Registered: Mar 2006
Location: Southwest Missouri
Posts: 2057

I have been feeding diamond hi energy for about a year and my dogs looked good on it. Here is the trouble I ran into....... I started noticeing my dogs shaking there heads like ear mites or yeast infections. I went through all the normal treatments like mite control and yeast control and it would get better for a few days then just return to shaking thier heads again. Then I saw a post on here about diamond feed and a guy named Buckshot said he had trouble with diamond causing ear infections. I will admit that I didnt think feed could cause the problem, but I had tryed everything else, so I decided to change feed.. After I changed feed my dogs have stopped shaking heads in only 10 days without any treatment. I called diamond to report this and only got an answering machine.. Now I dont believe in running down a company for no reason, but I am 99.5% sure that my trouble was with the feed. There must be some alergy in the feed or something,, maybe an ingrediant or some dye or something. I am glad i saw the post on here by Buckshot and changed.. I am wondering if anyone else has ever noticed the problem before? As always, I could be wrong,, but believe me I tryed everything and the trouble didnt go away till I changed......

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Michigan
Posts: 805

You know i read that post also,, Our one male dog has acted the same way shaking his head, and we did the treatment for the mites ETC.... Nothing changed... Our female has been scratching her self so much she has tore up her chest, we thought she got into something while hunting,, But i honestly must say that wasn't the case.... I Believe it Was The Diamond, We now feed our dogs Black Gold, So far they seem to have no bad re-actions.

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Registered: Sep 2003
Location: Jackson, MO
Posts: 784

I feed diamond and my dogs haven't had any of those problems.

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: Beaver Springs, Pennsylvania
Posts: 3316

fed Diamond too. My dogs lost weight & females didn't season right & when the did & bred them, none had pups. Switched to Prism & they all look awesome again & coats are outstanding again. Have to wait to see if them females season right when their due in again. But I must say, I was very disappointed in Diamonds quaility after the recall.

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Registered: Mar 2006
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 19374

There are lots of different ingredients the dogs can be allergic to. We have found that for some reason a Wheat free diet helps with ears. Less ear infection in the "long ears" with diet free of wheat. The Lamb and rice types of foods tend to work for dogs with food allergies. We had to be careful to read the fine print to find wheat free foods. You can go on web sites for different companies and get the list of ingredients.
I was VERY glad we had a wheat allergic hound here in the past and switched dog biscuit brands... the old ones we used were Walmart...and they are part of the recall! You have to be careful with goodies too! We could have killed our 3 with dog biscuits! (Sunshine Brand sells too Walmart etc...)
There are other foods that cause allergy and ear and skin problems. If you go online to look up allergy free types of dog foods they'll have lists of all the different ingredients that dogs react to. It can really help...ear things get pricey! The foods can be expensive too but SHOP around to find the right ones and cheapest ones.
Good post because alot of people don't know about ear and skin problems that SOME hounds get from foods!
Good luck and HappyHunting! Heather

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Registered: Apr 2005
Location: Central Illinois
Posts: 277

I've been feeding diamond for over 15yrs and never had a problem like anyone is stating here.....We run a kennel and have over 275 dogs over 15 breeds and have NEVER had any of the problems you guys are referring to (knock on wood)lol....all our dogs are healthy as can be as we routinely have state kennel inspectors evaluate our kennel and dogs...Thats just our experience, Diamond has always been good to us.

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Registered: Jan 2006
Location: Knightstown Indiana
Posts: 971

i fed the Diamond sport dog, they did good on it for a while, then started going down hill, couldnt keep weight on my dogs. now i am using "the pride" it has done decent, goin to start feeding purina high pro.

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: ALABAMA
Posts: 5183

This is from a repost from another thread but here was my issues with Diamond after the recall.

When you have 2 dogs that are losing hair and having bald spots all over their body, scratching uncontrollability tearing their chest and stomachs up to the point of blood and thick scabs while licking their paws to the point their are raw, something is wrong. Then a 3rd dog gets an ear infection that there seems to be no remedy for. All dogs effected at the same time seems more than coicendence.Not to mention the dogs were also no longer having firm stools (this includes the dogs that did not have any issues)

Dogs went through 3 Diamond feed test diets to see if the dog food was causing the problems. They were given no reward treats or natural chew bones.

They went from the Green bag to the Lamb and Rice Bag to their new Natural Line.

