Black Hawk Grain Free Dog Food Review

WebsiteBlack Hawk
Available fromPet Circle  

Note: Please read the many comments about diarrhoea on Black Hawk dog foods which have continued over a significant period of time. This will likely deter you from feeding Black Hawk to your dog.

Black Hawk used to have a very loyal following due to being an Australian company, but are now owned by Masterpet (CBOS Group) in New Zealand which raised a lot of speculation. Black Hawk maintained the food was still 100% Australian made and the formula wouldn’t change, so it’s interesting to see it now has. Comparing old versus new it’s actually a lot different, so let’s take a look…

We’ll focus on the Australian Hormone Free Chicken recipe. The other three recipes are very similar in composition and analysis.

As with the previous recipe we find Chicken Meal as the main ingredient, which is great to see. They state the food is 52% meat proteins but I’m not entirely sure what that means. 52% of the protein in the food comes from chicken? 52% of the ingredients are chicken (before or after cooking)? It’s not very clear to me…

Black Hawk Grain Free Dog Food Review

The next ingredient is peas, which is an ingredient we see often these days in grain free foods. They’re very high in protein and a cheaper inclusion than meat proteins. I wouldn’t say they’re a bad ingredient, but it masks the amount of meat proteins in the food.

Tapioca is prominent as the 3rd ingredient. All kibble’s need a starchy ingredient to bind it together, and tapioca has become a popular choice. It’s gluten-free and not a common allergen which means not many dogs will have an issue eating it, but on the other hand it contains little nutritional merit and is very high on the glycemic index. The fifth ingredient is potato which is also high GI. If your dog has diabetes then it’s worth looking for a food with sweet potatoes or chickpeas instead. Interestingly the previous formula was based on sweet potato, so this is quite a change.

In 4th we have Chicken Fat, an essential ingredient providing omega 6 fatty acids. Animal fats offer an excellent source of energy. A range of oils have been added as a further source of omega fats for overall health, skin and coat. We also find a range of trace fruits, vegetables, and herbs which are nice inclusions.

It’s worth noting many have raised issues with diarrhea with some Black Hawk products (please read comments), so if this is the case we recommend not feeding this product. That said, from an ingredients and price perspective it’s an affordable grain free food which has a much better composition than many other dog foods.

Black Hawk Grain Free Dog Food Review

Ingredients

Chicken Meal, Peas, Tapioca, Chicken Fat (naturally preserved with Rosemary Extract, Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Potato, Sweet Potato, Chicken Gravy, Sugar Beet Pulp, Essential Vitamins and Minerals (see tables), Salmon Oil, Sunflower Oil, Chicory Root, Di-Calcium Phosphate, Alfalfa, Salt, Apple, Brewers Yeast, Pumpkin Seeds, Natural Antioxidants, Coconut Oil, Yoghurt Powder, Emu Oil, Blueberries, Cranberries, Dandelion Tea, Parsley, Peppermint Tea, Rosemary Extract, Chondroitin, Glucosamine, Carrots, Yucca Schidigera, Spinach, Kelp, Tomato, Beta Carotene.

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7.8 Total Score
One of the most affordable grain free foods

PROS
  • A dense meat protein ingredient in the number one spot.
CONS
  • Peas will inflate the protein, tapioca is prominent as well as potato as high GI ingredients.

124 Comments
  1. I was feeding my puppy this chicken and rice version when she started to get bouts of runny poops and low energy. Took her to the vet which said she’s probably allergic to chicken. Changed her to meals for mutts after doing some reviewing on here and she’s come good. But now I see the runny poops are a regular thing for black hawk fed pups. Now we aren’t sure if she’s actually allergic to chicken or not! We’re hoping we’ll be able to transition her to pre-made raw to help with her allergies, and get away from the ambiguous ingredients in the dry food. Unfortunately our vets are very set on dry food being the best thing for dogs, they even recommended ivory coat which is known to make dogs sick. The pet food industry have a lot to answer for!

    • Reply
      Pet Food Reviews (Australia) May 18, 2022 at 5:33 pm

      Hi Holly, it’s definitely worth figuring out if chicken is the culprit, which it possibly isn’t given what you’ve said. Dry food definitely isn’t the best thing for dogs, and considering why hard baked nuggets is better than other types of food really answers that. The concern vets often have with not feeding dry is bacteria in raw meats, or the hazards of feeding bones etc, but there are risks to all types of food. Runny poops and low energy is a risk of feeding a dubious dry food for example. Veterinary studies recommend the feeding of specific dry foods combined with raising the hazards of raw food, but strangely the opposite is not the case.

  2. by the way I was also hoping to cut down on costs. Royal Canin is $145 for 13kg bag. My dogs don’t seem to digest bones that well, so I guess daily chicken bones are out. Maybe once a week. Back to roo meat also. Checked out Ivory Coat – price is up there but better than RC

    • I’d be ditching the overpriced Royal Canin first and foremost just as fast as the dogs are happy to transition away from the horrible stuff. With any luck that will free up some funds that can be put into roo, various chicken components, fish and other whole foods, while there’s still decent (and much better value) kibble options like MFM for example if you also need the convenience of a dry food without going completely down the raw path. By the way if they’re having trouble with bone (and quite a few dogs raised on a kibble diet do), you can also get chicken frames in minced form which seems to be easier for them to handle. It’s dirt cheap too.

      • Thanks Alan. Glad to hear your comments re RC. Vets and pet food suppliers all seem to push the RC. Our Goldie’s have been on RC and fresh roo meat since they were puppies. They are now 11 years and seem to be very healthy. But … I want to make the change. Don’t like the roo meat we get as it doesn’t seem very fresh any more. So will be trying other raw meat options such as chicken. They can handle chicken wings and thighs but only 1-2 times week. MFM is an option as is Canidae. Need to get this under control before we go in 6 weeks. Takes a while to adjust but they do ok after a week or two.

        • Edanna has already laid out the problem with the vet/kibble relationship so there’s no point in covering that again. It’s true that a lot of “fresh” pet meat smells funky, sometimes it’s because it’s roo (which seems to have its own set of smells), and sometimes because it’s just plain crap, taking advantage of that same robust canine digestive system that the corporate kibble outfits do.

          (If you’re in/visiting Vic I can make a more educated suggestion as to where to go/where to visit while travelling here)

        • I agree roo does have its own distinctive smell but the roo meat I have been getting has changed for the worse. Lots of blood and often smells off. Probably was frozen and thawed out. Was never like that at Pet Barn Sydney. Just going to change back to Pet Barn up here and hope the roo meat is fresher. Not heading to Vic in near future. Thanks for advise Alan.

