I got turned on to Blackwood from a friend whose dog had skin allergies back in 1998~~after trying meds and lots of vet bills, she started Blackwood and told me about it. Her dog had cleared up within months.
I had just got a 3 year old AKC male Boxer named Bruiser given to me: who was super spoiled by the previous owners with a diet of liver and eggs and table scraps. He was so fat, he sat off to the side and couldn't clean his own private parts. Well, we had to fix that problem quick.~ HAHA ~
I fed him the Blackwood and we produced a fine lOOking stud muffin. I soon purchased an 11 month old female Boxer named Katie and fed her the same.
We had 5 beautiful litters of pups that we started out on Blackwood and people came back for more. I highly recommend it !!!
We lost our dear Bruiser July 2008 at 13 1/2 years old. I believe he had a good quality life and I believe in the food. I hardly had any vet bills throughout their lifes except for regular check-ups and shots. He was still playful until the end.
Unfortunately, Blackwood isn't available at my local feed store anymore. So tomorrow is girls day out. Me and a friend will be driving almost 2 hours one way to stock up for 4 months as we have been doing for over a year. It's well worth the trip. The new feed store lady loves the fact that we enjoy such a quality product. I may lOOk into becoming a distributor for them !!

Started using Blackwood 2000 for my Boxer back in '97 he thrived. He died at 11 in 2004. I rescued a Lab in 2008 and started looking for a premium diet for her. It was apparent that Blackwood still had the edge over the foods that were available She is a year and a half now and she has also thrived. Saw a food specialist on the Colbert Report and Corn is not the same as corn syrup. Corn is actually good for the digestive system and not a "filler" I will take Stephen and the way my dog looks and behaves over some guy worried about poultry meal. Cheers

I have used Blackwood dog foods for over 10 yrs now with excellent results. My Dobermans have bright eyes, shiny coats, and have no difficulty with maintaining a good body condition. I also have my Irish Wolfhounds on this food with the same results.

When it comes to breeding, I have had healthy bouncy pups. I show in breed, obedience and schutzhund competitions very successfully.

The beet pulp and corn are insoluble fiber providing bulk and moisture to the stools which helps improve the health of the colon
and are often recommended as the best sources of fiber for dogs.

Thanks - Ad Astra

I love Blackwood Dog and Cat Food and more importantly my animals LOVE IT!! A friend told me how much his dogs loved it and it was healthier food than what I was feeding them. To convince me, my friend brought some over for Shadow, my dog, to see if she liked it. She was doing tricks so she can get some more. I never saw her get so excited over food. I mean, really excited. This food is great!!I recommend this food to every pet owner!! The prices are reasonable and you can't go wrong. Your pet is going to love and you will see the diiference in your pet's health.

