Solid Gold Dog Food Review 2024

Solid Gold is a pet food brand serving up dog food recipes that are great for gut health, with nutritional blends suitable for pups of all ages, shapes, and sizes. 

Solid Gold uses a mix of superfoods, probiotics, and fatty acids in all its dog foods to ensure your pup's nutritional needs are met. All of Solid Gold's dog food recipes list a sustainably sourced, quality meat as one of the top ingredients. 

Wag! highly rates Solid Gold dog food due to its ingredient quality and the transparency of its ingredient sourcing. 

Looking to find out if Solid Gold is right for your dog? Scroll down for our 2023 Solid Gold dog food review, where we examine product ranges, recalls, considerations, and much more!

Solid Gold offers 11 dog food ranges with over 50 recipes, including meal toppers. All Solid Gold dog foods are "complete and balanced," meeting the AAFCO nutrient profile for all life stages, maintenance (adults), or growth (puppies). 

Many of Solid Gold's product lines include Nutrientboost varieties, a recipe line containing nutritious plasma that boosts the immune system and supports gut health. No recipes are human-grade due to the manufacturing processes and inclusion of meat meals. 

Let's take a closer look at Solid Gold's dog food ranges.  

Solid Gold High Protein

Solid Gold High Protein dry food recipes contain over 40% crude protein and 18% crude fat, perfect for high-activity breeds, working dogs, and pups in their twilight years. 

You'll find Solid Gold High Protein on the market with 3 dry foods and 1 wet food, and all recipes are grain-free. All Solid Gold High Protein recipes list a quality named meat as the top ingredient. 

High Protein dry food flavors: 

• High Protein Grain Free Barking at the Moon Beef, Egg & Pea
• High Protein Grain Free Barking at the Moon Duck, Pea & Egg
• High Protein Grain Free Nutrientboost Barking at the Moon Beef, Egg & Pea

High Protein Wet food flavor:

• High Protein Barking at the Moon Grain Free Beef

Solid Gold Sensitive Stomach 

Solid Gold Sensitive Stomach is made with animal protein sources specially picked for dogs with food allergies and sensitivities. 

For example, the Solid Gold Sensitive Stomach Leaping Waters recipe is made with beef tripe, which contains natural gastric juices and digestive enzymes that aid digestion. Other dry recipes are made with novel proteins like venison and quail for fur-babies with chicken and beef allergies. 

You'll find 4 dry food and 2 wet food recipes on the market. All recipes list a named quality meat source as the top ingredient.

Sensitive Stomach dry food flavors: 

• Sensitive Stomach Grain Free Leaping Waters Salmon & Vegetable
  
• Sensitive Stomach Grain Free Wild Heart Quail, Chicken & Pumpkin
• Sensitive Stomach Grain Free Nutrientboost Buck Wild Venison, Potato & Pumpkin
• Sensitive Stomach Grain Free Nutrientboost Leaping Waters Salmon & Vegetable

Sensitive Stomach wet food flavors:

• Sensitive Stomach Grain Free Leaping Waters Chicken & Salmon Recipe with Vegetables
• Sensitive Stomach Grain Free Green Cow Green Beef Tripe Recipe in Gravy

Solid Gold Weight Control

Solid Gold Weight Control is a special low-fat formula to keep overweight dogs from piling on the pounds. Each of the 2 Weight Control dry food recipes contains 10% crude fat or less. The 1 wet food recipe contains 3.5% crude fat. 

Each recipe is made primarily with either chicken or pollock, which are lean protein sources. All recipes list a named, quality meat source as a top ingredient. 

Weight Control dry food flavors:

• Weight Control Grain Free Fit and Fabulous Chicken, Sweet Potato & Green Bean
• Weight Control Whole Grain Fit and Fabulous Alaskan Pollock

Weight Control wet food flavor:

• Weight Control Grain Free Fit and Fabulous with Chicken, Sweet Potatoes and Green Beans

Solid Gold Complete Health

Solid Gold Complete Health is a dog food range for all-round nutrition. Each recipe contains controlled phosphorus, calcium, and sodium levels and is rich in omega-3 and probiotics. 

