Edited by: Mike Powell
Reviewed by: Abby TexasLast Update:
The Rundown
Premium Option: Acana Dry Dog Food for Puppy
“Acana is high-quality, biologically-appropriate puppy food. It contains all the nutrients and supplements your Goldendoodle puppy needs to grow up healthy and strong.“
Best Value for the Money: Diamond Naturals Dry Food for All Life Stages
“For a dog food that has everything your growing Goldendoodle needs, Diamond Naturals is extremely affordable. It’s packed with healthy superfoods and an array of vitamins and minerals.”
Best for Skin & Coat: Wellness CORE Natural Dry Grain-Free Puppy Food
“Keep that Goldendoodle coat sleek and healthy with Wellness Core. It’s high in Omega fatty acids and packed with vitamins, minerals, and all the nutrition your puppy needs.”
Goldendoodles are a unique, interesting breed that come from an unlikely mix of Golden Retrievers and Poodles.
Being a mixed breed, they get twice the cuteness from their parent breeds. Similarly, they can inherit the worst characteristics of both. That means they’re twice as likely to suffer from joint problems, eye diseases, and skin issues, among others.
Making sure your little one is eating the best food for Goldendoodle puppies of their size is key to your pup developing properly and growing up healthy.
Here are our top choices of puppy food for your fluffy little hybrid.
Table of Contents
- The Rundown
- Best Dog Food for Goldendoodle Puppies
- 1. Acana Dry Dog Food for Puppy
- 2. Diamond Naturals Dry Food for All Life Stages
- 3. Wellness CORE Natural Dry Puppy Food
- 4. The Honest Kitchen Dehydrated Dog Food
- 5. Acana Singles Limited Ingredient Dry Dog Food
- 6. Merrick Backcountry Dry Dog Food
- 7. Nutro Large Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food
- 8. Taste of the Wild Dry Dog Food
- 9. Blue Buffalo Puppy Dry Dog Food
- 10. Merrick Lil’ Plates Puppy Dry Dog Food
- 1. Acana Dry Dog Food for Puppy
- Goldendoodle Feeding Guide
- Types of Food For Goldendoodle Puppies
- Questions & Answers
- Wrapping It Up
Best Dog Food for Goldendoodle Puppies
Here are our top picks for the best dog food for Goldendoodle puppies:
- Premium Option: Acana Dry Dog Food for Puppy
- Best Value for Money: Diamond Naturals Dry Food for All Life Stages
- Best for Skin and Coat: Wellness CORE Natural Dry Puppy Food
- Best Human-Grade Food: The Honest Kitchen Dehydrated Dog Food
- Best Limited Ingredient: Acana Singles Limited Ingredient Dry Dog Food
- Best “Raw” Food: Merrick Backcountry Dry Dog Food
- Best for Large Goldendoodle Puppies: Nutro Large Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food
- Best Without Glucosamine: Taste of the Wild Dry Dog Food
- Best for a Healthy Immune System: Blue Buffalo Puppy Dry Dog Food
- Best for Mini Goldendoodles: Merrick Lil' Plates Puppy Dry Dog Food
1. Acana Dry Dog Food for Puppy
Premium Option
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Key Features
- Filled with fresh, biologically-appropriate ingredients
- Perfect calcium and phosphorus ratio
- Good levels of Omegas for skin and coat
- Added joint supplements
Acana makes high-quality dry dog food that’s biologically appropriate.It contains fresh ingredients that your puppy may eat if they lived in the wild.
It’s incredibly nutritious, and your puppy will be lacking nothing if they eat this on a daily basis. The only catch is that it comes in a limited flavor range so your little one may get bored with this flavor after a while.
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Puppy-Perfect Nutrition
With 31% and 19% fat content, little Goldendoodles who are naturally active will benefit from this puppy food. There’s enough protein to help them build muscle, and enough fat to see them through their busy days.
