My very tiny Min Pin male who was a premature puppy gets the Just a Wee Bit food for small dogs. He has a much easier time eating this than he does the Canidae or Nature's Variety that we feed our other dogs, and he is quite healthy.

We love the food so far-- we have a 3 month old German Shepherd who adores feeding time. We're feeding her the Solid Gold Wolf Cub which was recommended by the breeder. No tummy problems, it seems so far like it's perfect for her! (And she's getting big too- I think we're gonna switch to Wolf King next month)

Like the Akita owner - both my sister's dog (Bichon/Shih-tzu mix) and my puppy (Boston terrier) have had serious digestive issues with the Solid Gold formulas (both dog and puppy formulas accordingly). We are dog lovers and wanted the BEST for our dogs. We had heard from multiple sources that Solid Gold was one of the best. We too thought it was just our dog/puppy getting used to the new food - but after weeks/months of problems we switching them over to a new product. They've had no problems since the switch.

Just a concerned animal lover. Thought I'd pass my experience along.

-Mackenzie
Washington, DC

I've heard and been reading that Solid Gold is very good. But did any of you notice your dogs gain weight? Is it very good for the coat? (Is the coat shiny and not shedding?)
We have been giving to our dogs Acana. Though we only give each 1 cup per day (250grm), they have gained 3-4 kilos (they are fat!). We switched on to a light code in this brand, but the dogs (Siberian Huskies) haven't lost any weight. Yes, Acana is very very good for the coat and massiveness of the dog... but!...
Hope to get an answer...

all my dog use to eat biljack not anymore the had loose stole now the are on solid gold wonderful change...

my dogs coats have never looked this good. They like it and haven't gotten tired of it

I have a foster dog that was scratching and biting himself constantly. I switched his food to Solid Gold and 2 weeks later his scratching has stopped! His coat has become softer and shinier too. I love this food!

Great dog food, natural, corn free, and no by products--High quality dog food

For about a year, I fed my dogs an all raw diet, every day (except fasting day) I'd mix all the meats and veggies and pretend I was Susie Homemaker. Then my schedule changed, more hours were tacked on and as much as I love my dogs, I don't have time for raw. I now have all 3 of my dogs on Solid Gold products and can't tell you how happy I am! I feed my 8 year old GSD/Basset Barking at the Moon, my 2 year old Pointer/Whippet Barking+Mmillennia and my Silky pup Wee Bit. I can't even explain how healthy my dogs are! I've gone through just about every commercial (crappy) kibble and had nothing but ear/yeast infections, diarrhea, itchy skin, coarse coat, and one very overweight senior dog, but I'm comfortable and happy feeding Solid Gold and my dogs are thriving on it!

I had an AWFUL experience with this food. I have an 8 month old akita pup and he has been on several different brands but NEVER had this kind of reaction. My fiance purchased the solid gold wolf cub bison/salmon large breed puppy. Initially he had diarrhea but I fugured it was just him getting used to a new food. But it just got worse and worse until it became uncontrollable and I finally threw it out. Pretty pricey to be thrown out!! The food messed up his system so badly that it has been a long and slow recovery to get his system back in balance. We are trying to switch back to Nutro Ultra.

My two picky papillons don't get too excited about any type of kibble, but they enjoy the Just a Wee Bit more than most. This food is bison and salmon based, and the kibble is very tiny for small mouths. The dogs have nice shiny coats when eating this food, and they had no problem transitioning to it. We'll definitely be keeping this in our rotation.

3.5 stars. I think with any new food, my dog will be excited and lick the bowl clean. When she first had the Solid Gold canned chicken and liver, she really liked it. After a couple of days, she got bored of it and I had to put pieces of fresh meat on top. I have since alternated between Chicken & Liver and the Oceanfish to keep her tastebuds stimulated. I also feed her Barking at the Moon kibble which she really liked the first day, but soon got bored of. She still eats her food if she's hungry, but if I want her to eat on the spot, I have to put pieces of her favorite meats on top. Like another reviewer's experience, germy7, my dog's stools are soft too sometimes. It took 3 days for an email response when I had a concern about a green chunk in the Chicken and Liver. I was told that it was due to not thoroughly mixing guar gum (a binding agent for oat bran) and the mixture becomes green when cooked. It was harmless, but I still scooped that chunk out and tossed it. Solid Gold seems like a decent food. I'll use it for now until I can obtain something better.

