# Opinions on 4health dog food



## astrovan2487 (May 29, 2014)

Tractor Supply had this brand on sale a few weeks ago for cheap, $34 for a 35 lb bag of the mature adult formula and it looked good on the label so I bought it. After about 10 days on it Pasta started having serious diarrhea and loose stool which has not happened to her for years. She's not eating anything else out of the norm so I switched back to TOTW today and started giving her probiotic treats. Has anyone else had issues with this brand food or had any experience with it at all? My husband's dog is on the 4health grain free formula and seems to be doing fine.


----------



## Daxo (Apr 6, 2015)

We have two puppies on 4Health. One has solid stool the other is loose.


----------



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

4Health is a product manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods and privately labeled for Tractor Supply Company -- their food. 

The cost is decent, but TSC also sells the food that is sold under Diamond's label that is almost identical to the 4Health food -- Diamond Naturals Adult Chicken and Rice. I think the ingredients are a little better on the Diamond Naturals. But it is minimal. What is significant is that the Diamond Naturals food sells for 31.99 for a 40# bag -- much cheaper because you get 5 pounds more food for $2 less.

I had my critters on 4 Health for a few months and then switched to Diamond Naturals.

I was feeding 50/50 Adult chicken and rice / extreme athlete, but about six months ago I dropped the Extreme Athlete. Generally, the dogs are picking up weight a bit, and poop is getting better. Occasionally, they get a loose stool -- usually from eating too much, if I scale it back the next day, it generally goes away.

I don't know why it is so bad to over feed the dog food, but for my dogs, overfeeding generally nets a loose stool. 

Occasionally, they go on hunger strikes. And, since I open a bag, every day or every other day, my dogs go through bags quick -- they never get a chance to acclimate to the ingredients before it is switched again. This generally ok because the dog food probably is all from the same run -- I buy 5 or more bags at a time. But, if there is something wrong with a bag, it's gone in 2 days tops. A dog that takes two weeks or a month to go through a bag will be eating tainted food and assaulting their innards, day after day.


----------



## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

I would never feed my dogs cheap food. I have to special order the dog food I do feed but I don't care. Cheap food is cheap food.


----------



## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

astrovan2487 said:


> Tractor Supply had this brand on sale a few weeks ago for cheap, $34 for a 35 lb bag of the mature adult formula and it looked good on the label so I bought it. After about 10 days on it Pasta started having serious diarrhea and loose stool which has not happened to her for years. She's not eating anything else out of the norm so I switched back to TOTW today and started giving her probiotic treats. Has anyone else had issues with this brand food or had any experience with it at all? My husband's dog is on the 4health grain free formula and seems to be doing fine.


All 3 of my dogs are on it and do just fine.  Beautiful shiny coats. 

Here are my two shelter dog mixes after a bath, the other day.


----------



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Nikitta said:


> I would never feed my dogs cheap food. I have to special order the dog food I do feed but I don't care. Cheap food is cheap food.


Well, La tee da.

Whatever. I think the food I am feeding is the best bang for your buck. Others here feed it. 

Some dogs have trouble on Orijen, TOTW, Fromm, Solid Gold, Wellness, and every other brand out there.

I currently have all my dogs on this food, and they are all doing well. Lots of people have 3 dogs on 3 different foods because they can't all tolerate the hotsy totsy stuff. And others don't trust any kibble, because even expensive kibble is a racket. In fact, some expensive kibble is probably more of a racket than my cheap food.

I have fed Nutro, Canidae, TOTW -- gave that crud to the dog shelter, wellness, solid gold, evangers, new balance and many others. I have not experienced better health or better poop or better coats, than my cheap food. 

Grain free is another racket. Ooohhh dogs wouldn't eat rice in the wild, well they aren't eating potatoes or peas in the wild either, but somehow that's going to take care of all of his problems. 

Whatever. 

Purina is anything but cheap, costs a LOT more than what I am feeding, and the ingredients are junk. People get sucked into it though.


----------



## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Nikitta said:


> I would never feed my dogs cheap food. I have to special order the dog food I do feed but I don't care. Cheap food is cheap food.


I've looked at and used lots of different foods. Two of my dogs are on the healthy weight 4 health, 2 are on the high performance 4 healh, 1 is on Fromm and 2 are on Farmina. I was against different foods for all of them for a long time, but here we are. The foods they eat work for them as individual dogs. I am not fond of Diamond and I'm always watching for signs the food might be bad or if there is a recall. The Farmina was to much protein for a couple of them, a couple of them got sick with Fromm, but right now we are doing well with weight and poop. Mine also get loose stool if fed to much. Once I go back to where they were, poop gets normal again. I sometimes wonder if all these people that post about their dogs having icky poop are just not over feeding? My dogs get two cups a day pretty much across the board, anymore then that and it's loose stool all around.


