Royal Canin Golden Retriever Dog Food Review: Pros, Cons, and Recalls

As the name suggests, Royal Canin Golden Retriever dog food is specifically made for Golden Retrievers in mind. According to the company, it is designed with everything that your Golden Retriever needs to thrive.

However, what special nutrition do Golden Retrievers need? And does this food actually meet it? We’ll take a look at everything you need to know below so that you can make a good decision for your canine.

Summary

As the name suggests, Royal Canin Golden Retriever dog food is specifically designed for Golden Retrievers. It includes brown rice, chicken by-product meal, and various other sorts of whole grains. All of these increase the overall fiber content of the food, which can help your dog stay full for longer.

It is designed for dogs that are over 15 months of age. However, before then, it is best for Golden Retrievers to be on puppy food. The specialized kibble is designed for a Golden Retriever’s scissor bite and encourages chewing, which can help keep your canine’s teeth clean.

It also reinforces your dog’s skin barrier, which prevents bacterial and yeast infections. With added taurine, EPA, and DHA, this food is explicitly designed for heart health, as is commonly a problem for Golden Retrievers.

Plus, it is great at supporting the weight of larger dogs, especially Golden Retrievers that are prone to excessive weight gain.

Our Top Pick

Royal Canin Breed Health Nutrition Golden Retriever

• Specifically designed for Golden Retrievers
• Contains whole grains for better digestion
• The kibble encourages chewing
• Added taurine, EPA, and DHA

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Royal Canin Golden Retriever Dog Food Benefits and Features

• Designed for purebred Golden Retrievers
• Supplemented with taurine, EPA, and DHA
• Supports weight management
• For Golden Retrievers over 15 months

Royal Canin Golden Retriever Dog Food: Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Supplemented with taurine
• Keeps your dogs a healthy weight
• Reinforces the natural skin barrier

Cons:

• Includes by-product meal
• Brown rice is the first ingredient
• Low protein and fat content
• High in carbohydrates
• Poor ingredients, such as corn gluten meal

Where is Royal Canin Golden Retriever Dog Food Made?

Royal Canin owns all of its own facilities. They have company-owned plants across much of the world, including a few in the United States. However, the large majority of their facilities are in China. Therefore, the odds of this food being made in China are pretty high.

Of course, this company does not release what formulas are produced where.

However, despite the fact that Royal Canin is often made in China, it is made in their own facilities. Therefore, all of their foods are created under their own careful regulations and policies.

For this reason, they may be considered safer than other foods. Of course, we do not exactly know what regulations they set up.

Royal Canin Golden Retriever Dog Food Ingredients

Because this food is designed specifically for Golden Retrievers, it is a little bit different than other foods. Firstly, Golden Retrievers often have a hard time maintaining a healthy weight. Therefore, this food feature ingredients that are low in fat.

However, it does have a decent amount of protein at 23%, thanks to the chicken by-product meal that is the second ingredient.

The first ingredient is brown rice, which is high in fiber and carbohydrates. Brown rice is a great option for many Golden Retrievers, as it is high in fiber and carbohydrates. Fiber helps dogs stay full so that they can maintain a healthy weight.

Oat groats, brewers rice, and wheat all add to the overall fiber of the food, which helps keep your Golden Retriever fuller.

However, we do not recommend this food for extremally active dogs, as they will likely need more calories and fat. But for your average Golden Retriever, this option is quite good.

Royal Canin Golden Retriever Dog Food Recalls

In a few instances, Royal Canin dog food has been recalled a few times. However, this particular food has never been recalled.

Many of their foods were recalled in 2007 in connection with the large melamine recall. A rice supplier was putting melamine into their rice, which is quite toxic. However, it also helps prevent molding, which is why they put it into the food. Several dogs became sick, which prompted an investigation.

Many dog food companies used this supplier, so Royal Canin was not the only food that was recalled.

In 2006, Royal Canin also had to recall a few canned foods that were exclusive to veterinary clinics. These foods contained too much vitamin D3 due to a mess up with the supplier of the vitamin mix.

However, they were very quick to recall the affected foods, which is always a good sign that they take responsibility.

Royal Canin Golden Retriever Dog Food: Where to Buy

Our Top Pick

Royal Canin Breed Health Nutrition Golden Retriever

• Specifically designed for Golden Retrievers
• Contains whole grains for better digestion
• The kibble encourages chewing
• Added taurine, EPA, and DHA

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Royal Canin Golden Retriever Dog Food Specs

Macronutrients

The main purpose of this food is to cater to a Golden Retriever’s specific needs. Because many Golden Retrievers have a hard time maintaining a healthy weight, this food is quite low in fat. It has a decent amount of protein and carbohydrates.

Therefore, for your average Golden Retriever, this food may be a decent option.

Ingredients

As we have already stated, this food includes a lot of whole grains and fiber. It also includes chicken by-product meal as the second ingredient. These ingredients are a solid option for many dogs, as they provide nutrition and help the dog stay full.

However, these ingredients are not incredibly high-quality. There are some better options out there, especially for more active canines that need more fat than others.

Safety

Compared to many other brands, this one has had very few recalls. Therefore, it is considered a safer dog food than other options. We highly recommend this food for those that are worried about recalls, especially because this particular recipe has not had any recalls.

Price

Royal Canin is quite expensive overall. Therefore, this formula is expensive as well, as you might expect. However, some may find this food to be worth the extra price.

Of course, always keep your budget in mind when choosing dog food, as you are the only one who knows your true budget.

Royal Canin Golden Retriever Dog Food vs. Gentle Giants Dry Dog Food

Despite the odd packaging, Gentle Giants Dry Dog Food contains pretty high-quality ingredients and is designed for larger dogs. It contains similar ingredients to the Royal Canin dog food, including chicken and whole grains.

This food is also cheaper than the Royal Canin dog food, as it is a cheaper brand. However, it is not designed specifically for Golden Retrievers, which many dog owners prefer.

Bottom Line

Royal Canin Golden Retriever dog food is a great option for Golden Retrievers, as you may take from the name. It includes plenty of fiber to keep the canine full in between meals and lots of protein to support your dog’s overall nutrition.

However, this food is also very expensive, so it does not fit very well into everyone’s budget. Therefore, you may want to consider your overall budget when deciding whether or not this food is for you.