        • Trust your nose re: the roo thing. One raw vendor around here was selling ‘roo’ at a premium price, only later did it emerge that the product contained no roo whatsoever. The pet food scene is loaded with people trying to take advantage it seems. 🙁

        • That’s actually so bad, but in the world of pet food it’s simply another day at the office, I wonder though if the smell made it at all obvious it wasn’t kangaroo? because based on treats I’ve bought in the past beef jerky had a much milder less nose evasive smell then kangaroo, that doesn’t mean I didn’t think it smelt good the dogs or at least Angel freaking loves kangaroo treats haha especially the rib racks.

          I think everyone in the pet food industry should be seen as money making machines unless they state otherwise with like really healthy food that’s actually amazing for the pets and even if they get bought out they continue to create delicacy’s for pets, they don’t stoop to the level of lets cut corners to save money and make a worse food then they previously had and loose a lot of loyal customers.

          Which in reality not much of an issue they loose 5000 and 5000 new customers will appear in like no time flat, people who don’t follow news of the change won’t know about it and new pet parents won’t either and there you have it the customers we lost are back and we’ve got even more new unsuspecting ones. The posts of sick dogs are pretty far and few between and most of it doesn’t even make the news feeds and yeah they continue the whole ignorance is bliss facade.

          If people were expecting anything else then sorry to blow that bubble but in the real world money is all they can see, I swear some people when they react to a bad food must have been living in an alternate universe because corruption happens everyday and if you can’t see it they can use that to sell you or your pet trash and hell you won’t even know, but when something happens you’ll be like omg they can’t do that! yes they can actually it’s not illegal and just because it’s 2018 doesn’t mean it shouldn’t happen.

        • Because their taught what food goes with which condition, which the food creates and then the vet diet keeps under wraps for a few years before the wrap gives up and the dog usually gets worse and needs to be euthanised it’s quiet a sad world the world of dog food. I also heard the nutrition part of the course for vets is anywhere from an hour to two hours, talking about what I said above, I’m sorry but 2 hours isn’t long enough, what can you possibly learn in 2 hours? took me 6 years.

          I read a review the other day made me want to react to it but I think it was on pet warehouse so you can’t really react to that lol, anyways the review said I got Royal for my pups after reading rave reviews. I thought what rave reviews? because I see nothing but bad talk about it, but maybe that’s because I know the good websites from the bad fake ones.

          Either way seriously overpriced bag of corn and rice with a few scraps of meat for good measure, the food is probably only 4% meat if I’m going to be honest.

  3. Thanks great discussion now totally confused. I only want the best for my dogs as we all do. Perhaps I should stay with the Royal Canin??? We are going away for a month and leaving our dogs with a house and dog minder. I was hoping to make it easier for her by cutting out the roo meat. I think it has preservatives in it and it doesn’t always smell fresh. My neighbor only gives his dog Black Hawk morning and night. I have bought the Black Hawk and mixed it with the RC. Perhaps I could get chicken wings and drumsticks to add instead of Roo meat. If I freeze them that should be easier for her.

  4. Hello I have 2 Goldie’s. Male puts on weight easily so have them on Royal Canin weight management. Expensive. Neighbour suggested Blackhawk grain free. So have bought a bag and mixing it with Royal Canin to get them used to to the change. They will eat anything but like to keep them healthy. They also get fresh roo meat with dinner and dry food in morning. Would like to cut out the fresh meat. Any advise

    • You’ll want to continue adding fresh meat not only for the health of your pet but it was found to reduce cancer risk by 90% and in a world where pets have the very same diseases we do and in large quantities around the world, reducing your pets risk is very important.

      Meals for Mutts is an amazing food I agree with Jacki, it’s on special on my pet warehouse right now, so best time to try it.

      https://www.mypetwarehouse.com.au/store/search.asp?keyword=pr8bb12

    • Hi Judy.

      The royal canin won’t really help with weight loss as it is mainly grains and can help the dogs put on weight quite quickly. If you are after a light food then I probably recommend Meals For Mutts lite with only 9% fat, they also have a salmon & sardine flavour which is only 10% fat. Keep in mind these are not grain free but they are gluten free, they have brown rice and no peas or lentils, they include coconut oil for healthy skin and coat and turmeric which is known to keep joints nice and healthy. MFM is also made in Australia with Australian ingredients and is human grade.

      I also advise to not cut out the fresh meat but to simply cut it down if it is a cost issue. Red meat in your pets diet will help keep their stomach acid balanced so they are able to digest bones and fight off bacterial infections that can cause upset bellies. Just keep in mind that some pet grade meat like kangaroo can have a lot of preservatives in it and can cause more scratching and upset stomachs. Best to stick to what your butcher can give you.

      Hope this was helpful Judy

      • Thanks Jacki. Am going to give MFM a go. Although just bought a big bag of Black Hawk. The red meat is not a cost issue. It’s just that where I buy the roo it doesn’t seem to be as fresh. It comes packaged and is often smelly. I used to get large bags from Pet Barn and divi it up and freeze it. but we moved interstate and a roo supplier is close to home. It does have preservatives as it lasts longer unfrozen. However there is a pet barn nearby. I’ll go back to them
        and give them a try. Also the fresh meat is more about convenience as we are going away for a while and thought to make feeding easier for minder. Ah well. Will keep adding fresh meat to their dry food for dinner.

      • Where are you getting that version of the M4M ingredients? I’ve checked every formula before as I was looking which foods my friend can rotate and only pet warehouse has the coconut oil and turmeric in the ingredients, the website only the CN have coconut oil and there’s no turmeric to be found anywhere.

        • I checked the back of the bag. The new formulas without peas now have coconut oil in them and I haven’t checked all of them but from what I’ve bought the ones with brown rice also have tumeric. I really like the direction mfm is going with their food

        • Hmm that’s really good, this way my friend won’t need to spend a fortune on the CN Vital to get coconut oil, will also be better for me, I’ll be able to get the lower fat one.

          They should really update their website, they said their in the process of it, does it really take that long though? when I first created a 1 page website in school took me forever but then I had no idea what I was doing lol.

          This is a real good development for them as we know that companies who change formulas usually change them for the worst not better. So it’s nice to see a good change for once.

        • Edanna, I’ve checked the grain free bags and they too now include the coconut oil and tumeric. So as long as the bag is the new packaging it will be the new formula.

          Their website is run by another company, as far as I know they’ve hired them to change it but it hasn’t been done yet. I mean it still lists their salmon and sardine formula as new. So it clearly hasn’t been updated in awhile.

        • Yeah I told them on Facebook to go over it as there’s lots of spelling mistakes, they said they’d get someone to look at it, I feel like once the changes have been made that the errors will be fixed as well, makes it look kind of unprofessional.

