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Old September 22nd, 2011, 05:37 PM
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need dog food info

Hi all,

I've been to all the sites - sticky and not - here about dog food. Is anyone here skilled in figuring out what is good and what is not?

We live in a small town, with a Walmart and grocery stores to choose from for our dogs' food, unless we travel and hour either direction, or buy food online and pay the shipping charges.

We are getting a tractor supply store here, and I understand they sell a variety of brands. They have Iams, Science diet etc that I've never heard good about.

The main question I have is, is the Diamond brand a decent food. My chiropractor says it is, but I just don't know how to compare it using some of the sites that discuss the good and bad of various foods.

Can anyone help me decifer the info? Please? Oh, I have one dog who is 7 and one how is almost 9 months.

Diane
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Old September 22nd, 2011, 05:57 PM
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Hi Diane, I just took a look at dogfoodanalysis.com website and all of the diamond products got a 1*. I do not know the product myself but I think I would stay away from this one. The review noted that they use meat byproduct and lots of fillers. As much as we diss Science Diet....I think I would use them before Diamond. Check out the dogfoodanalysis website for the foods that you hace access to maybe one of them will be classed as a food you would like to feed your dogs. patti
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Old September 22nd, 2011, 06:23 PM
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thanks pbpatti

Diane
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Old September 22nd, 2011, 10:18 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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Diamond pet food products have been involved in a number of recalls and pet deaths, so from that perspective alone, I'd stay away. Is a homemade diet an option at all? For sure I would at least supplement whatever kibble you decide on with some fresh meat. Nobody should live on processed food alone.
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Old September 23rd, 2011, 09:22 AM
Longblades Longblades is offline
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I think the first question is what are you feeding now and what do you not like about it? Does it not agree with your pooch? I tend to be a "if it's not broke, don't fix it" type.

That said I do rotate three different foods with the idea that changing main protein and filler sources may expose my dog to less of the crap that goes into producing those proteins and fillers. Ie. in hopes that the pesticides/drugs targeting threats to growing chicken, lamb and salmon are different and targeting threats to growing corn, oats and potatoes are different.

I try to keep protein and fat percentages and kcal/cup fairly close in my three foods.

One of my foods is a Diamond. I believe the safest place to eat is the restaurant that was busted for food safety infractions and cleaned up it's act. Ditto dog food.

I found the Dog Food Analysis site to be out of date for the foods I was researching. I also found it to be biased and did not present scientific backup for some claims. It's not too bad a resource but you cannot avoid checking the ingredients of the individual manufacturers yourself. I like http://www.dogfoodproject.com/ better but have not checked it in some time.
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Old September 23rd, 2011, 11:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Longblades View Post
I believe the safest place to eat is the restaurant that was busted for food safety infractions and cleaned up it's act. Ditto dog food.
Except that Diamond has been rather tardy at cleaning up their act, since they've recalled food in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008.
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Old September 23rd, 2011, 03:49 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Longblades View Post
I think the first question is what are you feeding now and what do you not like about it? Does it not agree with your pooch? I tend to be a "if it's not broke, don't fix it" type.
Simon gets Purina healthy maintenance with different veggies we add and Jessie has had Iams puppy, Purina puppy, etc.

Also, with Simon and the other dogs that have passed, we ordered some Wellness and another one I forget the name of, online - they didn't like either one.

I was just wanting guidance, and opinions. I'll try again to understand those sites that compare different food and the ingredients.

Thanks to all.
Diane
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