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Blackwood Small Breed Grain-Free Turkey & Lentils Recipe All Life Stages Dry Dog Food, 10-lb bag
Blackwood

Small Breed Grain-Free Turkey & Lentils Recipe All Life Stages Dry Dog Food, 10-lb bag

Evidence Fair
AAFCO compliance inferred from product name
dry $3.70/lb

Graded by The Sniff System

In plain English

Blackwood Small Breed Grain-Free Turkey & Lentils Recipe is a dry food for all life stages, featuring turkey as its main protein.

This recipe offers good protein quality, with turkey providing solid amino acid coverage. It also includes quality fat sources like named fat and marine oil, which is a good source of EPA and DHA. The combination of fresh turkey and turkey meal is a strong extrusion architecture.

The formula does contain high legume stacking, with multiple pulse-family ingredients like peas, lentils, and fava beans appearing in the top 15. This is partially mitigated by the presence of taurine supplementation or organ meat.

Good fit for small breed dogs of all life stages. Less ideal if your dog has a sensitivity to legumes or a heart condition.

Summary written by The Sniff System from the data above. Same rubric, same drivers, expressed in English.

Who this is for

Strong fit for lower-energy small companion breeds like French Bulldogs, Bulldogs, and Boston Terriers navigating a sensitive stomach. Turkey leads at position 1, with dried beet pulp (prebiotic fiber) at position 12 on the deck, and a single-species protein design that makes trigger isolation easier. Worth watching: calorie density (455 kcal/cup) is rich for a lower-activity breed. 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

Methodology

The Sniff System grades this product against 3 cited studies relevant to its profile. Each link opens the original source.

Every claim on Sniff traces to a source. If you find a citation that's wrong, outdated, or misapplied, tell us.

Why this score

Sniff scored this formula 63/100, landing in B-tier territory. The biggest contributor was protein quality (+18.5 points): Reasonable protein quality. turkey delivers solid amino acid coverage. The biggest detractor was controversial-ingredient penalty (-2 points): Contains high legume stacking. Multiple pulse-family ingredients in top 15. Mitigated by taurine supplementation or organ meat (natural taurine precursor) in top 10. To reach A-tier, this formula would need to gain about 12 points, most likely through controversial-ingredient penalty.

What lifted the score

Reasonable protein quality. turkey delivers solid amino acid coverage.

PQI

Quality fat sources: named fat with marine oil (EPA and DHA source).

FQI

Named fresh meat paired with same-species meal, a strong extrusion architecture.

STACK
What pulled it down

Contains high legume stacking. Multiple pulse-family ingredients in top 15. Mitigated by taurine supplementation or organ meat (natural taurine precursor) in top 10..

CIP
What sets this apart
  • Lowest carb quality in Blackwood's lineup (8/16)
  • Top quartile for caloric density in Blackwood's lineup (455 kcal/cup)
  • 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.

Better match
Higher score, similar formulation
ORIJEN Amazing Grains High-Protein Small Breed Dry Dog Food, 10-lb bag
ORIJEN

ORIJEN Amazing Grains High-Protein Small Breed Dry Dog Food, 10-lb bag

79

Scores 16 points higher with a similar formulation profile.

Best value
Lower price, comparable score
Blackwood Sensitive Skin & Stomach Lamb Meal & Brown Rice with Ancient Grains All Life Stages Dry Dog Food, 24-lb bag
Blackwood

Blackwood Sensitive Skin & Stomach Lamb Meal & Brown Rice with Ancient Grains All Life Stages Dry Dog Food, 24-lb bag

67

$2.62/lb vs your seed's $3.70/lb (29% less) at a comparable score.

Worth a look
Different brand, different protein
Nulo Freestyle Salmon & Red Lentils Small Breed Grain-Free Dry Dog Food, 14-lb bag
Nulo

Nulo Freestyle Salmon & Red Lentils Small Breed Grain-Free Dry Dog Food, 14-lb bag

66

Salmon instead of turkey, 3 points higher, different brand.

Surfaced from a vector similarity search across 3,491 scored dog foods. How this works.

