Overview

Diamond Naturals All Life Stages is the quiet overachiever of the dog food world. While premium brands battle over who can charge more per kibble, Diamond quietly delivers a formula that checks most of the boxes nutritionists care about — real cage-free chicken as the first ingredient, added probiotics for gut health, and zero corn, wheat, or soy — at roughly $0.59 per day for a 50-pound dog.

The "All Life Stages" designation means this formula meets AAFCO nutrient profiles for puppies, adults, and seniors, which is both a convenience and a genuine nutritional accomplishment. Manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods in their US facilities, the brand has maintained a clean safety record for over a decade since a 2012 salmonella incident that prompted major facility upgrades.

For families feeding multiple dogs at different life stages, or anyone who refuses to believe that good nutrition requires a second mortgage, Diamond Naturals deserves serious consideration.

Features Deep-Dive

Protein Composition & Ingredient Quality

Cage-free chicken leads the ingredient list, followed by chicken meal — a concentrated protein source that, despite sounding less appealing than "fresh chicken," actually delivers more protein per gram after cooking. The formula hits 26% crude protein minimum, which sits comfortably in the recommended range for adult dogs without the excess that can stress kidneys in less active animals.

What you won't find matters too: no corn, wheat, soy, artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. The formula uses mixed tocopherols (vitamin E) for natural preservation. The inclusion of chia seed provides omega-3 fatty acids for coat health, while dried chicory root serves as a prebiotic fiber source.

Proprietary Probiotics

Diamond's K9 Strain proprietary probiotics are species-specific bacteria guaranteed to survive the kibble manufacturing process — a claim not all brands can make. These Bacillus-based probiotics support digestive efficiency and immune function. Each pound contains 80 million colony-forming units, applied after cooking through a proprietary coating process that preserves viability.

All Life Stages Formulation

Meeting AAFCO All Life Stages standards requires balancing higher calcium and phosphorus levels needed for puppy growth with the moderate calorie density appropriate for adult maintenance. Diamond achieves this with 360 kcal/cup, meaning you can feed a growing puppy and an adult dog from the same bag by simply adjusting portion sizes. For multi-dog households, this eliminates the need to buy separate formulas.

Pricing Analysis

At approximately $47 for a 40-pound bag, Diamond Naturals works out to roughly $0.59 per day for a 50-pound dog — making it the most affordable option in this comparison by a significant margin. For context, that's less than a third of what ultra-premium options like Orijen or Stella & Chewy's cost daily.

The value proposition becomes even more compelling when you consider what's included at this price: real chicken protein, species-specific probiotics, omega fatty acids, and no cheap fillers. You'd struggle to find another brand matching this ingredient quality below $1.00/day. The 40-pound bag size also reduces cost-per-pound compared to smaller bags, though storage space is a consideration.

Who Is This For?

Diamond Naturals All Life Stages Chicken & Rice works best for:

• Multi-dog households feeding different ages from a single bag, eliminating the complexity and cost of buying separate puppy, adult, and senior formulas
• Budget-conscious owners who won't compromise on basics — you want real chicken first, no corn or wheat fillers, and added probiotics without spending $80+ per bag
• Large breed owners where daily feeding costs multiply quickly — at $0.59/day for a 50-pound dog, feeding a 100-pound breed is still under $1.20/day

Who Should NOT Use This

Diamond Naturals might not be the right choice if:

• You want maximum ingredient transparency: Diamond doesn't disclose sourcing origins for individual ingredients the way brands like Open Farm or Orijen do, and "chicken meal" as a secondary protein is less traceable than fresh, named cuts
• Your dog has specific protein sensitivities: The formula contains multiple protein sources (chicken, chicken meal, egg) without the limited-ingredient simplicity of brands like Canidae PURE, making elimination diets difficult

Bottom Line

Diamond Naturals proves that responsible dog food doesn't require premium pricing. The formula delivers genuinely good nutrition — real chicken protein, probiotics, no junk fillers — at a daily cost that most competitors can't touch. It won't win awards for ingredient exoticism or sourcing transparency, but for the majority of healthy adult dogs, it's an outstanding value.

FAQ

Has Diamond Naturals had any recalls?

Diamond Pet Foods had a salmonella-related recall in 2012 that affected multiple product lines. Since then, the company invested heavily in facility upgrades and testing protocols, maintaining a clean record for over a decade. The current manufacturing standards include enhanced sanitation and batch testing.

Is "chicken meal" a bad ingredient?

Despite the unappetizing name, chicken meal is actually a more concentrated protein source than fresh chicken. Fresh chicken is about 70% water, so after cooking it contributes less protein by weight. Chicken meal has already been rendered and dried, delivering roughly 3x the protein per gram. The key concern is traceability — "chicken meal" is less specific than "deboned chicken breast."

Can I feed this to my puppy?

Yes. The All Life Stages designation means this formula meets AAFCO nutrient profiles for growth and reproduction, including large breed puppies. However, large breed puppies should be fed controlled portions to avoid excessive growth rates — consult your vet for appropriate serving sizes.