It's very convenient that it's available at Petco and a few doggie spas/day cares near me!

After writing to them about their dry food being manufactured by Diamond, this is the reply I got:
" Thank you for your email,

We do not own and maintain our own mill and cannery, this is not economically feasible for a small company such as ourselves. Most other companies contract with outside manufacturers as well. The dry foods are made by Diamond Pet foods in their Missouri and California plants. 

However, there are no concerns over Solid Gold food because we do not use any protein concentrate or gluten products in our foods. Further, we did precautionary testing and all tests to date have shown the food to be free of melamine.

We maintain 100% control over the recipe and the formulations are our own.

Our canned foods are made by Blue Sky Pet foods in Texas and again, we maintain control over the formulation. The Blended Tuna is canned in Thailand by an American owned company.

The grains and meats are all from domestic sources, with the exception of the lamb, which is imported from New Zealand . We don’t use any wheat gluten or rice protein concentrate in fact we don’t use any wheat in any of our foods or treats. 

I regularly send samples out to an independent laboratory to maintain my own quality control over the product. In addition I have letters of certification that neither the mill nor the cannery are adding unauthorized or ingredients to any of our formulas. Recent testing has confirmed that both the dry and canned foods are free of melamine and continue to be so."

I am still waiting for a reply on how they ensure there is no cross-contamination in between production, but I tell you one thing, their customer service is damn good.

Update as of 05/25/07:

My baby has been on Solid Gold's Barking at the Moon formula for a little over 3 months. He was originally on a combination diet with Canidae but on the advice of a dog nutritionist Canidae was left out for the time being. Not because Canidae is an inferior product but rather because it is apparently not a good idea to combine dry kibble. He was indeed doing very well, but for the past 3 weeks I have noticed him scratching more and more and his stool was becoming looser. I decided to put him back on the combo diet and the "problem" was alleviated almost immediately. I suspect that he may have developed an allergy to the beef in the Solid Gold formula, not uncommon in dogs. In spite of this, I still maintain that Solid Gold's Barking at the Moon formula is a first rate product with excellent ingredients from start to finish. Unfortunately I will not be able to use again.

If there is one thing I have learned over the last 6 months, it is never again to trust a single company's product for a number of reasons, not least of which that accidents/mistakes/ may and do happen especially during the manufacturing process.  My allegiance is to the well being of my pets, and certainly not to a particular brand no matter what their claims and promises may be.  I do caution all those who steadfastly believe that any one brand of dog food can meet the nutrition requirements of all dogs for their entire life spans!  More importantly, complacency is a bad thing. Whether a company has been in the pet food business for 100 years or 1,  they must at all times continue to earn my trust as a consumer.  Reducing the quality of their ingredients for whatever reason is and should always be unacceptable! Keeping them on their toes is indeed a good thing for both the evolution of the pet food industry and the health of our pets.  Demanding that they continue to maintain the highest standards is a must!  And as a consumer, I would not for a second hesitate to "jump ship" to a better product.  

Luckily, there are many excellent dog food brands to choose from. My intent is to rotate my dog's diet every 2-3 months. To that end, and after consulting with professionals in the field of pet nutrition I have chosen the following brands as part of the rotation: Orijen, Innova Evo, Nature's Variety and Timberwolf Organics,  at least for now. 

Original Review follows:

I switched my Cocker Spaniel to this food in combination with Canidae after almost 6 years on Eukanuba. We had tried switching him in the past to other, "better" foods but unfortunately all other brands seemed to upset his stomach, so we gave up trying. Recently he had to have knee surgery and we decided once more to give it a go, prompted primarily by the fact that he had become slightly overweight. The results were almost immediate surpassing our expectations! The switch was gradual over a period of 2 weeks and although he is a dog with a sensitive stomach, he never had a problem with runny or loose stool. Aside from the fact that he loves his new food, he also looks so much better!

Dogs enjoy this food. Going to try the Barking at the Moon and rotate it with the Orijen if the dogs like the "Moon". They've eaten the Beef and Barley variety in the past and liked it.

Switched my Papillon puppy off this food because he didn't like the taste...ate it for the first couple of days then just stopped eating it. Great food; wish my pup would eat it! May try the "Wee Bit" in the future.

We've had our two lab-shepherd mix dogs on Solid Gold Barking at the Moon for about two months now. One of the dog has had allergies for his entire life (3 years) while being fed Nutro Natural Choice. During these 3 years, he snored loudly every night- my wife and I used to giggle about it.

