Black Gold Dog Food

prairiefirepointers · Post by **prairiefirepointers** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 12:26 am

I am thinking about jumping ship with what we use for feed. I am interested in the Black Gold line. I would like to hear some "feedback" from anyone who uses it or has used it in the past. Pro's and Con's.

I did some research on it, and found it was not affected by all the dog food recalls. Looks pretty good nutrition-wise on paper. However, lot's of things look good on paper, and turn out to be not all that whippy. :roll:

Thanks, PFP.

Sprig · Post by **Sprig** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 1:18 am

What food are you currently feeding?

Personally i wont feed another bag of black gold ever again. I had such a bad time with loose stools and dogs getting the runs. I am also not comfortable with any dog food that wont expicitly name the meat source and the last time I checked they listed "meat meal" and not a specific type of meat. I will only feed a dog food that says the type of protein/meat source they are putting in the food, like chicken meal for example. "meat meal" is too vague for me and makes me wonder how much the type of meat used changes from batch to batch depending on whats cheap at the moment as alot of dogs get upset stomach when there is an sharp change in the meat/protein source.

also, they dont make their own food, it is made by a third party so I wonder how good is the quality control and consistency.

if you want a good food, try enhance..... www.arkat.com #1 ingredient chicken meal and they do their own research and manufacturing in their own plant.

Big Dave · Post by **Big Dave** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 5:43 am

I have fed mostly Black Gold for around 8 years. I feed mostly the performance 26-18 forumula in the black bag. I have also fed the 24-20 hi energy when it was really cold for extended periods or I was on an out of town hunting trip. My dogs eat both of these real well, have real good energy and not much clean up. I fed some of the newer plantation blend this year and it is what I will probably feed all my dogs next hunting season. To a pure label reader their products aren't real impressive but it feeds real well.

lvrgsp · Post by **lvrgsp** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 9:14 am

I fed the ultimate series chicken and rice, 30-20 and loved it, dogs did well on it, coats were good stools were good, the only reason I am not still feeding it is becouse of distribution problems we had getting the food reliably. I also fed the Black bag for a while to, the dogs did good on that also.

Chip

Post by **ezzy333** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 9:50 am

Sprig wrote:What food are you currently feeding?

Personally i wont feed another bag of black gold ever again. I had such a bad time with loose stools and dogs getting the runs. I am also not comfortable with any dog food that wont expicitly name the meat source and the last time I checked they listed "meat meal" and not a specific type of meat. I will only feed a dog food that says the type of protein/meat source they are putting in the food, like chicken meal for example. "meat meal" is too vague for me and makes me wonder how much the type of meat used changes from batch to batch depending on whats cheap at the moment as alot of dogs get upset stomach when there is an sharp change in the meat/protein source.

also, they dont make their own food, it is made by a third party so I wonder how good is the quality control and consistency.

if you want a good food, try enhance..... http://www.arkat.com #1 ingredient chicken meal and they do their own research and manufacturing in their own plant.

Interestingly this is the first negative report I have ever heard on Black Gold other than price. Once again it proves the wide varience of people's opinions are just that.

The reason they list meat meal as "Meat Meal" is because that is what they use as an ingredient. It is just that. The plants where it is produced do not seperate all of the different sources but mix them all together. What the dog gets from the meat is amino acids and has no idea or preference what they come from. Every load of Meat Meal will have the same amount of protien and the dog will preform the same on it. The meals from a single meat source are always much more expensive and add little value to a feed unless it has an extremely rare case of allergies to one type of meat. Meat or single source meat has little to do with quality but more to do with what is available to the plant where the feed is manufactured. If you live in the Arkansas, salmon meal is not as readily available as chicken meal, whereas meat meal is readily available on any market in the USA and is an excellent product.

Ezzy

56-26 · Post by **56-26** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 12:11 pm

I switched my dog over to the black bag in Nov. It was recomended but alot of people that I know. My dog seems to eat it well and his coat still looks good. I was a little worried about switching because I was feeding a high dollar puppy food to him. But I would recomended it.