          I think most pet brands don’t own their own websites, sometimes you ask a question and it’s like they have no idea what your talking about, if they owned and checked the site themselves they’d know how to answer. The only way I can search for the CN Vital is by googling it, I can’t find a link to it anywhere in the website, this is why both me and Susan thought it was discontinued. When I asked them about it they said we’re still selling them, but that wasn’t the question, I asked why they removed it from the website it was clear they had no idea what I was talking about, I asked like 3 different times and same answer.

          At the end of it I think I may have been banned, I posted something nothing bad and I couldn’t find the post, I searched high and low for it, Susan figures I was banned because that’s what happens when your banned. I dunno some companies and people are just weird, if indeed I was banned it was uncalled for, I didn’t say anything that would get me banned.

          I will get one of the hopefully new grain free bags after I finish this one, it’s still got maybe a kilo or so left. Is the analysis the same? like are they still 30% protein and 16% fat and 4% fibre for the salmon one?
          Apparantly the one I was looking at wasn’t grain free lol, I almost wrote the wrong percentages.

  5. I have fed Ivory Coat Ocean Fish and Salmon to my dog for weight control worked really well. I have also added Stay loyal to the mix. I also feed chicken, sardines, Tuna, mince, chicken hearts at various meals. So they only get 50% pellets. Would highly recommend IC OF & Salmon for weight control.

  6. Thanks for the heads up. This explains why my Staffy is putting on too much weight on a Black Hawk only diet. I trusted this brand as a differentiator from the unregulated US multi national few that manufacture the majority the brands, eg Nestle, Mars, Purina, Hills.

    I am now of the conclusion that rendered pet food kibble is poisoning our dogs. I trusted Eukanuba to my last Staffy only to realise they also changed their recipe progressively as my beautiful boy aged. He died of Kidney failure. With kidney disease, there are siezures and sporadic balance issues. A determined trooper until the end. I blame myself for too much kibble in his diet.

    We are going back to chicken necks and lamb and beef cuts. Fresh, raw wet meat is best. There is a US documentary on the pet food scam currently airing on Netflix. It is a must see and a revelation for dog owners.

    • Look I see lots of folk feeding chicken necks.
      Sure that reduces any risk of bone shards becoming lodged in the throat.
      But after many years (20+) with Ridgebacks, Greyhounds, & a 4.5 Kg lapdog I stand by the alternative Chicken WINGS!.
      Easier to purchase & generally better price, available in bulk almost anywhere ( not Coles/Woolies generally).
      You get: raw meat & bone & skin & natural animal fats.
      Any dog, even our late 4.5 Kg lapdog (after she lost some teeth), can demolish chicken wings.
      The plus side is they make great human snacks when roasted.
      We typically buy at $3 to $3.50 per kg. fro our local wholesale butcher.

      • Same experience as Susan. I’ve never actually dissected a chicken neck to understand the meat/bone/fat/sinew ratio, but whatever is in there seems to trigger a puke about 50% of the time in my case. (These are the human grade ones with the thyroid removed).

        Another chicken cut worth considering is the ‘maryland’ which offers a higher ratio again of muscle meat to bone & other stuff than say, drumsticks. The drawback is that it’s a fairly large portion and a bit much for small dogs without further chopping. The last batch I picked up from a bulk meat outlet was at drumstick prices, so they’re excellent value considering the meat content.

        • I had the same issue with feeding the brought frozen Kangaroo meat. I had 1 lab throw it up every time I fed it. So i don’t feed it anymore. I have always fed chicken necks and I don’t think the fat is a bad thing in proportion and i do see meat in them I buy my neck from a butcher 4 x the size of the coles & woolies ones. But I will certainly introduce a few wings to give it a go.

      • Hi your better off feeding chicken wings & chicken drumsticks, chicken necks are just fat & bone, no real meat, my last 2 dogs always spewed up the chicken neck bone vet said change & feed the drumstick or wing instead there’s more meat…. find a chicken factory like Steggles or Inghams in your area were your butcher would buy from they sell in bulk & cheaper..

    • Hi just make sure you balance the diet & get tin sardines in Spring water, add a few sardines
      thru the week to meals 1 tin will be enough for the 7days, follow people like “Rodney Habib” & “Peter Dobias” on their face book page, Rodney F/B page is really good he exposed all these pet food companies,our pet are dying to young from cancer….

    • FrontierPets is also a good brand I’m totally going around advocating it because it turned Rusty into a puppy and the feeding amounts are so small! It’s freeze dried by the way.
      But yes if you can fresh is best followed by freeze dried I think.
      With kibble being the worst, even brands like Orijen it’s still kibble it’s still extruded at high heats.

  7. I changed to Blackhawk grain free due to my girl having a yeast build up in her ears. Her ears are looking great, but she has stacked on the weight, so has my other dog that eats the same food. I am slowly decreasing, but don’t want to starve them… Any suggestions?
    I have also got myself a lab puppy who is on the royal canine lab puppy food. Thinking of changing to Blackhawk. Thoughts?
    Or should I change them all to a different brand altogether…

    • The fat percentage of the new formulas is 18% so generally based on Rusty I can’t do 18% with him as he gains weight, he does fine on around 14% though.

      Ingredients wise taste of the wild seems to similar you could try the fish formula for the girl, but if it’s the coconut and emu oil that’s helping with the ears, taste doesn’t have those ingredients.
      Ivory coat has a coconut oil formula and there’s also my personal favourite Artemis Osopure any formula they are all 24% protein and 14% fat and use lower GI carbohydrates which should prove beneficial for yeast. <— seriously awesome food! I love it so much.

  8. I have just switched from Hills Science diet to Black Hawk Grain free chicken for my 1 year old pomeranian, she is not fussy with her food but recently since I gave her black hawk her stool has been very wet and runny and I also found theres a little bit of blood in her stool, please advise if she is allergic to the food ? I’m a bit worried. Should I continue or switch to Ivory Coat as the review in this forum is really good.

    • This can happen if you didn’t transition to the food over at least a week, some dogs have even required 1 month to move over to a new food.

      If you however did transition, the new grain free formulas are an odd bunch and I think you’d be better off on Ivory Coat, simpler better ingredients, in my opinion.

  9. This is what the full analysis for black https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ede8dc3beca711e7b14d617532539d22792ecf18a2957963e9512f9537bcd683.jpg hawk grain free is, I finally received a trial bag and Rusty can’t have any of it because it contains stuff that Earthborn had and I don’t need him to be sick again.

    I will open the bag I want to smell it and try it with Anja, but Mel will get the rest for her dog as she wants to try Blackhawk for him.

    • Gee finally, I sent away for a Dog & Cat sample when the new formulas came out months ago… Black Hawk sent me an email about 1-2 weeks ago saying my sample is coming, there’s just a bit of a delay, it said something like that…..
      Do the kibble test, put 2 kibbles in a cup of warm water/hot from the tap but not boiling water & see how long the kibbles take to become soft all the way thru ?? Do the kibbles soften quickly or take hours??
      The Black Hawk cat grain free sample came last week, Indy loves them but Indy eats anything she also loves Patches Holistic Select Salmon grain free kibble..

