Black Hawk Working Dog Food Review

WebsiteBlack Hawk
Country of originAustralia
Available fromPet Circle   Lucky Pet Jumbo Pets

In our Black Hawk Working Dog dog food review you’ll find out why this is a very good choice, and you’ll also find out why most working dog foods are the complete opposite of what a working dog really needs. Black Hawk Working Dog is high protein and high fat, which is in stark contrast to other working dog foods which are actually high carbohydrates from excessive grains.

Why would you feed Black Hawk Working Dog dog food?

A working dog needs quality meat proteins to build and retain muscle and overall health, and quality meat fats to burn as energy (they utilise animal fats much better than we do for energy). This is basic nutrition, and the same applies in the human world. Dogs can utilise carbohydrates for energy, but it’s meat proteins and meat fats which are really essential for canine health and wellbeing. Dog’s are essentially carnivores despite what pet food marketing tells us, and their dental structure, digestive system, and natural instinct dictates this.

Take a look at other Working Dog foods. You’ll find most of them formulated with cheap grains or mill run waste and contain very little meat. The reason for this is cheap to produce products, even sold for an “affordable” price, make a staggering profit. It doesn’t mean it’s healthy or nutritious for your working dog, and you can argue they’ll burn off the excessive carbs, but for long term health and wellbeing you’re doing them a disservice from feeding them such a product.

In our Black Hawk Working Dog dog food review we’ll find out why this is formulated the right way, compared to other working dog foods which are formulated the wrong way…

Black Hawk Working Dog Products

The Black Hawk Working Dog products covered by this review:

Black Hawk Working Dog dog food review

Black Hawk Working Dog Food Review

Black Hawk Working Dog, alternatively known as Lamb and Beef, is a high protein, high fat food. That sets it apart from most other working dog foods available in Australia. That’s a great thing, with the caveat being cost (but you get what you pay for). For canine health, muscle strength and energy, meat and meat fat is king. This formula boasts a high 32% protein, 22% fat, and we can estimate around 26% carbohydrates which is very low for a dry dog food, and especially low for a working dog dry food – that’s a definite plus point.

The first two ingredients are lamb and beef meat meals, both pre-dried protein dense sources of meat. These will amount to a significant percentage of the food as a whole, from species-appropriate meat ingredients.

The third ingredient is oats, one of the better choices of grain and a good source of slow-burning energy. Rice (white rice) is also found as the fifth ingredient, and possibly in a similar proportion. There’s widespread belief that grains are bad for dogs when they’re not, the real issue being excessive grains, particularly wheat and sorghum. Oats and rice are good selections for a working dog, and in the case of Black Hawk Working Dog are in a reasonable proportion.

Black Hawk Working Dog Food Review

Pea protein will play a part in the 32% protein and will also add fibre. Although not a meat ingredient, peas have nutritional merit and are a reasonably healthy inclusion. We find grain free dog food formulas on the market which use peas in excess, and that thankfully isn’t the case with this food.

There are many smaller inclusions which really round off Black Hawk Working Dog. Of specific note we find the inclusion of glucosamine and chondriotin, as well as emu oil, omega 3, and omega 6 fatty acids to aid joint health and overall wellbeing of your working dog. These are highly beneficial ingredients which you likely won’t find in other well known working dog foods. One final plus of Black Hawk Working Dog dog food is it’s preserved naturally with rosemary, rather than controversial (and cheap) chemical preservatives.

We’ve rated Black Hawk Working Dog dog food as a very respectable 9/10, and hope the information in this review has been of use. If it has, let us know by leaving a comment or telling your friends about how useful this website is!

Where to Buy Black Hawk Working Dog

Black Hawk Dog Food Review Summary

All in all Black Hawk Working Dog Beef & Lamb sets a far better standard of working dog dog foods which historically has been nothing more than a profit-generating fallacy. As a meat-based working dog food with decent inclusions of better grains such as oats, combined with ingredients to aid joint health, it really is worth considering for your working dog.

In terms of working dog foods sold in Australia, Black Hawk Working Dog sits ahead of all the rest. Recommended.