Sprig · Post by **Sprig** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 1:21 pm

ezzy333 wrote:

The reason they list meat meal as "Meat Meal" is because that is what they use as an ingredient. It is just that. The plants where it is produced do not seperate all of the different sources but mix them all together. What the dog gets from the meat is amino acids and has no idea or preference what they come from. Every load of Meat Meal will have the same amount of protien and the dog will preform the same on it. The meals from a single meat source are always much more expensive and add little value to a feed unless it has an extremely rare case of allergies to one type of meat. Meat or single source meat has little to do with quality but more to do with what is available to the plant where the feed is manufactured. If you live in the Arkansas, salmon meal is not as readily available as chicken meal, whereas meat meal is readily available on any market in the USA and is an excellent product.

Ezzy

That is exaclty why I wont touch another bag of dog food from black gold or anybody that cant specify what kind of meat they are using. I know they do it because it is a cheap way to make the food the but the consistency is not there. Every dog food manufacturer in the world will tell you when you switch dog foods you need to do it slowly and why? Because of a change in ingredients, including protein sources, will upset their stomach. And dog foods that use whatever meat is cheapest change all the time. That is too inconsistent for my liking. There isnt a dog food company out there that wont brag about being a totally chicken, lamb, or beef food if that is indeed what they do put in the food because of the consistency in the protein source. If there isnt a big deal about being 100% chicken meal or beef meal then why do so many dog food company's go to great lengths and expense to use top quality ingredients instead of just using what came on the slaughter house truck that day?

For my money and my dogs, i want to know what ingredients I am feeding them and dog food company's that hide behind "meat meal" or even "poultry meal" labels wont get my business. I used over 150 bags of dog food last year alone so dog food is important to me and my dogs.

Post by **ezzy333** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 5:41 pm

Sprig,

What I am trying to tell you is that meat meal is an ingredient that doesn't change but has to meet a strict standard of consistancy the same as any other ingredient. It does not change do to the price of a certain type of meat. Meat meal can come from several different sources but it will remain the same product. Much of it comes from the processing plants, some could come from the restaraunt business, and some could come from rendering companies. It is not a product that changes because of the cost since it is the way processing companies get rid of their scraps or any of their product that might have been contaminated and not fit for human consumption. That is true no matter what the source is. The only difference is they keep any scraps seperate or they are a single source company. What you are saying is that a plant that processes fish would have to keep the scraps of each kind of fish they process seperate so they could tell you what kind of fish was used instead of just labeling their product fish meal. The problem with doing that is the cost in extra storage and seperate processing. Since all of the meat is cooked to insure there is no bacterial problems plain old meat meal is a great source of animal protein that will be 50% protein and will have a well balanced amino acid content compared to a single source product. Meat meal today will be the same product it was last week and last year. If they want to change it it will not be labeled meat meal any longer and will not be available on the open market.

If there isnt a big deal about being 100% chicken meal or beef meal then why do so many dog food company's go to great lengths and expense to use top quality ingredients instead of just using what came on the slaughter house truck that day?

For my money and my dogs, i want to know what ingredients I am feeding them and dog food company's that hide behind "meat meal" or even "poultry meal" labels wont get my business. I used over 150 bags of dog food last year alone so dog food is important to me and my dogs.

I think I already explained the reason why we always labeled our feeds with what went into them. And single source protein is an avantage if an animal happens to have an allergy and if a source of a single source protein is in the locallity of the mill they can buy it cheaper than someone that has to have it shipped to them. So if I am in Arkansas and are next to the Tyson processing plant I am going to buy chicken scraps and label the feed produced accordingly. Now if that plant is doing turkeys as well as chicken then they will label their scraps as poultry meal and I will have to label my feed the samr way. Its just that simple and does not have a thing to do with quality. Many of the best dog foods in the country use meat meal, meat scraps, poultry meal, poultry by-products and 95 % of the dogs in the country are fed those feeds. Some of those dogs are national champions and many are just plain old hunting dogs and pets.