  10. My Boston Terrier has had trouble with diarrhea on this dry food & Ivory Coat which gets great reviews. My other dog has been fine on both so my Boston obviously has an allergic reaction to an ingredient/s in both dry foods. I’ve switched him to Applaws so we will see how he goes.
    Thanks for your website as I refer to it all the time. Appreciate all your efforts. 🙂

  11. Just starting feeding my 12mth old staffy on this but the grain free one with kangaroo the last 2 weeks lve noticed him having abdominal cramping not every day but has had 3 miled bouts in the last 2 weeks, has anyone else had this problem. Has been to vets.

    • That and gas problems seem to be the most common in that food, usually it’s an allergy response or your dogs body simply can’t handle an ingredient, there’s a few other foods on the same price point as Blackhawk maybe those will be better suited, I personally don’t agree with their new grain free formulas, it appears the ingredients have gone downhill and some unecessary stuff has been added.

      I have no personal experience with the brand unfortunately, just what I read and I read a lot.

  12. I have just had the worst customer experience with MasterPet over the BlackHawk Grain Free Chicken. Being told that there wasn’t potato as an ingredient. As i contacted them regarding possible contamination as my dog gets a red rash from grains and potato.

    PS what a fantastic Site, Very Informative, Fantastic

    I was assured that potato wasn’t added. Even received a sample and low and behold potato is listed. We were emailing for about 2 weeks regarding this issue until yesterday. Below is my response to their incompetence.

    ———————————————–
    Thanks got the sample ######
    You guys might want to rethink your strategy to the NEW recipes of the BLACKHAWK GRAIN FREE RANGE.

    Throughout our entire conversation I have been stating that my Dog CANNOT have potatoes and you and others in your staff have assured me that potato is not an ingredient.

    I hope you guys realise sweet potato and normal potato are from two completely genomes.

    Listed on the ingredients is POTATO.

    This is what happens when foreigners buy Australian Companies.

    I’m clearly NOT HAPPY.

    Sorry to say we will not be buying any MASTERPET products because you clearly can’t read a simple ingredient list on your own product.

    These emails will be posted on online forums to show how incompetent you and your company is.

    Selling to a Foreign Consortium was the worst direction your company had taken.

    /endrant

    —————————————————-
    Will be asking for a full refund as the original purchase is clearly contaminated with potato.

    • It would appear their still stuck on the old formulas help wise, I don’t think they’ve reviewed the new formulas at all.

      Still very funny though and your not the first and won’t be the only one with old information replies, at least they replied that’s a start, some companies can’t even do that.

  13. I just picked up a sample of the LAMB flavour from my local pet produce store. Ingredients are similar but has lamb meal IN ADDITION to the chicken meal and tapioca and chicken fat have switched places. Also has egg listed which is not on the above ingredients list:

    Lamb Meal, Chicken Meal, Peas, Chicken Fat (naturally preserved with Rosemary Extract, Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Tapioca, Potato, Sweet Potato, Chicken Gravy, Sugar Beet Pulp, Essential Vitamins and Minerals (see tables), Salmon Oil, Sunflower Oil, Chicory Root, Di-Calcium Phosphate, Egg, Alfalfa, Salt, Apple, Brewers Yeast, Pumpkin Seeds, Natural Antioxidants, Coconut Oil, Yoghurt Powder, Emu Oil, Blueberries, Cranberries, Dandelion Tea, Parsley, Peppermint Tea, Rosemary Extract, Chondroitin, Glucosamine, Carrots, Yucca Schidigera, Spinach, Kelp, Tomato, Beta Carotene.

    • Sorry what brand is this one

    • Well the one he reviewed is the chicken and it indeed does not have egg based on their website, don’t really know why though the biological value of eggs for dogs is even higher then meat, there’s literally no good reason not to add it.

      Tapioca being lower is better as its high GI along with normal potatoes.
      The chicken gravy is digest so eww we don’t need that but whatever.
      It’s got a wonderful selection of oils and yoghurt powder.
      The teas are weird and tea also binds to iron in your body and gets rid of it, it’s no real wonder my stores of iron are depleted, I drank like 3 cups of tea a day about a month ago for like an entire year.
      Alfalfa or lucerne or hay isn’t really needed as a lot of people’s dogs have trouble with it.
      Cranberries are good for UTI’s but their pretty low so I’m not sure if they will help very much.
      The addition of the greens is nice but again the bottom of the list.
      Glucosamine and Chondroitin being that low will help small medium dogs the most with large ones needing 5x the amount or more to gain any benefit, the oils will help the most here.
      Oh and yeah coconut oil brings older dogs to life, helps puppies learn and is extremely good for all over health.

      I love knowing so much about each ingredient it’s super fun.

  14. Well ok than, I guess your dog simply had one of the many reactions I’ve heard of when changing to Blackhawk, I personally will not use the new grain free, I was going to and than I found out what chicken gravy is and nope.

    I’ve ordered Ivory Coat and Earthborn this time and I’ve had the Ivory before but not the Earthborn so I guess once it arrives next week I’ll see how everyone does on it, I heard that taurine and even maybe the L carnitine in it helps with heart related issues and Rusty needs help as he’s gotten a murmur out of nowhere, hopefully it works and gives him a better quality of life when it comes down to exercise as he gets tired really quickly.

  15. I never saw your reply which was weird as I check my disqus page several times daily so it either never showed up or I had so many replies and up votes that I lost yours in between them however the first one is more likely as I don’t get upvoted much.

    I just wanted to say like I said before everything goes up in price, sometimes if your lucky it will go down, I’ve apparently read about the going down part and that it’s not 100% true, but I don’t really remember the math behind it.
    I do remember the recently new Woolworths rewards the ones before this, where you had to buy the ticket items to get points only they increased the price of the items so they wouldn’t loose money, someone showed a picture of the ticket price vs the price underneath the ticket and the ticket was like $6 and the price underneath it was $4.50 way to ripoff people who don’t check underneath the tags.

    Nothing is ever what it seems or what they want you to believe about being cheaper, however I’ve gone completely off topic again lol and at the end of the day all I wanted to say is our food gets consistently more expensive and unfortunately that includes dog food as they use our food to make it, unless it’s like Purina or something who uses our garbage to make food and than charges a premium for it.

    Anyone for 6.5kg of corn, wheat and soy? For literally $120 something per bag, $120 for a 6.5kg bag what is the world of dog food coming to yikes.

