Didn't Diamond have a major recall of many foods less than a year ago?

 

Diamond has had numerous recalls and seems to have serious quality control problems. Not a food I would ever choose.

 

I was having problems last week with Mya. I had just barely started switching her over to the Diamonds 60+ (I had TOTALLY forgot about the problems with their recalls). I had just started my second phase of switching by going to 1 part new food to 5 part old food. I thought there was no way it could be the Diamond food, but it was. Mya has been on IAMs since a pup and that is what she shall remain on.
That is my experience with Diamond. I hope you are able to find one that fits your dogs. :nod:

 

Like Mary Jane, I had started to include DN Extreme Athlete into my dog's diet, litterally just a few kibbles. Not really sure if it was the kibble or if Journey got into something else (she is a destructo dog, and will get into stuff if she can, so I tend to be vigilant about what she has access to), but she was one sick dog for a couple days. Uncontrollable diarhhea, and throwing up. No one else had a reaction. The rescue shepherds at the kennel I work at (about 17 right now), are mostly on that DN food and seem to be doing well on it.

I'll stick to Taste of the Wild and Grandma Lucy's!

 

Not positive, but I think Diamond makes Taste of the Wild

 

Wow, some scary stuff. I was also considering the Canidae food. So hard to tell what to give to them, our 4 year old LOVES the Simply Nourish food, but putting two labs on it will
be quite costly so I was looking for an alternative. Having said that, the breeder has the dogs on Kirkland food and has had no problems whatsoever even during the recall. There seems to be so many dog foods recalled, even expensive ones, hard to know what to do

 

But isn't Kirkland made by Diamond?

oops, op appears to know that. Sorry, must finish coffee before reading and posting.

 

never a product by diamond.

 

I have fed my dogs Diamond products before and they did just fine. It's not the first dog food company to have recalls nor will it be the last; unfortunately recalls happen with many products, including those for human consumption. Don't feed Diamond products if you're not comfortable doing so, but I'm more worried about my dogs getting salmonella from eating something they find on a walk or in the yard. If you are getting a puppy from a breeder I would listen to their advice about food.

 

I had Nellie on Kirkland which she reacted to. Switched to Chicken Soup, again problems We went through 4 different Diamond products including TOTW when I said enough after all the recalls. Had her on Earthborn but it was too rich for her (she's 12). My two are now on a Canadian food called NOW Senior. My new rescue was fed Pedigree and we are having a battle with the switch. She will go 24 hours without eating but I will not put Pedigree in this house. They spray their food with oils to get the dogs to it eat.
Now has never had a recall.

 

I recently made the post below to a person inquiring about Kirkland dog foods. Kirkland dog foods are VERY similar in formula to Diamond Naturals (NOT plain Diamond; it has a much inferior formulation.) Everything is pertinent to the OP's inquiry so I'm repeating it. Since OP lives on the East Coast and very likely the Diamond Naturals products sold there come from S&K's South Carolina plant, the section below highlighted in red is one I particularly recommend.

Simply relying on a brand name, IMO, is not the wisest way of avoiding problems. As someone in this thread previously remarked, almost ALL providers have had recalls. For me, buying far enough in advance and being aware of warning posts such as those from Dog Food Advisor is FAR safer.


Schell & Kampeter (S&K) makes Kirkland, Diamond, and a variety of other brands.

* Canidae Pet Food - (Canidae is no longer produced at Diamond)
* Solid Gold Health Products for Pets
* **** Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods
* Taste of the Wild Pet Foods
* Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul
* 4Health (Available only at Tractor Supply Company)
* NutraGold Super Premium Holistic Formulas

S&K has 3 manufacturing facilities:
-- one is in Gaston, South Carolina which distributes primarily to the east coast and the eastern midwest;
-- a second is the home plant and office in Meta, Missouri, which distributes primarily to the middle, central section of the USA;
-- and the third is in Lathrop, California, which distributes primarily to the western third of the USA.

The problems S&K has had have been almost solely in their Gaston, SC, plant -- distributed to the eastern third of North America.

S&K's Gaston, SC, plant had problems with Aflatoxin contamination in some products in 2005 and these were recalled.

Aflatoxin, a fungus, is carried by contaminated corn (and nuts, etc.) and the fault was definitely caused by shoddy Quality Control at the Gaston plant. Corn is not used in Kirkland kibbles but it was in some Diamond and other label products. (S&K's resident dietician & veterinarian, Meta, MO, told me in personal communications that the people responsible had been replaced and stringent quality controls were put in place.)

Aflatoxin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

But again in 2012, recalls of dog kibble produced in S&K's Gaston, SC, plant were also recalled due to the presence of Salmonella contamination.

