You’ve probably heard of Taste of the Wild, and if you know how good that is you’ll be happy to know Diamond PRO89 is an endurance / working dog offering from the same manufacturer. It’s a high protein, high fat dog food with an emphasis on meat with a backing of grains. In fact, the “89” in the name is a reference to 89% of the protein being from animal sources.

In our Diamond PRO89 formula we’ll take a look at the ingredients and composition, and look at why you may feed this as an alternative to, say, one of the many American working dog foods…

Diamond PRO89 dog food products

There’s only one formula in the PRO89 range, but there is a regular Diamond range of dog foods as well.

• Diamond PRO89 Beef, Pork, and Ancient Grains Formula for Adult Dogs.

Diamond PRO89 dog food review

What the marketing says

Diamond PRO89 is marketed for performance dogs with “nutrients they need to support hard work and endurance”. If you’ve read our guide to working dog formulas you’ll know meat and meat fats are far better for energy and muscle maintenance than the (cough cough, “cheap”) grains we find in other working dog foods.

With Diamond PRO89 dog food having an emphasis on meat and meat fat we know we’re on the right track, and the marketing fits the purpose of the food.

We find a statement about guaranteed pro biotics, which is good for gut health. There’s also a “Beef is the 1st ingredient” claim, so we’ll take a look at that in the review to see if it holds up…

What the ingredients really say

Beef is the first ingredient, which is expected given what it says on the front of the bag, but as this is “wet weight” it won’t be as significant once cooked. Thankfully we find pork as the second ingredient, and the third ingredient is yet another meat inclusion – beef meal. This is a fantastic combination of what the industry calls real meat, backed up with a protein dense meal.

It’s nice to see chicken fat as a specific fat ingredient. Without specifically referring to other working dog foods this is much better than something like tallow. Alright cobber?

Compare these meat and fat ingredients to other working dog foods and you’ll see a world of difference. The reason for this is most Aussie brand working dog foods are made by milling companies.

The 4th and 5th ingredients are sorghum and whole grain brown rice, and these will serve to bind the kibble – it would fall apart otherwise. I estimate 32% carbohydrates which is really good, and your working dog will have no trouble utilising these grains as an energy source.

You’ll notice the ingredients list is very long, but we’ve actually already covered the main constituents. The reason for this is Diamond hand-pick all the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to work as a cohesive whole, rather than dust over baked cereal grains with a vitamin/mineral premix bought cheaply from some overseas supplier.

We find some other nice inclusions in the food – flaxseed to support your performance dog’s joints and wellbeing, and chia seeds which help retain water to help your dog stay hydrated as well as regulate blood sugar. Probiotics are included as well, like they say on the front of the bag, and we also find glucosamine and chondroitin to further support joints.

It’s these smaller inclusions which really tell a quality product, and Diamond PRO89 dog food is hard to fault.

Recommended if you have a working dog, performance dog, or any crazily over-active breed like a Labrador or Border Collie.

Where to buy Diamond PRO89 dog food

Diamond PRO89 dog food is available from VeryPet

Relevant videos of Diamond PRO89

This one’s a 57 second ad straight from Diamond featuring some gorgeous dogs in black and white and a soundtrack to inspire Rocky:

If you want something more scientific and insightful, then here’s an overview of the Diamond Pet Foods production facility and process:

Ingredients of Diamond PRO89 dog food

Ingredients of Diamond PRO89 dog food as of September 2021:

Beef, pork, beef meal, grain sorghum, whole grain brown rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), millet, fish meal, dried beet pulp, natural flavor, flaxseed, quinoa, chia seed, potassium chloride, salt, DL-Methionine, choline chloride, taurine, glucosamine hydrochloride, L-Carnitine, dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Bifidobacterium animalis fermentation product, vitamin E supplement, chondroitin sulfate, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid.

Guaranteed analysis of Diamond PRO89 dog food

Guaranteed analysis of Diamond PRO89 dog food as of September 2021:

Diamond PRO89 frequently asked questions

Diamond PRO89 dog food recalls

There are no known recalls at the current time. Other Diamond products have been subject to recall but nothing since 2013, and it has to be considered Diamond Pet Foods are a large manufacturer who distribute worldwide. Diamond PRO89 dog food has no logged recalls.

Previous recalls:

• None.

Taste of the Wild has a long standing reputation as a quality pet food, and with a whopping 42% protein and 18% fat you can begin to see why. If you feed your cat a high carbohydrate food they’ll churn through it to get the nutrition they really need, and likely suffer weight gain and poor health in the process. With such a high protein and fat content we are assured there are very minimal carbs – fantastic!

Taste of the Wild cat food review

Let’s take a look at the Rocky Mountain Feline formula…

The food is advertised as Roasted Venison & Smoked Salmon, but the main ingredient is Chicken meal. That’s not a bad thing as chicken is great for cats. Venison and salmon sounds more exotic, so this is more of a marketing strategy to make it sound more appealing to us as consumers.

