Bil-Jac Dog Food Reviews

Bil-Jac dog food is a super-premium brand of dog food that’s been in business since 1947, making it one of the oldest premium brands on the market. The brand stands behind the idea that their recipes have the “Bil-Jac Difference”, delivering improved muscle tone, softer skin, a shinier coat, and more. 

How? Bil-Jac believes that dogs should eat dog food rich in protein from meat sources. They have a wide range of dog food recipes, each with real protein and no grains with gluten. While Bil-Jac dog food recipes do have carbs, they are only to add nutritional balance and energy, not to provide another source of protein. 

Let’s take a look at our Bil-Jac reviews and their product line to determine if this premium brand delivers on its promises. 

History of the Bil Jac Brand Dog Food

Before we get to our review, let’s take a look at the history of the Bil Jac dog food brand. Bil Jac dog food was started by two brothers, Bill and Jack Kelly, who grew up on a farm and always had an affinity for animals. The brothers were called to serve in World War II, and Bill went to boot camp on a base with a kennel of German Shepherds being trained to sniff bombs. As the story goes, he saw that the dogs were malnourished, asked his supervisor if he could help, and asked his dad to send meat and other supplies from the farm so he could make dog food for the dogs on base. When the reviews were in, Bill improved the health of the dogs with his special pet food.

When the brothers returned from the war, Bill realized he had a real passion for dogs and pet food, and he and his brother set out to improve dog food nutrition. Through trial and error, Bill refined his dog food recipe and, in 1947, Bil-Jac dog food began. 

The original dog food recipe was frozen and used meat as the number one ingredient, something that was astoundingly different from the other dog food of the day. It was so unique, the Kelly brothers received the first dog food patent ever issued in 1951. 

In the 1970s, Bill began contemplating dry dog food, but he didn’t want to make it until he figured out how to make it just as nutritious as his frozen dog food recipes. It took a while to perfect the dog food recipe, but in the 1980s, Bil Jac introduced dry dog food made using a special slow-cooking technique. Fresh chicken was slow-cooked in small batches and gently dried. This innovation was expanded and improved, and today Bil-Jac dog food uses 25 pounds of chicken to create 30 pounds of dry dog food.

Bil Jac Dry Dog Foods

Bil Jac dog food has expanded on its dry dog food product line significantly since that first dog food recipe in the 1980s. Here’s a quick dog food review of all of the dry food options available from Bil-Jac today. 

Puppy Select

First in our Bil Jack dog food review is Bil-Jac’s puppy formula. This is made exclusively for puppies and has the balanced nutrition they need for their first year of life. The first ingredient is real chicken, and they use four pounds of chicken to make a five-pound bag of food. This high-quality dog food recipe includes immune system support, and puppies will love the small mini-bite kibble.

Picky No More

The Bil-Jac Picky No More line of dry dog food was formulated to entice even the pickiest of dogs to their bowls. It uses fresh chicken and real chicken liver using Bil-Jac’s proprietary slow cooking process in this pet food to preserve as many of the nutrients as possible. There are Picky No More pet food recipes for small, medium, and large breeds, each with omega 3 and 6 fatty acids and ingredients to support a healthy immune system with no fillers, wheat, soy, or protein concentrate.

According to Bil-Jac, Small Breed Picky No More is meant for dogs 20 pounds or less. Medium Breed Picky No More can be fed to dogs between 10 and 100 pounds, and Large Breed Picky No More is suitable for dogs between 40 and 120 pounds. The product reviews for each have been positive.

Adult Select

The Adult Select Bil-Jac formula is suitable for adult dogs of all ages and good for different breeds, making it a great choice for multi-dog families. It’s slow-cooked in small batches to maintain the nutritional integrity of the real chicken and has a delicious taste your dog will love. Bil-Jac uses 10 pounds of chicken to make a 15-pound bag of Bil Jac dog food, ensuring that your dog gets plenty of high-quality protein in every bite.  This dry product has fatty acids in its product meal, with some stellar reviews.

Small Breed Adult

Next up in our Bil Jac dog food review is this special dry product for small breeds. Small breeds have special nutritional needs and Bil-Jac’s small breed adult formula has just what they need to thrive. The first ingredient is fresh, farm-raised chicken along with slow-cooked oatmeal, cornmeal, and sweet potatoes to deliver simple carbohydrates to support your little dog’s high energy needs. This Bil-Jac dog food recipe also includes naturally sourced omega 3 fatty acids to promote skin and coat health. And, like all Bil-Jac recipes, there’s no wheat, soy, gluten, rendered fat, fillers, or protein concentrate.

Reduced-Fat Formula

Next up in our reviews is this reduced fat recipe. If your dog needs help maintaining a healthy weight or shedding some pounds, this reduced-fat dog food recipe from Bil-Jac can help. It contains 30 percent less fat than Bil-Jac’s regular adult formula and uses 20 pounds of chicken to make a 30-pound bag. A lot of reduced-fat dog food doesn’t have the same intense chicken flavor that this Bil-Jac product does. It’s formulated to help your dog lose weight while supporting their immune system and has the omega 3 and 6 fatty acids that are so important for skin and coat health. Other ingredients include dried beet pulp and dried yeast.

