Solid Gold pet food

Solid Gold Dog Food receives the Advisor’s second-highest tier rating of 4 stars.

The Solid Gold product line includes 11 dry dog foods.

Each recipe below includes its related AAFCO nutrient profile when available on the product’s official webpage: Growth, Maintenance, All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

• Solid Gold Wee Bit [A]
• Solid Gold Star Chaser [M]
• Solid Gold Wolf Cub Puppy [A]
• Solid Gold Fit and Fabulous [M]
• Solid Gold Wolf King (3.5 stars) [M]
• Solid Gold MMillennia (3.5 stars) [M]
• Solid Gold Hundchen Flocken Puppy [A]
• Solid Gold Dream Catcher (3.5 stars) [M]
• Solid Gold Holistique Blendz Adult (2 stars) [M]
• Solid Gold Hund-n-Flocken (3.5 stars) [M]
• Solid Gold Wide-Eyed Dreamer (3.5 stars) [M]

Solid Gold Wee Bit was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.

Solid Gold Wee Bit

Dry Dog Food

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

Protein = 31% | Fat = 20% | Carbs = 41%

Ingredients: Bison, ocean fish meal, brown rice, peas, canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), oatmeal, pea protein, dried eggs, rice bran, pearled barley, salmon meal, tomato pomace, natural flavor, flaxseed, salt, choline chloride, dl-methionine, potassium chloride, salmon oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), taurine, l-carnitine, carrots, parsley, apples, cranberries, blueberries, lettuce, celery, beets, watercress, spinach, dried chicory root, broccoli, spearmint, almond oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), sesame oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Yucca schidigera extract, dried kelp, thyme, lentils, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, niacin, ferrous sulfate, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, manganese sulfate, zinc proteinate, folic acid, calcium iodate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, sodium selenite, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, rosemary extract, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product

Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.4%

Red items indicate controversial ingredients

Protein = 26% | Fat = 40% | Carbs = 34%

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

After processing, this item would probably account for a smaller part of the total content of the finished product.

The second ingredient is ocean fish meal. Because it is considered a meat concentrate, fish meal contains almost 300% more protein than fresh fish itself.

Fish meal is typically obtained from the “clean, dried, ground tissue of undecomposed whole fish and fish cuttings” of commercial fish operations.

Unfortunately, this particular item is anonymous. Because various fish contain different types of fats, we would have preferred to have known the source species.

The third ingredient is brown rice, a complex carbohydrate that (once cooked) can be fairly easy to digest. However, aside from its natural energy content, rice is of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

The fourth ingredient includes peas. Peas are a quality source of carbohydrates. And like all legumes, they’re rich in natural fiber.

However, peas contain about 25% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

The fifth ingredient is canola oil. Unfortunately, canola can be a controversial item. That’s because it can sometimes (but not always) be derived from genetically modified rapeseed.

Yet others cite the fact canola oil can be a significant source of essential omega-3 fatty acids.

The sixth ingredient isoatmeal, a whole-grain product made from coarsely ground oats. Oatmeal is naturally rich in B-vitamins, dietary fiber and can be (depending upon its level of purity) gluten-free.

The seventh ingredient is pea protein, what remains of a pea after removing the starchy part of the vegetable.

And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

The eighth ingredient includes dried eggs, a dehydrated powder made from shell-free eggs. Eggs are easy to digest and have an exceptionally high biological value.

The ninth ingredient is rice bran, a healthy by-product of milling whole grain rice. The bran is the fiber-rich outer layer of the grain containing starch, protein, fat as well as vitamins and minerals.

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 affect the overall rating of this product.

With six notable exceptions…

First, tomato pomace is a controversial ingredient, a by-product remaining after processing tomatoes into juice, soup and ketchup.

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

Next, flaxseed is one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.

However, flaxseed contains about 19% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

In addition, we find salmon oil. Salmon oil is naturally rich in the prized EPA and DHA type of omega-3 fatty acids. These two high quality fats boast the highest bio-availability to dogs and humans.

Depending on its level of freshness and purity, salmon oil should be considered a commendable addition.

Next, chicory root is rich in inulin, a starch-like compound made up of repeating units of carbohydrates and found in certain roots and tubers.

Not only is inulin a natural source of soluble dietary fiber, it’s also a prebiotic used to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in a dog’s digestive tract.

We also note that this recipe contains lentils. Lentils are a quality source of carbohydrates. Plus (like all legumes) they’re rich in natural fiber.

However, lentils contain about 25% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

And lastly, this food includes 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.