I too feed all of my dogs dog food but I don't know how many bags a year but it is just as important to each and everyone of us that our dogs get a healthful diet. It is up to you to feed what you like and there is no quarrel withthat but I was just trying to explain that some of your reasoning was not quite accurate as far as formulating dog foods or feeds for any animal. Its a pretty exact science that is tightly controled so the products do stay uniform no matter what the circumstances are.

Ezzy

muddycreek · Post by **muddycreek** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 8:20 pm

I switched approximately 6 months ago to the black bag and the dogs are doing very well on it. Price is right at approximately $25 a bag. My only complaint is it has been out of stock in the big bag a couple times when I stoppped in, but I always keep an extra bag handy. CW feeds carries it here in Wichita, and they are really good to work with, good ole fashioned customer service (just try and load your own bags!)

claybuster_aa · Post by **claybuster_aa** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 8:41 pm

Sprig wrote: That is exaclty why I wont touch another bag of dog food from black gold or anybody that cant specify what kind of meat they are using. I know they do it because it is a cheap way to make the food the but the consistency is not there. Every dog food manufacturer in the world will tell you when you switch dog foods you need to do it slowly and why? Because of a change in ingredients, including protein sources, will upset their stomach. And dog foods that use whatever meat is cheapest change all the time. That is too inconsistent for my liking. There isnt a dog food company out there that wont brag about being a totally chicken, lamb, or beef food if that is indeed what they do put in the food because of the consistency in the protein source. If there isnt a big deal about being 100% chicken meal or beef meal then why do so many dog food company's go to great lengths and expense to use top quality ingredients instead of just using what came on the slaughter house truck that day?

For my money and my dogs, i want to know what ingredients I am feeding them and dog food company's that hide behind "meat meal" or even "poultry meal" labels wont get my business. I used over 150 bags of dog food last year alone so dog food is important to me and my dogs.

Labeling

For example, one pet food may list "chicken" as its first
ingredient, and "corn" as its second. The manufacturer doesn't
hesitate to point out that its competitor lists "corn" first
(chicken meal is second). However, chicken is very high in moisture
(approximately 75 percent water). On the other hand, water and fat
are removed from chicken meal, so it is only 10 percent moisture.
Comparing both products on a dry matter basis, the second product
has more chicken meal than the first product has chicken.

http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/CONSUMER/CON0290e.html

Ingredients must be listed by their "common or usual" name.
Most ingredients on pet food labels have a corresponding common
definition in the AAFCO official publication. For example, "meat"
is defined as the "clean flesh of slaughtered mammals and is
limited to œ the striate muscle œ with or without the accompanying
and overlying fat and the portions of the skin, sinew, nerve and
blood vessels which normally accompany the flesh." On the other
hand, "meat meal" is "the rendered product from mammal tissues,
exclusive of any added blood, hair, horn, hide trimmings, manure,
stomach and rumen contents." Meat meal may not be very pleasing to
think about eating, even though it's probably more nutritious, but
the distinction must be made in the ingredient list.

So if they advertise "chicken" or "beef", legally they can just give you fat, skin, blood vessels, without your knowledge but label it as "beef" or "chicken". Knowing the quality meats will be going to the human consumption market, I can't see much quality muscle meat in dog food, and the named source would imply whatever leftovers the animal happened to be from.

Sprig · Post by **Sprig** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:40 pm

Take what you want from this site.... http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php ... ngredients .......I am only presenting it as another source of information.

"Meat Meal: AAFCO: The rendered product from mammal tissues, exclusive of any added blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices.
The animal parts used can be obtained from any source, so there is no control over quality or contamination. Any kind of animal can be included: "4-D animals" (dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter), goats, pigs, horses, rats, misc. roadkill, animals euthanized at shelters and so on. It can also include pus, cancerous tissue, and decomposed (spoiled) tissue."

I have a hard time believing dog food manufacturers would use a diseased animal like the above quote suggests, however, the reason i posted this quote is to make a point about using various sources of protein as opposed to sticking with a single source. It is no secret the reason dog food companies use multiple sources of meat is NOT because of nutrition but because of keeping costs down and profits up. I have no problem with dog food companies utilizing this method for the food they make as they are entitled to make a profit like anybody else and as long as the food meets minimum standards then good for them, although i will never feed it myself, However, this is as long as their is no misconception on how they compare to other foods that utilized a single protein source from a single type of animal.