  16. Tried my dogs on the grain free one was ok with it but my cattle dog struggled with it.. he became bloated and lethargic ended up doing the most vile vomit I have ever seen.. back to his old self after a few days of. It eating it

    • Hi Kristyn, yes did you slowly introduce over 7 days? the fat in the New Black Hawk is tooo high for my old boy it’s 18%min so max fat is probably around 20% fat….I stick with kibbles around 10% to 15% fat, people don’t look at the fat% & some dogs get acid reflux when the fat% is too high…..My boy can’t have any kibbles with fish oil, salmon oil, soybean oil he gets bad acid reflux & look miserable, mopping around the house…

    • I would hope that you transitioned to it rather than outright just changing to it?

      Even within the same company, because some of the ingredients lists between formulas vary wildly and you can’t just change cold turkey.

      Those are usually the symptoms I read and even worse ones when giving the food was done wrong.

  17. I will be changing brands also as my dog has inflammatory bowel disease and a few ingredients in the new packaging will not suit him. It’s a shame as he has done really well on black hawk grain free chicken for quite a while now. I will be looking at switching to Ivory Coat. If the company thought we wouldn’t notice a 5kg reduction in the big bags at pretty much the same price and cheaper ingredients (no linseed, peas as second ingredient and just chicken meal no chicken (was 2nd ingredient) then they are crazy! Personally I prefer to support an Australian company and if they are Australian no more then I won’t be buying…..

    • I have just switched from Black Hawk to Ivory Coat and can report my dog absolutely loves it! Usually she eats a combo of dry grain free food (used to be Black Hawk) mixed together with fresh human-quality meat and veggies, but with Ivory Coat, a few times she’s happily and eagerly eaten a whole portion of just dry food by itself. It actually smells pretty good too. So far I’ve only opened the duck and turkey variety, but have bags of the venison and the lamb variety waiting to try too!

    • I would just do the switch to Ivory Coat like you said, it’s an awesome food and definitely much better than the Blackhawk now.

      • Thanks Amateria. Such a shame really, I would have prefered to stay with Black Hawk. It was a great product and was priced well compared with similar products.. Ivory coat a good product but quite a bit more expensive and not quite as good as the old black hawk.

        • Earthborn is another good food that can be quite economical when it’s on special. I grabbed 2 bags recently when Petwarehouse had buy one bag, get one free. Meals for Mutts grain free is also a similar pricepoint or now even cheaper than BlackHawk when you shop around, and much better ingredients!

        • i’ve had great success with meal for mutts grain free gluten free on a white staffy with allergies.

        • Well there’s always taste of the wild which is similar priced, their high prairie and the fish one are great personal experience, the new fish4dogs is cheap and doesn’t seem all that bad, it’s got high GI tapioca as the 2nd ingredient though so I wouldn’t feed it for long periods of time, I think under the sun was verly good but our formulas are the old ones with pork and some dogs had problems with that.

          Farmers market range is decent, does contain wheat though.

  18. The “New” Black Hawk grain free has been reduced in weight by half a kilogram. Half a Kilo less product for the same price. Yes, the price was not reduced, not bad margins if you can get it. Me, I will be moving on to another brand.

    • Yeah but like every brand I’ve ever heard of has done that or will do that in the future, not the first and not the last.

      Pet food is expensive to make and if you don’t sell enough eventually you have to drop the bag size, dropping the price together with the bag wouldn’t work, because the whole idea was to make more profit not less.

  19. Hi. My dog has done well on a combo of this food with raw and homecooked ever since we switched from puppy food. I was interested to see the new grain free formulations Black Hawk have put out, but it seems like the quality overall has declined.

    In particular, I’ve noticed that “Chicken gravy” is an new ingredient in this new formulation. Do you have any insight into what this might be? Is it like the tallow or other by-products or rendered “natural flavours” you’ve mentioned critically in other food reviews, or is it something else? It sounds suspicious to me and it’s in all the new grain-free varieties, not just the chicken one.

    Thanks for the great work you do with this site!

    • Yes, it’s chicken digest which comes from meat rendering, so from the same place as tallow. Digest is a broth, tallow is the emulsified fats.

      Chicken flavour, natural flavour, gravy… they’re all ways of hiding what it really is. It’s in most foods.

      Peppermint is an interesting one. It soothes the stomach and reduces gas. In the comments on this page alone there have been many reports of digestive issues with Black Hawk foods.

      • What does “Meat digest” mean when the product is raw, Kangaroo meat and also contains meat digest?
        [Paws 3kg red bag from Woolworths/Coles]

        • Hi, email the company & ask them what are they using in their “Meat Digest”,
          I Googled what is Meat Digest in dog foods? & it said, Animal digest is a common ingredient in Pet Foods. As defined by the AAFCO, digest is produced by the chemical or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean animal tissue that has not under gone decomposition…

        • Pet Food Reviews November 29, 2016 at 2:18 pm

          It can, and will be, any kind of animal. Road kill is possible. Rodents are possible. Other nasties are possible (and likely). It doesn’t need to contain Kangaroo which is listed as a separate ingredient.

        • I tried looking it up twice now, using different wording and such and nudda nothing, just talks about the usual of what digest is and how it’s produced.

          Considering it’s an unnamed version of it, I wouldn’t buy it as you have no idea what animal it could be, just buy kanga mince and any of the other ingredients in it and make it yourself at least that way you know what’s in it.

        • Lisa-Maree Fletcher November 29, 2016 at 9:47 am

          I’m thinking maybe it’s still kanga but could be road kill and since it’s not species specific could also be rabbits wombats etc. In any case I returned it to Woolies. They said they will look into it and investigate what it means but I’m sure I’ll not hear about it. I’ve also emailed the manufacturer and if they reply will post here.

        • Yeah it could be anything, someone on dfa said they can’t do that based on the law, but really why would they care? A lot of companies that sell junk food don’t, it’s all for them and they won’t tell you what’s really in it instead you’ll get a run around.

          I emailed Coles a few weeks back asking about stocking a vegetarian food I like and ticked the box which says if you want a reply, nothing at all no reply whatsoever.

          Whether they will actually even truly investigate it is another thing altogether.

          If you do get a reply however than yeah sure post it and we will see what they have to say or if it’s a general reply like some companies do.

        • Lisa-Maree Fletcher December 1, 2016 at 8:03 am

          Reply from Real Pet Food (who also make Natures Goodness / Farmers Market & VIP Dog Roll among others):
          “Thank you for taking the time to contact us with your enquiry.

          Meat digest is a concentrated flavour enhancer derived from meat, which is similar to a stock cube. It will consist of the meats found in the Paws Fresh Lean Mince product.”

          When I queried further I received the response:

          “The meat digest used in the Paws Fresh Lean Mince will be derived from Kangaroo and Beef meats, which are the meats listed in the ingredients in the Paws Fresh 3kg bags.”

          My understanding is that it is some sort of rendered product made from animals (roo & beef) who were unfit to be included as the fresh portion *shudders*.