Each different feed was fed for around 9 weeks each and there was no improvement after those 9 weeks. Problems seemed to only get worse. (Feed diet test to figure out if feed is causing skin allergies are to be run 8-10 weeks)

Since there was no improvement with the feed test diets, Vet told me to cold switch on new brand and to feed for 8 - 10 weeks to see if there was any change in the dog's condition.

I switched to SportMix Lamb and Rice and almost overnight, saw a drastic imporvement. The scratching stopped after a few days. The licking the paws stopped after a few days. Since the scratching stopped, their bellies and stomachs started to heal. Hair growth begin over the bald spots. The dog with the ear infection was cleared up without having to treat it with medicene. All dogs stool became firm after a few days.

Within 30 days of being on SportMix ------ the dogs were looking good again. Within about 45 days, the dogs looked almost back to before issues began.

The 3 dogs were not related and were from 3 different lines. All 3 came down with the problems at the same time. All 3 had been fed Diamond for sometime and never had any issues. The problems didn't start until after the Aflotoxin incident.

I have read similar stories on the American Beagler forum.........that tells me that I wasn't the only one having issues with the Post Aflotoxin Diamond feed.

Now some folks have not had any problems with the Diamond........I know when I pulled my dogs off Diamond, the problems went away. I also seen those beaglers that had issues with Diamond report the same results after getting their dogs off Diamond.

I now feed the Blue bag of SportMix and the dogs are doing great on it.

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Registered: Mar 2006
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 19374

... After looking up a few food things...Lamb is no longer on the list of "safe choices" for food allergies... I guess some dogs are also allergic to lamb. There are beef and rice, chicken and rice and the 2nd one we use- which is Venison and rice. There is a special allergy food from Duck and Potato for hard core food allergies. Lots of other Funky varieties as well for those with large wallets..... I didn't bother to read all that info!
Just wanted to add that some are actually allergic to LAMB so it may not be a solution.
Most dogs do FINE on regular dog foods. It is allergies to certain ingredients that would cause a problem ,so MANY people can use one brand or another and NOT have issues!
Again, best of luck, Heather

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Registered: Mar 2006
Location: Southwest Missouri
Posts: 2057

Thanks guys for the replys.. I know some claim to not have any problems with diamond and that is great. The problem may only be in certain feed plants or just in only some dogs.. All i know is I had a never ending trouble with ears and I changed feed and within 10 days its completly gone....... I will also say that I suspect that alot of dog owners are treating alot of problems and dont even know it could be thier feed all along... Just something to think about.......

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Southwest Missouri
Dual Grand Champion Super Sambo

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Registered: Oct 2006
Location: il.
Posts: 1743

we have fed diamond since its inception, most often the green bag, also puppy, the professional mix, some of the hi-energy, have also tried many other brands including pro plan, hi-std., pkc,
etc.. have never had a problem-knock on wood with diamond and have yet to find anything better for our needs... used to have a lot more dogs then we do today, but still feed several, never the number Steve does in their kennel operation... sorry that people have experienced the problems they have, never have had that experience regardless of the feed and this has been over more years then care to admit... open to anything better, just have yet to find it...

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Registered: Nov 2003
Location: felton pa
Posts: 194

yes i feed it and i got a female that comes in heat twice a year and the feed did the same as you guys say and she did not come back in heat until a year changed feed to purina one and LOVE THE CHANGE IT DID TO MY DOGS WILL NEVER FEED DIAMOND AGAIN

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Registered: Mar 2005
Location: Boise, Idaho
Posts: 87

Canine nutritionists will tell you to switch brands of dog food every 3-4 months because it is not at all uncommon for dogs to develop allergies and toxic levels that can cause your dogs to get sick.Switching helps to keep them from developing these problems.Unfortunately,there are VERY few affordable dog foods out there that are worth a pinch of you know what.

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Registered: Jan 2006
Location: bronaugh,MO
Posts: 2595

I gave Diamond another try a few months ago when I was having a hard time with the feed store I usualy buy Black Gold from running out of feed and not getting more for weeks sometimes.
(this was last summer when gas was almost $3 a gallon)

It was an absolute flop. The dogs who would eat it had diaria the entire time and it didnt get any better. Over half wouldnt eat it at all. 3 days and not a bite of it.

I used to like Diamond, in fact it was all I fed for years. I will never buy another bag. If I found one on the road, I MIGHT put it in the coon feeders, then agian I might not even pick it up.

If I ever switch from Black Gold agian, it would be Pro Plan. Those 2 are the only ones I see supporting our sport.