My whole point is this, I dont care if one feeds chicken meal, beef meal, lamb meal, turkey meal, goat meal, or even allagator meal for that matter, I am only saying when you change from one protein source to another it has a very strong tendency to make a dog have the runs and loose stools for a while. Every dog food company will agree to that as they all say make a change in dog foods slowly over a period of a week or two. The reason they say this is an abrubt switch in protein can and often times does make a dog's stomach sick for a while. When you have a protein source that may change from beef to chicken, for one of many many examples, as could very well happen on a regular basis with dog foods utilizing "meat meal" where there is no "defined" source of meat/protein, it is like changing dog food to a dog and can make the dog sick, just like changing dog foods, because in essence that is what is happening. there is no consistency.

prairiefirepointers · Post by **prairiefirepointers** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:53 pm

We currently feed PMI Nutritions Red Flannel Prime dog formula. I have been using it for about 2 years, and have had fantastic results with it, however I know they have been involved in many recalls and that bothers me a little. We have also had some issues with distribution from them. I really like that PMI has the extra bag credit, so every 7th bag is a freebie. It adds up...

I am just mulling around the idea of switching because of all the recalls with them. I personally have had no ill effects from using their product, but maybe we're just lucky.

Post by **ezzy333** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 11:01 pm

I don't believe chicken qualifies as a mammal. Your commenbt about switching foods to fast is a good one but it isn't because of the difference in meat meal. After all you are only talking about a few lbs per ton. I think any difference in the percent of the meat used in the meal would qualify as a very minor change. The changes we worry about is abrupt changes of the whole diet and even that is probably over blown since most dog foods are very much alike with basically the same ingredients used.

The proof of my point is the millions of dogs being fed thousands of different dog foods and they are doing well on them.

Ezzy

Sprig · Post by **Sprig** » Sat Feb 07, 2009 11:30 pm

ezzy333 wrote:
The proof of my point is the millions of dogs being fed thousands of different dog foods and they are doing well on them.

Ezzy

How do we know this? just because a dog is alive doesnt mean it is "doing well". I have seen many dogs come for training that were malnurished from one of the "thousands of different dog foods" out there. they are showing ribs, dull coat and no energy and very loose and poorly formed stools. Most dog foods out there are like most of the fishing lures on the market, they are designed to catch fishermen instead of fish. They dont brag about quality ingredients. they dont talk nutrition. they meet the minimum nutrient requirements, put it in a flashy bag and try to make it as cheap as possible. That is why most dog food commercials on tv talk about....taste....instead of nutrition.

The bottom line is there IS a difference in dog foods, a big difference and it is soley because of its INGREDIENTS (meat meal vs. chicken meal for example) and the quality and consistency of those ingredients which lead to better digestability and better nutrition. Constantly switching ingredients to try and make a few extra pennies of profit is not the type of dog food I feel good about feeding my dogs.

claybuster_aa · Post by **claybuster_aa** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 7:03 am

Sprig wrote: It is no secret the reason dog food companies use multiple sources of meat is NOT because of nutrition but because of keeping costs down and profits up.

And that is done with ingredients like, tomato pomace, kelp (seaweed), potato fiber, cranberry dust, alfalfa, etc....not animal source proteins.

Dogs and cats have come to us over the millennia consuming tissue from a variety of animals, each bringing in factors unique to each animal. The WDJ in its absence of knowledge considers this a minus rather than a plus. Can anyone believe the nonsense they espouse and still remain in business? r abady

Charlie

live4point · Post by **live4point** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 8:31 am

There is some nasty stuff going in dog food.Common sense will tell you that your not getting much of a quality product for 20 bucks for a 50lb. bag. I have heard that even chicken feathers are used.I talked to a guy who worked in a hog processing plant,and he said even the undigested food in the animals stomachs is not wasted,it goes in to feeds.Even the blood is cooked down to powder form and used for stuff.Not much of an animal ,if anything is dicarded,and I'm sure what goes in dog food is pretty low on the list as far as quality.

