Blackwood dog food has been around for decades. The company has grown from a small family mill in Ohio into a well-respected pet food manufacturer.
This super-premium dog food company aims to provide only the best for our furry friends.
How do they compare, and what exactly do they offer?
Blackwood dog food review answers these questions and looks at Blackwood dog food lines and ingredients.
About Blackwood Pet Food Brand
Blackwood pet food brand is a family business. Jim Golladay started the company 40 years ago, and currently, his three children are running it.
The Golladays started Blackwood in Rogers, Ohio. As the business expanded, eventually, they moved it to Lisbon, Ohio — where it’s been headquartered to this day.
Slow-cooking in small batches has been their signature process since day one. The company believes this preserves the nutrients and ensures the higher nutritional value of pet food.
According to the Blackwood website, Kansas State University has confirmed the higher quality of slow-cooked dog food.
The company produces dog food and cat food of super-premium quality. The range includes dry foods, wet foods, and pet treats.
Blackwood pet foods contain no artificial additives — the company is big on using only natural ingredients.
Like Petcurean pet food, Blackwood has recently started exploring sustainable options for their packaging. This way, they care not only about the pet health but also the environment.
Blackwood Dog Food Brand Lines
Blackwood dog food products include dry food, canned food, and dog treats.
The range is small but diverse. It caters to different dietary needs:
- Complete and balanced nutrition
- Food allergies and skin sensitivities
- Grain-free options
- High protein foods
- Different breed sizes and life stages
The dry dog food is a bit pricey, but it offers wholesome nutrition and high-quality, premium ingredients.
Furthermore, all the Blackwood dog food products meet the AAFCO nutritional profiles for the relevant life stage.
Blackwood Everyday Diet Dry Dog Food
Blackwood Everyday Diet offers complete and balanced nutrition for adult dogs.
The Everyday Diet line includes three formulas.
Want reliable, premium food for your furry friend? Well, Blackwood might be just the thing.
Indulge them with animal protein from named meat meals and a fantastic assortment of grains. Blackwood Everyday Diet uses brown rice, ground grain sorghum, and oat groats — all the healthy source of the highest-quality carb and energy.
To round that up, the Everyday Diet also provides several sources of essential fats.
The recipes start with chicken fat, accompanied by menhaden fish oil, catfish meal, and ground flaxseed. These are excellent sources of energy for dog’s daily activities and heart-healthy Omega-3s.
The protein content could have been a bit higher, though. While 23-24% of crude protein is alright, some of it will come from plant sources — specifically, the pea protein.
Still, Everyday Diet’s wholesome goodness makes an excellent choice for moderately active dogs.
Blackwood Sensitive Skin & Stomach Dry Dog Food
The Sensitive Skin & Stomach line addresses food allergies and digestive issues.
The line consists of three recipes.
All the sensitive diet recipes are formulated for all life stages and grain-inclusive.
Each recipe is an easy-to-digest meal that delivers complete nutrition to your canine. The formulas address the food sensitivities by excluding common allergens like chicken, beef, and wheat. All the recipes are also free of corn and soy, known to cause stomach upset.
Rich Omega-3 fatty acids content reduces inflammation and promotes skin and coat health. These fatty acids come from high-quality fish, like salmon and menhaden fish. They work to produce lustrous fur and address any underlying deficiencies.
Blackwood Grain-Free Dry Dog Food
Blackwood also offers gluten-free, grain-free options for dogs allergic to wheat or gluten.
This line includes the following formulas.
Most grain-free dog foods feature some of the more common animal proteins. Blackwood includes chicken and salmon, but also buffalo, which is a novel protein. This way, there is a broader choice for your pooch.
Peas and legumes are the main substitutes for grains. The recipes are rich in other vegetables: fresh carrots, spinach, lettuce, celery, and parsley. Not only are they filled with antioxidants — they are also yummy and introduce fresh flavor to the kibble.
These recipes ensure grain-free, wholesome nutrition with high protein content, probiotics, and chicken cartilage for joint health.
Blackwood Active Diet Dry Dog Food
This particular sub-line features one recipe: Blackwood 2000 Chicken Meal & Brown Rice Active Diet.
Active Diet is intended for active dogs and all life stages.
There are several things to look for in high protein recipes: protein content and fat sources.
This formula boasts 28% crude protein content, coming primarily from a chicken meal as the first ingredient. Some protein will come from oat groats and fish meals — but there is plenty of good animal protein for your energetic furball.
As for the fats, chicken fat and menhaden fish meal supply more than enough energy for everyday activities. The menhaden fish is a superior source of Omega-3 fatty acids for added cardiovascular health benefits, supple joints, nourished skin, and brain function.
It’s important to note that this formula has ground corn and cheese meal. If your dog is lactose-intolerant or sensitive to corn, it might not be the best choice.
High protein and fat content deliver superior nutrition, necessary for muscular dogs and their endeavors.
Blackwood Puppy Growth Diet Dry Dog Food
Blackwood’s puppy food is also limited to one recipe: Blackwood Chicken Meal & Rice Puppy Growth.
And is your pooch in for a treat!
Animal protein sources include chicken meal, whitefish meal, menhaden fish meal, and egg product. That’s plenty of high-quality protein to go around.
But the real treat is in grain selection. Similar to the Everyday Diet recipes, Puppy Growth uses only the best whole grains and ancient grains. Think brown rice, millet, sorghum, and oat groats. These provide dietary fiber and plenty of vitamins and minerals for your pup to thrive.
Finally, development is not just about the muscles but also the brain. With enough animal fat sources and high-quality Omega-3s, your puppy’s brain gets proper nourishment as well.
