Kibble Question

[Guest Whistle]

Would any of the food experts care to take a look at these two foods and tell me if you think they are comparable nutritionally? I'm guessing opinions on this could probably vary greatly. I know a lot of GH people feed Diamond Naturals and have good luck with it, so I took a look at it while at Tractor Supply today. I would save about $10 per 40-pound bag. My hounds did eat Kirkland for a while and did well on it, which I know is similar to the Diamond Naturals. I wish the nearest Costco wasn't an hour away.

 

I'm also wondering how the Nature's Select can have chicken meal and beef meal as the first two ingredients and have 6% less protein than the Diamond...

 

Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice

 

Ingredients

Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, white rice, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), oatmeal, dried plain beet pulp, egg product, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, fish meal, salt, potassium chloride, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

 

Protein: 26%

Fat: 16%

368 calories per cup

 

 

Nature's Select Chicken, Beef, Salmon & Sunflower Oil

 

Ingredients

Chicken Meal, Beef Meal, Pearled Millet, Milo, Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols), Flaxseed Meal, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salmon Oil, Sunflower Oil, Alfalfa, Cranberries, Blueberries, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Niacin Supplement, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, D-Biotin.

 

Crude Protein Min. – 20%

Crude Fat Min. – 8%

Calories per cup: 379

[Guest PawPrintsLife]

Nature's Select protein is way too low at 20%. Research shows that a totally inactive (kenneled) adult dog needs 18% protein to survive, not to thrive. Protein should be more in the mid- to upper 20's range, and fat should be exactly 10-11 percentage points below that.

 

In any case, I wouldn't use either of these foods. Please check this out for why: 

 

Rebecca Forrest

 

Logan (7 yr old male brindle)

Zelda (4 yr old female parti black princess)

Jordie (3 yr old male brindle)

Izzy (3 yr old female mix)

Lucy (17 yr old tabby cat--don't tell the dogs--they think she's canine!)

Edited April 20, 2011 by GreyTzu
Link removed.

[OwnedBySummer]

Kibble questions will get you a plethora of differing opinions. Rather than coming in with a specific opinion, I would just like to say:

 

1. Feed a kibble that your dog likes and does well on.

2. Are you supplementing the kibble with moist food or homecooked meat or something? That will impact the analysis of the kibble.

[Guest Whistle]

I am aware of the AAFCO and their "standards."

 

I don't mean to sound snarky, but whether or not you would feed the kibble was not my question.

 

ETA: The above was in response to Rebecca.

 

Kibble questions will get you a plethora of differing opinions. Rather than coming in with a specific opinion, I would just like to say:

 

1. Feed a kibble that your dog likes and does well on.

2. Are you supplementing the kibble with moist food or homecooked meat or something? That will impact the analysis of the kibble.

 

Thanks, I'm now realizing there probably isn't a simple answer to this as I'd hoped. I have always been one for feeding your hound what they do well on and mine do well on the Nature's Select. We may give the Diamond a try since it seems to be similar to the Kirkland, which we've had good luck with. Times are not tight for us, but $10 is still $10.

Edited April 20, 2011 by Whistle

[OwnedBySummer]

Summer is fed a kibble with a 21% minimum protein analysis, which is lower than I would have liked. BUT it's the only kibble she eats readily. Others, like Blue Buffalo, she flat out refuses. Others, like Taste Of The Wild, she'll only eat with a lot of additives and coaxing and it takes hours. So... I feed what she likes and she has a lovely silky coat right now. And what she's chosen is Nutro Natural Choice Grain Free Turkey & Potato. But I supplement with 1/2 a large 22oz. can of moist dog food for dinner, along with salmon oil. And her treats are healthy things like dehydrated tendons, trachea, lung and liver.

 

I wish I could help you more but after a year of messing with this kibble and that kibble, I am just too happy that I've found one she likes and actually looks forward to and does the morning happy dance for! I think this reaction, plus of course the fact that she does well on it, is what matters.

 

You can also look at the Dog Food Analysis website. If your foods have been reviewed, there will be information on them plus a recommendation by the reviewer.

[FountainLady]

Also check out the 4Health food made by Diamond just for Tractor Supply company:

 

Ingredients:

Chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, millet, brewers rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), dried beet pulp, natural chicken flavor, flaxseed, fish meal, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, glucosamine hydrochloride, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, yucca schidigera extract, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, chondroitin sulfate, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

 

Guaranteed Analysis:

Crude Protein 26.0% (min.), Crude Fat 15.0% (min.), Omega-6 Fatty Acids* 2.5% (min.), Omega-3 Fatty Acids* 0.4% (min.), Moisture 10.0% (max.), Crude Fiber 4.0% (max.), Glucosamine hydrochloride* 300 mg/kg (min.), Zinc 150 mg/kg (min.), Chondroitin sulfate* 100 mg/kg (min.), Selenium 0.4 mg/kg (min.), Vitamin E 150 IU/kg (min.).

 

 

 

Edited April 20, 2011 by FountainLady

[Guest Whistle]

Thanks, Lisa. Again, I agree with feeding what your hound likes and does well with. We are feeding the Nature's Select because after trying several kibbles, my three hounds have done better on this than many others (besides the Kirkland, which looks similar to the Diamond Naturals). We give fish oil and my hounds get small amounts of homemade biscuits for snacks. I also give dehydrated tracheas or tendons every other day. They get other human food as snacks each day and raw now and then, but it is such a small amount I don't think it should really impact my kibble choice.

 

I think the Dog Food Analysis is a great site for a baseline on kibble quality, but I'm on the fence about some ingredients they consider a "no, no," which brings their rating down.

 

Cory, thanks for pointing this kibble out. I did see it while at Tractor Supply, but didn't take a close look at it. We'll check this one out too.

[Hubcitypam]

I like Diamond Naturals first and 4Health second, but that is just me.

Dog Food Review is largely one person's opinions based on feeding ingredients into a computer progream so maybe it is not the be all and end all......

[Guest june]

I fed Diamond in the past (changed because I had a senior who couldn't eat it and so changed so they could all eat the same food) and about 6 months ago tried to go back. All three of my girlies ended up with the big D even with a very gradual change. I absolutely could not get it cleared up and so I finally went back to Iams. I do supplement with EFA's and some cooked. So I guess I would tell you to use what works best for your hounds.

june

[beledi]

I have been using Diamond Naturals Beef. Bad gas! Started Royal Canin Large Breed yesterday and have no gassy smells. I try to change foods every three months. Avoderm Baked, Blue Buffalo, Diamond Natural and now Royal Canin. I also add lots of different ingredients and canned tripe, pumpkin, green beans, plain youghurt, chicken livers, etc.