Just wanted to pass this along as an FYI.

http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/diamond-pet-foods-expands-voluntary-recall-.html

Thanks for adding this. I had posted the original recall. Unfortunately not a surprize.

Just keeps giving folks more & more reasons to feed a natural diet to their dogs & cats. Except my stupid cat won't eat it. That's ok...the dogs don't want to share anyway. :-)

Oddly enough, I haven't seen Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice adult formula recalled at all. I'll continue to feed it until they recall it then, I'll never trust it again.

Why wait until it becomes official that you're feeding your dog suspicious pellets of "food"?

Ironic that this warning wasn't yet on their own website!
I wouldn't wait for another recall Samantha, I would look for another food company, one that doesn't continue to issue recalls regardless, if they are voluntary or not. They are not checking their facility because this stuff needs to get caught before it leaves the factory.
It does make a great argument for feeding an all natural raw diet
though.


This is one thing that gets me every single time; The people whom come into the store I work at and when I engage them in a conversation about feeding raw, I have the ones who immediately make the judgment that feeding raw leads to salmonella or some other possible pathogens.
I wish I had a print out of all the pathogens that are found in kibble!

Truth is, a healthy dog in most cases, can handle these pathogens effectively. There is likely no difference in where the pathogens are from, BUT
The difference lies in the fact that a raw fed dog has stronger stomach acidity and it passes from the gut quickly eliminating a chance of poisoning or illness.
As where a kibble fed dog is likely to have less acidity to it's gut and the kibble takes time to be processed through the gut, and that lengthening of time, can in fact make a dog sick.
Especially if there is grain in the kibble. We always advocate for feeding a grain free diet, and this is one of the reasons why. Besides the fact that dogs weren't really designed to digest grains.

For folks that still want to feed kibble here is one that as far as I know, have never had a recall of their foods.
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/horizon-legacy-dog-food/

I have mentioned this company before, but Horizon dog food company is one we recommend all the time as a good company for kibble.
They have their flagship Legacy brand for large breeds and for those that need something more economical, Pulsar which is a single source protein.

http://www.horizonpetfood.com/

And don't forget that "grain free" could be applied to a food that's more white potato than meat. Kibble contains starch carbs; something is in it to allow the kibbling (extrusion) process. That is, regardless of the front label, it's the ingredient list that matters.

 Quote: Joyce Salazar

I have mentioned this company before, but Horizon dog food company is one we recommend all the time as a good company for kibble. ...

I often refer to that Dogfood Advisor site you linked.

One important thing for me is to read to the end. Some of the most important info is way down under "Horizon Legacy Dog Food… the Bottom Line."

QUOTE Judging by its ingredients alone, Horizon Legacy appears to be an excellent grain-free dog food. ... But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating. .... The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 38%, a fat level of 17% and an estimated carbohydrate content of 38%. ... As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 39% and an average fat level of 18%. Together, these figures suggest an overall carbohydrate content of 35% for the full product line. ...High protein. Moderate fat. And low carbohydrates when compared to a typical dry dog food. ... With no evidence of any plant-based protein concentrates, this is the profile of a kibble containing a notable amount of meat. .... Bottom line? ... Horizon Legacy is primarily a grain-free kibble using a significant amount of poultry and poultry meals as its main source of animal protein… thus earning the brand five stars. ... Enthusiastically recommended. ... Those looking for a similar kibble with slightly less meat may wish to check out our review of Horizon Complete Dog Food. END
(Bold is mine.)

Duplicate post.

I just wanted to add one thing. The one thing that makes Horizon stand out from many other high quality kibble companies, is that the carbs that are in their food are red lentils and green peas. Both are very low on the glycemic index.
This is a good thing for a couple reasons. The first, is that it insures that it will help maintain a steady blood sugar level that could be considered superior over higher glycemic ingredients like potato and sweet potatoes.
Secondly, it is what we recommend for dogs with diabetes or as a food that would also deter diabetes.

While diabetes is not a common disease in dogs, we have been seeing it more and more. The first thing you look at is the diet.
Anyhow, I just wanted to point this out.
In many ways, I think Horizon stands above the very popular
and very expensive, Orijen, as they do use potatoes as the carb.

Not saying Orijen is a bad food at all. But depending on the activity level of the dog, Horizon should be considered by kibble feeders.

That's a great point, Joyce.

The ingredient list is where to look, as Joyce says. "Grain Free" on the front means much less than the I.L. does.



PS

I'm not at all a fan of lots of white potato in the food. In fact, all else remaining the same, and assuming that you're not trying to devise or choose an elimination diet, I'd much rather have a whole non-gluten grain than white potato. IOW, the big "Grain Free" banner may indicate a quality food ..... or it may not.

Only the I.L. will tell you.


NOTE: I moved this part of the thread over here:

http://leerburg.com/webboard/thread.php?topic_id=32176&page=1#359686



Edited by Connie Sutherland (04/29/2012 12:37 PM)
Edit reason: note