Senior Select

Dogs have different needs as they mature, so next in our Bil Jac dog food review is this dry food product for seniors. Their nutritional needs change as their activity level slows, and Bil-Jac Senior Select was formulated with that in mind. This Bil-Jac dog food recipe contains gentle fiber to support digestive health. It supports the immune system and contains the glucosamine and chondroitin that older dogs need to maintain joint mobility. There are no fillers, grains, or rendered fat. This Bil-Jac recipe is meant for dogs aged seven and older.

Large Breed Adult

This Bil-Jac dog food recipe is carefully formulated to support the unique nutritional needs of large dogs up to 120 pounds. Chicken and chicken organ meats are the first two ingredients, giving your dog the protein it needs to grow and support lean muscle. It also has glucosamine and chondroitin for joint health, something that Bil-Jac knows is particularly important for large breeds as they put a lot of pressure on their joints. 

Large Breed Puppy

Another food for large breeds in out Bil Jac dog food review is meant for puppies. Large breed puppies have nutritional requirements that smaller puppies don’t. That’s why Bil-Jac created this dog food formulated especially for them. It features naturally sourced ingredients, including real chicken, chicken by product meal, and oatmeal. It also has guaranteed levels of glucosamine and chondroitin which supports healthy joints to make sure that your dog doesn’t have any issues as they get bigger. This Bil-Jac dog food recipe has lower protein and fat levels than the Puppy Select Formula to make sure your large breed puppy doesn’t grow too fast.

Sensitive Solutions

If your dog has food sensitivities, you might want to give this Bil-Jac Sensitive Solutions dog food recipe a try. It’s made using a unique blend of fibers to encourage healthy digestion and whitefish in addition to chicken to provide different animal protein sources to your dog. This dog food recipe also uses Bil-Jac’s SmartDefense system, a mix of antioxidants that support the immune system. 

Small Breed Puppy

Small breed puppies have their own nutritional needs, too, and this Bil-Jac dog food small breed puppy formula is a perfect choice for tiny puppies. Small breeds grow very quickly in the first year of life, and this high-protein recipe is formulated to keep up. It’s made with real chicken, yams, and oatmeal and provides the necessary immune system support. Plus, the small mini-bite-sized kibble is perfect for small mouths.

Small Breed Senior

Another option in our Bil Jac dog food review is Small Breed Senior. The biggest thing to remember when it comes to small dogs is that they live for a long time, some making it into their late teens. They need a special product like Bil-Jac’s small breed dog food senior recipe that supports lifelong health to make sure your little dog is well fed and active, even later in life.

Grain-Free Adult

If you’re looking to eliminate grain as an ingredient, the last of our dry product reviews is this grain-free meal. If your vet recommends a grain-free dog food, you might be interested in this one from Bil-Jac. It delivers a high amount of protein, with real chicken, chicken meal, and menhaden fish meal. Pea starch adds the carbohydrates needed for quick energy and fiber to support healthy digestion. This Bil Jac recipe also includes beet pulp and dried yeast.

Bil Jac Wet Dog Foods

Bil-Jac also offers a nice selection of wet foods, including:

Pâté Platters

Bil-Jac Pâté Platters can be used as a meal, mix-in, or topper. They feature broth, multiple sources of animal protein, and veggies like sweet potatoes and pumpkin. There are four flavors available: 

Pâté Platters with Beef and Sweet Potatoes

Pâté Platters with Duck and Pumpkin

Pâté Platters with Chicken and Vegetables

Pâté Platters with Chicken and Cheese

Bil-Jac Stews and Feasts

This wet food from Bil-Jac is super-premium and contains real chunks of meat and vegetables you can see. There are multiple flavors available. 

Country Stew features lamb and beef protein and wholesome veggies like carrots, potatoes, and green beans.

Chunky Stew with real chicken, sweet potatoes, and green beans. 

Harvest Feast, which uses turkey and chicken for protein along with sweet potatoes and carrots.  

Hearty Stew is loaded with protein from beef, chicken, and turkey. It also has carrots and barley for fiber and added nutrients.

Bil-Jac Dog Treats

Here is a list of the variety of treats Bil-Jac has to offer: 

Little-Jacs is the perfect size for training. They use chicken liver as the first ingredient for a delicious taste your dog will go crazy for. 

Yapple-Nanas contain chicken liver, chicken, and chicken meal with the sweet taste of apples and bananas.

PB-Nanas combines the flavors of real chicken with natural peanut butter and banana flavors. 

Gooberlicious are soft treats for medium to large-sized dogs. They’re made using chicken and natural peanut butter flavor. Little Gooberlicious treats have the same flavor, but in a smaller size that’s better suited for smaller breeds.