Kirkland dog kibbles are fairly similar in formula and ingredients (but better, IMO) to Diamond Naturals (but not plain Diamond -- the
"plain" contains grains & poorer ingredients). I've fed Kirkland products for over 10 years without any problem. I feed it because the ingredients are excellent and its price is even more so. And, since most of the problems have been in S&K's Gaston plant, those products aren't usually distributed here.

But with only one dog with a small appetite, dog food in large bags is a problem.

Puff does not like (will not eat) stale food so I've found, by many trials and errors, that the best way to handle a Kirkland 40 lb. bag of kibble is, immediately on opening, to transfer its contents, in to 10-11 one gallon plastic Ziploc freezer bags and seal each one. (The empty paper bag makes a good storage receptacle and contains Lot numbers in case there are recalls.)

Whenever we get down to only half a bag, I buy another. An advantage is that gives me about 1 1/2 months advance warning about any
dog food recalls. I can check the lot #s on the storage bag if needed. So far, there's been zero need and zero recalls of any food we've had.

Works for us.

 

Bob Pr, I just got a 40# bag of kibble yesterday and with only one dog am going to try your method of storage. I usually don't buy that large a bag because it's easier for me to pick up a 25# but the price per pound of the larger bag is an incentive

 

part of the problem with diamond, during last springs recalls, were the lies (yes, lies) they told me , each and every time i called.
and yes, 3 of my dogs got sick from eating the kirkland/diamond food. one very sick . and yes, i actually went on ch 2 news because i was getting jerked from her to their 2 plants that eventually were closed. my dogs never got salmonella, which is hard for a dog to get, but they got sick.
sick enough that diamond paid me, finally, nearly 4 grand in vet bills.
i believe the company could have been more up front with me, and others, and it wouldnt have left such a bad taste (no pun intended) in my mouth.
now, i choose a food, not only by the ingredients but by the company and number of recalls.

and yes, i nearly lost rex, because of their tainted food.

 

Bett, I feel so bad for you, things like this should never happen. Companies need to be more up front with recalls and realize that yes, our animals can get sick from food if it's
tainted.
Someone on here said that Canidae is no longer produced by Diamond, is this correct. This is one of the foods that was recommended to me as well.

 

i tried to do a search but there is no more info regarding canidae and diamond so i think it's still part of it. perhaps, if there's a phone number attached to the bag, you can call and maybe, they 'll be truthful.

it seems , from what i can find, that as of january they still ourtsource to diamond.

 

I feed the 4Health (Tractor Supply brand) salmon and potato. When they had the recall, my local store researched and learned that none of the food they carry came from the SC plant, it was all out of the MO plant.

This stuff averages about $35 for 35 pounds of kibble and one bag will last about a month for us. I get a second bag when I have about a week's worth left, and I keep the bags so I have the product codes if there is ever an issue.

We did the roller-coaster with food before I found this. My boys only do well on a fish-based food and I cannot afford over $50 a bag. They do great on this, love it, and I can afford it, so while I will keep a close eye on any recalls, I will keep feeding it.

 

To many brands of dog foods out there, makes it very confusing. Had sooo many dogs in the past and never had this hard of a time picking out what to feed them, lol.
back to the drawing board on finding something reasonably priced to put both these dogs on. must be something out there

 

Diamond is fine. There are always MAJOR recalls going on with dog food. Innova (who makes EVO), California Naturals, etc is having a major recall right now as we speak

 

Dani--I think you're right. It's not just diamond anymore--it's a lot of them and lately. There was another recall on treats too,but can't remember that name.

 

Diamonds recall managed to close two of their three plants.
They were hardly forthcoming, with info, while it was spreading.
Probably because people got sick, and many animals died, and got sick, diamond fessed up.
Sorry dani, but i personally would never use another product made by diamond.

 

Sorry dani, but i personally would never use another product made by diamond.

And you are entitled to your opinion. That is what makes this world great.

 

with so many products being recalled, what are most people feeding their pets. I know a lot are doing the high end dog foods, but with two labs who will eat anything, that's
just not feasible and I don't think totally necessary, I'd just like a mid priced food that will be good for my labs.

 

We just switched Joe and Java from Kirkland Lamb to Nature's Domain, salmon and sweet potato. It is a Diamond product, so far I am really happy with the results, ingredients are good and the price really reasonable.

 

Never had a problem with Pro Plan, and they haven't been on the recalls over the last few years either.

 

Have you considered fromm?
Family run company around a very long time and never a recall.they have gf and grains.gf is a bit pricey but they do have food that is reasonable.

 

Good thread. I was a little confused and concerned myself, since my breeder uses and recommends Diamond. I purchased a bag of Diamond Naturals large breed puppy last week. Grateful for the tip on freezing it. I never thought about dog food going stale. My first two labs would eat anything (you had to count your fingers after each feeding) and my old boy now is spoiled with a mix of wet and dry food. I want the new pup to have great nutrition when he joins us. Being from Dayton, OH, I don't knw which plant the food would come from. Would it be on the bag?