find our expert's science-backed advice, but you can also click the links above to see current prices or read customer reviews on Chewy.

Goldendoodle Diet: Calorie Requirements

Figuring out how much to feed your Goldendoodle will depend mostly on how large it is. Goldendoodles will end up being one of three different sizes once they reach adulthood. Miniatures tend to weigh between 15 and 35 pounds, small standards weigh somewhere between 40 and 50 pounds, and large standards will weigh in at 50 to 90 pounds.

Goldendoodles tend to vary quite a bit in size because most of them are first generation crossbreeds. This means that Groodle puppies usually have parents that are a Golden Retriever and a Poodle—not two Goldendoodles.

Here are the basic caloric requirements of Goldendoodles in all three of these size categories, based on how active your dog tends to be.

Miniature Goldendoodles

Small Standard Goldendoodles

Large Standard Goldendoodles

For more information on this and related topics about Goldendoodles in-general, take a look at this article about the breed on petguide.com.

Need more information? Here's an awesome expert video...

Youtube.com can be a great resource for information on virtually any subject—including dog care, nutrition, and training!

Here’s one video in-particular that I really liked concerning this breed. It includes some basic information about Groodles, and talks briefly about what it takes to care for them.

Common Health Problems for Goldendoodles

Thankfully, Goldendoodles tend to live longer and healthier lives than either of the breeds in their parent-line—mostly due to the fact that they’re a hybrid. With that being said, there are still a few health concerns that owners should be aware of. Here are some of the most common ones.

Progressive Retinal Atrophy (or PRA)

This is a disease that affects the retina of the eye. It generally starts out by rendering the dog night-blind, but may end up causing them to lose their sight during the day as well. Antioxidant nutritional supplementation can help to slow the progression of this disease, though there is technically no ‘cure’ for it. This website has published a very thorough article on the subject that can give you a lot more information on this disease in-particular.

Von Willebrand’s Disease

This condition can affect both humans and dogs. Dogs that suffer from this disorder (which inhibits the blood-clotting process) often end up with symptoms like nosebleeds, prolonged bleeding from wounds, bleeding gums, and bloody stools. It can’t be cured, but it can be managed with treatments. Petmd.com published a pretty good article about this disease, which you can find here.

Patellar Luxation

This condition, also known as ‘slipped stifles’ or ‘trick knees’, is a problem that many small breeds have to deal with. It basically happens when the knee joint slides out of place, which can cause a lot of pain for the dog. It usually occurs in the hind-legs, and can be debilitating if not dealt with. A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, Chondroitin, and Glucosamine can sometimes help—as can keeping your dog within healthy weight limits.

Other health conditions to consider

You should also keep an eye out for these health conditions as you raise your Goldendoodle. Not all of them are common, but spotting them early is the key to getting your dog the treatment that he/she needs.

 Goldendoodle puppies are very social creatures—which is why it’s important that they spend enough time with their mother and the rest of the litter before being separated to join a human family. Living in this environment teaches them how to interact with other dogs, and is vital to their growth and development—which is why most specialists agree that all pups of this breed should stay with their mother and litter for at least 7 weeks before being relocated.

This is when weaning takes place. It’s also close to the beginning of the Goldendoodle’s prime human socialization period, which takes place between weeks 7-12. It’s very important that the pup be exposed to humans and a variety of human experiences around this age, as this activity will form the basis for how they learn to behave and act around people.

At 8 weeks of age, the average Goldendoodle will weigh somewhere close to 6 pounds. A puppy of this size will need to eat about 280 calories per day to stay healthy, or maybe more if they tend to get a lot of exercise.

Goldendoodles should eat the  best puppy food for goldendoodle until they’re about 12 months old. After this, they’re usually ready to transition to adult dog food.