The Holistique Blendz Oatmeal, Pearled Barley & Ocean Fish Meal recipe stands out for listing oatmeal, pearled barley, and peas as the top 3 ingredients, suggesting this is a lower quality than the other two recipes in the range. Complete Health Sun Dancer wet and dry recipes list quality cuts of chicken as the top ingredient. Grain-free and grain inclusive variations are available. 

Complete Health dry food flavors:

• Complete Health Whole Grain Holistique Blendz Oatmeal, Pearled Barley & Ocean Fish Meal
• Complete Health Grain Free Sun Dancer Chicken, Tapioca & Turmeric

Complete Health wet food flavor:

• Complete Health Grain Free Sun Dancer Chicken Recipe

Solid Gold Everyday Nutrition

Everyday Nutrition can be considered Solid Gold's standard dog food range. Solid Gold’s founder Sissy McGill's original recipes inspire some of these variations. There are 10 Everyday Nutrition recipes: 5 wet foods and 5 dry foods. 

Despite having a variety of flavors, all Everyday Nutrition recipes use multiple meat sources such as ocean fish meal and chicken fat, meaning they may not be suitable for dogs with sensitive stomachs. All recipes list a named quality meat as the top ingredient. Grain-free and grain inclusive recipes are available. 

Everyday Nutrition dry food flavors:

• Everyday Nutrition Whole Grain Hund-N-Flocken Lamb, Brown Rice & Pearled Barley Recipe
• Everyday Nutrition Whole Grain Millennia Beef & Brown Rice
• Everyday Nutrition Whole Grain Star Chaser Chicken & Brown Rice
• Everyday Nutrition Grain Free Sunday Sunrise Lamb, Sweet Potato & Pea
• Everyday Nutrition Whole Grain Nutrientboost Hung-N-Flocken Lamb, Brown Rice & Pearled Barley

Everyday Nutrition wet food flavors:

• Everyday Nutrition Hund-N-Flocken Lamb, Brown rice & Barley Recipe
• Everyday Nutrition Star Chaser Chicken & Brown Rice Recipe
• Everyday Nutrition Grain Free Sunday Sunrise Lamb, Sweet Potato & Pea Recipe
• Everyday Nutrition Nutrientboost Hund-N-Flocken Lamb Recipe
• Everyday Nutrition Nutrientboost Hund-N-Flocken Chicken Recipe

Solid Gold Puppy

Formulated for all life stages including growth, Solid Gold Puppy is an excellent choice for young canines. These 4 grain and gluten-free recipes contain higher levels of DHA, a fatty acid key to cognitive development. They're also enriched with superfoods like spinach, pumpkin, and blueberries to ensure your pup grows up happy and healthy. 

Recipes are made with either chicken or beef as the primary protein source for easy digestibility. Each recipe lists a named quality meat source as a top ingredient. 

Puppy dry food flavors:

• Puppy Grain Free Love at First Bark Chicken, Potato & Apple
• Puppy Grain Free Nutrientboost Love at First Bark Chicken, Potato & Apple

Puppy wet food flavors:

• Puppy Grain Free Love at First Bark Beef, Potatoes & Apples
• Puppy Grain Free Love at First Bark Chicken, Potatoes & Apples

Solid Gold Senior 

Solid Gold Senior is formulated with the right balance of fat, protein, and calories to ensure senior fur-babies maintain a healthy weight. There's one dry food Solid Gold Senior recipe, which lists cage-free chicken as the top ingredient. 

Compared to Everyday Nutrition recipes, Solid Gold Senior has similar protein levels, significantly lower fat levels, and slightly lower calories per cup. 

Senior dry food flavor:

• Senior Grain Free Young at Heart Chicken, Sweet Potato & Spinach

Solid Gold Large Breed 

Solid Gold Large Breed recipes contain lower fat and calorie levels and higher protein levels to help your German Shepherd or Great Dane maintain the perfect body condition. All 4 Large Breed recipes list bison as the primary meat source, which is lean novel protein high in protein and low in fat.