Big Dave · Post by **Big Dave** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 8:38 am

I am different than prairiefirepointers in that I am having distribution trouble with Black Gold and will probably switch to PMI Red Flannel. Black Gold offers a chicken meal formula, a chicken by product formula and meal meal formulas. I believe in reading labes but I believe more in results. I have fed most of their product line on different dogs of different ages and activity levels with no complaints. We are currently feeding 6 pointers and 1 shorthair.

live4point · Post by **live4point** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 9:01 am

Think about the breakdown of that $20. bag of feed we buy--Out of that 20 bucks the manufacturer and the seller made profit-advertising and packaging the product-shipping the product-labor cost to make the product-cost of running machines to make the product{electricity and or fuel}-cost of ingredients of the product. I bet the companies dont have much over a couple of bucks per bag,if that,invested in the actual food ingredients.

shets114 · Post by **shets114** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 9:40 am

So you saying a meat meal is consistent?
If it is a mix of several meat proteins and bone then wouldn't the ash content and digestibility be affected by what was put in that day.
So Joe farmer had some dead cows and sent them to the renderer, then another guy had a truck load of butcher shop scraps with pork and beef and bone, Then my little amish buddies had a bunch of old horses they sent in now you have three different meat proteins with different ash content and fluctuating bone percentages.
The next day is nothing but cow parts and butcher shop bone scraps.

Your telling me the ash content and bone percentage isn't going to change?

Oh you want to see some good meat meal just check out the episode of Dirty Jobs the other night.
Great description of what is going into your meat and bone meal. They only left out the part that some of it goes to pet food production. They only said it went into chicken and pig feed.

lvrgsp · Post by **lvrgsp** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 10:24 am

You know what feed your dog what you want, if it performs well then good for you, I would go to say that most of our dogs have a healthier diet than there owners anyway.

JMO,
Chip

live4point · Post by **live4point** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:39 am

You sayin if we would eat buttholes and beaks we might live longer?

Post by **ezzy333** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:44 am

live4point wrote:There is some nasty stuff going in dog food.Common sense will tell you that your not getting much of a quality product for 20 bucks for a 50lb. bag. I have heard that even chicken feathers are used.I talked to a guy who worked in a hog processing plant,and he said even the undigested food in the animals stomachs is not wasted,it goes in to feeds.Even the blood is cooked down to powder form and used for stuff.Not much of an animal ,if anything is dicarded,and I'm sure what goes in dog food is pretty low on the list as far as quality.

Stop and think and I am sure you will realize most of that has nothing to do with the dog food business. You need to learn where the ingredients for feed come from, how they are purchased, and how they are used.

Ezzy

live4point · Post by **live4point** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:52 am

Well enlighten us all knowing one.

Post by **ezzy333** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 11:54 am

live4point wrote:You sayin if we would eat buttholes and beaks we might live longer?

Not a laughing matter if you ever eat a hotdog. Taste pretty good don't they?

Ezzy

prairiefirepointers · Post by **prairiefirepointers** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 12:29 pm

I am different than prairiefirepointers in that I am having distribution trouble with Black Gold and will probably switch to PMI Red Flannel.

Actually we were having dist problems with RF and I'm thinking of switching to BG.
We've really had great results with the Red Flannel.. maybe I should'nt worry so much. However they did have alot of recalls.

Big Dave · Post by **Big Dave** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 1:09 pm

Yes, that is what is different in our situations, my local elevator is now carrying PMI Red Flannel and a couple local stores that carried Black Gold have closed their doors in these tough economic times. I am glad to hear that you liked the feed since it looks to be my best alternative now.

claybuster_aa · Post by **claybuster_aa** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 1:24 pm

This unscientific and nonsensical approach to food making was quickly adopted by the Whole Dog Journal who made it the spearhead of its approach to nutrition. That is one of the many reasons that its recommendations are invalid. Avoiding by-products, (one of the most important sources of animal protein available) has become the marketing tool of the ignorant and in many cases the deceitful. The claims by the WDJ and manufacturers of products that are marketed on the basis that by-products should be avoided and should be replaced by muscle meat is a deliberate and irresponsible distortion of the facts for a number of reasons.

