Black Gold Dog Food Review 2024

Black Gold dog food is a range of kibble that’s formulated specifically for sporting, working, and high performing dogs. It helps to maintain their health as well as their energy levels. 

Although it’s made with these active dogs in mind, there are recipes for dogs of all activity levels and food formulated to meet the needs of puppies through to seniors. Plus, the range includes food for sensitive skin as well as grain-free options. 

Read on to find out everything you need to know about Black Gold, including what we love about it and what we think you need to consider before switching to this dog food. 

Black Gold offers a range of dry food for dogs. This is split into two main categories: Performance and Life Stages. There are also a couple of grain-free recipes.  

Black Gold Performance Dog Food

This food is specifically formulated with high protein and high fat to provide endurance and stamina for active dogs. We like that it also has glucosamine and chondroitin — this supports healthy joints which is particularly important for high performing dogs. It also has taurine for heart health. Alongside this are prebiotics for healthy digestion and Omega 6 and 3 fatty acids to support healthy skin and coat. 

There are no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. But, what we aren’t so keen on is the meat meal and meat by-products that the Original Performance is made with. We would prefer it if the first ingredient was real meat. 

The Super Performance, on the other hand, does have chicken as the first ingredient. It also has meat meal but no meat by-products. As well as having the same benefits as the Original it also features TruMune Power which provides mobility support and oatmeal for sensitive stomachs and no corn, wheat or soy. 

• Original Performance Formula 26/18 - Adult 
• Super Performance Formula 32/21 - All Life Stages 

Black Gold Life Stages Dog Food  

These Black Gold dog food recipes are formulated for dogs at all life stages, from puppies through to seniors. The puppy recipes, for example, feature calcium and phosphorus for bone development while the mature recipe includes L-Carnitine to maintain muscle and a healthy weight. 

These recipes have many of the same benefits as the Performance recipes including  prebiotics for healthy digestion and TruMune power for mobility and immunity support. 

While there are no by-products, unfortunately, meat meal is the first ingredient of every recipe.

There are seven options to choose from: 

• Puppy Recipe 
• Large Breed Puppy Recipe 
• Beef Meal and Barley Recipe 
• Chicken Meal and Brown Rice Recipe 
• Sensitive Skin and Coat Ocean Fish Meal and Oat Recipe 
• Large Breed Adult Recipe 
• Mature 7+ Recipe 

Black Gold Grain-Free Dog Food  

Whether your dog has a grain allergy or there is another reason they can’t eat grains, there are two grain-free options for you to choose from. These Black Gold dog food recipes feature meat meal but real meat is the first ingredient and there are no by-products.

They also feature real fruit and vegetables alongside DHA sourced from fish oil for their brain and vision development. 

• Timber Ridge with Beef and Venison
• Game Bird with Turkey and Quail 

There’s plenty to like about this Black Gold dog food. Here are a few things that stand out to us. 

Formulated to support the needs of sporting and active dogs

This food supports the nutritional needs of very active dogs. What sporting and working dogs need is different to those with a lower activity level or those that aren’t very active at all. This food is higher in calories, protein and fat. This helps them to maintain a healthy weight, build muscle and repair tissue. It also helps with their energy levels.

They cater for a variety of specific needs 

While this food is specifically formulated for active dogs, there are recipes for dogs of all activity levels and a variety of needs. There’s age-specific food for puppies, adults and seniors. You’ll also find a recipe for those with sensitive skin. Plus, there are a few grain-free options. 

Ingredients to support overall health 

There are many ingredients in this food that are beneficial to your pup’s overall health. Some recipes include L-carnitine which is what helps maintain muscle and a healthy weight. Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate is included to support healthy joints.

There’s Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids for healthy skin and coat as well as prebiotics for digestive support and taurine for heart health. Some use DHA from fish oil for brain and vision development while others include TruMune power for unique mobility support. 

There are a few things you should be aware of and consider before deciding whether Black Gold is the right dog food for your pup. 

Meat meal is the first ingredient 

Most of this food has meat or fish meal as the first ingredient. It’s said that the chicken meal in every recipe is a great source of lean protein, glucosamine, and chondroitin. It’s often argued that meat meal is higher in protein but we would prefer it if this were real meat or fish. Meat and fish meals can contain tissues and organs not fit for human consumption. Although it’s not the first ingredient and not in all the recipes, there are also meat by-products listed among some of the ingredients. 

There are limited options 

This brand focuses exclusively on kibble so there’s no wet food option. Many pet parents like to give their pup wet food alongside dry food as it helps to increase their moisture intake. Some dog’s simply prefer the taste and texture of wet food. If you want to give your dog wet food alongside this kibble, then you’d have to consider using another brand. As well as not having wet food, there is also a limited number of flavors to choose from. 

All recipes contain chicken 

Even if it’s not listed as the first — or even one of the first — ingredients, all the recipes contain chicken. Chicken is a common allergen for dogs so if your pet has sensitivity to chicken then none of these recipes will be suitable for them. 

“This is for really hard working dogs that burn fat. I have a dog that can't keep weight on due to high metabolism and I add a 1/2 cup of this to her food and she keeps weight on. This is not for couch potatoes, it's for sled dogs or coursing hounds that really work hard.”

“I work in animal ERs, transport dogs all over the US, foster tons of dogs and work in rescue. For a while, victor was my fav but my giant breeds would get constipated so after tons of research I gave this a shot. I have two huge shepherds, a chihuahua, and foster dogs all on this and it’s the BEST overall food experience we’ve ever had.

Everyone has great poops, less poops, great energy, great coats, I just cannot say enough. This will be my new transport dog ‘house’ food and it’s much more affordable that what I’ve been doing. If this ever gets discontinued I think my head will roll off my body in terror hahaha it’s literally the BEST!!”

“My veterinarian recommended an expensive dog food for my aging German Shepherd Zeus to help with his arthritic back. If I only had one dog I probably would've just paid the premium, but I have 3 dogs and we free feed them because they don't have issues with food. So I researched and found this product with comparable ingredients at a fair price.

Within a month of changing to this food our two aging dogs started acting younger again. Our younger dog has benefited too, with seemingly endless amounts of energy. They still get excited over this food and have maintained healthy weights while on it. The kibbles are smaller than I was expecting but my dogs don't seem to mind.”

Check out more Black Gold dog food reviews on Chewy.

Black Gold was founded by two brothers, John and Don Allen, in 1995. Earl Allen, their father, was the owner of a local distribution company for Houn’ Dawg dog food. 

20 years later, in 2015, it was sold to Pro-Pet LLC who began to both manufacture and distribute the food. This company was bought by Cargill in 2018. This American company is a leader in agriculture and food production. 

You’ll be pleased to hear that Black Gold dog food has never been recalled. As pet parents, it’s reassuring to know that the food your pup is eating is safe.

Product images sourced from Chewy. Copyright Cargill Animal Nutrition.