I have read the reviews here on the site concerning the quality and ingredients of blackwood foods. And everyone or alot of people seemed concerned about the words "poultry meal" and if it is turkey, duck, chicken or pigeon. Well i just want to tell everyone that not too many years ago i had a chicken farm and raised hens for commercial use...human and otherwise. Well, let me tell you i used to LOVE chicken anyway it was prepared! NOT ANY MORE SINCE THEN! Let me tell you, the company you grow for provides the feed, which i might add is only 1% food...yes 1% actual feed and the other 99% is growht hormones, plus they get an injection of growth hormone as soon as they stick their heads out of the egg! Then i also was given live flu virus to put in their water to give the baby birds (received on my farm at 1 day old) to give them the flu and the ones who you hear sniffle or who has any reaction to it, you must "cull" or kill and if the inspector who shows up any time day or night unannounced sees you havent done this or he finds birds you should have culled and didnt you get repromanded and your return is reduced moneywise that is. I have seen in processing that part of the chicken being processed is green purple (bruised) deformed possibly and that portion is cut off and humans get the good parts and the other is processed into other things ...pet food industry.
So really IF IT WAS PIGEON in my pets food instead of chicken or turkey or duck, i really think it could be better off. Oh and turkey and duck commercial growing is quite similar also. PEOPLE , REMEMBER, I know we all love our pets and want the best for them okay. But first and formost they are Canines! God gives them a superior survival instinct and they have senses we have long lost while becoming civilized human beings. If everyone's dogs went free to roam stray...you reckon, they would only go to the best neighborhoods or the back of best pet stores or only the best butchershops to scavenge for food????? Dears, God made them survivors! If they have to they will eat plants, rats, roaches, snakes, any dead piece of carcas, horse poop, cow poop and even their own poop and hell, yet they will still survive!!! So all you do gooders out their remember what i said about chicken...i grew them for commercial purposes and i KNOw...that big old chicken breast very well be good but ya oughta seen that green, yellow black purple leg or wing or thigh they cut off to process for your precious pet!!
ENOUGH SAID FOLKS. Blackwood foods i have had experience with years ago and a little bit in the near past and only wished i was in a postion to purchase it more often. I started my own dog training business training peoples pets in their own homes and have only been in business about a year now and still struggling going slow but steady and have had many affluent clients be very happy with the results they have gotten with their pets. And each and every one of them have gone by my recommendation to use blackwood food for their pets. Even those who have paid as much as 6 to 8 thousand dollars for their pet at puppy stage AND THEY ALL LOVE IT AND WONT USE NOTHING ELSE and they read all those studies and are very intelligent people and find their pets stay healthy and happy and beautiful and dont have the skin issues their friends pets do! I hope someday i will be successful enough that I BECOME A DISTRIBUTOR FOR BLACKWOOD SO I CAN SING THEIR PRAISES AND MAKE A LITTLE PROFIT TOO!! GREAT FOODS BLACKWOOD!
AND TOO I MIGHT ADD, THEY WERE PEOPLE CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT WAS OUT THEIR FOR THEIR PETS AND THE HIGH DOLLAR AND HIGH ENGERY AND HIGH COMPETITION DOGS USED! AND IF SOMEONE OUT THERE THAT RUNS THAT BIG RACE IN ALASKA( I COULDNT SPELL IT SORRY) AND WORLD CHAMPION BUNDERSEIGERS AND WORLD CHAMPION SCHUTZHUND COMPETITORS THAT SPEND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AND TRAVEL THOUSANDS OF MILES AND DO AND HAVE DONE MORE WITH THEIR ANIMALS AND ANY OF US JOKERS WRITING OUR REVIEWS HERE OR COMPLAINING ABOUT POULTRY MEAL AND PIGEONS AND ROAD KILL (WHICH DOGS LOVE TO GET INTO AND BRING HOME TO US WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY ARISE, I MIGHT ADD)CHOOSE BLACKWOOD AS THEIR FOOD OF CHOICE AND WANT AND WILL HAVE NOTHING BUT THE BEST FOR THEIR ANIMALS ...WELL, WHAT THE HELL DO WE KNOW ABOUT WHAT IS BEST FOR OUR PETS OF WHICH WHOM MOST PEOPLE NEVER DO ANYTHING WITH, TRAIN, TRAVEL, ASSOCIATE SOCIALLY OUTSIDE THE HOMES AND YARDS ! NOW I WILL SHUT UP BUT THIS IS MY REVIEW!! THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE IN READING IT. AP

Easy digestion, and nutrition!!

Our Bloodhound has done well on the Blackwood 7000, she is very active and has not gained any excess weight. This has been a excellent choice for her during the winter months. We also swap her food every 3-4 months with Pinnacle, Canidae, and Flint River. We read the labels and don't use anything with by-products, corn, or soy.

Been using it for 2 years high digestibility resulting in lower food intake to get the desired results. I'm a working kennel high quality food is a must. Blackwood 1000 and 2000 do the trick.  Let me also add that my dogs have the energy (winter and Summer) to work all day.  there seems to be a lot said about the ingriedients and scrutiny thereof.  I have tried other brands over the years from national store brands to specialty organic foods, even raw meats.  But all in all Blackwoods has been good to me and my dogs.  I can contact them and get a very rapid response, can't say that for most of the others. So me and my German Shepherds, we'll stick with Blackwood, they are not perfect, just the best.

Well, I am new to all of this.....I was feeding my 2 year old female Great Dane Candid, (which is a premium food too) and she was only eating 1 cup of of it. I switched to Blackwood 3000 last week and her first meal, she ate 5 cups. I will let you know about the stool and her coat after 3 months.

One negative reviewer apparently thinks"my dogs coat is shiny" and "he has energy" is trivial or amusing. Well it's big deal to me. My eleven year old terrier was chewing her back bloody and was nearly hairless on her back,tail and hindquarters. There was also a body odor that bathing would not cure. This all started about five years ago and got progressively worse. The last thing I tried prior to Blackwood 5000 was Dinovite which I found to be a complete waste of time and money. I know this sounds cliche, but I'm amazed at how quickly her coat has filled in, and she is more energetic and playful than she has been in years. My nine year old German Shepard mix, who has always been healthy shares the food and has shown no changes. I concur with other reviewers that the naysayers seem to be hung up on the ingredient list and they don't tell us if they have actually tried the product.

