juliepoudrier Posted August 16, 2007 Report Share Posted August 16, 2007 I was at the store today picking up dog and cat supplies and noticed that Diamond Naturals has a new formulation called "Extreme Athlete." It's the chicken and rice formula, but has 32% protein and 25% fat. It's price seems to be just a bit more expensive than the other Diamond Naturals feeds ($28 for a 40-lb. bag). I plan to try it once I finish the bag of food I've got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Bo Boop Posted August 16, 2007 Report Share Posted August 16, 2007 I feed the Diamond chicken and rice or lamb and rice right now, but I was feeding their preformance feed up until a month or so ago. I'd actually switched because I noticed that the dogs poop was REALLY dry, had a yellow tinge and was crumbly :-( and Spree would actually have trouble going. I started adding oil to their feed, but thought I'd also try the other feed. So far they are still having intermittent bouts of dry poop, and they all drink tons of of h20, so not sure why this would be a problem. Other than that, I'm really happy with the Diamond. Anybody else having this kind of problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted August 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2007 My dogs seem to do fine on it. No poop issues. I do add a tablespoon of safflower oil to their meal, but I do that because I want increased fat intake, not to prevent hard stools. That's why I was happy to see a formula with a high fat content--maybe I can quit buying those $3.50 pint bottles of safflower oil! J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheRuffMuttGang Posted August 16, 2007 Report Share Posted August 16, 2007 I feed my foster dogs Diamond Naturals Chicken & Rice and I have the opposite problem that you guys have: consistently SOFT stools...to the point where I am almost convinced to spend the extra money to feed them all Canidae. Diamond Naturals was a nice "in between" option for me as far as my rescue budget goes but I am really just not satisfied with it -at all-. I am quite sure it's the food because NONE of my own personal dogs have this problem and they all eat Canidae. It's just the fosters that have the soft-really-difficult-to-scoop-out-of-grass-without-making-a-huge-mess poop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valhalla Posted August 16, 2007 Report Share Posted August 16, 2007 32% protein is pretty high! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Bo Boop Posted August 16, 2007 Report Share Posted August 16, 2007 Well isn't that odd When I switched to Diamond (from science diet, don't beat me :-) ) I noticed a diff. right away with the dogs coats, my god they went from blah to Wowzer! in about a week. And they get tested pretty hard out here. I work them pretty hard, and I'm in DEEP sand and live on a slope and I'm in south Texas...so it be hot...but they hang pretty tough. The dry poop though is a prob. Especially with Spree, sometimes it seems like she takes days to take a poop, the she keeps looking around, like what the hecks goin' on back there! So what do you think would be the significance of the dry stool, other than the discomfort...think it's good enough to supplement with oil if that fixes the prob.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 I use the natural chicken and rice. Switched from Diamond green bag. I tried Canadie and didn't like it. The seniors didn't do well and everyone was itchy. I noticed the biggest change in poop from the natural Diamond. It's way smaller and darker. I've been feeding less in this extreme heat and everyone looks wonderful. Even the senior dog looks like she's losing a bit of wieght and her coat is better. The skinny ones aren't getting any skinner or fatter and coats all look wonderful. I might try bumping up to the Extreme Athlete's when the heat cuts back cause we're all not extrem anything in this heat except hot! I had a problem when switching with bad diahera but it leveled off after the switch. I think it might have been taking the corn out of the diet. Can't say I notice my hot dogs running any less hot. Guess I'm lucky, I only pay 18.95 for 40lbs. Only 1$ more than for the green bag, but 10 less #'s. What do any of you feed your LGD's? I'm using green bad Diamond and they look great but was wondering if I should bump them up to the naturals. Kristen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 I feed my foster dogs Diamond Naturals Chicken & Rice and I have the opposite problem that you guys have: consistently SOFT stools...to the point where I am almost convinced to spend the extra money to feed them all Canidae. Have you tried the Naturals Lamb and Rice or Beef and Rice varieties? Kipp did real well on the lamb and rice food. I fed him that when I first got him. He had been on the Diamond high energy before I got him and he had huge soft stools. With the lamb and rice food his stools were much smaller and more firm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted August 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 I guess it just goes to show that no one food is good for all dogs. I had mine on Canidae for a pretty good while and they all had GIANT poops. They seem pretty normal on the Diamond Naturals.... I just got Larky some Solid Gold and Merrick to try (trying to find something that might put a little weight on her), so I'll be interested to see what happens.... Christine, The protein is higher than a lot, but not tremendously so. Some of the other brands I've fed get up to around 25-26 percent or so (Nature's Variety Prairie Salmon, Innova, Timberwolf Organics) so just about 6 percent lower. Solid Gold Barking at the Moon grain-free, which I just bought Lark is 42 percent protein. But I am really attracted to the amount of fat--it'll be interesting to see how my dogs do on it. Most feeds are around 14-15 percent fat, which I think is a bit low. Oh well, if they don't do well on it, I'll just switch them back! J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 32% protein is pretty high! Actually, it's pretty low. There are several myths about protein levels in dog food. The first is that high protein damages the kidneys. Not true. Another is that high levels of protein make pups grow too fast. Also not true. It is the number of calories in a pup's diet (too many) that make them grow too fast. This is per board certified vet nutritionists, not dog food companies or people who don't know what they are talking about. For canine athletes a much higher level of protein is ideal to maintain healthy muscle mass and increase endurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheRuffMuttGang Posted August 17, 2007 Report Share Posted August 17, 2007 I switched from the Lamb and Rice to the Chicken and Rice because I thought it might clear up their soft stools but it didn't help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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