Diamond Naturals vs 4 Health

[BeagleLuvinGroomer]

This is kind of a long explanation but I will eventually get to where I'm going I promise
Over the summer my dog started scratching like a mad man, when he wasn't scratching he was chewing. At first I figured he had picked up a couple fleas...bathed him and put on his Frontline(a bit early) For about half the day it worked...Now he was scratching chewing and shedding like crazy. Once I figured it was not fleas I decided it had to be dry skin. My vet had told me that Purina One/Pro Plan were great foods. He's the vet I figured he knew what he was talking about...so I talk to my go to doggy friend who sings the praises of Diamond Naturals. I went out and bought the Lamb and rice. All was great at first. The scratching, excessive shedding and chewing have ceased. His coat is a nice shiny black. Then about 2 weeks ago while out for a walk Jasper is having pooping issues. His poop has increased in volume and the smell could knock over an elephant. It's like "soft serve" and by the end of our walk he's straining to pass liquidy poo. I figured he had too many treats or someone snuck him some table scraps which were banned when the scratching began. However this was still going on a couple days later. Since it was time for a new bag I get Diamond Naturals chicken and rice. So He's been eating this flavor about 2 weeks now, still not scratching and whatever but still having the digestive issues. Tuesday after his millionth stop to poop I saw a little blood in his liquid poo He also seemed a little depressed like he wasn't feeling very well. Now I'm concerned. I gave the almost full bag of Diamond Naturals to my sister in law.
Here is my dilemma. I like the Diamond Naturals food just not what it did to poor Jasper's digestion. I see that they also make 4Health. What are the chances that he'll also have issues with 4Health?
I'm also considering Taste of the Wild and bought Nutro Ultra today but it's a little too expensive for my budget.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Just a side note, Jasper perked right up today after a pepto bismol tab. It's a half hour ride to work and he nearly made me crash several times when he passed gas! Ugh!! I was desperate lol!!

[Unosmom]

They're both pretty similar, 4Health is slightly better, I'm not a fan of lamb formulas since they tend to have more grains then meat(hence the elephant poos), generally grain inclusive kibble produces more stool due to less digestibility. If you want to stick with 4Health, I would go with their performance formula which is 30% protein, your dog doesent have to be a working dog, thats just a marketing gimmick, you'll probably have to reduce the amount slightly since it has more calories.

But if you can afford Totw, that would be my first choice. I know that even tractor supply raised their prices, I found this website that has totw for $40(big bag) with free ship on orders over $49

Dog Food | ProperPet.com

[kevin bradley]

I'd get him on a super mild food until you can root out what bothers him. Most foods are litterred with so many ingredients that it could be tough to figure it out just by moving from one to another. I'm not sure who makes mild options any more... I believe Cal Natural used to make a bunch of limited ingredient formulas.

[cast71]

How much were you feeding and how much does your dog weigh? It might be that you were overfeeding. The blood could be from soft stools for too long. My friends feed diamond naturals and I think it is a decent food. It's pretty much the same thing as 4health. Healthywise is another option for the lower budget foods. I would try the diamond naturals again and cut down on the amount your feeding. If things start to look better great. If not it's time to look for a different food. The totw praire formula and wetlands formula would be a much better option. Not because there grainfree, but because of the higher protein and less carbs. Also you will feed less of totw than DN. So the upfront cost is more, but the food will last you longer;0)

[BeagleLuvinGroomer]

Jasper is a small mixed breed about 30#. I feed him one cup at a time which he seems to eat half of it when I put it down and the other half around dinner time, on occasion if he eats it all at once I'll give him a bit more.(Jasper is the only dog I own) I like the DM because it is grain free and would like to stick with grain free. I think I'll look into the TOTW which I have seen at my local Tractor supply. Thank you all for your help :)

[kevin bradley]

BLG,

One other food I might look into based on some of your comments and the prices of Diamond and 4H. I'd take a look at Fromm. I'm just getting into researching this company and their foods. Wisconsin based company, never had a recall... appears to do everything right. They sell a "Classic" line of foods thats only about $1/lbs.... you probably have to order it(Petfooddirect had free shipping this week w/ code FREESHIP. Not sure if its still active or not). Your Dog seems to have some special concerns and I'm not saying its an answer but its a nice value and maybe worth a try.