Sensitive Skin & Stomach Salmon Meal & Brown Rice with Ancient Grains All Life Stages Dry Dog Food, 24-lb bag
Graded by The Sniff System
Blackwood Sensitive Skin & Stomach Salmon Meal & Brown Rice with Ancient Grains is a dry food for all life stages, featuring salmon meal as its main protein.
This formula uses quality carbohydrate sources that provide fermentable fiber, which is good for gut health. It also includes salmon meal as a named fish, contributing to diverse, bioavailable protein. You'll also find premium micronutrient forms like chelated minerals in the mix.
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 Australian Shepherds navigating skin allergies. Working in its favor: calorie density (411 kcal/cup) matches a high-energy working breed. The protein deck is built around a single species (salmon). Aussies are working-line dogs that thrive on high-protein performance formulas. Coat quality also benefits from EPA+DHA. Zinc is essential for skin immunity and healing; the NRC (2006) established a recommended allowance of 20 mg of zinc per 1000 kcal ME for adult dogs at maintenance (NRC, 2006) .
Looking at this for adult Australian Shepherds or Australian Shepherds with skin allergies ? 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.
Solid grade. 65/100 (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: ingredient diversity (+5 points). Includes egg, named fish, or organ meat for diverse high-bioavailability protein. What's keeping it out of A-tier: protein quality (12 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 crude fiber in Blackwood's lineup (4.4% DMB)
- Top quartile for carb quality in dry kibbles (16/16)
- Bottom 10% for protein quality in Blackwood's lineup (12.2/27)
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.
Natural Balance Specialized Nutrition Sensitive Skin & Stomach Adult Salmon & Oatmeal Formula Dry Dog Food, 22-lb bag
Scores 12 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 $3.19/lb (48% less) at a comparable score.
Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach Turkey & Oat Meal Dry Dog Food, 24-lb bag
Turkey instead of salmon, 3 points 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 animalsalmon meal
Salmon cooked into a dry concentrate. Carries both protein and natural omega-3s in one ingredient. 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.
- 4oat
- 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.
- 6fatcanola 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 6: secondary fat. Often where marine oils sit when present alongside a primary land-animal fat.
- 7fiberbeet 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 7: functional fiber for digestion or satiety.
- 8grainrice
Generic rice. Could be white or brown, the label doesn't say. Brown rice would be specified if it were.
Position 8: supporting grain. Smaller contribution to the carb deck.
- 9mineraldicalcium phosphate
Calcium and phosphorus combined. Required source of both minerals, especially in formulas without much bone content.
- 10othernatural flavor
Legal term for animal-derived flavoring, usually hydrolyzed liver or broth. Adds taste, says nothing about quality.
- 11dried tomato pomace
The fiber-rich byproduct of tomato processing. Sometimes flagged unfairly. It's a real fiber source, not a filler shortcut.
Position 11: trace fiber inclusion.
- 12mineralsalt
Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.
- 13mineralcalcium carbonate
Source of calcium. Functional. Required in complete dog foods, especially those without bone-in meat meals.
- 14mineralpotassium chloride
Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.
- 15fiberinulin
Prebiotic fiber that feeds beneficial gut bacteria. Same compound found in chicory root.
Position 15: trace fiber inclusion.
- 16fruitcranberries
Often added with a urinary-tract-support marketing angle. Real cranberry compounds help in concentrate form, but kibble doses are small.
- 17fruitblueberries
Antioxidants, real. But the amount in any kibble is too small to do much. Mostly marketing.
- 18supplementdried kelp
Natural source of iodine and trace minerals. A common premium-brand inclusion.
- 19dried apple pomace
- 20supplementcholine chloride
Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.
- 21vegetablepumpkin
Soluble fiber that supports stool quality. Mild and well-tolerated.
- 22supplementdl-methionine
Essential amino acid. Often added when plant proteins dominate, since methionine is naturally lower in pulses than meat.
- 23supplementl-lysine
Essential amino acid. Plant-protein-heavy formulas sometimes add it to round out the amino acid profile.
- 24preservative naturalmixed tocopherols
Natural vitamin E used to keep fats from going rancid. The good kind of preservative. See why →
- 25supplementyucca schidigera extract
Plant extract added to reduce stool odor. Functional, not nutritional. Fine in trace amounts.
Showing first 25 of 53. 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).