Blackwood Large Breed Dry Dog Food
Blackwood also has one formula specifically for large-breed adult dogs: Blackwood Whitefish Meal & Oatmeal Large Breed.
The recipe is formulated with whitefish meal as the first ingredient for loads of animal protein and Omega-3s to support heart health.
The carbs are Blackwood evergreen — the finest selection of whole grains and ancient grains, so your dog gets steady energy throughout the day.
Large breed formulas are specific because they usually take hip and joint health into account. Blackwood is no different — besides fish for Omega-3, there is also chicken cartilage.
This is a natural source of chondroitin and glucosamine sulfate, the building blocks of cartilage and healthy joints.
Blackwood Lean / Senior Dry Dog Food
This specific line is formulated for senior dogs and adult dogs on weight management. It includes the following formula: Blackwood Chicken Meal & Rice Recipe Lean Diet.
The recipe has the lowest fat content of all the Blackwood formulas, a mere 9%. As such, it is ideal for dogs looking to shed some pounds.
It’s an easy-to-digest recipe because it contains probiotics. Dog food with probiotics introduces healthy gut bacteria and eases the digestive load. So it’s much easier for your dog to use all the nutrients efficiently.
Since this is a senior formula, it also features hip and joint support in the form of chicken cartilage. The naturally occurring chondroitin and glucosamine sulfate are easier to assimilate. These slow down the joint deterioration as dogs age.
Blackwood Canned Food
Blackwood line of canned foods consists of three recipes.
Blackwood’s canned dog food is both grain-free and free of carrageenan. The line is formulated for adult dogs.
This is deliciousness in a can! The first three ingredients are all animal proteins — whole meat, meat broth, named liver, or salmon. The dogs will love the taste.
Pumpkin, carrots, fish oil, peas, and mussels boost the taste and nutritional value. These bring in additional vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids.
Bear in mind, though, that these recipes include agar agar, which is a seaweed used as a thickening agent. Agar is not that commonly used and some dogs may develop allergic reactions to it.
Blackwood Dog Food Ingredients Quality
The most significant advantage of Blackwood ingredients is how they’re prepared. Namely, the slow-cooking process is said to help with starch conversion. Better conversion means increased stamina and more energy for your dog.
But, looking at the ingredients themselves, it’s clear that most choices are great, while a few tweaks could have been made.
Let’s start with proteins. The main animal protein source for Blackwood dry dog foods is a named meat meal. Meat meals can be a great source of protein and minerals. It’s good that they are named. This way, we know what we’re dealing with.
Whole meats are found in canned foods. Whole meats are probably the best, safest animal protein you can find.
Yet, Blackwood dog food really shines in the carbs department. Most recipes use remarkable whole grains and ancient grains, like brown rice, ground grain sorghum, oat bran, oat groats, and millet. All of them provide fiber, energy, proteins, and vitamins.
Some recipes use ground corn, which isn’t as impressive as the carbs above. Sensitive Diet formulas are corn-free.
Fats are also well-selected. Recipes usually start with chicken fat, a good-quality animal fat source. This source is complemented with salmon, menhaden fish meal, herring meal, and flaxseed.
What do these do for your furry friend? They provide extra energy for the brain and muscles and give enough omega fatty acids for heart and coat health.
Blackwood dog food recipes also include added vitamins and minerals. They are rich in vitamin E supplement, B-vitamins, D3, folic acid, and other standard additions.
There are a couple of ingredients to pay attention to.
Canned foods don’t use carrageenan, but they contain agar agar. Agar agar is a seaweed commonly used as a thickening agent. It might cause allergic reactions in some dogs.
Some dry and wet formulas contain natural flavor among their ingredients. Natural flavor isn’t necessarily bad, but it can mean many different things (FDA). For instance, fruit juice is also a natural flavor. If that’s the case, your dog will be ingesting additional sugar.
The recipes do not contain artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives, which is great.
Overall, the ingredients in Blackwood dog food merit the word super-premium. The combination of great fats and remarkable carbs makes these formulas stand out.
Blackwood Dog Food Recalls
To date, there have been no recalls of Blackwood dog food.
This is great news. It shows high quality assurance and safety practices for a company that’s been around as long as Blackwood has.
If you’d like to know more about ongoing recalls, FDA constantly updates its database of recall alerts.
Blackwood Dog Food Reviews
Pet owners are raving about Blackwood dog food’s quality and health benefits.
The Sensitive Diet line is especially beneficial. Dog owners say this dog food restored their dogs’ health, gave them shiny fur, and soothed their stomachs.
“I am able to feed it to my growing puppy and two adult dogs. They all did really well on this formula. Good shiny coats, steady energy levels, and regular stools once transitioned.”
You can read more Blackwood dog food reviews on Chewy.
The main complaint about the dog food is the price. Blackwood started with budget-friendly prices, and at one point, the price doubled.
“Love the food and have been buying exclusively for my labs and a german shepherd. Unfortunately, overnight prices increased approximately 60%! I guess I will need to start searching for a new brand as much as I hate to do it.”
You can read more Blackwood dog food reviews on Chewy.
However, all the dog parents generally agree that this is super-premium, high-quality dog food.
Our Verdict
Blackwood dog food is a premium food that comes highly recommended.
The use of nutritious grains, with various options and wholesome recipes, merit the super-premium label.
However, for some dog owners, the price might be an issue. Still, the food is not shamelessly expensive — it falls right into the super-premium category.
If you’d like more budget-friendly options, check out American Journey dog food review.