Since switching to Solid Gold, he has not snored a single time. Both dogs seem to itch less and their grass eating has all but stopped. The bag is vacuum sealed for freshness- a process that can't be cheap but allows for the use of no preservatives!

Unfortunately, despite the great improvements, the sensitive dog is having soft stool after 2 months on the Solid Gold so I've begun transitioning them to Innova Evo Red Meat. I still give this food 5 stars because it made such a huge difference in my dogs allergies.

Although the pricer is over 2 times as high as their previous food, they do eat noticeably less. I attribute this to the fact that this food is of higher nutritional content. Highly recommended.

I just started my puppy on Solid Gold puppy food and so far my 3 month old peke-a-poo loves it. He is very picky so that is a good thing. I was trying to wean him from Eukanuba puppy but he will not even touch that food now. He actually picks out all the Solid Gold. He would not eat Innova puppy so I'm very happy I found a high quality food he likes. I lost my beloved pom at only 4 years old to cancer and it was devastating so I want to feed this pup the best.

Love it! This is the only thing I feed my dog and I recommend it to everyone. Tho it is usually found by dealer only but you can check the solid gold website to find one in your area. www.solidgoldhealth.com

Good quality food, but you have to assess each dog's needs.  I  use the Wolf king variety for most of my huskies, but the one with sensitive skin needs supplements.  The others prone to chunkiness use lighter variety.

I've been training and handling obedience and performance dogs for 43 years. Solid Gold is a good Premium food for the general house pet.  I use the dry food as a backup when I need to cut the calories but still give them some volume. It is a low calorie food (average about 377 per cup) which is insufficent for working/performance dogs, particularly large/giant breed dogs who will need to pack away 3000-4000 calories a day to do their job.

It works well for my 16 year old Chow/Keeshond cross but for the big dogs (over 100 lbs) who are in work, it does not have enough fat which is the best source of energy for dogs. (Yes, dogs are different from people and burn fat 3 times more efficently than humans and are lousy at burning carbs for energy and humans are good at burning carbs.)

The Barking at the Moon is higher in calories (470 vs average of 377) but too low in fat for performance animals.  It is useful for getting weight on a pet who hangs around the house and goes for walks.

The fruits in the food are fluff - left to their own devices, dogs would never eat them. They are there to make the owners happy.

I have had different dogs like some Solid Gold varieties and prefer to starve when offered others. You have to try the different types to see what the dog will eat.

One dog came to me having been on Sold Gold but was still having terrible allergy and itching problems.  I left him on Solid Gold (he was too chubby to switch to the Super-premium performance food at that time and needed a low-cal food until he got fit and in work) and had to add 2000 mg of fish oil a day to deal with his skin since Solid Gold is a low fat/high protein food.  (Dry skin needs FAT - not carbs, not protein.)

100 times superior to Iams, Science Diet and Purina.  I recomend it for pet owners but not for performance dogs who in hard work and under stress.  You can NOT buy it at the grocery or Petsmart or Petco or other super-stores.  You have to go to the Solid Gold website to find a dealer in your area .  http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/

I love this food. All of their specialty formulas are amazing with Bison as a main meat source. Thier Hund-N-Flocken and Mmillenia are great as well with a meat meal as the first ingredients. Not to forget their barking at the moon formula which is right up there with Innova Evo and Nature's Variety Raw Instinct. The only food I don't care for (and the reason for the four star rating) is thier Holistique blend. This is their senior formula and has two grains as the first two ingredients. Just because a dog gets old does not mean that it shouldn't have as much protien. Overall, very good food and I would definitely reccomend. Just not the senior formula

Love it. Finally a food my dog isn't alergic too.
We tried so many and most had the poor guy all broke out in hives.
If your dog has hives or itching, try this dog food.

diamond food makes this stuff. no thanks

Fantastic food. I rate this one of the 5 best foods available, (Innova, Nature's Variety, Timberwolf, and Orijen... being the other 4) This is an entirely grainless dog food. The major carbohydrate source is potatoes, which are also a good source of B vitamins and other minerals. There is a good range of fruits/vegetables in the food, whole eggs and a good range of probiotics. Tomato pomace is fibre/filler. This food is outstanding in that it contains no grains whatsoever. Grains are not a natural part of a canine diet and it is pleasing to see dog foods on the market that exclude grains completely from the diet. The only caution I would make on this food is that the high protein content makes it suitable for adult dogs only, particularly in the case of large breeds. for puppies try mixing this 1/2 and 1/2 with another quality lower protein food (like Wellness or California Natural) until their rapid growth stage is over.