I am very pleased with the results I am seeing with the Blackwood 3000 we are using on our 4 yr. old Great Dane. I have fed many super premium brands(many rated highly) to her before but have never found a brand that worked for her. She has always had gas and anal gland problems. After switching her over to Blackwood, her gas was gone immediately , no anal gland problems, she is in excellent body condition and her coat just shines. I will admit when you look on a label there are foods that sound so much better then Blackwood..but I have learned in my experiences through the years, you can't rate a food solely on its label. The real test is your dog. What is good for one dog isn't necessarily good for the other. If you find a food and your dog thrives on it, then that is really whats important and I would never rate a food if I never had tried it myself, simply not fair.

I have dealt with this company for 5 years now and had nothing but good dealings and success. I have fed the 2000 formula to my breeding bitch in whelp and to my dogs and puppies with nothing but awesome results. This food is one of the best IMO and you cannot beat the price for the quality...comparable diets are priced at almost twice the amounts. The company is knowledgeable, friendly and always helpful. As for anyone taking exceptions to some of the ingredients...I am also glad that Blackwood does not buy into the internet and dog food myths by changing their foods to what uneducated consumers think is best as compaired to what science and success have proven works and keeps costs down. (not meant to be insultive, but believing corn is a horrid ingredient would be an uneducated comment as true facts prove differently)In Blackwood sticking by their convictions and not playing to consumer emotions regarding myths they help keep the cost of their products down, not only that but their products succeed due to their true concern for animal nutrition and not for ratings. ****add on*** Just wanted to state again I think it is pointless for people who have not tried a product or had some type of interaction with the company to rate it. There is nothing wrong with Blackwood ingredients, it is not equal to McDonalds, oh and the Whole Dog Journal doesnt do anything but look at labels....just as certian other people are doing. Too bad the best sounding ingredient panel doesnt equal success, it would make pet food selection a lot easier if that were the key to the cure. I think a number of people are going to foods they do not approve of and marking them as low as they can in an attempt to screw up the ratings on this forum.....if 100 people rate Blackwood as great it is what it is and they are happy....let it stand for what it is, a bunch of happy consumers and their pets, dont litter the forum with screaming comments about McDonalds and what YOU like to bring down the ratings of feeds you simply have never tried because you dont like the ingredient panel and the company does not bend to your paranoia......

  poutltry. good lord it can be either turkey, duck, chicken,or  even pigeon. no thanks

Extremely poor quaity food. The first ingredient is poultry meal, which says nothing to the consumer about what types of poultry they put in the food. Sure, they state on there site that it is chicken and turkey, but, then again, science diet, Iams and Eukanuba state that their by-products are actually organ meat, and everyone knows that that is not true. They also list corn as a second ingredient. This is an extremely cheap kibble binder and protien filler. Dogs are meant to have have meat and not corn for their source of protien. Also, considering that this food uses  potatoes, corn, and meat for protein sources, the crude protien is pretty low. At only 23%, one must wonder how much of that is actually from the meat. This company does however have an ok allergy formulation in their Blackwood 5000 food. I would probably rate that one a three, with my big deterent being their use of potato product and  again, their low crude protien percent.

Use of unspecified meat products, low quality grains and other controversial filler.

The #1 ingred is Poultry meal.  What poultry? chicken, turkey, duck?  (if mixed state the order)

The #2 ingred is corn meal, corn should not be in any dog food in any percentage, yet this is the #2 ingred.

This is folowed by fillers such as beet pulp and potatoe product.

If you are feeding this food, switch to another.  Check out www.dogfoodanalysis.com for some good chioces.

The above site rates over 150 brands of dog food, from 1 to 6 stars.  50 % being 1 or 2 stars, the other 50%  rated 3 to 6 stars.

They rated this food 2 stars, you would do better to choose from the 75 other brands that rate higer.

