Diamond Naturals Grain-Free Wild-Caught Whitefish and Sweet Potato for Dogs: our recipe review

Diamond Naturals · Grain-Free Wild-Caught Whitefish and Sweet Potato for Dogs · Dry food · All life stages

On the facts printed on its own label, Diamond Naturals Grain-Free Wild-Caught Whitefish and Sweet Potato for Dogs scores 81 out of 100 on our rubric: a strong label by the standards of this database. The panel opens with Whitefish, and the first ingredient signal earns 20 of its 20 points. At 24% crude protein it ranks 12 of the 19 Diamond Naturals recipes we scored for protein. Crude fat reads 14%.

At 406 kcal a cup it sits mid range for energy, so standard portion maths applies. Legumes appear on 3 separate lines of the panel (peas, lentils, pea flour). Read together they would sit higher in the order than any one of them does alone, and they carry part of the protein figure with them. Its adequacy claim rests on formulation: balanced on paper against the AAFCO nutrient profiles rather than fed to dogs in a trial. The brand carries one FDA posted recall event in our check, set out below with its date.

The panel runs to 46 ingredient lines. 3 of them are animal source lines and 11 are plant lines. The first added fat appears at line 11, so 10 lines sit ahead of it in the recipe by weight. Salt appears at line 12 of 46: ingredients listed after salt are present in small amounts, a standard reading aid for long panels. The vitamin and mineral pack begins around line 26; the 21 lines from there on are mostly supplements, preservatives and functional extras rather than staple foods.

Its closest relative in this brand is Grain-Free Pasture-Raised Beef and Sweet Potato for Dogs, sold as Dry food: the two panels share most of their ingredients. In the first ten, this recipe has Whitefish, flaxseed, where its relative has Beef, lamb meal. The full comparison is on the relative's own review page.

The label facts

How the score breaks down

Ingredient notes: the first ten, one by one

Definitions below are written from AAFCO's ingredient definitions in our own words. They describe what an ingredient is, never what a brand claims about it. Names that appear in our ingredient dictionary link to it; the dictionary counts how many scored recipes carry each ingredient.

• Whitefish. Whitefish is a named fish, bringing animal protein and, in oily species, omega 3 fats. Fish first panels suit dogs that react to land meats.
• fish meal. fish meal is the named animal rendered and ground, with water and most fat cooked off before it is weighed. Per kilo it carries far more protein than the fresh meat does.
• sweet potatoes. sweet potatoes is a starchy root used to bind kibble and add energy, with useful fiber and beta carotene.
• peas. peas is a legume bringing starch, fiber and plant protein together. Legumes help a panel reach its protein figure without meat, which is worth knowing when you read the protein line.
• lentils. lentils is a legume: starch, fiber and roughly a quarter protein by weight. A block of legumes in a panel is doing protein work as well as energy work.
• pea flour. pea flour is a legume bringing starch, fiber and plant protein together. Legumes help a panel reach its protein figure without meat, which is worth knowing when you read the protein line.
• canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols). canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols) is a natural preservative. It slows the fats in the food turning rancid and is the alternative to chemical preservatives.
• dried tomato pomace. dried tomato pomace is the skins, pulp and seeds left from tomato processing, used as a fiber source.
• flaxseed. flaxseed is a plant seed bringing fiber and ALA, a plant omega 3. Dogs convert ALA to the active forms poorly, so it does not do the job fish oil does.
• natural flavor. natural flavor is a flavoring: a spray or powder added so the food tastes stronger to the dog. It is not a protein source and our rubric does not count it as one.

One pattern to see whole: legumes appear on 3 lines of this panel. Makers split one plant family across several named forms (whole, protein, starch, fiber), and each form is legal on its own line. Read as a family, they would rank higher in the order than any one line does.

The brand's recall record

2012: Diamond Naturals dry dog foods made at the Diamond Pet Foods plant in Gaston, South Carolina (including the Lamb Meal and Rice and Small Breed Lamb and Rice formulas) were recalled in April and May 2012 over possible Salmonella contamination. The FDA posted the recall notices. The same plant event covered several brands made at Gaston in those months; we count it once, as one event, the same way this database counts it for the other Gaston brands.

The single event is from 2012 and sits with the Gaston plant that then made these dry foods. We count it because quality systems belong to the maker, and we date it plainly so readers can weigh its age.

See the full dog food recall tracker for recent events across all brands.

Other Diamond Naturals recipes we scored

Those are the twelve highest scoring of the 18 other Diamond Naturals recipes we scored. The full comparison, flagship review included, is on the Diamond Naturals brand review.

Feeding it

Switch foods gradually over about a week, mixing more of the new food into the old each day. Portion by calories, not by the look of the bowl: our feeding calculator works out a daily amount from your dog's weight, and this recipe's calorie line above is the number it needs.

What that means at the bowl, for a typical neutered adult (resting energy 70 times body weight to the power 0.75, times 1.6; treats come out of the same budget):

Puppies, pregnant dogs and very active dogs need more; older and weight watching dogs need less. The calculator linked above adjusts for those cases.