Two Large Breed Puppy recipes are available. These recipes contain controlled calcium levels to help with bone development. Plus, they contain double the DHA and have higher protein and fat ratios. 

Large Breed dry food flavors:

• Large Breed Puppy Whole Grain Wolf Cub Bison, Oatmeal & Pearled Barley
• Large Breed Puppy Whole Grain Nutrientboost Wolf Club Bison, Oatmeal & Pearled Barley
• Large Breed Whole Grain Wolf King Bison, Brown Rice & Sweet Potato
• Large Breed Whole Grain Nutrientboost Wolf King Bison, Brown Rice & sweet Potato

Solid Gold Toy & Small Breed

Toy & Small Breed is the largest Solid Gold range with 11 recipes: 7 dry foods and 4 wet foods. Solid Gold markets its dry food as having some of the smallest kibble pieces on the market — perfect for pint-sized pups. Each dry food recipe consists of 30% crude protein and 18% crude fat to support a small breed’s metabolism. 

Solid Gold Toy & Small Breed wet food varieties have a casserole consistency with visible fruit and vegetable pieces. Superfoods like cranberries, spinach, and pumpkin provide additional nutrients in both dry and wet food recipes. Grain-free and grain inclusive recipes are available. 

Dry food recipes include Beef, Sweet Potato & Apple, Chicken, Chickpea & Pumpkin, and Salmon, Lentil & Green Bean. Wet food recipes include Chicken, Salmon & Vegetables, Lamb, Sweet Potato & Cranberry, and Turkey & Hearty Vegetables. 

Solid Gold Powered by Plasma

Powered by Plasma is Solid Gold's newest dry food range with 3 recipes available. It's part of the Nutrientboost sub-range, which contains animal plasma rich in nutrients and antibodies, including 18 essential and non-essential amino acids. 

Aside from animal plasma, Powered by Plasma recipes contain most of the same ingredients as Solid Gold's other varieties, with quality meat as the top ingredient and a similar blend of superfoods for added nutrition. 

Powered by Plasma dry food flavors:

• Powered by Plasma Whole Grain Nutrientboost Hund-N-Flocken Beef, Brown rice & Pearled Barley
• Powered by Plasma Whole Grain Nutrientboost Hund-N-Flocken Chicken, Brown Rice & Pearled Barley
• Powered by Plasma Whole Grain Nutrientboost Hund-N-Flocken Lamb, Brown Rice & Pearled Barley

Solid Gold Meal Toppers

Solid Gold Bone Broth is a limited-ingredient broth range. They are meal topper recipes that add flavor and nutrients to your dog's existing diet. Bone Broth recipes are unique as they're Solid Gold's only 100% human-grade recipes. The collagen protein in each recipe helps support bone development, healthy skin, and healthy joints. 

Dry meal toppers include an air-dried variety and one Powered by Plasma!

Solid Gold Bone Broth flavors:

• Beef Bone Broth with Turmeric
• Chicken Bone Broth with Lavender & Chamomile
• Turkey Bone Broth with Pumpkin & Ginger
• Grain Free Bone Broth Stew with Beef & Hearty Vegetables
• Grain Free Bone Broth Stew with Chicken & Hearty Vegetables
• Whole Grain Bone Broth Stew with Lamb & Hearty Vegetables

Solid Gold Dry Meal Topper flavors:

• Nutrientboost Grain Free Plasma Meal Topper
• Nutrientboost Air Dried Beef Meal Topper

Here are a few reasons why Wag! highly rates Solid Gold dog food. 

Quality meat source as a top ingredient

Solid Gold dog food is of higher quality than most dog food brands, with a quality cut of meat as one of the top ingredients in all its recipes. Quality cuts of meat have higher digestibility and more nutrients as they're not as heavily processed as meat meals and lower quality meat derivatives. 