----------



## astrovan2487 (May 29, 2014)

I don't think I'm over feeding, she gets about a cup of kibble and 1/3 cup of a mixture of brown rice, venison, egg, pumpkin, supplement mix twice a day. She had constant loose stools for years but the past 3 years I've given her this and her digestive system has been great until now. I hate wasting good dog food, do you think it's safe to mix some of the 4 health in with her TOTW until it's gone?


----------



## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

I didn't care for it. Our dogs got gassy on it. We switched to Victor. About the same price and better food. Only downside is we have to order it.


----------



## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Jax08 said:


> I didn't care for it. Our dogs got gassy on it. We switched to Victor. About the same price and better food. Only downside is we have to order it.


I was considering this food, but I'm so afraid of running out. How long is the turn around time for shipping in emergency situations?

Which one do you recommend? I have 2 seniors and was looking at the senior formula. Then there are the 3 young males that are super active-which one do you think for them? 

Any recalls on this food?


----------



## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

llombardo said:


> I was considering this food, but I'm so afraid of running out. How long is the turn around time for shipping in emergency situations?
> 
> Which one do you recommend? I have 2 seniors and was looking at the senior formula. Then there are the 3 young males that are super active-which one do you think for them?
> 
> Any recalls on this food?


-They are pretty quick. They use Fedex. Usually just a couple days from sportdogfood.com but they are in NY and we are in PA so you will need to check with the company.
-No idea if there are recalls. None that I know of but you'll need to contact the company or look it up.
-I don't know what exactly you are looking for in a food so you'll need to look at each and decide for yourself. Plus, I think grain free is the newest fad so I don't bother with 'grain free'. We feed 
Victor GMO-Free Professional Beef and Pork Dog Food| Sport Dog Food
and are very happy with the results. It has a higher protein from meat than some of the more expensive brands.

Have you looked locally to see if anyone carries it? more stores in the Midwest do than in the NE.


----------



## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Jax08 said:


> -They are pretty quick. They use Fedex. Usually just a couple days from sportdogfood.com but they are in NY and we are in PA so you will need to check with the company.
> -No idea if there are recalls. None that I know of but you'll need to contact the company or look it up.
> -I don't know what exactly you are looking for in a food so you'll need to look at each and decide for yourself. Plus, I think grain free is the newest fad so I don't bother with 'grain free'. We feed
> Victor GMO-Free Professional Beef and Pork Dog Food| Sport Dog Food
> ...


The closest place is about 50 miles away. My vet told me a long time ago when I asked about grain free that if it's not broke don't fix it and like you he seemed to think it was a new fad. I see it on Amazon but I think I'd rather go through sportdog. Do they offer free shipping and auto ship?


----------



## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

You need to look on their website to see what shipping options they offer. I believe shipping is free. If you are concerned about running out, order 2x what you need the first time and then order when you open the last bag.


----------



## Nikitta (Nov 10, 2011)

Well la tee da to you to selzer. I had a much harsher answer but I'll throw your words back in your face. WHATEVER.


----------



## barnyard (Jun 21, 2012)

I wouldn't call it a cheap food. Cheap food to me is Old Roy and Pedigree. It's not a bad food at all, imho. If you can get Victor in your area that might be another good option. I'm using Nature's Domain Salmon right now for two of mine, and it's very similar to the salmon and potato 4health. and made by Diamond as well. 
I have another one on California Naturals Venison and Lentils, but that is because it is one of the very few kibbles she can have due to her allergies. Price doesn't necessarily make a good dog food either. The California Naturals is $67/bag from Chewy. It's good for her because it's finally something that doesn't trigger her allergies (potatoes, sweet potatoes, chicken, beef, pork, lamb, all grains, etc) However, I think the protein is low and I have to supplement with fresh food she can have. I sure could not afford to have 3 dogs on it.


----------



## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Nikitta said:


> Well la tee da to you to selzer. I had a much harsher answer but I'll throw your words back in your face. WHATEVER.


Sweetie, just go back and read your post and see why someone may be offended.

I've had dog food shipped to me too. It turned out to be junk as well. Not cheap. $50 a bag for 35 pounds of food. Junk. 

Junk is junk, don't feed junk. Being conscious of how the cost translates to the ingredient list is just intelligent.


----------



## Athena'sMom (Jan 9, 2014)

Use to feed it to all my dogs but my picky female will not eat it. I stick to the salmon recipe due to Athena's sensitivities and the 4 health does not smell fishy, when I open a bag of Castor Polluck or Wellness I can smell the fish, I just wonder how much meat they actually add to their kibble. Athena is not a fan so I moved on and will not buy it anymore.


----------



## Galathiel (Nov 30, 2012)

I've tried a different Diamond product (Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul) and it did not set well with him. Since I am leery of Diamond products anyway, I decided to not bother trying any others. Currently feeding Merrick and very happy with it. For the ones happy with it, that's their prerogative. If you have concerns/doubts, then you shouldn't feed it even at its better price point, because you will never be completely happy about it.


----------

