One of my future puppy moms recently asked me about dog food. It was a great opportunity to compile and add a section about my experience with dog food for you all. This can also be found on our Training Tips page.
Dog Food:
I have experience with 4 different foods. 3 are good, 1 is apparently not.
- Diamond Naturals Small Breed Puppy/Adult
- The reason I use Diamond Naturals is because my original two girls were on it when I got them and on research and from seeing the quality & quantity of their poop I have been really happy with it. It seems to keep their teeth clean and doesn’t seem to be full of unnecessary fillers. I like that it is small breed specific so it gives them that high nutrient and calorie ingredients that they burn faster than bigger dogs because of their smaller faster digestive system.
- Purina Pro Plan Sport Performance 30/20
- When Stormy came to me from a breeder in Texas, she was on Purina Pro Plan and her teeth were also nice and clean and her poop didn’t change once I switched her over to Diamond Naturals. It isn’t size specific but it would be my first choice if I were to switch everyone to a different food.
- Spot & Tango Unkibble
- As a breeder I am very interested in shelf stable raw food because it is a very appealing “first food” for puppies for a variety of reasons. As of yet I have not exclusively fed any of my adult dogs Spot & Tango, but I love it as a topper when I have any spare when the puppies aren’t eating it all. One caveat with it is that I found at around 11 weeks of age they need more than the recommended portion or to add something puppy specific to help them maintain a healthy weight while going through growth spurts.
- Nature’s Recipe Grain Free
- Our rescue Red Heeler Mia was on Nature’s Recipe when we got her and we were told to keep her on it because of digestive issues, which we did. She did seem to be sensitive to other types of dog food (when she stole the neighbor dogs’ food) so we thought it was best. Fast forward to 2026 and the vet told us that Grain Free can cause enlarged heart issues… I carefully tried her with Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult and it was totally fine, even though it is not Grain Free.
We have had folks switch all their dogs to Diamond Naturals after researching it. But we do also get pups going home to different diets because they are going to be eating the same as their new doggy siblings who have done fine on that food all their lives which is totally fine. In these cases we provide enough Diamond Naturals Small Breed Puppy so you can do a nice long transition to the new food without getting an upset tummy.



















