We can be assured the prime source of protein comes from a highly digestible animal source which is great, but peas as the second ingredient is also dense in protein in a form not as easily digestible for cats.

All dry foods require some form of starch to bind the food, otherwise it will fall apart. In this formula we find sweet potatoes as one of the better carb sources in a pet food. I estimate around 20% carbohydrates which is very low, and this assures us the sweet potato is kept to a minimum.

Next we find chicken fat, an essential ingredient rich in nutrients and a great source of energy. All cat foods should have some kind of animal fat, and chicken fat is good.

From the remaining ingredients we find protein extracted from peas and potato, and also some more meat ingredients such as the venison and salmon we find on the packaging. They’ve also included ocean whitefish meal as another fish source excellent for cats.

All in all the Taste of the Wild feline formulas are some of the best cat foods on the market, and they’ve stood the test of time as a good product. Recommended.

If our Taste of the Wild cat food review has been of use, or if you feed this brand, let us know in the comments section.

:offers:

Where to buy Taste of the Wild cat food?

Available at various retailers, including Pet Circle and VeryPet.

Ingredients

Ingredients of Taste of the Wild cat food (Rocky Mountain Feline):

Chicken meal, peas, sweet potatoes, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), pea protein, potato protein, roasted venison (4%), smoked salmon (4%), ocean fish meal, minerals, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract.

This is a new food to our shelves, being sold by My Pet Warehouse  . It’s made by Diamond Petfoods in the US who also make Taste of the Wild and Kirkland (sold in CostCo), both decent foods as far as the reviews on this website go.

The ingredients are good quality and in the right order – meat before carbs (turkey and turkey meal), sweet potato as a better selection than potato, peas and garbanzo beans (chickpeas) for added fiber as well as protein.

We find a couple of ominous ingredients in the food. Chicken digest isn’t a pleasant ingredient, being a broth from rendering 4D chickens (poor quality) in a huge pot. We normally see an ingredient such as this in a food with a lot of cheap by-products. Fish meal is another ingredient which tends to be poor quality, often rank fish.

What I can’t ignore with this food is they’ve listed the percentage quantity of two main ingredients – turkey and sweet potato. I wish other manufacturers did this, and it should be compulsory.

What can we deduce from this?

Turkey comprises 15% of the food, and this is prior to cooking off between 70 and 80 percent water content. The reality after cooking is more like 5 to 10%. Given ingredients are listed in order of weight prior to cooking, with sweet potato at 15% that means the turkey meal will also be 15%. That means the meat content of the food as a whole is a mere 20 to 25%.

That may be an eye opener, but that’s the reality with most pet foods. This food is far better than many other brands you find in the supermarkets, and at least it isn’t filled to the brim with allergenic grains and other fillers.

Where to buy?

Ingredients

Turkey (15%), turkey meal, sweet potatoes (15%), peas, garbanzo beans, potatoes, chicken fat, tomato pomace, chicken digest, fish meal, flaxseed, salt, dried chicory root (0.05%), tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract.

Kirkland is made by Diamond Petfoods, known for making a number of premium brands including Taste of the Wild. That’s not a bad thing, especially when this food comes with a Costco price tag.

The main ingredient is salmon meal which is a good choice, far better than the grains or by-products we find in other supermarket and big name brands. It’s backed up by ocean fish meal to ensure the food is rich in protein our cats can digest.

The main carbs come from sweet potato, and although cats don’t really need carbs it’s definitely a better option than grains or regular potato which is higher GI. We do find potato as the fifth ingredient, but it has to be noted the overall estimated carbs is a relatively low 36%.

Peas and pea protein as the 4th and 6th ingredients will account for some of the protein in the food as well as fibre. Peas aren’t a bad ingredient, but for cats it’s an inferior ingredient to meat.

Canola oil is included as a good source of omega 3 to help protect against kidney and heart disease, aid joint health, and help your cat maintain a healthy coat. It would be nice to see the inclusion of flaxseed as well, but this is sadly lacking – it’s something we find in other quality foods. That said, we have a range of vitamins, minerals, as well as fruits and veggies. They’re quality vitamins and minerals too, so no skimping of cost compared to other brands – they’re some of the best sources of vitamins and minerals available.

There may be better foods, but bucket loads are far worse. This is well deserving of 4 stars, border line 5 stars. If you live near Costco then it’s a good option for both your cat and your wallet.

:offers:

:wheretobuy:

Ingredients

Salmon meal, ocean fish meal, sweet potatoes, peas, potatoes, pea protein, canola oil, natural flavor, choline chloride, DL-methionine, taurine, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Bifidobacterium animalis fermentation product, zinc proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin (vitamin B2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.