Diamond Naturals All Life Stages Chicken and Rice Formula Dry Dog Food Protein from Real Chicken, and Probiotics 40 Pound (Pack of 1)

I have been making my own dogs food for 4 years but wanted to find something more convenient. Good dog food used to be $15 to $20 more expensive than this brand is in 2019 (currently $36.99). My home made dog food that I've been feeding my two dogs (20lb boston terrier and 40lb mutt) has been rice, chicken, sweet potato, potassium and sodium salts, brewers yeast and a multivitamin blend as well as powder egg shells for calcium (egg shells contain pure elemental calcium!). This food has nearly the exact same ingredients.I switched them both from my home cooked food to this food overnight, no transition at all. Neither of them had digestive distress at all. Normal well formed stools the very next day, and every day since. It's been 7 days and everything has been a-ok!There are a few advantages to this food as compared to what I used to cook from scratch. This has a better vitamin blend, more balanced macros, and includes a canine specific probiotic. Very nice additions. So in addition to saving me a few hours each week I feel it's providing a better nutrient profile too. Overall it's only about $10 more than cooking it myself but again, it's better quality and it saves many hours of cooking and preparation.I also bought the amazon Solima brand, corn-based food. My plan is to alternate between them every other day. This will lower the cost to even lower than what I was spending on homemade dogfood. Hopefully they accept and tolerate the Solima but I won't be attempting to introduce it for another week or so. In addition to lowering the overall cost of feeding I'm hoping it will introduce some variety they appreciate. Dogs, like humans, can suffer from dietary fatigue which can cause mental health issues. So alternating flavors or brands can help prevent that. It's never been an issue for them before but it provides another possible benefit worth trying.Update: Over a month later and the plan is working perfectly. I alternate this food and the Amazon Solimo food with no issues whatsoever.Transition notes. Someone posted their dog wouldn't accept this food and this is my response. I've been through this a dozen times and would like to share my experience for others:Adding treats was what caused your dogs to not accept this. When you transition food you have to let them get hungry. If they refuse a meal, put the food away and offer it the next day. They will be hungry enough by then to accept it. If you add a treat to the food they will never change foods. They will eat the treat and leave the rest. Like humans, dogs are selective omnivores and can easily, and healthily fast for long periods. I myself have fasted for 21 days with no ill effects. In fact, it's best to fast yourself, and your dogs once a month, at least. Enormous health benefits. But back to the point, offering treats as a bribe when changing foods was your sole problem. That's not how dogs work. My smaller dog is the same as yours in her behavior. Most dogs that eat the same food for a long period are like this. But once she's hungry from not eating for a day she will gladly eat the new food. I've been through this process more than a few times, and it works every time BUT only if you skip treats, biscuits and bones for 2 or 3 weeks while transitioning. It's just a habit and it takes time for them to adjust. Offering the treat makes them believe that they have an option, the treat or their main food. They are surprisingly similar to humans in feeding behavior. If you put salad, rice and beans next to a piece of pizza most humans will eat the pizza and avoid the healthy food. Same with dogs. So NO treats while transitioning. One final point. If you add treats while transitioning and they have a poor bowel movement then you can't be sure what caused it, the treat or the treat interacting somehow with the new food, or both.

My dogs really like this food and I feel I'm giving them better nutrition than with Pedigree (which I fed them for years, bad me). I wanted a dog food that was within my budget but was comparable in price to the grocery store brands. I can't afford $75 dog food (which comes in a 15 pound bag no less) and this was a great alternative. I like the fact that it's a natural dog food and the ingredients are so much better than Pedigree. Real chicken meat, not meal, which is always a good thing. I read the reviews online and decided to try it. My large dogs are not overweight nor do they have special dietary needs so a basic food with good ingredients is what I wanted. For $40 for 40 pounds, I feel I've gotten a good deal. I will continue to order Diamond Natural on Amazon. The food arrived quickly (it took 4 days not 2, which is OK) because I have Prime and the bag wasn't broken or torn in any way. I've wanted to feed my beloved mutts better food for some time and this brand and price make that possible. I felt bad for the UPS guy but he said lots of people order their dog food online. I highly recommend this dog food.Update: My pooches have made the transition from Pedigree to Diamond Naturals without incident. The Diamond Naturals food even smells better (it seemed Pedigree had a distinctly cereal smell, not meaty). There have been no problems with them turning their noses up at the new food or anything like that. I have a Yorkie puppy and after he finishes the Science Diet toy breed puppy food I already have, I'll start him on the small breed puppy Diamond Naturals. I have always added omega 3 fish oil to my dogs diet and will continue to do that. I'm convinced they live longer, healthier lives because of it. I'm not sure Diamond Naturals includes fish oil in its ingredients, if not, then they should. I threw the bag out so I didn't get a chance to check. But since I've been supplementing my dogs diet for years now, I see no reason to quit just because a little extra is added into the kibble. I use the fish oil capsules from the drugstore (dogs can only process Omega 3) and they don't mind at all. Now if I could only find an acceptable canned dog food with good ingredients that doesn't cost a small fortune. Then I would be very happy indeed.