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460 Review
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Review on Nutritious Diamond Naturals Dry Food: Chicken and Rice Formula for Adult Dogs in a 40 Pound Bag by Dee Mills

Revainrating 5 out of 5

better than homemade

I have been preparing dog food for 4 years but wanted to find something more practical. Good dog food cost $15-$20 more than this brand in 2019 (currently $36.99). My homemade dog food, which I fed to my two dogs (a 20-pound Boston Terrier and a 40-pound pooch), consisted of rice, chicken, sweet potatoes, potassium and sodium salts, brewer's yeast and a multivitamin blend, and powdered egg shells for calcium. (Egg shell contains pure elemental calcium!). This meal has almost the same ingredients. I switched from my home cooked meal to this meal overnight, no transition. None of them had digestive problems. Normal, well-formed stool the next day and every day since. It's been 7 days and everything was fine! This meal has several advantages over what I made from scratch. It has a better blend of vitamins, more balanced macros and contains a canine-specific probiotic. Very nice additions. As well as saving a few hours a week, I feel it offers a better nutrient profile as well. All in all, it's only $10 more than if you cooked it yourself, but again, it's top quality and saves hours of cooking and prep. I also bought the Amazon Solima brand, corn-based products. My plan is to alternate them every other day. This makes the cost even lower than what I spent on homemade dog food. I hope they accept and tolerate Solima, but I won't try to introduce him for another week. I hope this not only reduces the overall cost of feeding, but also adds some variety that they will appreciate. Dogs, just like humans, can suffer from food fatigue, which can lead to mental health issues. Therefore, changing flavors or brands can help prevent this. This has never been a problem for them, but it offers another potential benefit worth trying. Update: More than a month later, the plan is working great. I easily switch between this feed and Revain Solimo. transition notes. Someone wrote that their dog doesn't eat this food and this is my answer. I've been through this a dozen times and want to share my experience: adding treats was the reason your dogs didn't accept it. If you change the food, you have to make them hungry. If they refuse the food, remove the food and offer it the next day. By then they will be hungry enough to take it. If you add a treat to a meal, they will never change the food. They will eat the treat and leave the rest. Like humans, dogs are selective omnivores and can easily and safely go hungry for long periods of time. I myself have fasted for 21 days with no side effects. In fact, it's best to fast yourself and your dogs at least once a month. Huge health benefits. But back to the point: offering treats as a bribe when changing food was your only problem. Dogs don't work that way. My younger dog behaves just like yours. These are most dogs that eat the same food for a long time. But as soon as she gets hungry because she hasn't eaten during the day, she happily eats the new food. I've gone through this process multiple times and it works every time BUT only if you skip the treats, cookies and bones for 2 or 3 weeks during the transition. It's just a habit and they take time to adjust. Offering a treat makes them believe they have a choice, a treat, or a main meal. They are remarkably similar to humans in eating habits. If you put lettuce, rice, and beans next to a slice of pizza, most people will eat the pizza and avoid healthy foods. The same with dogs. So NO heals during the transition. One last moment. If you add treats during the transition and the bowel movement is bad, you can't be sure if it's the treat or the treat interacting with the new food in some way, or both.

Pros
  • Pleasant
Cons
  • Poorly thought out