r abady

I welcome meals and by-product meals in my dogs diet, the more the merrier! Animal source proteins are paramount over personal aesthetic appeal of ingredients IMO. What delivers the most proteins is what I want in my dogs ration and you get that through the meal and by-product meals. And, that is the very reason owners have good success with feeds like Diamond, Pro Plan and Black Gold, they use meals and/or by-product meals in the ration...not clever deception leading people to believe they are getting hand-trimmed chicken breast and prime rib. IMO the worst diets are the one that start off with a named meat source and have no meals or by-product meals to back it up down the line...you know what you get instead...seaweed, and to that I say NO THANK YOU.

Post by **ezzy333** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 5:30 pm

claybuster_aa wrote:
This unscientific and nonsensical approach to food making was quickly adopted by the Whole Dog Journal who made it the spearhead of its approach to nutrition. That is one of the many reasons that its recommendations are invalid. Avoiding by-products, (one of the most important sources of animal protein available) has become the marketing tool of the ignorant and in many cases the deceitful. The claims by the WDJ and manufacturers of products that are marketed on the basis that by-products should be avoided and should be replaced by muscle meat is a deliberate and irresponsible distortion of the facts for a number of reasons.
r abady

I welcome meals and by-product meals in my dogs diet, the more the merrier! Animal source proteins are paramount over personal aesthetic appeal of ingredients IMO. What delivers the most proteins is what I want in my dogs ration and you get that through the meal and by-product meals. And, that is the very reason owners have good success with feeds like Diamond, Pro Plan and Black Gold, they use meals and/or by-product meals in the ration...not clever deception leading people to believe they are getting hand-trimmed chicken breast and prime rib. IMO the worst diets are the one that start off with a named meat source and have no meals or by-product meals to back it up down the line...you know what you get instead...seaweed, and to that I say NO THANK YOU.

Very true.

Ezzy

Duane M · Post by **Duane M** » Sun Feb 08, 2009 6:23 pm

Hey Sprig ya wonder whats in it just call them. I wondered the same with Diamonds High Energy a few years back when i was feeding it and simply called them. A talk with the vet/nutritionist on staff revealed it was pork based meal, simple and painless. I started on the Black bag awhile back for the Bstring dogs and had loose stools the first week but since then they have went back to driveway kicker turds again. It is a better option the Diamond Premium so far but not near as good as the Diamond Natural they were getting before and a way far stretch for the Taste of the Wild my A string gets.

Gotta ask though you sure you aint protesting BG so much just because you have an Enhance feed link on the website link you use as your signature.

Enhance is a heck of a food for sure and if I had a supplier nearby i would probably feed it, I just find it funny you protest something that can be solved so simply with so much vigor.

RayGubernat · Post by **RayGubernat** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 7:50 pm

Prariefirepointers -

I worked for many years in the QC/QA departments of a couple major pharmaceutical firms. I am a bit familiar with those kinds of recalls.

The recall thing is sometimes a double edged sword. You need to look at it from another perspective. The dogfood manufacturer is, to a certain extent, a prisoner of its input suppliers. If they purchase an ingredient which is later determined to have been tainted or substandard in some way, the dogfood producermay have no choice but to initiate a recall.

There are voluntary recalls and FDA mandated recalls. Most recall are of a voluntary nature and my understanding is that many in the food industry are precautionary in nature because the chain of custody for foods, food products and such is nowhere near as carefully documented as it is in the drug industry.

Think about this for a sec....The fact that a dogfood manufacturer has initiated a voluntary recall, when others who have used the same input material have not issued a recall may actually say to the consumer that this company is doing what it considers in the best interest of its customer and taking a financial hit to do the right thing.

That kind of responsible corporate behavior needs to be rewarded.

Now, if the company's own processes are the reason for the recalls, then I might consider changing feeds because their own processes are not in control.

Most often, I think that is not the case however.