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Registered: Dec 2005
Location: Ohio
Posts: 3063

All dogs are different and will have sensitivities to different things. We have fed Diamond and really liked it and had good success with it. We are noticing with our one dog some head shaking, so we may try a wheat free diet for him. But all the other dogs will stay with the Diamond they are on. We tried Hi pro and several other brands with NO SUCCESS. The dogs lost weight, energy and coat. Our old dog seems really comfortable (joints, etc) and happy on the Diamond so we are gonna keep feeding it. We havent had any problems and all of our females are cycling regularly and we have raised several puppies on it with no problems. Like I said, every dog has different needs.

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Registered: Nov 2003
Location: Churchville, MD
Posts: 957

I have been feeding Diamond for the past half a year, and all my dogs look great on it! I tried the hi energy, and I did not care for that, they seemed to have soft stools, I figure it was the high protein, so I tried the regular adult and they all do great on it. Nice shiny coats, solid stools, and it doesn't take a whole lot of feed. My 12 year old even has plenty of energy to hunt all night on it. I have not had any ear or coat problems with it. I'm with Heather on that, that is probably due to some kind of allergy your dogs may have to a certain ingredient. Just feed whatever works for you and be happy with it!

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Registered: Sep 2006
Location: Lucasville,Ohio
Posts: 437

I feed Hi- Energy Diamond for almost a year,I've been hunting 6or 7 nights a week.My dogs stay in very good condition.The only other feed I would consider if problems would come up would be High Standard.

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Registered: Aug 2004
Location: bainbridge ny
Posts: 2589

i fed diamond for almost 5 years with no problem right after the problem they had it seems they changed not the formula,but the amounts of the ingredients the color of the food is diferant and both my labs and hounds wouldn't eat it like the old stuff, i'm still feeding the diamond puppy food as it grows nice pups and i have noticed diamond dropped the weights on some of there food and the price went up over 2 dollars a bag
i won't feed corn based food such as dog chow or purina puppy food as all the research i have read says dogs can not digest cornand if they can't digest it why feed it and shovel what passes through undigested while breeding my female gown to bob pobies fallentimber kennels i noticed he feeds high standard and all his hounds look great,but can't find anyone local that handles it

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Registered: Oct 2005
Location: Pound va
Posts: 623

has anyone had any problem with diamonds 24/20 brand. I believe purple & blk. colored bag.

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Registered: Aug 2004
Location: bainbridge ny
Posts: 2589

what do you mean by trouble that one along with the rest are differant than before the trouble i don't think they changed ingredoents but think they changed the percentages of the mix

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Registered: Jun 2003
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 4502

has anyone had any of the problems listed with the Diamond Naturals brand? or is it only the regular Diamond brands? I used to feed BG, then switched to Diamond Naturals and then to Purina One, but the price is getting ridiculous.

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Posts: N/A

I fed the Diamond 24/20 for a couple months, dogs did good on it, stool was solid with the exception of yard dog, the only problem we had was their coat was very oily on it, when it warmed up a month or so ago I switched to Diamond Natural Lamb and Rice, and dogs are doin well on it...they are not being hunted hard, but no coat problems, ear problems or stool problems...

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Registered: Mar 2006
Location: Southwest Missouri
Posts: 2057

I see that this 2 year old post has been resurfaced again , so let me update some of my information.. I have fed diamond some in the last 2 years and have NOT had the same problems as before , ALTHOUGH I did not stay with Diamond for an extended period of time and only used it for a bag or two.

I still think the problems I had back then were feed related , but maybe they have since corrected the ingrediants , I do not know..

Keep in mind the top post from above was posted in 2007.

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Southwest Missouri
Dual Grand Champion Super Sambo

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Registered: Jan 2005
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 877

I used to feed dimand and had a beagle that would shake his head and walk sideways it got so bad took him to the vet had no ear infection or nothing but now im feeding hi standerd and have not noticed him doing any such thing as he used never thought it could of been the feed untill i read your post.

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Registered: Jan 2008
Location: the late, great west
Posts: 104

I fed Diamond for a couple years, I had to quit about 8 months ago. All of my dogs, no matter what formula Diamond I used anymore had terrible diarhea. I started asking friends about it and pretty soon the same thing started happening with their dogs. I guess Diamond changed ingredients or suppliers in the last year. No one that I know that used to feed it can still feed it, all of them get the ****s. I honestly don't know how Diamond is still in business. I feed Loyall now. I talked to Diamonds 'veteranarian' about it several times about it and she didn't seem to care. Our feed came from the Lathrop CA plant.

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