Original Recipe Dog Treats are small treats made from real liver. 

America’s VetDog Treats these chicken treats are star-shaped in honor of the assistance dogs that help disabled veterans. They help maintain a healthy coat and skin, and every purchase helps get a service animal for veterans that need one. 

Dessert Jac’s are pumpkin-flavored treats in small pie shapes, a delicious treat for any dog.

Grain-Free Treats use no grains or gluten. They have a chicken and sweet potato flavor your dog will love.

What Makes Bil-Jac Dog Food Special

Bil-Jac dog food has a big claim to fame about the amount of real chicken they use in their recipes. They proudly display it on most of their packing, proclaiming that a 30-pound bag of dog food contains 25 pounds of chicken. Because of this, Bil Jac doesn’t have to add any fats or fillers, and dogs love the taste. 

The brand’s cooking process is also unique. A lot of brands use industrial kitchens to produce large batches of dry food quickly. Bil-Jac cooks all of their food slowly in small batches because it’s gentler and allows for better quality control.  

But it’s not that simple. If you take an in-depth look at the label and read product reviews, you might have a different idea. What about dried beet pulp? Chicken by product meal? What does a Bil-Jack dog food review say about these things?

Reviews: How Does Bil-Jac Dog Food Stack Up? 

Bil-Jac dog food is a middle-of-the-road dog food that’s comparable to what you’d find at the supermarket. It’s recommended for people who aren’t looking for premium dog food, but its reputation as a premium brand may be a little undeserved. To understand why, let’s look at the ingredients.

Although the ingredients vary between recipes, there are some that Bil-Jac uses frequently. They are fond of saying that they use 25 pounds of chicken for every 30-pound bag of dog food, but what does that mean? 

Real chicken is usually the first ingredient, but it contains a lot of water. After the chicken is cooked, it loses some of its volume, so real chicken doesn’t make up the entire 25 pounds that Bil-Jac is referring to on the label. 

Chicken by-products are also listed as an ingredient in a lot of these foods. Bil-Jac often includes an explanation on the label as to why, such as “organ meats only” or “as a source of glucosamine and chondroitin”. But this isn’t always the case. Chicken by-products do include organ meats, but they also include beaks, feet, and every other part of the bird. Chicken by-product meal shows up in a lot of these recipes, too. 

While Bil-Jac may use 25 pounds of chicken in every 30-pound bag, it’s important to realize that doesn’t mean it includes 25 pounds of real chicken meat.

Oatmeal is another common ingredient. This whole grain is a good choice for dog food. It’s naturally rich in vitamins and minerals and provides necessary dietary fiber. 

These dog food recipes also use cornmeal and beet pulp, both of which are high fiber but generally cheap and light in nutritional value. 

BilJac also use flaxseed and brewers yeast, which are safe and healthy ingredients, but they also both contain a lot of protein, which means that the protein content of this recipe is split between multiple sources and may not be as pure as you assume. 

There are two other things to point out. One is that these dog foods don’t include any probiotics, so if your dog needs them, you will have to add them yourself. The other thing is that Bil-Jac uses BHA as a preservative, and BHA is suspected to cause cancer. 

The Verdict on Bil Jac Dog Food

Bil-Jac’s ingredient list does not support the idea that this is a premium brand. The quality of the ingredients might be great, but there are more things to consider. Saying that each bag contains massive amounts of chicken is a little misleading as all of this chicken isn’t muscle meat. It includes chicken by-products and by-product meals, too. Plus, Bil-Jac uses other ingredients that also add protein so keep that in mind when looking at the analysis. 

By looking at the Bil-Jac label, it seems like this is average dry dog food. That said, pet owners who feed Bil-Jac to their dogs rave about it, and there are a lot of satisfied customers. 

Bottom line? Bil-Jac is fine food for any dog, and they have a variety of recipes and types of food to choose from. But read the Bil Jac label carefully. If you’re expecting a premium level dog food, you might be disappointed in Bil-Jac.

Mary Nielsen

I grew up in a household that was filled with animals. I believe that my fate as a dog-loving person was sealed in early childhood since my parents owned several dogs of varying sizes and breeds. There was no choice but to take care of and learn about dog habits and the best animal care practices — otherwise, I’d be clueless about how to go about the creatures I was surrounded by day and night.

As a life-long puppy lover, I know a thing or two about dogs and how to go about caring for them in the best way possible. Although I’m not a professionally trained dog behaviorist, trainer, or veterinarian, all of my knowledge and experience with canines comes from a place of love and a deep-rooted passion for dogs and animals in general.

Seeing as dogs kept me company throughout every stage of my life, I decided to follow a different path in my academic life and obtained a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Marketing Management and Digital Advertising, which ultimately allowed me to combine my professional training and personal experience by creating the ultimate dog lover’s resource website! Along with my husband, Dave, I run MySweetPuppy for like-minded dog lovers who want to have a single, clear, and reliable information source about anything and everything related to dogs and their well-being.