Solid Gold Grain Free Dog Food Review (Cups)

Mike Sagman  Karan French

By

Mike Sagman
Mike Sagman

Mike Sagman

Founder

Dr Mike Sagman is the creator of the Dog Food Advisor. He founded the website in 2008, after his unquestioning trust in commercial dog food led to the tragic death of his dog Penny.

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&
Karan French
Karan French

Karan French

Senior Researcher

Karan is a senior researcher at the Dog Food Advisor, working closely with our in-house pet nutritionist, Laura Ward, to give pet parents all the information they need to find the best food for their dog.

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Updated: August 27, 2024

Verified by Laura Ward

Laura Ward

Laura Ward

Pet Nutritionist

Laura studied BSc (Hons) Animal Science with an accreditation in Nutrition at the University of Nottingham, before working for eight years in the pet food and nutrition industry.

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Laura Ward

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Our Verdict

Rating:
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Solid Gold Grain Free dog food in cups product range is made up of 4 recipes with ratings varying from 4.5 to 5 stars. The average rating of the whole range is 5  stars.

The table below shows each recipe in this range including our rating and the AAFCO nutrient profile: Growth (puppy), Maintenance (adult), All Life Stages, Supplemental or Unspecified.

Recipe and Label Analysis

Solid Gold Grain Free Mighty Mini Lamb, Sweet Potato and Cranberry was selected to represent the other products in the line for detailed recipe and nutrient analysis.

Solid Gold Grain Free Mighty Mini Lamb, Sweet Potato and Cranberry

Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content

44.4%

Protein

16.7%

Fat

30.9%

CarbsCarbohydrates

Water sufficient for processing, lamb, chicken liver, whitefish, sweet potatoes, dried egg whites, turkey, chicken, dried ground peas, cranberries, spinach, guar gum, sodium phosphate, salt, natural flavor, apples, potassium chloride, pumpkin, blueberries, carrots, choline chloride, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, xanthan gum, vitamin E supplement, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, sodium selenite, thiamine mononitrate, cobalt proteinate, niacin supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, vitamin A supplement, riboflavin supplement, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, potassium iodide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid


Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 1%

Red denotes any controversial items

Estimated Nutrient Content
Method Protein Fat Carbs
Guaranteed Analysis 8% 3% NA
Dry Matter Basis 44% 17% 31%
Calorie Weighted Basis 38% 35% 27%

Ingredients Analysis

The first ingredient in this dog food is water, which adds nothing but moisture to this food. Water is a routine finding in most canned dog foods.

The second ingredient is lamb. Lamb is considered “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered” lamb and associated with skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.1

Lamb is naturally rich in all ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

The third ingredient is chicken liver, an organ meat sourced from a named animal and thus considered a beneficial component.

The fourth ingredient is whitefish, a marine or freshwater species native to Canada and the California coast.

The fifth ingredient includes sweet potato. Sweet potatoes are a gluten-free source of complex carbohydrates in dog food. They are naturally rich in dietary fiber and beta carotene.

The sixth ingredient lists dried egg whites. Eggs are highly digestible and an excellent source of usable protein.

The seventh ingredient is turkey. Turkey is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of turkey”.2

Turkey is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this Solid Gold product.

With four notable exceptions

First, we find dried ground peas. Ground peas are a good source of carbohydrates. Plus they’re naturally rich in dietary fiber.

However, ground peas contain about 27% protein, a factor that must be considered when judging the meat content of this dog food.

Next, we note the use of spinach. Due to its exceptional vitamin and mineral content, spinach exhibits a remarkably high nutrient Completeness Score3 of 91.

In addition, this recipe contains sodium selenite, a controversial form of the mineral selenium. Sodium selenite appears to be nutritionally inferior to the more natural source of selenium found in selenium yeast.

And lastly, this food includes chelated minerals, minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.

Nutrient Analysis

Based on its ingredients alone, Solid Gold Grain Free dog food cups look like an above-average wet product.

The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 44%, a fat level of 17% and estimated carbohydrates of about 31%.

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 42% and a mean fat level of 17%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 33% for the overall product line.

And a fat-to-protein ratio of about 39%.

Which means this Solid Gold product line contains…

Above-average protein. Below-average fat. And above-average carbs when compared to a typical wet dog food.

Even when you consider the protein-boosting effect of the ground peas, this looks like the profile of a wet product containing a significant amount of meat.

Solid Gold Dog Food Recall History

The following automated list (if present) includes all dog food recalls related to Solid Gold through November 2024.

You can view a complete list of all dog food recalls since 2009 here.

Our Rating of Solid Gold Dog Food

Solid Gold recipe cups are a grain-free dog food using a significant amount of named meats as its dominant source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 5 stars.

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Highly Recommended

Sources

1: Adapted by the Dog Food Advisor and based upon the official definition for beef published by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, 2008 Edition

2: Adapted by the Dog Food Advisor and based upon the official definition for chicken published by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, Official Publication, 2008 Edition

3: Completeness Score is a measure of a food’s relative nutrient content and is computed by NutritionData.com from the USDA’s National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference

A Final Word

The Dog Food Advisor does not accept money, gifts, samples or other incentives in exchange for special consideration in preparing our reviews.

However, we do receive a referral fee from online retailers (like Chewy or Amazon) and from sellers of perishable pet food when readers click over to their websites from ours. This helps cover the cost of operation of our free blog. Thanks for your support.

For more information, please visit our Disclaimer and Disclosure page.

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