          I’m still uneasy about the inclusion of a processed ingredient like a “stock cube” into a fresh/raw protein. The use by date was July 2017 (purchase date Nov 2016) so I’m sure the unspecified preservative will be loads of sulphites…I returned the bag to Woolies for a refund.

          So now I’m left with: pet grade roo mince at my local produce store ($6/kg) or human grade chicken breast which I recently got (in bulk) for $3.39/kg and had purchased for the family but am now sharing with my GSD.

          I’m feeding BH fish potato 75% with the fresh chicken breast 25%. GSD is 7 months old. Does he need any added fat to his diet?

        • Generally digest is also likely full of msg which no one has a need for.

          Usually puppies require a higher fat diet as they will generally burn the fat with their high energy, bigger dogs stay puppies until 18 months of age.
          They are also predispotioned to grow rapidly and get hip dysplasia among other bone problems, it would be much better for you to have him on a large breed puppy food to ensure he grows correctly as there’s a calcium to phosphorus ration when it comes to big dogs that cannot be ignored.

          I hear that a lot on dfa so much so that I don’t think it would be wise to simply ignore it.

          How that guys gsd’s on YouTube grow up normal and healthy is beyond me, all he gives them is raw meat and offal and yet he’s never mentioned any problems, but than some people don’t.

          Ivory Coat has a new large breed formula with coconut oil might be worth trying, coconut oil is amazing and will help your puppy learn easier, which I heard gsd’s do pretty well anyways, but you can always make it slightly easier :p
          It’s also amazing for coat among a wide array of other things.

      • Thanks for the explanation. Yeah, I’m not crazy about rendered meat byproducts and other such rubbish. I think it’s very sneaky that they can call that stuff completely innocuous names like “natural flavours” and “chicken gravy”! All in all it looks like Black Hawk’s ingredient quality has markedly decreased while the price has increased and the size of the bags is also reduced. I’m no longer happy with it in terms of either nutrition or value for money and am switching to Ivory Coat. Also considering trying the Meals for Mutts grain free range.

        But it takes us months to get through even a small 2 or 3 kg bag, because my dog is only about 8kg, and the majority of her food is fresh raw or homecooked human-grade meat and veg. That leads me to another question, how long do you recommend as the upper limit that dog food stays good once it is open? I keep it in the sealed bag and in an airtight container, but I’m still concerned whether it goes stale after about 6 weeks or so. Does it depend on brand? Is there any reliable way to tell if the food had gone stale if it still looks and smells fine?

        • To your last few words, the Ivory Coat fish formula I had stayed fresh and oily up until I used it all which was upwards of 3 months.
          I’m kind of hoping that the ones I have now last that long although I wish I could use the Artemis up faster as there’s another brand I want to buy, but since I already have 2 containers with 2 different kibbles adding a 3rd would be crazy.

          Ivory does state on its website that it’s food stays fresh for 60 days and to use it within that time and one of their formulas even stated 30 days, but with a chihuahua who eats the kibble as a treat that’s impossible to do and than another chi who prefers her $3 kibble over the $24 one so once again I’m stuck giving small portions and the kibble takes forever to run out.

  20. I wish they would tell us what the essential vitamins and minerals are, I messaged them 2 weeks ago but never got a reply which is really nothing new to me.

    • I msg for a free sample 1 month ago & still haven’t received no dog or cat samples at least when the old owners owned Black Hawk you’d get your samples & you’d get a response when you asked B/H a question…..
      Canidae is bringing out a few new pure formulas either November or December. I’ve been waiting 1 yr for the new Canidae pure formulas, the fat is lower then their other grain free Pure formulas, I hope the Pure Wild comes, Patch does real well on pork… Canidea also have 3 new Small Breed Pure formulas come out in America, we probably wont get them…
      http://www.canidae.com/dog-food/products

      • I used the sample page for the samples I guess we’ll find out if ever get them or not.

        I’ll keep an eye on Canidae see what’s changed when they come out.
        Might be rotation material in the future.

        I was also told by pet warehouse that all the super premium foods these days allow you to refund if your dog doesn’t like it, so they no longer give out samples.

        • Ivory Coat has 2 new formulas, Chicken Adult & Lamb large breed puppy, I emailed Ivory coat Sunday & asked can my adult dog eat the Large breed puppy it has lower protein 28% then their other formulas & the fat is 14%min, 15% max fat & Patch does real well on Lamb kibbles, a man rung me Monday morning & said yes Patch can eat the puppy large breed & Ivory Coat is guaranteed money back….samples won’t be out till January next year…

        • That puppy formula is actually really nice with the addition of coconut oil and it’s nice and high on the list as well, which is very nice, anyone buying it for their large breed will have extreme success with it.

  21. Hi dog food advisor the fat % is wrong 16% in all 3 grain free formulas the fat is 18% min so max fat % can be another 5% fat ..It’s a shame there isn’t a Grain Free formula with a lower fat % around 14%max..

  22. I have a 1yr old cavoodle. . Weighs 12kgs..
    He is unbelievably fussy eater. . Will starve until he vomits bile.
    I have tried royal canin mini, royal canin anallergic, optimum, and now on Black Hawk grain free chicken…
    I am mixing black hawk GF with boiled chicken. ..

    Although all he wants is plain boiled chicken.. Wil not eat anything else..

    My query is that Black Hawk Grain Free in the feeding guide says for dogs upto 8kgs..
    AND my dog is 12kgs..
    What do you recommend ?
    Is it ok on the long term to only have Black Hawk GF?

    • If he only wants the chicken over the kibble maybe try something like taste of the wild or Ivory Coat their very meat heavy foods, maybe he just prefers meatier food.

      You could also try stuff like Ziwipeak or K9 Natural as toppers as their pricey and see if that coaxes him into eating his food.

      • Thank you Amateria for the pointer..
        I think you are right about the fact that he prefers meatier food..
        Because I noticed the same with his treats.. He stopped eating most of the treats and would only have dried chicken liver as a treat..
        I have already ordered free samples for ivory coat.. I like that…
        I think K9 natural also looks good to me as topper..
        Thank you again..

        • Hi Archi, Taste Of The Wild have 2.5kg bags & TOTW will refund your money if your dog wont eat their kibble also look at Canidae Pure kibbles & Canidae Pure Wet Tin Food, Canidae will also refund money if your dog wont eat their kibbles & wet tin, Canidae kibbles are nice & small… Ivory Coat kibbles aren’t small people have asked & asked Ivory coat to make a smaller kibble but they still haven’t..do you think your dog likes a smaller kibble or it doesn’t matter?

        • No probs, tell me how it goes.

    • Hi Archi,it’s worth checking with your vet as he may have a problem with his teeth or gums which is stopping him eating the kibble.