The protein in this dry dog food comes from turkey, deboned chicken, and both turkey and chicken meal. Puppies generally have hardy stomachs, but if yours happens to be sensitive to poultry, this may not be the food for them.
Along with the muscle meat, you’ll find ingredients like chicken heart, liver, and gizzard in this dog food. These may sound weird, but they’re packed with amino acids that your puppy will benefit highly from. Amino acids provide energy, build up the immune system, and are the building blocks of digestible proteins.
This is a grain-free dry dog food. It’s a great source of vitamins and minerals from a variety of fruits and vegetables, including pumpkin, collard greens, carrots, beans, apple, and a variety of legumes.
DHA, EPA, and glucosamine are also present in this dog food.
2. Diamond Naturals Dry Food for All Life Stages
Best Value for Money
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Key Features
- Suitable for all dogs in the house
- Very affordable
- Contains DHA
- High Omega levels
Diamond Naturals Dry Food may be much more affordable than others, but don’t think that makes it lower quality. We highly recommend this as the best dog food for pet parents who have more than one dog in the house. No matter the life stage, this dry dog food has the nutrients your dogs need to thrive.
There are no added joint supplements, but it’s easy to get them separately. At less than a dollar per pound for a 40 lb bag, the dog food itself is one of the most affordable products on the market. Buying extra supplements still makes this a budget-friendly option.
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All Life Stage Dog & Puppy Food
Chicken and chicken meal are the two proteins that make up the 26% protein count in this dog Goldendoodles are a unique, interesting breed that come from an unlikely mix of Golden Retrievers and Poodles.
Being a mixed breed, they get twice the cuteness from their parent breeds. Similarly, they can inherit the worst characteristics of both. That means they’re twice as likely to suffer from joint problems, eye diseases, and skin issues, among others.
Making sure your little one is eating the best food for Goldendoodle puppies of their size is key to your pup developing properly and growing up healthy.
Here are our top choices of puppy food for your fluffy little hybrid.
food. This puppy food isn’t grain-free but it’s packed with healthy and fiber-rich brown rice, sorghum, and barley.
Unlike many dog foods with grains, this one also contains some superfood vegetables and fruits. Chia seed, kale, pumpkin, and blueberries are just a few.
Salmon oil brings a nice dose of DHA, and the addition of flaxseed also contributes to the good Omega levels.
There’s even added vitamin A and E, as well as Diamond Natural’s special probiotic strain to keep your puppy’s tummy happy.
3. Wellness CORE Natural Dry Puppy Food
Best for Skin and Coat: Unusually high Omega fatty acids nourish the coat and fur
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Key Features
- High Omegas for a healthy skin and fur
- Added DHA and EPA
- High in protein and fat for active puppies
- Added taurine to promote heart health from a young age
Regardless of which parent breed your Goldendoodle pup takes after, he’s going to have a lovely coat. But a bad diet can cause that beautiful coat to become dry, brittle, and lackluster.
We recommend Wellness CORE Natural Dry Puppy Food as the best dog kibble to Goldendoodle puppy parents who are looking for something to nourish their puppy’s coat and skin. It’s grain-free, high in Omega fatty acids, with added vitamins that will moisturize the skin.
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For a Shiny, Healthy Coat
The best dog kibble for active puppies is high in protein and fat, and this one is both. 36% protein will build those puppy muscles, while 17% fat will provide your little one with enough energy to be bouncy all day long.
It has a long list of premium-quality ingredients which includes chicken (meat and meal), legumes, and fresh fruits and vegetables that bring all the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants your Goldendoodle puppy needs.
Despite lacking glucosamine, every bite of this puppy food has one of the highest Omega fatty acid levels we’ve seen in dog foods. Taurine is a useful addition to keep the heart strong, and added probiotics make digestion easier.
