Diamond Naturals Large Breed Puppy Food (2020 Review)

Our Recommendation

Diamond Brand has a lot going on for it when it comes to producing quality dog food at a price that honestly at times makes me wonder how they do it. This is good stuff but the large breed puppy formula is a bit hit or miss. I don’t say this to blame the food but rather to highlight the concept of a low-calorie slow growth dog food. Big dogs want to eat a lot and when they want.

The thought behind a large breed puppy food is that it provides the nutrition needed for controlled growth. This concept goes against the natural order in a puppies brain. The result can be a puppy that is simply not as enthusiastic about this formula as you would expect. 

Dogs are naturally attracted to foods that are higher in calories and flavor. This can be very apparent when you are trying to feed this formula to a puppy while also feeding the adult dog version to your older dog. The puppy will go for the adult version since it has more calories. Also, there is the added appeal of the other dog eating it so they want it too! This puppy food will help control growth. Some pet parents give up on it simply because their puppy gets a bit stubborn.

Lamb-Based Means Grass-Based Proteins

What I like about this dog food is that it is lamb based. For those of you unfamiliar with the common farming practices in the United States, lamb is mostly grass fed and is a better quality meat than traditionally raised beef and chicken. This can also mean that you are exposing your pets less to GMOs that are found in a lot of the corn, wheat, and soy that is used to grow a lot of the animals produced under commercial agriculture conditions.

Diamond always makes sure to include probiotics in their dog foods which is something any pet parent can appreciate. Fish meal and flax seed oil are important sources of Omega-3 Fatty Acids and can help improve the coat and skin of dogs that are susceptible to skin allergies.

This is truly a dog food that offers a balanced diet of good quality proteins, veggies, and whole grains while also adding in probiotics that help your dog get the most out of their meals without any gastrointestinal distress. 

Ingredients

Lamb, Lamb Meal, Ground Rice, Cracked Pearled Barley, Peas, Garbanzo
Beans, Chicken Fat (Preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Egg Product, Fish
Meal, Tomato Pomace, Pea Protein, Potato Protein, Potatoes, Natural
Flavor, Flaxseed, Salmon Oil (Source of DHA), Salt, Potassium Chloride,
Choline Chloride, Dried Chicory Root, L-Carnitine, Kale, Chia Seed,
Pumpkin, Blueberries, Oranges, Quinoa, Dried Kelp, Coconut, Spinach,
Carrots, Papaya, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Lactobacillus Acidophilus,
Bifidobacterium Lactis, Lactobacillus Reuteri, Vitamin E Supplement,
Beta Carotene, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate,
Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide,
Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), 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
B2), Vitamin D Supplement, Folic Acid.

Nutritional Analysis

Pet food ingredients, nutritional values, and the way they are labeled for consumers are monitored by several organizations in the United States including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the NGO, Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).

Each year the AAFCO publishes two sets of nutritional minimum standards for dog food intended to help specify if a food is suitable for:

1. Dogs in the growth & reproduction phases of life
2. Adult dogs maintaining a healthy weight and activity level

Caloric Content

3,650 kcal/kg, 342 kcal/cup

Guaranteed Analysis

* – indicates not yet analyzed

Feeding Amounts

Depending on your dog’s size and activity level, they may need more or less food in their daily feeding amounts.

The Bottom Line

If you need to limit the growth of your large breed puppy then you can’t go wrong with this formula, but don’t expect your puppy to go crazy about it. It definitely provides a very complete, quality diet, but let’s face it, no puppy wants their growth controlled even if it is for their own good!

One thing that you can do to add flavor without a lot of calories is to use beef broth or reconstituted beef bouillon cube broth to add some appeal to the kibble. It is very important to limit a large breed dog’s growth to avoid lifelong joint and hip problems. 

Some breeds have such high initial growth rates that they can gain 2 lbs per day in body weight during peak growth! I actually had a hard time believing this until I charted the growth of my male Great Pyrenees and saw that he gained 14 lbs in a mere week. You want to feed them good but you also want steady growth when possible so they do not outgrow their frame.