Guaranteed analysis
Dry-matter protein: 31% ⓘ
Protein
28%
min (as fed)
Fat
15%
min (as fed)
Fiber
4%
max (as fed)
Moisture
10%
max
Ingredients

Read why each ingredient is good or bad for dogs.

48 total
Good Neutral Watch Flagged
  1. 1
    turkey

    Real meat. Lean protein, good amino acid profile, often well-tolerated by dogs sensitive to chicken.

    Position 1: primary protein source. After cooking removes water, this may drop in proportional weight, but it anchors the recipe.

  2. 2
    turkey meal

    Turkey with the water cooked out. Per pound, packs more protein than fresh turkey. See why →

    Position 2: co-primary protein. Two named animal proteins in the top 2 is a strong protein build.

  3. 3
    peas

    Cheap protein bulk. Fine in small amounts, but when peas stack with lentils and chickpeas in the top ingredients, it's the pattern the FDA flagged in its heart-disease investigation. See why →

    Position 3. Pulse-family ingredient this high in the deck is a notable build choice. When stacked with other pulses in the top 10, matches the formulation pattern the FDA flagged in its diet-associated DCM investigation.

  4. 4
    lentils

    Same concern as peas. Affordable plant protein, but when they pile up in the top 5 ingredients, it's a flag. See why →

    Position 4. Within the FDA's top-5 DCM-pattern threshold. Especially notable if multiple pulses stack here.

  5. 5
    fava beans

    Less common pulse. Same concern as peas when stacked with other legumes.

  6. 6
    canola 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.

  7. 7
    tapioca

    Starch from cassava root. Highly digestible energy source, but pure starch with minimal nutrition beyond that.

  8. 8
    brewers dried yeast

    Yeast left over from brewing. Rich in B vitamins and amino acids. A traditional and well-tolerated inclusion.

  9. 9
    flaxseed

    Plant source of omega-3. Helpful for skin and coat, though dogs absorb omega-3 from fish more efficiently.

    Position 9: trace fat. Below the level that materially shifts the fat profile.

  10. 10
    natural flavor

    Legal term for animal-derived flavoring, usually hydrolyzed liver or broth. Adds taste, says nothing about quality.

  11. 11
    menhaden fish oil

    Omega-3 from menhaden, a small oily fish. Same skin and coat support as salmon oil.

    Position 11. Moderate marine-oil inclusion. Supplements EPA/DHA without being the primary fat.

  12. 12
    dried 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 12: trace fiber inclusion.

  13. 13
    carrots

    Real vegetable. Fiber, beta-carotene, and a small amount of antioxidant value.

    Position 13: garnish-level inclusion. Marketing-prominent but minimal nutritional impact at this position.

  14. 14
    dicalcium phosphate

    Calcium and phosphorus combined. Required source of both minerals, especially in formulas without much bone content.

  15. 15
    salt

    Sodium chloride. Required at small doses for normal physiology. Not a quality concern in standard amounts.

  16. 16
    potassium chloride

    Required mineral. Sometimes used as a salt substitute. Standard inclusion in complete diets.

  17. 17
    sodium triphosphate
  18. 18
    choline chloride

    Essential nutrient for liver and brain function. Standard inclusion in complete dog foods.

  19. 19
    dl-methionine

    Essential amino acid. Often added when plant proteins dominate, since methionine is naturally lower in pulses than meat.

  20. 20
    l-lysine

    Essential amino acid. Plant-protein-heavy formulas sometimes add it to round out the amino acid profile.

  21. 21
    taurine

    Amino acid critical for heart health. Especially important in grain-free or pulse-heavy formulas where natural taurine precursors run thin.

  22. 22
    fructooligosaccharide

    Prebiotic fiber, often abbreviated FOS. Feeds beneficial gut bacteria.

  23. 23
    mixed tocopherols

    Natural vitamin E used to keep fats from going rancid. The good kind of preservative. See why →

  24. 24
    yucca schidigera extract

    Plant extract added to reduce stool odor. Functional, not nutritional. Fine in trace amounts.

  25. 25
    calcium carbonate

    Source of calcium. Functional. Required in complete dog foods, especially those without bone-in meat meals.

Showing first 25 of 48. Position 1-5 has the largest weight in the recipe.

24 of 25 ingredients have a curated note. Coverage grows over time.