      Black Hawk Grain Free is okay to feed dogs of any weight. For the long term it’s worth considering rotating with other foods to add variety and balance. It’s great that you’re supplementing with boiled chicken as any fresh meats go a long way with nutrition.

      • Hey thank you for your help. .

        We have been to vet twice in 3 months.. All is ok. He did eat optimum from another dog at doggy daycare and got diarrhea with it.
        He loves chewing nylabone so I think it’s just him being fussy..

        What do you recommend alternating it with ?
        Given so many options it is very confusing..

      • Thank you for your quick response. Already been to vet twice seems ok.
        He did eat other dogs food at day care one day which was dry food as well.. so seems he is just picky..
        What do you recommend alternating with ?? It is very confusing. .

  23. Black Hawk Grain Free Chicken Wet Food….Go to Facebook Page: Mornington Peninsula Pet Lovers OR Facebook Page: Southern Peninsula Noticeboard (for photos and more information) URGENT WARNING PLEASE SHARE MAGGOTS FOUND IN BLACK HAWK DOG FOOD
    Here is yet another horrifying experience we are hearing about (the previously respected) Black Hawk Dog Food, which is now Owned by MASTERPET (EBOS GROUP). For those of you who don’t know MASTERPET is well known for making cheap pet treats (mostly made in Thailand) using some of the most questionable? mostly imported, salt & chemical ladened ingredients in the industry. *The below information was provided to us on Aug 18th, 2016 by Debbie Martin.
    WE FOUND MAGGOTS WHEN WE OPENED A TIN OF BLACK HAWK DOG FOOD (we did not feed them this can but had fed them previous cans from the same box which was completely sealed with no signs of any puncture marks) AND OUR POODLE AND SHITZU HAVE BEEN SICK FOR A MONTH.(Their bloods came back with CAMPYLOBATER JEJENI which can only be contracted from chicken AND the box was a box of 12 chicken ) It is an expensive brand and is grain free and holistic.SO FAR THE VET BILLS ARE $2500 AND THE MANUFACTURER MASTERPET (who are self regulating) ARE DENYING ALL RESPONSIBILITY. We had fed them this food for the past 2 years with no incident. All we want is for our sweet doggies to be completely well. We are up day and night looking after them. The manufacturers who have no REGULATORY BODY to answer to shouldnt be allowed to get away with this. Its my hope it does not happen to anyone else. Let them know how you would feel if this would happen to you.
    REPLY TO MASTERPET Dear Masterpet NONE of the tins you tested were consumed by my dogs …but I would have thought the one you would be MOST interested in testing would be the SPOILED one with the maggots. As it would have given you an idea of what contamination had occurred. As it was in my opinion the preceding tins in the box of 12 to that spoiled can which infected my dogs and caused them to become so ill.By NOT TESTING THE EVIDENCE that was supplied to you ie… the affected maggot ridden can with the most unbelievable stench, in my opinion made your testing VERY suss and invalid. Because I am sure CAMPYLOBACTER JEJUNI bacteria (the same bacteria my dogs now have ) would have BEEN DETECTED in the spoiled can. So in my opinion you manipulated the testing. And made your self regulatory testing procedure an absolute joke.Sincerely Debbie Martin WHAT DID THE PFIAA DO?
    PFIAA (Pet Food Industry Association Australia) is self regulatory and (get this?) is run by the actual manufacturers of the pet food themselves (Wtf?). And when I contacted them about this matter, they did nothing but tell me to contact the manufacturers of Black Hawk (Masterpet) – Which means we’re just going around in circles with nothing being done?
    Debbie Martin
    HOW IS THE AUSTRALIAN PET FOOD INDUSTRY REGULATED?
    BEAR’S STORY
    Bear the little poodle was originally my oldest sisters dog. She passed away under tragic circumstances and Bear was left alone with her dead body for 2-3 weeks…..This is a photo of Bear when I took him into my home. For months I syringed food in to his mouth 4-5 times daily with a mixture of intensive care food and electrolytes…and helped him recover mentally from this huge trauma. Bear was in his absolute prime physical and mental state. Then this tragic BLACK HAWK SITUATION STRUCK HIM DOWN AGAIN! What has been done to him after all he has been through is unforgivable.
    HAVE YOU HAD A BAD EXPERIENCE WITH BLACK HAWK DOG FOOD SINCE IT WAS TAKEN OVER BY MASTERPET?

  24. Will there be a review for the black hawk grain free canned/wet food? My dog has a very sensitive stomach and he’s fine on this dry food – thought I’d try the canned version but it gave him diarrhoea. Wondering if the quality is lower in the canned version?

    • Reply
      Pet Food Reviews (Australia) December 6, 2015 at 6:28 am

      Hi Cat, I think it will be a long time until wet foods are reviewed. That said, the Black Hawk canned food is good and worth feeding. Diarrhoea can be common when introducing a new food, so you may find stools return to normal within two weeks if not a few days.

  25. I’m so confused about what to feed my 15 week old Boston Terrier puppy. My breeder was feeding her Purina Supercoat Puppy and raw chicken mince so I started with that. All was good for a couple of weeks and then she started getting diarrhoea (sometimes just liquid). I’ve done a bit of research and Ivory Coat or Black Hawk looks like they could be good for her. My question is – what else do I put with it? What about when I’m training her? At the moment we’ve been rotating the following: sausages, devon, steak, cheese, ham and bacon.

    • Reply
      Pet Food Reviews (Australia) November 12, 2015 at 7:33 am

      Hi Kat, what mince were you feeding? Pet mince or supermarket?

      Both Black Hawk and Ivory Coat are good. Ivory Coat make some excellent treats, great for training. Chicken breast cut into small squares is a great treat. Chicken necks is also a good option for supplemental feeding.

  26. Hi I swapped my puppy Aussie Bulldog to Black Hawk but she has the worst smelling farts now, I am wondering if you could suggest another around the same price

  27. Hello Guys, any GSD people that could recommend what they think is the best dry food to feed a German shepherd puppy taking into account the hips and knees issues as well as growth please.

  28. I have been feeding Black Hawk grain free chicken for a while now—one 14 yrs –one 5 yrs— they both love it ,& the coats are great.–both are miniature poodles, & the biscuit size is good for both young & old.

  29. Hi everyone, I have a six month old Border Collie who has a problem with very loose stools. He has been on Eukanuba, and Advance with no real improvement and this last week I switched over to Blackhawk puppy over 5 days (having read positive reviews) but his problem has worsened – he now has diarrhoea. I’m thinking he may have an intolerance to grains but not sure. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

    • Hi Jenny, I realized my golden retriever was intolerant to rice, giving her diarrhea. She has been much better since changing to a grainfree kibble, but I find I also need to supplement her meals with grated carrot, or apple pieces for added fibre & moisture. Hope this helps.