So far we have been very pleased with the Blackwood puppy food for our new dog. This is a food our breeder uses and she sent some home with us. While I'm satisfied, I guess I wonder about the person that compares this to McDonalds and suggests looking at the Whole Food Journal. I tried to do this, but you have to subscribe to it. I guess they want you to be sold on cooking for your dog and holistic food that you have to "pay" for the information so they can bash bought foods. The general consumer will purchase foods at pet stores or vets and not obssess over the food. I would think that studying foods and having to go the extra mile to purchase the food when it isn't distributed in your area qualifies as eating at McDonalds.

I see that every "low rating" on the site starts with the ingredient listings. First, having been a pet products distributor for about 7 years, it is not always the ingredients that are the "ENEMY". In many, ALMOST ALL, pet foods, the PROCESS is what makes the food "CRAP". This includes those sited as "Super Premium" foods listed by others as superior to Blackwood. ALL of those I've seen listed here are processed with high temperture extruders; for those not familliar that means it is "cooked" for about 10 minutes at 600 degrees, which kills pretty much all the beneficial things in the foods, burning the exterior, and leaving the internal parts RAW. Blackwood is the only processed food I have come across which uses a low temperture extusion process, which costs more to produce and actually cooks rather than burns the food. Those who have criticised this food are simply uninformed about pet nutrition. While it is TRUE that a home prepared meal from raw ingredients is by far the BEST. It is equally true that for most of us that is IMPRACTICAL. Blackwood is a VERY GOOD, possibly the BEST, choice to provide for your pet.

I've noticed several comments here about "meal" being a bad ingredient. This is actually not true. "Meal" is simply the protein (chicken, poultry, fish...whatever)with the water removed. A dog food with "poultry" as a first ingredient will actually contain less protein and nutrients from that poultry than a dog food with "poultry meal" as the first ingredient. And as for the word poultry itself being dismissed as bad ("but it's not chicken! It could be anything!"...to paraphrase)I can't think of a single bird I would object to having in the dog food. Duck? Sure! Turkey? Fine by me. Pheasant? Goose? Cornish Hen? Any and all are perfectly fine sources of protein.

I have worked as a veterianry assistant for 18 years. Now have a dog with apparent food allergies - he LOVES Blackwood 5000, and since he has started this diet he is doing much better. I took 2 different Hill's sponsored programs and am a veterinary nutritional consultant and small animal dietician. Highly recommend this food.

The Mc Donnalds of petfood: the dog does like it, but they will not be healthy!

I have fed Blackwood 2000 for over 5 years. My young dogs are hard working field trial dogs, also I have had geriatrics on it. I just adjust the amount depending on the dog and the work. I can't say enough good about this food. Periodically it's been hard to get and I've substituted Eukanuba Premium, Pro Plan Performance, Eagle Holistic, or Innova at various times. The dogs' condition, coats, and energy level all decline from where they are when on Blackwood. Not saying those others are bad foods, just that Blackwood performs better. Last year when I sold a dog, I gave her new family a bag of Blackwood with the dog. They had another dog that was fed Iams. The family called back asking where to get more Blackwood (not available in their community). They had switched their other dog to the Blackwood too, and saw a noticeable improvement in her condition and a decreased stool volume compared to feeding the Iams.

It is really hard to get past the ingredient list.....but, if you look at the recipe and processing of Blackwood products it is helpful. I closed my eyes and tried it . To my great pleasure , My dogs and puppies are thriving. the food is reasonably priced and the consistency of product is far more reliable than that of more 'Natural" expensive brands. I consider my self very knowdledgble on canine diets, I still give meat and bones as well as blackwood kibble. I hope the Blackwood company will keep a regular, standard food as opposed to the ever changing ingredient/processing methods of some of the wholistic/natural brands. I found that a month of certain dog food brands would be great then the next month changes in ingredients, etc. caused problems. when you scoop the poop you know these things. So far so good. I will check back in in a few more months. Time wil tell.

Your dog may seem to thrive on this stuff, just as from the outside, I may look to be thriving on Popeyes, McDonalds, and Burger King. But the ingredients in this stuff SUCKS!. Of course the absolute best thing to feed is a WELL BALANCED Raw diet, but there are MANY MANY dry foods that put this to shame (Innova, California Natural, Hundenflocken.... Just read the whole dog journal - who base their ratings on actual STUDIES, not just "my dogs coat is shiny" and "he has energy"

I have been feeding Blackwood 4000 for over 6 years and I think it speaks for itself....one dog stopped a life time of itching within 3 days, one lived 5 years longer than any of its siblings, one that we thought was a terrier mix because of her "wirery" coat now has a very soft coat, and the vets all comment on the great condition of the dogs! None of them get any special care other than their dog food.