Just another way of looking at it.

RayG

prairiefirepointers · Post by **prairiefirepointers** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 8:23 pm

RayGubernat wrote:Just another way of looking at it.

Indeed it is. Thanks..
I belive I will not fix what isn't truly broken. I have a good thing going with PMI and the feedstore I buy from. I was stressing a little about messing that up, so I just won't.
Although I do like that BLACK GOLD does have all sorts of BG brand merchandise.. Shirts,hats,hoodies, ect.

Thanks for everyone's input.

RuttCrazed · Post by **RuttCrazed** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 9:23 pm

Where are you guys at and how much do you pay for Black Gold?

Rut

nitrex · Post by **nitrex** » Mon Feb 09, 2009 11:47 pm

RuttCrazed wrote:Where are you guys at and how much do you pay for Black Gold?

Rut

Just went to the feed store in Wichita, Kansas today to buy Blackgold:

Ultimate puppy - $26.50
Ultimate performance - $27
Black Bag - $24.50

Nitrex

RuttCrazed · Post by **RuttCrazed** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 7:08 am

Wow, that is about $10 cheaper per bag than I am paying in Olathe!

Rut

Post by **topher40** » Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:27 am

Give Alan at Vet Vax (Dresslers West) in Tonganoxie a call and see what he can do for you. Thats where I was getting my feed from, till shipping charges made it to expensive, and he carries all sorts of different lines on feed. Nice guy to work with and tell him I sent you.

Sprig · Post by **Sprig** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 12:35 pm

Duane M wrote:
Gotta ask though you sure you aint protesting BG so much just because you have an Enhance feed link on the website link you use as your signature. Enhance is a heck of a food for sure and if I had a supplier nearby i would probably feed it, I just find it funny you protest something that can be solved so simply with so much vigor.

I fed black gold for several years. gave it every opportunity. i tried almost all of their formulas but i kept having serious problems with loose stools, underweight dogs, lack of energy and the list goes on. one dog stopped eating black gold when i put him on a bag of enhance i got from the sales rep to try. it was a shorthair and after i ran out of the enhance i put them back on black gold and that shorthair wouldnt eat for days.

I was even a dealer for black gold for a while but i couldnt get over the never ending diharea that would pop up all of a sudden and loose stools on some of the dogs. I think after several yearsof feeding it i gave black gold every chance to prove itself and in my opinion, it failed to meet my expectations.

I have had very little issues with enhance. No dog food is perfect and no dog food will work with every dog but i can say the diffrence is black and white on how much better the dogs have done on enhance. stools are smaller and the dogs eat less. I have noticed a 40 lb bag of enhance lasts about as long as a 50 lb bag of black gold. plus arkat has one of only a very very select few plants in the country that has been certified with a "superior" rating by the americen institute of bakers..in other words, they could turn on a dime and make human grade food in there...that is the kind of place i want making my dog food for me.

Post by **ezzy333** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 12:45 pm

plus arkat has one of only a very very select few plants in the country that has been certified with a "superior" rating by the americen institute of bakers..in other words, they could turn on a dime and make human grade food in there...that is the kind of place i want making my dog food for me.

I'll bet you are right as most plants have never tried to get that certification. But you are wrong if you actually think they could start making human food with no problem. Building and equipment would have to be changed or undergo extensive remodeling.

That certification is primarily for advertising purposes but it is nice to know they are doing a good job with their facility housekeeping if they are still keeping it up and being inspected.

Ezzy

Duane M · Post by **Duane M** » Wed Feb 11, 2009 1:15 pm

Makes more sense now, from your first post it sounded like you had fed it very seldom, not for years. I agree on Enhance, I got three cases of sample pack of it from a rep at a seminar I did and was real pleased with it but have no dist for it nearby.

Post by **ezzy333** » Fri Feb 13, 2009 7:45 am

This topic is being locked due to the last several posts that would be better placed in a PM. It has become evident that there is a lot of personal opinion about a product and about the posters that may lack credability. I see nothing to be gained that enhances any of our knowledge with this one continuing. The posts have been removed.

Ezzy