4. The Honest Kitchen Dehydrated Dog Food
Best Human-Grade Food: Premium quality organic ingredients for your pooch
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Key Features
- Various recipes available
- High in calories
- Made with dehydrated ingredients
- Varying protein and fat counts
If you’d like to try feeding your Goldendoodle puppy human-grade food, then you should definitely consider this dog food. The Honest Kitchen makes healthy dehydrated dog foods in a variety of flavors that are loaded with nutrition and extremely easy to serve.
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No Additives, Naturally Preserved
It’s not specifically formulated for puppies, but every ingredient in this dehydrated food is wholesome and promotes good health for dogs in every life stage. Dehydrating them means they retain all their goodness, take up less space, and aren’t tarnished with artificial preservatives.
This is the whole-grain version. But if your dog doesn’t handle grains well, you can opt for their grain-free dog food.
Four different flavors are available, each one with a different protein and fat count. You can choose something that really works for your puppy, and switch between two if they get bored easily.
One of the best things about dehydrated dog food is that in order to serve it, you have to add water. This bulks up the food, keeping your dog full for longer and giving them some extra hydration.
This food is quite high in calories, so be careful not to overfeed your Goldendoodle puppy! We recommend using this food in conjunction with separate glucosamine and DHA supplements.
5. Acana Singles Limited Ingredient Dry Dog Food
Best Limited Ingredient: Excellent recipe range for dogs with sensitive stomachs
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Key Features
- Variety of recipes for fussy eaters
- Good calcium and phosphorus ratio
- Joint supplements
- Added DHA and EPA
Goldendoodles usually have sensitive stomachs. If you want to avoid digestive issues from the start, you can choose a grain-free, limited ingredient dry food to feed your Goldendoodle puppy.
This recipe range from Acana comes out on top for its wonderful variety of flavors and extremely well-rounded formula. It would be excellent for active puppies, and a great choice for multi-dog families.
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All Life Stages, But Great for Puppies
Although this isn’t specifically formulated for puppies, it’s perfect for little ones who require a grain-free puppy food with all the trimmings necessary for a growing and developing puppy.
Their little muscles will grow nicely with 31% protein, and their activity levels will be well supported with 17% fat (dogs’ primary source of easy-access energy).
There’s a good amount of both DHA and EPA in this food, so puppies’ eyes should develop perfectly. This would also be excellent for senior dogs who need eye support.
The calcium and phosphorus ratio is as it should be, so your Goldendoodle puppy will grow at the right pace. Joint supplements strengthen his joints as he grows, keeping them strong enough to support his body weight.
The Omegas vary by flavor, but they’re pretty good numbers. You’ll also find taurine, which is a helpful addition that keeps the heart strong.
This is perfect for picky eaters, thanks to its large recipe range (which is unusual for limited ingredient foods).
6. Merrick Backcountry Dry Dog Food
Best “Raw” Food: Great introduction to raw feeding for puppies
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Key Features
- High protein and moderate fat
- Increased levels of Omegas
- Freeze-dried raw bits throughout
- Packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants
There’s a variety of types of puppy food for Goldendoodles. If you’ve chosen to switch over to raw, we recommend you start by feeding your puppy a food that contains freeze-dried raw pieces before going entirely raw.
One of the best things about the Merrick Backcountry Dry Dog Food is that it gets your puppy used to the taste and texture of raw food so you can find out if they like it before making the transition entirely.
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Introduction to the Raw Experience
If you want to ease your puppy into raw food with freeze-dried raw and kibble first, this is one of the best puppy foods for that.
The combination of chicken and salmon means that your puppy will get all the vitamins and minerals he needs, along with a boost in amino acids, thanks to the raw meat.
DHA and glucosamine and chondroitin are good additions to keep your puppy strong from head to toe. Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids keep their coat smooth and shiny, too.
Whether your puppy turns out to be a large or small breed, this raw-mix, grain-free puppy formula will get them off to a good start.
It meets the nutritional needs of puppies, which is the most important thing. The natural ingredients and addition make it a good choice food for your Goldendoodle pup.
