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Please be aware that Hill’s is voluntarily recalling some canned dog food due to potentially elevated levels of Vitamin D. More information here.
Solid Gold Barking at the Moon is a mid-priced dog food with exceptional quality. This product has zero controversial ingredients, including no artificial preservatives, colors or flavors. It has well-balanced amounts of protein, fat and carbs and the meat and fat quality in the food is excellent, besides one ingredient. Solid Gold has a below-average number of recalls and was very transparent when answering our questions. Watchdog Labs highly recommends this product.
Read the Full Review BelowLearn what makes a great dog food and get expert advice on how to choose the best food for your dog.
Learn MoreThis dog food review was created by experts who love dogs. Find out more about our team and mission.
About Watchdog LabsThis food has well-balanced amounts of protein, fat, and carbs. Diets that are high in protein and fat, with moderate to low carbs, are ideal for most dogs.
To evaluate dog foods, we first calculate out the moisture. This is called the “dry matter basis” and shows you only the solid ingredients in the food. These estimated “dry matter” numbers are different from the food label, but a better way to understand the real nutritional value of the food. We also calculate the carbs. Find out more
Min. Protein 43.18%
Min. Fat 22.73%
Min. Carbs 25.00%
Max. Fiber 3.41%
Max. Ash 9.09%
Max. Moisture 0.00%
Min. Protein: 9.5%
Min Fat: 6.0%
Min Carbs: N/A
Max Fiber: 0.75%
Max Ash: N/A
Max. Moisture: 78.0%
460 Calories per Can
This product has an above average amount of calories for wet food. It’s important to understand how many calories you are feeding to prevent under or overfeeding. Based on your dog's current weight and activity level you may want to feed more or less than the recommended amount.
Grain-Free Dog Foods
This is a grain-free dog food. The FDA is investigating a potential connection between grain-free diets and canine heart disease. There is not enough evidence yet to affect our ratings but we've created an article for you explaining the topic.
Learn MoreBeef, Beef Broth, Whitefish, Beef Liver, Dried Ground Peas, Pumpkin, Tricalcium Phosphate, Guar Gum, Ground Flaxseed, Alfalfa Meal, Cassia Gum, Xanthan Gum, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Spinach, Cranberries, Carrots, Choline Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Blueberries, Apples, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin E Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Cobalt Proteinate, Niacin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid.
The average dog food we reviewed has 39 total ingredients, with 1 controversial ingredient. This food has 0 total controversial ingredients, excellent!
Top 5 Ingredients
Dog food ingredients are listed in descending order of weight. So when looking at a dog food label, take a close look at the first 5 ingredients. They make up about 80% of the total weight.
Controversial Ingredients
We did not find a single controversial ingredient in this food, this is how it should be.
Country of Origin
This dog food is made in the USA - that’s great because of the high food manufacturing rules and regulations here.
Meat & Fat Quality
Beef, Whitefish, and Beef Liver are the main meat ingredients in this dog food. Beef and Beef Liver are transparent and make it clear which animal they are sourced from, that’s great. The same cannot be said for Whitefish, though. Which fish specifically was used remains a mystery.
Artificial Preservatives
Solid Gold Barking at the Moon includes 0 controversial artificial preservatives, excellent. It’s good to know that not all artificial preservatives are bad. That’s because they serve an important purpose, which is to prevent food from spoiling. However, we consider 11 artificial preservatives controversial because of their potential link to cancer and other serious health conditions.
Artificial Colors
The lack of preservatives is matched by no artificial colors, well done.
Artificial Flavors
No artificial flavors are used either. This product manages to ace all three “artificial ingredient” checks - that’s how it should be.
Solid Gold has a below-average number of dog food recalls.
We love dog food brands that are committed to transparent business practices. If you make quality dog food you should be willing to openly talk about how it’s sourced and produced. That’s why we reached out to pet food companies, asking questions about all their brands and products. Each company had three weeks to reply to our messages.
How Easy Was it to Reach the Company?
Solid Gold was exceptionally responsive to our first email. They were one of the few companies who responded within 1 day, and with relatively complete answers.
Does Solid Gold have a veterinary nutritionist on staff? If so, who are they?
We do have a Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionist that we keep on staff as a consultant.
There was a 2nd email to ask for the nutritionists name, but they stated that they are unable to provide names of employees.
Who formulates your recipes, and what are their credentials?
That Nutritionist along with our Food Scientist (PhD) and Manager of Nutrition all formulate our products.
Do you test your products using AAFCO feeding trials? Why, or why not?
We have done AAFCO feeding trials in the past, but now use a private kennel for palatability testing and use formulation and laboratory testing to ensure our products meet the AAFCO guidelines.
Generally speaking, companies may choose to perform feeding trials that are different than the AAFCO feeding trial, and in some cases more complete.
What country are your products manufactured?
Our dry dog and cat food are made in the USA along with our wet dog food. Our wet cat food is made in a human grade, FDA regulated facility in Thailand and our treats and supplements are made in the USA.
Can your manufacturing facilities be visited?
I am sure that our manufacturing facilities can be visited, I am just not sure how that is done.
What quality measures do you use to assure consistency and quality?
Solid Gold operates what is called a Positive Release program. All ingredients are tested a minimum of 4 times before entering our manufacturing facility. Samples are retained hourly during production to ensure quality and consistency. Final samples are taken of each batch and sent to 3rd party labs for testing to ensure that all nutrients are within specifications and for food safety. Once they pass all tests and inspections, the product is released to our warehouse.
This was one of the more detailed and complete explanations of quality assurance provided by a manufacturer.
Does Solid Gold own its manufacturing facility? If it is another company, what company is it?
Solid Gold does not own their manufacturing facilities but we use privately owned manufacturing facilities.
The name could not be shared.
Do any parts of your product come from China?
Absolutely no ingredients come from China.
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Linda P Case, MS; Daniel P Carey, DVM; and Diane A Hirakawa, PhD, Canine and Feline Nutrition A Resource for Companion Animal Professionals, Mosby-Year Book, Inc.