Sensitive Skin & Stomach Lamb Meal & Brown Rice with Ancient Grains All Life Stages Dry Dog Food, 24-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Blackwood Sensitive Skin & Stomach Lamb Meal & Brown Rice with Ancient Grains is a dry food for all life stages, featuring lamb and salmon as its main proteins.
This formula uses quality carbohydrate sources that provide fermentable fiber, which is good for gut health. It also includes salmon meal, a named fish, for diverse and highly bioavailable protein. You'll also find premium micronutrient forms like chelated minerals.
Nothing concerning in the deck.
Good fit for dogs of all life stages, especially those with sensitive skin or stomachs. 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 adult Golden Retrievers and similar active sporting breeds navigating diet-associated DCM concerns. Lamb meal anchors position 1, with zero pulses in the top 15, plus salmon meal at position 4. 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 If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.
Sniff scored this formula 67/100, landing in B-tier territory. The biggest contributor was carbohydrate quality (+16 points): Quality carbohydrate sources with fermentable fiber. Also adding to the lift: ingredient diversity (+5). Includes egg, named fish, or organ meat for diverse high-bioavailability protein. The 8-point gap to A-tier sits mostly in 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.
Includes egg, named fish, or organ meat for diverse high-bioavailability protein.
Premium micronutrient forms such as chelated minerals or natural vitamin E.
No negative drivers crossed our reporting threshold.
- Bottom 10% for DMB protein in Blackwood's lineup (25.6%)
- Top quartile for caloric density in grain-inclusive dry kibbles (421 kcal/cup)
- Bottom 10% for DMB fat in Blackwood's lineup (13.3%)
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.
Hill's Science Diet Adult Sensitive Stomach & Skin Salmon & Brown Rice Recipe Dry Dog Food, 24-lb bag
Scores 6 points higher with a similar formulation profile.
Wholesomes Sensitive Skin & Stomach Large Breed Salmon Dry Dog Food, 30-lb bag
$1.65/lb vs your seed's $2.62/lb (37% less) at a comparable score.
Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach Turkey & Oat Meal Dry Dog Food, 24-lb bag
Turkey instead of lamb, 1 point higher, 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 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.
- 2grainbrown rice
Whole grain that's easy to digest. Steady carb energy plus a little fiber.
Position 2: major carbohydrate source.
- 3grainmillet
Gluten-free whole grain. Fine for most dogs, often used as an alternative to rice.
Position 3: major carbohydrate source.
- 4protein animalsalmon meal
Salmon cooked into a dry concentrate. Carries both protein and natural omega-3s in one ingredient. See why →
Position 4: significant protein contributor. Adds amino-acid diversity to the top of the deck.
- 5grainsorghum
Whole grain with a low glycemic index. Gluten-free, well-tolerated, decent fiber content.
Position 5: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 6oat
- 7fatcanola oil
Plant oil. Some omega-3 from the parent plant, though dogs absorb it less efficiently than fish-derived omega-3. Fine in moderation.
Position 7: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.
- 8brewers dried yeast
Yeast left over from brewing. Rich in B vitamins and amino acids. A traditional and well-tolerated inclusion.
- 9fiberbeet 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 9: functional fiber for digestion or satiety.
- 10dried tomato pomace
The fiber-rich byproduct of tomato processing. Sometimes flagged unfairly. It's a real fiber source, not a filler shortcut.
Position 10: functional fiber for digestion or satiety.
- 11othernatural flavor
Legal term for animal-derived flavoring, usually hydrolyzed liver or broth. Adds taste, says nothing about quality.
- 12protein plantpotato protein
Concentrated potato protein. Like pea protein, it inflates the protein number without matching meat-quality amino acids.
Position 12: trace plant protein.
- 13monosodium phosphate
Mineral source and preservative. Standard inclusion at small doses.
- 14mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 15supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 16mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 17dried apple pomace
- 18supplementdl-methionine
Essential amino acid. Often added when plant proteins dominate, since methionine is naturally lower in pulses than meat.
- 19vegetablepumpkin
Soluble fiber that supports stool quality. Mild and well-tolerated.
- 20fruitcranberries
Often added with a urinary-tract-support marketing angle. Real cranberry compounds help in concentrate form, but kibble doses are small.
- 21fruitblueberries
Antioxidants, real. But the amount in any kibble is too small to do much. Mostly marketing.
- 22supplementdried kelp
Natural source of iodine and trace minerals. A common premium-brand inclusion.
- 23l-threonine
Essential amino acid. Sometimes added when plant proteins dominate, since threonine is naturally lower in plants than meat.
- 24fiberinulin
Prebiotic fiber that feeds beneficial gut bacteria. Same compound found in chicory root.
- 25supplementtaurine
Amino acid critical for heart health. Especially important in grain-free or pulse-heavy formulas where natural taurine precursors run thin.
Showing first 25 of 56. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.
23 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.
Nutritionally Complete & Balanced: Blackwood Catfish Meal with Ancient Grains Recipe dog food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO dog food nutrient profiles for all life stages including growth of large size dogs (70 lb or more as an adult).