7. Nutro Large Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food
Best for Large Goldendoodle Puppies: Formulated with a full range of supplements for large breed puppies
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Key Features
- Suitable for Goldendoodle puppy dogs who are larger
- Supportive of joints
- Good calcium/phosphorus ratio
- Two high-quality protein sources
If you know your Goldendoodle’s parents’ background and you can tell your Goldendoodle is going to be more like a large than a toy breed, you may want to choose a formula specifically for larger breed puppies.
This Nutro Large Breed Puppy Dry Dog Food is made for Goldendoodles who are on the larger side. Their nutritional needs are just slightly different to smaller pups, so if you know your dog is big, then this would be a good choice for them.
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Large Puppy Nutrition
Two high-quality protein sources make up the 26% protein in this food. It’s not a grain-free puppy formula, but the grains are healthy (brown rice, oatmeal) and make for good fiber.
It’s designed to power bigger pups, with 14% fat to keep their activity levels up. The naturally-sourced glucosamine in this dog food keeps your bigger pup’s joints tough as they go about their day.
It features everything else a puppy needs to stay healthy and strong. DHA and EPA are present, the calcium/phosphorus ratio is on point, and the Omega 3 fatty acids and Omega 6s are at a good level.
8. Taste of the Wild Dry Dog Food
Best Without Glucosamine: Ideal for puppies already on a joint supplement
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Key Features
- Grain-free recipe
- Contains no poultry products
- DHA from salmon oil
- Added vitamins and minerals
Taste of the Wild Dry Dog Food is a premium-quality food that we recommend for Goldendoodle parents who are already using or wish to use a separate glucosamine supplement.
You won’t find joint supplements in this food, but your puppy still needs extra support as they grow. If your puppy doesn’t have any joint-related problems, you may want to consider this grain-free recipe for your Goldendoodle.
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Glucosamine-Free Goodness
While we recommend dog foods with joint supplements in them, it’s not always necessary. If you already have glucosamine supplements at home, or you’re feeding another dog food without glucosamine for a reason, it would make sense to stick to a glucosamine-free puppy food.
This is a high-quality grain-free recipe, and your puppy won’t be missing out on anything else if they’re eating this puppy food.
The protein and fat levels are right where they should be, and your puppy will benefit from the addition of DHA and a variety of vitamins and minerals.
In terms of ingredients, it’s a buffalo and sweet potato recipe! You won’t find chicken meat or fillers in this grain-free dog food.
9. Blue Buffalo Puppy Dry Dog Food
Best for a Healthy Immune System: Cold-formed vitamin, mineral, and antioxidant nuggets throughout
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Key Features
- Immune-boosting LifeSource Bits
- 3, 6, 15, or 30 lb bag
- Superfood ingredients
- Useful added supplements
Blue Buffalo makes quality dog foods, and we’ve chosen Blue Buffalo Puppy Dry Dog Food as the best puppy food for a healthy immune system.
A large part of this reason is Blue Buffalo’s LifeSource Bits, which are little nuggets of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that give your puppy’s immune system a boost.
Apart from that, it contains high quality ingredients, meeting all nutritional needs of your dog. All this makes it a good choice of puppy food for Goldendoodles.
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Blue Buffalo LifeSource Bits
Blue Buffalo dry food ticks almost all the boxes of a good Goldendoodle puppy food. It may be missing glucosamine but it does contain other supplements that offer a great immune boost and keep your little one as healthy as possible.
Deboned chicken, legumes, and superfood ingredients like blueberries, sweet potatoes, and turmeric make for an extremely wholesome meal.
Blue Buffalo’s LifeSource Bits give them all the vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants they need. Its high-quality natural ingredients are added to boost your puppy’s system,
If you’re looking for something for an active puppy who needs a bit more nutritional support than a smaller or less active one, you can have a look at Blue Buffalo Wilderness recipes.