Transparently sourced ingredients

Solid Gold is transparent about where it sources its ingredients. Solid Gold's website features a page dedicated to ingredient sourcing, with a map showing where it gets every ingredient included in its pet food. All ingredients are tracked and traced for full transparency. 

Sustainably sourced ingredients

Solid Gold is committed to using sustainable and ethically sourced ingredients in its pet food. For example, Solid Gold uses pasture-raised lamb and cage-free chicken in all its recipes. Solid Gold prefers to use non-GMO ingredients in its products but is not certified non-GMO.

Generous money-back guarantee 

Solid Gold has a "100% Satisfaction Guarantee," meaning they'll make it right if you have any issues or are unsatisfied with an order. Solid Gold states there's no fine print involved with this policy — just contact them via phone or email, and they'll work to resolve any problems you might have. 

Here are a few things to bear in mind before pawchasing Solid Gold dog food for your pup. 

No human-grade recipes

Apart from Bone Broth meal toppers, none of Solid Gold's recipes are human grade. Solid Gold dog food is feed grade due to its manufacturing process and the inclusion of meat meals in its recipes. 

Some potentially controversial ingredients

Solid Gold uses potentially controversial ingredients in some dog food recipes. Nutrientboost and Powered by Plasma recipes use animal plasma as a key ingredient. Plasma is the remains of blood after cell matter is removed. 

Solid Gold doesn't state which animal its plasma comes from, which could be a concern if your pup has a specific meat allergy. Another potentially controversial ingredient is dried tomato pomace, a food manufacturing by-product that some nutritionists consider to be a filler.

Concerns about grain-free diets

In 2018, the FDA launched an investigation into reported links between grain-free dog foods and the development of an enlarged heart (DCM). The study concerns grain-free dog food that lists legumes, pulses, and potatoes as primary ingredients. 

According to the FDA's investigation, Solid Gold is not one of the dog food brands named in DCM cases. As of December 2022, the FDA has no new scientific information to share publicly. 

"For most dogs, these diets are just fine. They have real benefits for those with grain sensitivities, though this isn't a very common food allergy. For some dogs, however, grain free diets could be damaging."

— Dr. Linda Simon MVB MRCVS, veterinary surgeon and vet consultant with Wag!

Despite the FDA's investigation, there is no definitive link between grain-free dog foods and DCM. Consult your vet if you have any concerns about feeding your dog a grain-free diet.

"I fed my dog a chicken based dog food since he was a pup and thought maybe he was allergic! I was happy to find a lamb based food that he absolutely loves!!! Great digestive health for the dog and he transitioned from the old food to the new easily. His coat looks great and the itchy smelly paws have subsided."

"I have a super picky old lady pug who takes several meds daily. It's always been hard to find a food she will take the meds in since she's not willing to eat just anything. After a bout of pancreatitis, I tried this food and she absolutely devours it, pills and all! And no tummy troubles since we've switched. We love it :)"

Read more reviews on Chewy.

Solid Gold began its journey in 1974 when animal-lover and pet parent Sissy Harrington McGill decided to start feeding her dogs a natural, nutritious diet. 

Sissy decided to make her own pet foods after noticing European Great Danes were living longer than their American cousins. She believed this was because European pet food was of higher quality. 

Sissy soon launched her first pet food, Hund-N-Flocken, made with whole ingredients and real meat. Her Hund-N-Flocken is considered one of the first holistic pet foods. 

Over 45 years later, Solid Gold still delivers high-quality pet food that meets a dog's every nutritional need. As of 2019, Sissy McGill was still active with Solid Gold, running her store, Holistic Gold Nutrition Center in California, at the age of 86.

Solid Gold has had 1 voluntary recall in its history. In 2012, Solid Gold recalled one batch each of its Wolf King and Wolf Cub recipes due to industry-wide Salmonella recalls. This recall was precautionary, and no products tested positive for Salmonella.

Product images sourced from the Chewy website and Solid Gold website. Copyright Solid Gold Pet, LLC.