Complete & Balanced Diet Chicken Meal with Ancient Grains & Corn Recipe All Life Stages Dry Dog Food, 24-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Blackwood Complete & Balanced Diet Chicken Meal with Ancient Grains & Corn Recipe is a dry food featuring chicken meal, suitable for all life stages.
Chicken meal as the first ingredient provides good amino acid coverage, contributing to a reasonable protein quality. The formula also includes quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber. Whitefish meal and dried egg product add diverse, highly bioavailable protein sources.
Nothing concerning in the deck.
Good fit for dogs of all ages and sizes. Nothing serious working against it.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Good fit for active large sporting breeds like Golden Retrievers, Labrador Retrievers, and Irish Setters navigating diet-associated DCM concerns. Chicken meal anchors position 1, with zero pulses in the top 15, plus whitefish meal at position 8. In its 2022 update on diet-associated DCM, the FDA identified Golden Retrievers as the most reported breed, with 121 cases out of 1,382 total canine reports (8.8%) received between January 1, 2014, and November 1, 2022 (FDA, 2022) .
Looking at this for adult Golden Retrievers or Golden Retrievers with diet-associated DCM concerns ? We are building dedicated pages for these combinations.
Auto-matched from this product's measurements (ingredients, life stage, calorie density) to a breed archetype. Not a substitute for vet input on your specific dog.
Research informing this analysis
MethodologyThe Sniff System grades this product against 3 cited studies relevant to its profile. Each link opens the original source.
- FDA, 2022cardiac · epidemiology · breed predisposition· cited in 5 claims
- FDA, 2019diet composition· cited in 2 claims
- NRC, 2006nutrient bioavailability
Every claim on Sniff traces to a source. If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Solid grade. 72/100 (B) reflects the structural fit of this formula against The Sniff System's eight scoring components. Protein quality did the heavy lifting (+16 points): Reasonable protein quality. chicken meal delivers solid amino acid coverage. The supporting beat: carbohydrate quality (+16 points). Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber. What's keeping it out of A-tier: protein quality (16 of 27 possible). Full protein quality requires named-species named-cut proteins in the top of the deck (e.g., "deboned chicken" rather than "chicken meal" or "poultry meal").
Reasonable protein quality. chicken meal delivers solid amino acid coverage.
Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.
Includes egg, named fish, or organ meat for diverse high-bioavailability protein.
No negative drivers crossed our reporting threshold.
- Lowest caloric density in Blackwood's lineup (360 kcal/cup)
- Top 5% for DMB fat in grain-inclusive dry kibbles (22.2%)
- Bottom 10% for crude fiber in Blackwood's lineup (4.4% DMB)
Computed against the rest of our catalog. Percentiles refresh on each catalog update.
Similar dog foods worth considering
Three lenses on products with formulation profiles similar to this one.
ACANA Wholesome Large Breed Adult Grains Dry Dog Food, 22.5-lb bag
Scores 11 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
CANIDAE All Life Stages Real Chicken & Ancient Grains Recipe Dry Dog Food, 40-lb bag
$1.62/lb vs your seed's $2.81/lb (42% less) at a comparable score.
CANIDAE All Life Stages Real Lamb & Ancient Grains Recipe Dry Dog Food, 27-lb bag
Lamb instead of chicken, 2 points lower, different brand.
Surfaced from a vector similarity search across 3,491 scored dog foods. How this works.
Read why each ingredient is good or bad for dogs.
- 1protein animalchicken meal
Chicken with the water cooked out. Per pound, packs more protein than fresh chicken. See why →
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2graincorn
Whole corn is more nutritious than it gets credit for, with decent amino acids and steady carbs. The bigger concern is when corn dominates the top of the ingredient list at the expense of named meat.
Position 2: major carbohydrate source.
- 3grainbrown rice
Whole grain that's easy to digest. Steady carb energy plus a little fiber.
Position 3: major carbohydrate source.
- 4fatchicken fat
Despite the name, a high-quality energy source. Concentrated calories plus essential fatty acids like linoleic acid. See why →
Position 4: secondary fat. Often where marine oils sit when present alongside a primary land-animal fat.
- 5brewers dried yeast
Yeast left over from brewing. Rich in B vitamins and amino acids. A traditional and well-tolerated inclusion.
- 6fiberdried beet pulp
Soluble fiber from sugar-beet processing. Sometimes treated as a filler, but it's actually one of the better fiber sources in kibble. See why →
Position 6: functional fiber for digestion or satiety.
- 7oat
- 8protein animalwhitefish meal
Whitefish cooked into a dry concentrate. Strong protein source, common in premium formulas.
Position 8: supporting protein. Modest contribution to total protein weight.
- 9othernatural flavor
Legal term for animal-derived flavoring, usually hydrolyzed liver or broth. Adds taste, says nothing about quality.
- 10fatflaxseed
Plant source of omega-3. Helpful for skin and coat, though dogs absorb omega-3 from fish more efficiently.
Position 10: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 11dried egg product
Whole eggs with the water removed. Same nutritional value as fresh eggs, just shelf-stable.
Position 11: trace protein. Likely there for amino-acid diversity or label appeal more than nutritional weight.
- 12mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 13mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 14monosodium phosphate
Mineral source and preservative. Standard inclusion at small doses.
- 15l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate
A stable form of vitamin C used in pet food. Provides antioxidant support and survives processing better than plain ascorbic acid.
- 16supplementdl-methionine
Essential amino acid. Often added when plant proteins dominate, since methionine is naturally lower in pulses than meat.
- 17supplementl-lysine
Essential amino acid. Plant-protein-heavy formulas sometimes add it to round out the amino acid profile.
- 18preservative naturalmixed tocopherols
Natural vitamin E used to keep fats from going rancid. The good kind of preservative. See why →
- 19supplementyucca schidigera extract
Plant extract added to reduce stool odor. Functional, not nutritional. Fine in trace amounts.
- 20mineralcalcium carbonate
Source of calcium. Functional. Required in complete dog foods, especially those without bone-in meat meals.
- 21vitaminvitamin e supplement
Required nutrient and a natural antioxidant. Often pulls double duty as a preservative.
- 22mineralzinc amino acid complex
Zinc bound to amino acids for better absorption. Same idea as zinc proteinate, the premium form of the mineral.
- 23mineraliron amino acid complex
Iron bound to amino acids for better absorption. Premium form versus inorganic iron sulfate.
- 24mineralmanganese amino acid complex
Manganese bound to amino acids for better absorption. The chelated form most premium brands use.
- 25mineralcopper amino acid complex
Copper bound to amino acids for better absorption. Premium form versus copper sulfate.
Showing first 25 of 42. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
24 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.