[aaron s]

I first read the Diamond Naturals Lamb meal and rice dry dog food review, it was rated 4 stars while the Beef meal and rice only rated 2.5 stars.

Now the Lamb meal and rice review has disappeared and is replaced by the Beef meal and rice reviews which now rates it at 4 stars and the Lamb and rice rates 3.5 stars.

I’m confused, the ingredients have not changed to my knowledge, why would one go waaay up and the other go down? Why did the Lamb meal and rice review disappear and replaced by the beef meal and rice??

I’m a little more skeptical about these reviews now cause they are not dated, nor is there any explanation how one goes from 2.5 to 4 and the other goes from 4 to 3.5.

[aquariangt]

There are dates at the bottom of every review saying last time it was updated. It looks like Lamb is still there as well, the reviews are for the entire line, not each individual variety. Near the top of the review it says any star differences between the varieties

[aaron s]

I don’t think your understanding. First of all the date is changed, which is my point. Why was it changed?

Secondly, I cannot find any Lamb Meal and Rice review, only the Beef Meal and Rice

Thirdly, it clearly says on that page “Diamond Naturals Adult Beef Meal and Rice was selected to represent the other products in the line for this review.”.

Well how can it be selected to represent ALL THE OTHER products in the line? Because here it clearly shows they all have different ratings.

Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete (5 stars)
Diamond Naturals Small Breed Puppy (4.5 stars)
Diamond Naturals Lg Breed Puppy Lamb (3.5 stars)
Diamond Naturals Lg Breed Adult Chicken (3.5 stars)
Diamond Naturals Lite Lamb Meal and Rice (2.5 stars)
Diamond Naturals Adult Lamb Meal and Rice (3.5 stars)
Diamond Naturals Lg Breed Adult Lamb Meal (3.5 stars)

Like I said, at one time, probably back in 2010 before it was “updated” in 2014, there was a Lamb Meal and Rice review where it was rated 4 stars. Now it’s rated 3.5 stars. The Beef Meal and rice was THEN rated 2.5 stars and is now 4 stars. I’m not understanding why it’s changed.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by aaron s.

[Bobby dog]

Hi aaron s:
There are several reasons reviews can change over time. One possible reason is that the animal protein content in the individual recipe may have changed between reviews.

Not sure what date you are questioning. The original review for this specific Diamond line was posted on DFA 01/05/2010, the last update was on 04/10/2014. Are these the dates you are referring too?

Check out the FAQ section, specifically “How We Rate Dog Food” on the review side. Hopefully all your questions will be answered after you read it:

/frequently-asked-questions/rate-dog-food/

[aaron s]

Those would be the ones.

[aaron s]

I know you have never had a review for each variety, what I’m saying is the review I originally read was for Lamb and Rice, not Beef and Rice, so it was either changed, or there was one for each and the Lamb was replaced with a Beef review in 2014.

I know this for a fact and I’m telling you the Lamb was rated 4 stars and the Beef was rated 2.5 stars. Now the Lamb is 3.5 stars and the Beef is 4.0 stars.

The Lamb and rice review no longer exists.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by aaron s.

[aaron s]

I know this because I used it for reference and would always recommend people buy the Lamb and Rice NOT the Beef and Rice. Now it seems to have reversed.

[Bobby dog]

I understand what you are writing. The recipes that Dr. Sagman uses to represent each food line can and sometimes does change with each review update. Many ratings also change when they are updated and many stay the same. The FAQ section “How We Rate Dog Food” should have all the answers you are seeking. Look under the heading “I can’t find a review for a specific dog food on your website. But I am able to locate a review of the brand. Why?”

[MaggiesDad]

I know that this site was planning to change the way in which certain foods were reviewed/rated which is why some changes may have occurred. I also know they had a huge backlog and were not reviewing any new foods for some considerable time. (You may also wish to note that they do not actually test or try out the food, but carried out the reviews only following a consideration of the ingredients listed on the packaging lifted straight from the pet store shelf….)

[pugmomsandy]

Each review is updated every 18 months in an attempt to stay current and not stagnate. Some dog food brands change ingredients even more often than that and some foods don’t change for years. There was an update in 12/2012 and then again in 4/2014. There were some recipe changes and some GA changes resulting in rating changes. A representative food is picked that is usually (not all the time) in the same star category as the brand itself and near the brand’s average.

The following was from 2012:

Diamond Naturals Large Breed 60+ Adult
Diamond Naturals Adult Chicken and Rice
Diamond Naturals Extreme Athlete (5 stars)
Diamond Naturals Adult Beef Meal and Rice
Diamond Naturals Adult Lamb Meal and Rice
Diamond Naturals Small Breed Puppy (5 stars)
Diamond Naturals Lite Lamb Meal and Rice (3 stars)
Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Lamb and Rice
Diamond Naturals Large Breed Puppy Lamb and Rice
Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Chicken and Rice
Diamond Naturals Senior 8+ Chicken, Egg and Oatmeal
Diamond Naturals Large Breed Adult Lamb Meal and Rice

The remaining recipes were 4 stars. So with the new changes, a 4-star recipe was chosen as the example.

[theBCnut]

As Sandy explained, the specific food used as an example is one of the middle quality foods, not the best and not the worst. The change in how the foods are rated has to do with the amount of consideration that foods with high plant protein get. Dogs use animal proteins better than plant proteins, so Dr Mike has started giving weight to the amount of plant protein vs. animal protein and how that affects the over all protein amount. So a food that is high in plant proteins, but not so high in animal proteins will score lower than a food that is high in animal proteins, even if the over all protein is slightly higher. He is only applying the new method of rating as he updates each review.

[Author]

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