Solid Gold Dog Food (Dry)

Rating:

Solid Gold Dry Dog Food earns the Advisor’s second-highest rating of four stars.

Currently, the Solid Gold product line lists eight dry dog foods… five meeting AAFCO nutrient profiles for adult maintenance, two for growth (puppy recipes) and one for all life stages (Just a Wee Bit).

• Solid Gold Wolf Cub Puppy
• Solid Gold Barking at the Moon
• Solid Gold Hund-n-Flocken Adult
• Solid Gold Holistique Blendz Adult
• Solid Gold Hundchen Flocken Puppy
• Solid Gold WolfKing Large Breed Adult
• Solid Gold MMillennia Beef and Barley Adult
• Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit Small Breed All Life Stages

With the exception of Barking at the Moon (which earned a higher rating) and Holistique Blendz (a lower one), Solid Gold Dog Food Hund-n-Flocken Adult was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.

The first ingredient in this dog food is lamb. Although it is a quality item, raw lamb contains about 80% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost… reducing the meat content to just 20% of its original weight.

After processing, this item would probably occupy a lower position on the list.

Which brings us to lamb meal… the second and (more likely) the dominant meat ingredient in this dog food.

Lamb meal is considered a meat concentrate and contains nearly 300% more protein than even fresh lamb.

The third item is brown rice. Brown rice is a quality ingredient… a complex carbohydrate that (once cooked) is fairly easy to digest.

The fourth ingredient is barley. Barley is a starchy carbohydrate supplying fiber and other healthy nutrients. Unlike grains with a higher glycemic index (like rice), barley can help support stable blood sugar levels in dogs.

The fifth ingredient lists millet… gluten-free grains harvested from certain seed grasses. Millet is hypoallergenic and naturally rich in B-vitamins and fiber… as well as other essential minerals.

The sixth ingredient lists rice bran… a by-product of rice milling. Though not as nutritionally complete as whole grain rice, brans are still unusually rich in fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals.

The seventh ingredient is oatmeal… a whole-grain product made from coarsely ground oats. Oatmeal is naturally rich in B-vitamins, fiber and is (unlike many other grains) mostly gluten-free.

Ocean fish meal is another protein-rich meat concentrate. We are pleased to note that, unlike most fish meals, this particular item¹ appears to be ethoxyquin-free.

So, please forgive our software’s erroneous “red flag” treatment of this otherwise beneficial component.

The ninth ingredient lists canola oil. Most applaud canola for its favorable omega-3 content… while a vocal minority condemn it as an unhealthy fat.

Current thinking (ours included) finds the negative stories about canola oil more the stuff of urban legend than actual science.²

Tomato pomace is another controversial ingredient… a by-product left after processing tomatoes into juice, soup and ketchup.

Many praise tomato pomace for its high fiber and nutrient content… while others scorn it as a cheap pet food filler laden with pesticides found on the skin of the tomato before processing.

Just the same, there’s probably not enough tomato pomace here to make much of a difference.

Flaxseed can be one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Flax seeds are rich in soluble fiber.

However, we find it unusual to see flaxseed here in its whole seed form. Whole flax seeds are almost impossible to digest (at least for us humans) unless they are first ground to a usable powder before they are consumed.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to have much of an effect on the overall rating of this product.

With two notable exceptions…

We find no evidence of probiotics… friendly bacteria applied to the surface of the kibble after processing.

We also note this food contains chelated minerals… minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.

Solid Gold Dry Dog Food
The Bottom Line

Judging by its ingredients alone, Solid Gold Dry Dog Food appears to be an above-average kibble.

But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 24%, a fat level of 11% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 57%.

Excluding five-star Barking at the Moon as well as the lower-rated Holistique Blendz, the brand features an average protein content of 27% and an average fat level of 15%.

Together, these figures suggest an overall carbohydrate content of 50% for the full product line.

Moderate protein. Average fat. And average carbohydrates… when compared to a typical dry dog food.

With no evidence of any plant-based protein concentrates, this is the profile of a kibble containing a moderate amount of meat.

What’s more, it’s also important to note the absence of any critical Red Flag items.

Bottom line?

Solid Gold Dry Dog Food is primarily a grain-based kibble using a moderate amount of meat and meat meals as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand four stars.

Highly recommended.

Those looking for a meatier food from the same company may wish to visit our review of Solid Gold Barking at the Moon Dog Food.

A Final Word

Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult a veterinarian for help.

Have an opinion about this dog food brand… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.

Tagged as: active, adult, all life stages, dry, growth, large breed, maintenance, puppy, senior, small breed