This is a great food! I have 3 shelties, one with Dandriff and one with very oily fur. Since switching to Hund n' flucken and sea meal they are doing great! Very soft fur and no more skin/fur problems. Also no more runny stool which they got from Purina One. Also Solid Gold has great ingredients. I breed shelties, and every puppy goes with a bag of solid gold puppy food. All around great food!

Im a big beliver in this dog food and its always the best for my female rottie Sugar. Ive had her on the wolf cub, wolf king,hunchen flocken, and recently the barking at the moon (wich she got dandruf from).I have also had her on the sea meal and the life extension wich i highly recomend its great for any dogs imune system and coat. SOLID GOLD IS THE BEST!!!!!!!

I started feeding hund n flocken to my 3 yo American Bulldog three weeks ago. She was having some skin issues and I didn't want to put her on meds. She was originally on IAMS, Science Diet, and Nutro Natural. Within the first week on Solid Gold she was eating much less, and wasnt always begging for food. Now I can see a great improvement in her skin and coat, and even her personality. She is more active and she seems like a much happier dog. No more gas!! I'm now in the process of putting my finicky HL chinese crested onto it. He loves it!!

I recommend Solid Golds Barking at the Moon for any Siberian Husky parents out there. So good for them High in protein and fat, low carbo no grains perfect for the breed, and no sugar. My babies love the food. Their teeth are pearly white, good breath and skin soft and shiny. Lots of smile from this family

We switched to "Solid-Gold" when the first two ingredients were meat and whole grains. Noticed are dogs are more energetic and they seem to enjoy the taste. Also, Solid-Gold gave us a full-credit on a bag that smelled rancid. They were timely in their response to our complaint.

Hundenflocken and Wolf king dog food as well as other food by Solid Gold in general has been know to cause many problems in dogs. Don't feed this food to your dog if you want to be sure of what you are actually giving them. After having my dog with severe bowl problems for 2 weeks, I finally realized that Solid Gold had changed the formula and had not made it know to the distributer. They were impossible to talk to and several distributers that I have talked won't carry their products due to the problems they have with the company. I will never buy anything from them again, and I strongly urge any person who is considering buying this food to look elsewhere.

My Siberian Husky has a sensitive stomach so we started him off with Wolf King, and have recently switched him to Barking At the Moon. It has improved his stomach issues 100%. I recommend any Solid Gold product, even the canned foods are good. My dog agrees, he can't get enough of his food!

They don't even make own product, made buy Diamond pet foods.

I have a Dalmatian/Australian Shepherd mix. I had her on Diamond maintenance, as it was what my boyfriends family recomended. They raised hunting dogs for years! Once I did a little research I was disgusted. I started mixing Solid Gold Wolf King, you know to give her a gradual switch. She picked it out! She ate her food so carefully and didn't even want the Diamond! She has sensitive skin as well. She itches, and bites, but not on Wolf King!

I have a Pharaoh Hound and he's eaten solid gold Wolf Cub mixed with Blue Buffalo for most of his life. When I switched from Pro-Plan (which the breeder fed) to Iams and then to Solid Gold/Blue Buffalo his coat became noticably softer and shinier. His stools became more regular yet less volume. And though we still have the gas problem he is very healthy.

I cannot feed any poultry products except duck as my guy doesn't digest them.

Wolf king is the best! Salmon helps the coat thickness and shine. My two dogs are very healthy on this food.

Switched my 4 year old female pitbull mix to this food. Now she is happy when its time to feed her. Before her food would sit in the bowl for hours before she even looked at it. She hasn't been on it long but i can tell she enjoys her food.

I have 2 cats who have been on Solid Gold for 3 years so far, and they have not had a single health problem. Their coats are softer than any cat I've ever seen! They love the taste of the dry food, but did not care for the wet food. I just bought a Pug puppy, and we decided to start her on the Solid Gold puppy formula also. She loves the taste of it. I truly believe that their natural approach to pet food is wonderful, and I just wish that more would follow in their footsteps. It was very important to me that there be no animal by-products it my pet's food. My animals are part of my family, so they should get ony the best that money can afford- and Solid Gold is it!! I am also lucky that I have a specialty pet shop in my area that sells it. Keep up the good work Solid Gold!!