10. Merrick Lil’ Plates Puppy Dry Dog Food
Best for Mini Goldendoodles: Ideal nutritional values for small variety Goldendoodle puppies
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Key Features
- Nutrition for small breeds
- High protein and fat counts
- Joint supplements added
- Good calcium and phosphorus ratio
Choosing the right foods for Goldendoodles can be tough. This is what we recommend as the best food for Goldendoodles that are on the smaller side!
If you know yours is a mini, try out a small-breed specific puppy food. Merrick Lil' Plates Puppy Dry Dog Food is loaded with goodness, and contains all your small breed needs to thrive.
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Natural Ingredients with Supplements
You’ll find real chicken as the main protein source in this dry food. It has premium carb courses like sweet potatoes, potatoes, and peas. Blueberries and apples add some fruit vitamins, and flaxseed and salmon oil up the Omega count.
28% protein content and 15% fat are perfect in a food for your Goldendoodle who’s on the tiny side. It’s also a grain-free food.
Goldendoodle Feeding Guide
Nutritional Requirements
All dogs need the right mix of protein, fats, carbohydrates, and vitamins and minerals. It can be hard to predict what exact nutrition a Goldendoodle puppy will need because you’re not quite sure if they’ll grow up to be tiny or large!
As a rule of thumb:
- Birth to 4 months: 60 calories per pound of body weight
- 4 to 12 months: 40 calories per pound
- 12+ months: 30 (fixed) to 40 (not fixed), depending on activity level & health
Generally, 25% to 30% protein is a good number. Fat is a dog’s most accessible energy course, so a Goldendoodle puppy food should contain around 15% (or slightly more if they’re super active).
They’ll also need joint supplements (glucosamine and chondroitin), a 1:1 or 1:1.2 calcium and phosphorus ratio, a good level of Omega fatty acids, and DHA and EPA.
Picky Eaters
Goldendoodles aren’t known to be particularly picky eaters. But it can happen that your puppy may like one flavor more than another, or enjoy switching them up.
This could be a personal puppy preference, or it could be that their digestive system doesn’t react as well to certain ingredients.
If your Goldendoodle puppy is reluctant to eat their food, try a few different flavors. Chicken is a popular one, but it’s also one of the most common allergens. You may find that you buy a puppy food flavor without chicken in it, and your pup’s appetite comes right.
Also, take note of how they react after they’re eaten. If they go straight to the toilet and seem to show digestive symptoms like diarrhea or constipation every after meal (or at least often after they eat), your Goldendoodle could have a food allergy.
Types of Food For Goldendoodle Puppies
Dry Dog Food
Dry dog food is always a winner as it contains the most nutritional value and also cleans your puppy’s teeth as they crunch on it. We recommend it as the best type for Goldendoodle pups.
Unlike wet food, you’ll find things like Omega 3 fatty acids, Omega 6 fatty acids, glucosamine and chondroitin, DHA and EPA, and extra vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Because of the way dry dog food is made, they can pack a whole lot of healthy nutrients into a very small pellet. That means more goodness in every bite.
Wet Dog Food
We don’t recommend choosing wet dog food for a puppy unless they have tooth problems that are so severe they can’t eat crunchy kibble.
Wet food would work well for seniors who have no teeth or bad dental health, dogs who have had surgery or an injury to the mouth and need to eat soft food for a while, or as a kibble topper.
Wet food is generally lacking nutrition as it has a very high moisture count. The excess moisture (around 78% of the wet food content) doesn’t leave as much space for protein and fat. You’ll be getting a lot of calories for less nutrition, which is why we don’t recommend it as your dog’s sole diet.
If your Goldendoodle is a very fussy eater, adding a kibble topper can make their meal more exciting. If your puppy isn’t quite hitting their calorie count and they need a bit extra, you can also add some wet food to their regular kibble for a calorie boost.
Freeze-Dried/Dehydrated
Freeze-drying dog food is a great way to preserve it naturally, without needing to add artificial preservatives.
It’s close to raw food, keeping almost all its nutrients during the process. Because of this, it’s quite calorie-dense.
