Recalls, Pros & Cons – Dogster

Review Summary

Blackwood is a pet food company founded on the premise that slow-cooking food in small batches preserves the most nutrients, to give your pets nutritionally dense food for energy and stamina. In every bowl of Blackwood pet food, you’ll find high-quality proteins, essential fats, and excellent sources of fiber to give your pet the best nutrition possible.

We rate this company highly because they have pet food for dogs of all sizes and stages of life, so you’re sure to find a food that meets your pet’s specific needs. Read on to learn more about Blackwood, its slow-cooking process, and the ingredients in its dog food.

At a Glance: The Best Blackwood Dog Food Recipes

Blackwood Dog Food Reviewed

Blackwood is a pet food brand that focuses on slow-cooking small batches of food, to increase the energy and stamina levels of pets through nutrition preservation. If you cook pet food ingredients too quickly, or at too high heat, important nutrients are lost. By using slow-cooking methods in small batches, Blackwood provides a more nutritionally dense food for pets.

Who Makes Blackwood Dog Food? Where is it Produced?

Jim Golladay and his family began Blackwood forty years ago at a small feed mill  in Rogers, Ohio, before moving their main operations to Lisbon, Ohio. Blackwood focuses on slow cooking all pet foods to create a higher starch conversion, which translates to higher energy levels and stamina for pets. Mr. Golladay’s three children continue to run the business at the Lisbon location, in addition to locations in Kiel, Wisconsin, and Sherburne, New York.

Which Type of Dogs is Blackwood Best Suited For?

Blackwood is suitable for all types of dogs. They have a wide variety of dry and wet foods available for even the pickiest of eaters. Their food formulas range from puppy to adult to senior, as well as a line of all life stages formulas. Blackwood also produces a variety of tasty treats for dogs.

Which Type of Dog Might Do Better with a Different Brand?

Owners that have dogs with sensitive skin and stomach issues know it can be difficult to find a dog food brand that doesn’t cause itching or stomach upset. Blackwood offers three sensitive formulas with salmon, catfish, or lamb, but some dogs may need to try a different brand.

Hill’s Science Diet Dry Dog Food Sensitive Stomach & Skin may be another option to help dogs experiencing skin and stomach issues that aren’t helped by Blackwood’s sensitive dog food formulas.

Discussion of the Primary Ingredients (Good and Bad)

Blackwood uses chicken meal, lamb meal, salmon meal, buffalo meal, catfish meal, and whitefish meal in their dog food formulas. They also use vegetables and fruits to provide a variety of vitamins and minerals, such as dried cranberries, dried blueberries, pumpkin meal, spinach, watercress, lettuce, and more. Brown rice, oat groats, millet, and ground grain sorghum are just a few of the fiber sources that can be found in their formulas.

Blackwood tries to source its ingredients from the United States, but if there are supply issues, the company sources ingredients from trusted suppliers in New Zealand, Canada, and more. No ingredients are sourced from China.

Brown Rice as a Source of Fiber

Blackwood uses brown rice in many of its formulas as it’s a natural source of fiber, which helps improve the pet’s digestion. It also is a good source of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B and vitamin D, which help to maintain heart health.

Pumpkin as a Superfood Ingredient

Many of the Blackwood dog food formulas contain pumpkin meal, which aids digestion. Pumpkin contains minerals like iron and potassium, which are known to help improve the overall health of a dog’s nerves and muscles. Pumpkin is also a great source of vitamins A, C, and E, to help your pet get the nutrients it needs.

Pea Protein / Grain Free Formulas

Some of Blackwood’s formulations include pea protein, which, according to the FDA, may contribute to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in dogs. The company uses pea protein as a source of essential amino acids, providing necessary vitamins and minerals to dogs. However, vegetable proteins, such as peas and other legumes, lack an important amino acid called taurine that helps the intestines absorb fats, such as cholesterol, and aids blood pressure to maintain a healthy heart. Some brands of dog food use only peas or legumes to provide protein in dog food, thus not providing the dog with the essential amino acid of taurine.

Blackwood ensures a higher percentage of protein (60%) comes from meat proteins, rather than pea or legume proteins, to reduce the risk of DCM and maintain taurine levels up to .15% in their food formulas.

A Quick Look at Blackwood Dog Food