Black Hawk Working Dog Ingredients (Beef & Lamb)

The ingredients of Black Hawk Working Dog Beef & Lamb dry dog food (as of July 2021) are as follows:

Lamb Meat Meal, Beef Meat Meal, Oats, Pea Protein, Rice, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols [source of Vitamin E], Citric Acid, Rosemary Extract), Field Peas, Fish Meal, Chicken Meal, Canola Oil, Beet Pulp, Essential Vitamins & Minerals, Eggs Dried, Fish Oil, Salt, Brewers Yeast, Flax Seed, Chicory Root, Natural Antioxidants, Emu Oil, Omega 6 Fatty Acids, Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Carrot, Yucca Schidigera, Tomato Powder, D-Glucosamine, Chondroitin, Blueberries, Cranberry, Dandelion Tea, Peppermint Tea, Kelp, Spinach, Rosemary.

Black Hawk Working Dog Guaranteed Analysis (Beef & Lamb)

The guaranteed analysis of Black Hawk Working Dog Beef & Lamb dry dog food (as of July 2021) are as follows:

Protein32% (min)
Fat22% (min)
Crude Fibre3% (max)
CarbohydratesEstimated 26%
* May be estimated. Read how to calculate carbohydrates in a pet food.

Black Hawk Working Dog Recalls

There are no recorded recalls of the Black Hawk Working Dog Beef & Lamb formula.

Calling Aussie pet lovers – join the mailing list!

9 Total Score
How a Working Dog food should be!

PROS
  • Fantastic meat and fat content.
  • High protein.
  • Working Dog food done right.

6 Comments
  1. My two very active cattle dog x staffy’s do so well on this working dog formula. Tried them on different supermarket/pet store products and couldn’t get much weight to stick to them. They now have this working dog formula along with pre-packaged raw food and they have filled out more. A bonus is that their farts don’t smell so much! Regarding what others have said about stomach upsets, I haven’t found my dogs to have any issues. When I’ve fed them other products, they’ve had loose stools but none of that when on the Black Hawk Working Dog.

  2. Hi there, thank you so much for your hard work and research! We’ve just transitioned from MfM puppy to Blackhawk working dog to up our vizslas protein as he is in incredibly active and seems to not retain weight. He has a combo of kibble plus fresh veg/bones. Based on your rating, this seems like a great kibble but I’ve just recently come across the diarrhoea concerns with some other formulas. Have you had any more recent feedback on this for BlackHawk? Thanks!

    • Reply
      Pet Food Reviews (Australia) June 22, 2023 at 5:03 pm

      Hi Trish, it’s a weird one with Black Hawk. Many dogs are fine, some aren’t. With the Working Dog formula it’s really good recipe-wise, especially when you consider the real truth about most working dog foods being packed with cereals and cereal by-products. I don’t get much negative feedback about the Working Dog formula, but then again it’s sold in far fewer numbers than the main brands.

      I would recommend if your dog has any gastro issues on it, then switch to something else.

  3. I’ve transitioned my Kelpie to black Hawk working dog formula in the last month from supermarket products .ie. Supercoat / Wooofn Good / Farmers Market which I thought were good/good to a certain degree. They have their place in the food chain.

    He looked/done well on the supermarket stuff just a few kg underweight.

    Caveat, he is the highest energy Kelpie I’ve ever had since the early 80’s.
    Cant sit still from sun up until to nearly midnight.

    Now he’s finally started to fill out a bit and not so ribby on the working dog formula. 1yr 8months old.

  4. Does this working dog formula cause diarrhoea too?

    • Reply
      Pet Food Reviews (Australia) January 19, 2022 at 10:35 pm

      Hi Kim, interestingly I can’t recall any reports of sickness on the Working Dog formula, but I strongly suspect that to be about numbers – the original and grain free formulas are sold significantly more than the working dog formula.

      It’s an interesting one with Black Hawk and the reports of diarrhoea. There never seem to be any reports which are more serious, only loose stools and smelly farts. Hence the warnings on the other two reviews. I think I should add one to this review as well…

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