I have fed nutro, solid gold, iams and proplan in the past. None of them compares to Blackwood. I have had no skin and coat problems with blackwood and on the fish and sweet potato my bulldog has NO tear stains, rashes etc. She has had all of those on the other brands. The first ingredient on the 1000 is poultry meal - but not poultry by product meal - a v. big difference! and the 1000 is their cheapest food, although my anatolian does fabulously on it. Overall a great food with great customer service. When I lived in Ohio I bought it at a local store. Now in PA I get it shipped and it still compares price wise to the premium foods.

Blackwood, without a doubt, is one of the best foods I have fed my current crew of four, of different sizes and breeds. So far, we've used both the 2000 and 3000 formulas. We like it so much, we recently switched our two cats to the Blackwood adult feline formula. Customer service is unsurpassed in my opinon and contrary to what some people have been led to believe, the ingredients are excellent. For example, I always look for a meal over a meat, when reading labels and checking ingredients. Results speak louder than any thing else.

Blackwood has several formulations of their dry dog food. I tried several of them as 5 bags were donated to our German Shepherd Dog rescue. The sales representative was extremely nice and helpful. I found that less expensive formulas had low quality ingredients comparable to cheap grocery store brands. The formulas with better quality ingredients were simply too expensive. I would be paying almost twice as much for Blackwood as I was paying for Holistic Blend. I simply could not justify the expense for the product whose ingredients were not as good as less expensive Holistic Blend.

My dogs now won't eat anything but Blackwood 2000. I have the truck dog, Brussels Griffon and field trial competetive labs. All love it and look and perform great!

Terrible ingredients! Two of my puppy buyers have tried Blackwood 1000 and could tell the difference in the coats of their dogs from the coats of the other pups in the litter. They switched to my recommended foods. The first ingredient of a dog food should be a meat not a meal. The second ingredient is corn which is of little value and many dogs have allergies to. Animal Fat should not be added if the meat is of good quality. Citric Acid has been linked to Bloat in Bloat studies. This food has two sources of Citric Acid in it. Beet pulp also has very little value for nutrition. I use Solid Gold, Natural Balance, and Wysong on a rotating basis and my dogs show the results of good food. We have some of the top winning Weims in the showring, 3 Futurity winners this year, a Top 10 for 3 yrs in a row, a top stud dog, and dogs in training for Senior and Master Hunter titles. A well known field trainer that I asked about Blackwood told me that the dogs fed this brand cannot keep up with the other dogs in the field stamina-wise.

I own a kennel and see many breeds of dogs benifit from the quality Blackwood offers. It has cleared up many skin and coat issues as well as the dogs love it!

you must be kidding!! i fed the formula 1000 for a short time (emphasis on short). the first ingredients are; Poultry Meal, Corn Meal this is right from their web site ingredients list- look for yourself if you don't believe me. those are crap ingredients- Poultry Meal? what poultry? chicken, duck, pheasant, pigeon? corn meal? second ingredient? crapola! eagle pack hollistic beats this stuff hands down. read THEIR ingredients for yourself and you decide. this stuff is not good quality by any standard.

A really great food with the dogs in mind. These people even went through the pains of finding a special slow cooker that enables them to cook the ingredients without loosing much of the nutrients that other leading brands loose during the cooking process. My dog won't eat Diamond brand anymore after trying this awesome food. Try it!!!

This food should be number one on this chart. Go read the ingredients and you'll see why. Plus the price is a great deal. This is the best there is.

I use Blackwood 2000 and 7000 for my German Shepherds. I get great coats and an abundance of energy. It is not locally available so I bring it in by the pallet. I get great pricing this way.

0 stars for the corn in it that made my dog super gassey. 4****stars for the 5000 catfish/potato series -no corn. Just like Natures Recipe fishmeal and potato. 40lbs=45.95 INCLUDES Shipping and Handling.

This is a GREAT dogfood. It makes my dog's coat super shiney and it is easy to manage her weight. However, I have to order it online and have it delivered, since the stores don't carry it to my knowledge. With the cost of shipping and the $$ it costs, because of it's fine ingredients, it is out of my price range since I have two large dogs. Blackwood has a very informational website, as well. I have to say it is the very best dogfood I have ever used.