Dehydrated dog food is quite similar. It retains much of the ingredients’ original nutrition, just removes the moisture.
When you feed your Goldendoodle dehydrated dog food, you’ll just add water and wait for it to rehydrate. This is a great way to get some more moisture into your dog’s diet as well!
Raw
Raw feeding has become a bit of a fad, but for good reason! It’s much higher in vitamins, minerals, and amino acids than processed foods.
It’s also totally free from preservatives, artificial colors, and artificial flavors, which makes it a super choice for dogs with sensitive stomachs.
Pet parents who want to feed their Goldendoodle raw food need to be extremely mindful of bacteria in their dog’s food. It’s essential to choose fresh, healthy foods.
The beauty of raw feeding is that you know exactly what’s going into your dog’s body. The disadvantages include no added supplements (like DHA for puppies), and the possibility of contaminated meat.
Human-Grade
Human-grade dog food is of the highest quality; so much so, that you could eat if for dinner too if you wanted to! These types of foods are made from human-grade ingredients, and take care to steer clear of additives or processes that may cause harm to a human or dog’s digestive system.
Dog foods can’t just put “human-grade” on their labels. They need to tick certain boxes. This can include having only ingredients that are edible for humans, adhering to federal manufacturing regulations, as well as strictly following federal packaging regulations.
Questions & Answers
How Much Should I Feed My Goldendoodle Puppy?
A Goldendoodle puppy under 4 months of age should get around 60 calories per pound per day. Between 4 and 12 months, they need around 40 calories per pound every day.
You’ll need to divide their daily calories between how many meals you’re feeding them per day. Then, you’ll need to figure out how much of their food to feed to feed them per meal to hit that calorie count.
If you’re feeding your puppy the right amount based on this, you’ll still need to keep an eye on them. If they’re very active, they may need more. If your pup is looking scrawny, increase their calories slowly. Up it by 20 calories and keep it there for a week, and see how your pup responds.
If they’re a bit pudgy, they’ll most likely need fewer calories. Do the same as above, just reducing by 20 calories per week.
How Often Should a Goldendoodle Puppy Eat?
Until the age of 6 months, your little Goldendoodle should eat three to four meals a day. Remember you’ll need to divide their daily calories between these meals.
From 6 months, you can transition to two meals a day. These meals will be a little larger than before, as you’re getting more calories into fewer meals!
How Can I Fatten Up My Goldendoodle Puppy?
If your Goldendoodle pup is looking a bit too thin and needs some fattening up, you’re not feeding them enough calories every day.
Increase their calorie count slightly, by about 20 per day, and keep it at that for a week or so to see how they respond. You can also start adding a higher-calorie treat or two to their daily food.
Puppies who are very active may need more calories than what you calculate based on their body weight.
What Dog Food Do Vets Recommend for Puppies?
Any vet worth their salt will tell you that puppies need different dog food to adult dogs. While it can be difficult to figure out if your Goldendoodle pup will grow up into a small, medium, or large breed, there are still some specifics that their puppy food needs to provide.
The protein and fat counts need to be higher than that for adults. This is to build lean muscle mass and support the energy needs of a growing puppy.
Every puppy food should contain DHA. This is a specific type of fatty acid that helps puppies’ eyes and brain tissue to develop in the right way. It’s often paired with EPA.
Joint supplements are also essential. Whether your puppy is a large or a small breed, their joints need to be supported.
Wrapping It Up
Goldendoodle puppies are adorable, fluffy little mysteries! You never know if yours will grow into a large Goldendoodle or remain small, or if they’ll have hair more like a Poodle or more like a Golden Retriever!
Either way, they need a great, high-quality dog food to help them grow up strong and healthy. Taking care of your puppy’s stomach right from the start will also ensure that they grow up hardy and with less chance of developing stomach-related health problems.
Feed your puppy right and you’ll get nothing but love, cuddles, and a happy dog in return!