    • Hi Jenny. I have 4 border collie dogs. Who have been on advance and alternate with Blackhawk. Any way they are now refusing to eat advance. One of my dogs is a 14 week pup who was good on advance sample packs but then when I bought a bag she had diarrhoea for weeks. We thought it was things she had picked up from backyard and was put on antibiotics. We put her on vet prescribed food which made her stools solid again. We then started feeding her advance and the diarrhoea came back. Now send advance samples back to Mars to check but I have just bought Ivory Coat which has great reviews and she loves it and have now swapped my other 3 dogs over so may be give it a try

    • Reply
      Pet Food Reviews (Australia) July 28, 2015 at 3:39 pm

      Hi Jenny, here’s a short list of decent puppy foods – https://www.petfoodreviews.com.au/dry-dog-food/puppy-foods/

      Diarrhea can occur when transitioning from one food to another. A gradual transition can help, where you mix the new food in over the course of a week or two.

  30. Hello,very nice guide you have there,lots of work in it- well done and thank you for it!!!
    I am just a bit lost – to much choice ha,ha,..
    Want to ask Which food would you think is the best for great dane pup..? Many people say Holistic select. The issue is that those pups are growing fast and need specific balance to keep their bones strong and straight. I had good success with Holistic select with one pup,but now my second one is resisting hard in getting her one foot only straight.. and I am in a loss what to do..Apparently extra calcium is no good either..
    Thanks in advance

  31. Thanks for the review but my little girl has been on Black Hawk grain free due to skin allergies unfortunately this food wasn’t much of a help. She’s still scratching maybe it’s the chicken content. I’m not so sure. So I have slowly changed her food to Wellness Core for small dogs. I can see improvements less itchy. It’s all about trial and error I guess.

    • Reply
      Sandra Mason-Webb June 30, 2016 at 9:20 pm

      Our vet recommended trying a unique protein and a unique starch – something they’ve never tried before. It could also be environmental – our youngest beagle has terrible skin issues in spring/summer, so we’re pretty sure it’s environmental for her. We were also recommended a human antihistamine for when she’s really bad.

    • My dog also has skin allergies. The main thing that controls it is washing with Malaseb Medicated shampoo. She is allergic to many things, we had her tested, but the Malaseb if left on for ten minutes will stop the itching. It is the only thing that I have found over the years works. We tried adding oil to her feed, dog food for sensitive skin, etc but nothing works to control her itching when she has an episode. You can also give them half a human antihistamine tablet per day (Brands Claratyne or Zyrtec only). I had this recommendation from a vet and it also seems to help. Good luck as it can be heart breaking watching them scratching.

    • Reply
      Pet Food Reviews (Australia) March 12, 2015 at 7:57 am

      Hi Vivian, perhaps try a grain free food without any chicken such as Canidae Grain Free Pure Sea or Land.

      • I have tried Canidae Grain free Pure Sea and the Land for my furbaby. It didn’t do so very with her tummy. Still trying Wellness Core which is grain free 🙂

  32. I’ve been feeding my Shelties Black Hawk for a couple of years as it was recommended by the breeder. I am now showing a puppy and a person who breeds and shows dogs has told me to stop feeding the puppy Black Hawk and change over to Royal Canin as the puppies leg bones are growing at different rates which is causing a slight bowing in the front legs. I’m so confused as to what to feed her when I’m told different things by each person I speak to.

    • Research Royal Canin before you buy. I used to buy this product but no longer do. You can find reviews on this website and the net

      • That’s a 2 year old comment, it’s unlikely they will reply or even notice it as disqus was not implemented back than and also lots can change in 2 years.

        I asked for disqus earlier this year and was greeted with an email saying it was added to the website :p.

        • Pet Food Reviews November 8, 2016 at 2:04 pm

          Ha ha, thanks again Amateria! Disqus is so much better 🙂

        • Yeah I know! That’s why I asked for it haha

          Allows people to actually get an email stating they got a reply, that’s very important!
          Allows you to edit your comments another important thing, for me at least.
          Allows you to easily display an avatar of your choosing, rather than using a 3rd party website to do it.

          Among other valuable things.

    • Reply
      Pet Food Reviews (Australia) February 2, 2015 at 1:59 am

      Hi Gai, I’ve added a page on Puppy vs Adult diets, which shows a puppy’s requirements for additional protein, fat, and other nutrients. As such you should feed a puppy-formulated diet (such as Canidae Pure Foundations, Ivory Coat Puppy, etc) and not an adult formula.

      Many breeders feed and recommend Royal Canin (which is moderately well formulated), but it has to be noted even their “Junior” range contains ingredients such as corn (harder to digest protein source) and wheat (little nutritional value and one of the most common causes of grain allergies). Royal Canin Junior isn’t a bad choice, and at least you’d be feeding a puppy formula.

  33. Have a new puppy who is not a food bolter. Trying to get him onto Black Hawk grain free as his breed is known for skin allergies. Not having a lot of luck, he just plain doesn’t like it. Happy to eat Advance which I would rather not feed him (came with a sample pack). Any suggestions as to other biscuits that are grain free, or low grain and possibly more appetising? Note I have tried rubbing biscuits with chicken mince (he loves chicken necks) and warming them to get flavour going.

    • Reply
      Pet Food Reviews (Australia) February 1, 2015 at 8:52 am

      Hi Tony, how long did you try the Black Hawk for? Dogs can be confused by a new food so it can take a bit of time to adjust. I’d give it 2 weeks.

      • Hi Toni, I would recommend slowly introducing the produce you want to change to by mixing with the current food your dog is on and then omitting until completely on the one you want.

        • Hi Toni
          My dogs like Black Hawk which I do give them but they absolutely love Stay Loyal. Try that contact them not sure what size bag is the smallest. They deliver so it saves hassle of going to get the food.
          best of luck

        • I don’t understand how or why your puppy is ‘fussy’ over what it eats. My dogs will eat anything. One of my rescues was fussy when I got him but he soon learnt that if I don’t eat what I’m given I’ll starve- he lasted 4 days without food. Dogs are not in the habit of starving themselves to death particularly where there is a supply of food. People humanise their pets & that’s ok to a point but you aren’t doing the dog any favours by pandering to its ‘needs’

        • Pet Food Reviews (Australia) February 3, 2015 at 6:04 am

          Hmm, in that case all I can recommend is any of the foods listed here, or the grain free foods listed here.

          It may be a case of trial and error.

          Another option is to contact manufacturers of a few foods you’re interested in and request samples.

  34. Thanks so much for reviewing this product.
    Just changed from wellness core to this product for my mini dachshunds due to it being a high quality product and more readily available than the wellness core.
    Can’t wait for the bigger bags tho. Blackhawk told me they should be available around christmas..

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