My husky/wolf mix brother and sister just turned thirteen years old and have been on Solid Gold for about two years. For several years before switching to Solid Gold I bought the lamb and rice dry food from Wal-Mart. The dogs have done equally well on both. Their eyes are mostly clear, they have little, if any hip problems. When it is time for a walk they both jump up and down like puppies. I can't say that Solid Gold has done them any better than the Wal-Mart food but it hasn't done them any harm. I believe that daily walks, mental stimulation, and a calm, quiet home life has done as much as any quality food can do.

Dosg didn't like it, low palitability. Actually walked away from their bowls (and my guys know that whatever gets put infromt of them is all they're getting). Packaging was nice though.

My chocolate lab loves this food, it took us a while to find a food she truely trives on, and this is it. Her coat is beautiful and soft. Can't say enough about it!!!

Good food hard to obtain.

I have two male Boxers and have fed them Solid Gold from day one. Joe was a rescue and had very brittle fur-not anymore! His fur is so soft I was amazed. About a year ago we switched them to Iams for financial reasons and Charlie started losing hair on his sides, so I quickly switched them back to Solid Gold, and his hair grew back in no time. Never again will I ever ssacrifice their health to save a couple dollars, and the price isn't all that different. Its not worth it, especially when they can eat, and LOVE, such a product as Solid Gold. AND, Solid Gold does NO invasive animal testing, and that is very important to me.

This was not a good option for my Miniature Schnauzer. After only two weeks, my dog started getting Schnauzer bumps on his back. After five weeks, he got an inflammed paw. Also noticed a lot of gas, more eye goop, and more stain on his teeth. Had to switch. Solid Gold is probably a good food, just not a good one for my dog.

It gave my puppies runny, watery stool.

Solid Gold has the best ingredients on the market, but the dogs do not always like it, and it creates very large stools. I mix it 50/50 with Chicken Soup Dog food. I have also noticed the smell and look of the kibbles seem to change with each bag I use.Rumors have it that Solid Gold may be bought out by a big manufacturer- I hope not.

I was very happy with what's in this food. The biggest problem I had was keeping weight on my working dogs. At once point I was feeding 6 cups of food a day to keep on the weight. Sorry, no one can afford to do that, no matter what the cost.

We have 3 Siberian Huskies that have had struggles with allergies, weight gain/loss, excessive shedding, biting, cracking/chipping toenails, itching, etc... They were all raised on IAMS and Eukanuba formulas. After switching them all to Solid Gold Wolf King and canned formulas, all of our boys have shown remarkable improvements! Overall they have improved in every category at least 90%! Our vet was totaly astonished by the improvements. Our oldest husky also had bladder stones prior to the switch to Solid Gold...the stones are now very minimal, if not, non existant! Even our most finicky eater (who has never liked any dog kibble, especially alone) LOVES his Solid Gold. We also give them the Solid Gold Seameal w/flax, occationally The Honest Kitchen Force formula (about 1/2 serving once a week), some home preparations (about once-twice/week) & holistic treats. This is the best food I could find after tons of Holistic dog food brands researching. I love the ingredients that Solid Gold uses...just perfect for our huskies! 12 complete paws up from this home!!!

I fed Solid gold to my Dalmatian for 5 years after a 2 year battle with allergies, chronic ear infections and IBS. I tried almost every dog food we sold at the pet food store. She did great on the food alone, she was allergic to the brewers yeast in the seameal when they had it in it. Then they changed something, the next bag I opened, had a different colour, texture and slightly different shape. Sure enough her allergies came back within days, and I have not tried the food since. I dont know if it was the lack of preservitives or the low meat/protein in it which Dals thrive on that helped with her allergies, but she is now on home made veggies and raw food and is doing excellent.

My German Shepherd began licking his feet a few months back. A trip to the vet and medication helped, but a month back he developed hives which turned into horrendous open lesions overnight. The vet suspected seasonal allergies and put him on meds, I suspected his food after my GSD finished the meds and started itching again. I switched to Solid Gold Hund-n-Flocken, and I'll be darned if the dog hasn't stopped itching. So far his coat looks great and his energy is up (he was already VERY active, so this isn't a great side effect for us, but probably better for him). No more vet trips for allergies! I will be trying other foods to see if I can narrow down what his allergies are, but after we've experimented we'll go back to Solid Gold Hund-n Flocken. He's never been so eager to eat a dry food!