Complete & Balanced Diet Lamb Meal & Chicken Meal with Ancient Grains Recipe All Life Stages Dry Dog Food, 24-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Blackwood Complete & Balanced Diet Lamb Meal & Chicken Meal with Ancient Grains Recipe is a dry food for all life stages, featuring lamb and chicken as its main protein sources.
This formula uses quality carbohydrate sources like brown rice and oats, which also provide fermentable fiber. It includes named fat sources like chicken fat and menhaden fish oil, which is a good source of EPA and DHA. You'll also find premium micronutrient forms, such as chelated minerals.
Nothing concerning in the deck.
Good fit for dogs of all life stages, from puppies to seniors. Nothing serious working against it.
Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.
Strong fit for lower-energy small companion breeds like French Bulldogs, Bulldogs, and Boston Terriers navigating a sensitive stomach. Lamb meal leads at position 1, with dried beet pulp (prebiotic fiber) at position 8 on the deck. Frenchies have notoriously sensitive GI tracts plus a tendency toward obesity given their low activity needs. Limited-ingredient formulas with moderate calorie density tend to fit them well.
Looking at this for adult French Bulldogs or French Bulldogs with a sensitive stomach ? 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.
- NRC, 2006digestibility · fiber· cited in 2 claims
- AAFCO, 2024zinc
- Swanson et al., 2002prebiotics
Every claim on Sniff traces to a source. If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Solid grade. 69/100 (B) reflects the structural fit of this formula against The Sniff System's eight scoring components. Carbohydrate quality did the heavy lifting (+16 points): Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber. The supporting beat: fat quality (+12 points). Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source). What's keeping it out of A-tier: protein quality (13.5 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").
Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber.
Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).
Premium micronutrient forms such as chelated minerals or natural vitamin E.
No negative drivers crossed our reporting threshold.
- Bottom 10% for crude fiber in Blackwood's lineup (4.4% DMB)
- Top quartile for carb quality in dry kibbles (16/16)
- Bottom quartile for protein quality in Blackwood's lineup (13.6/27)
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.
Merrick Classic Healthy Grains Dry Dog Food Real Lamb + Brown Rice Recipe with Ancient Grains, 25-lb bag
Scores 9 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 $2.83/lb (43% less) at a comparable score.
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 animallamb meal
Lamb cooked down to a dry concentrate. Per pound, more protein than fresh lamb. See why →
Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.
- 2protein animalchicken meal
Chicken with the water cooked out. Per pound, packs more protein than fresh chicken. See why →
Position 2: co-primary protein. Two named animal proteins in the top 2 is a strong protein build.
- 3grainbrown rice
Whole grain that's easy to digest. Steady carb energy plus a little fiber.
Position 3: major carbohydrate source.
- 4oat
- 5grainmillet
Gluten-free whole grain. Fine for most dogs, often used as an alternative to rice.
Position 5: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 6grainsorghum
Whole grain with a low glycemic index. Gluten-free, well-tolerated, decent fiber content.
Position 6: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 7fatchicken fat
Despite the name, a high-quality energy source. Concentrated calories plus essential fatty acids like linoleic acid. See why →
Position 7: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 8fiberdried 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 8: functional fiber for digestion or satiety.
- 9brewers dried yeast
Yeast left over from brewing. Rich in B vitamins and amino acids. A traditional and well-tolerated inclusion.
- 10fatmenhaden fish oil
Omega-3 from menhaden, a small oily fish. Same skin and coat support as salmon oil.
Position 10. Moderate marine-oil inclusion. Supplements EPA/DHA without being the primary fat.
- 11monosodium phosphate
Mineral source and preservative. Standard inclusion at small doses.
- 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.
- 14l-threonine
Essential amino acid. Sometimes added when plant proteins dominate, since threonine is naturally lower in plants than meat.
- 15fiberinulin
Prebiotic fiber that feeds beneficial gut bacteria. Same compound found in chicory root.
Position 15: trace fiber inclusion.
- 16supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 17l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate
A stable form of vitamin C used in pet food. Provides antioxidant support and survives processing better than plain ascorbic acid.
- 18supplementdl-methionine
Essential amino acid. Often added when plant proteins dominate, since methionine is naturally lower in pulses than meat.
- 19supplementl-lysine
Essential amino acid. Plant-protein-heavy formulas sometimes add it to round out the amino acid profile.
- 20preservative naturalmixed tocopherols
Natural vitamin E used to keep fats from going rancid. The good kind of preservative. See why →
- 21supplementyucca schidigera extract
Plant extract added to reduce stool odor. Functional, not nutritional. Fine in trace amounts.
- 22mineralcalcium carbonate
Source of calcium. Functional. Required in complete dog foods, especially those without bone-in meat meals.
- 23vitaminvitamin e supplement
Required nutrient and a natural antioxidant. Often pulls double duty as a preservative.
- 24mineralzinc amino acid complex
Zinc bound to amino acids for better absorption. Same idea as zinc proteinate, the premium form of the mineral.
- 25mineraliron amino acid complex
Iron bound to amino acids for better absorption. Premium form versus inorganic iron sulfate.
Showing first 25 of 44. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
24 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.
Nutritionally Complete & Balanced: Blackwood Large Breed Whitefish Meal with Ancient Grains Recipe dog food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO dog food nutrient profiles for maintenance.