Low Protein Food?

[Sevastra]

Originally Posted by Anubis_Star

Personally I don't like puppies to be on high protein foods. Increased protein = increased growth rate, and I along with many vets agree that the slower a puppy grows (within healthy measures, of course), the better. My vet felt that the fact that he was still on puppy food was a contributing factor to Zeke getting panosteitis at 9 months of age. For people feeding kibble, I always recommend switching over to adult food around 5 months old.

There has been numerous debate on this, especially in the veterinary world. Personally, I don't believe that juvenile animals need different diets IF we are feeding nutritionally correct diets to begin with. Human children eat the same (or SHOULD) balanced meals their parents eat. In the wild, wolf pups eat the same meat as the adults. Deer calves graze on the same grasses. Robin chicks eat the same worms and other insects.

That being said, there are different recommended protein percentages for different dogs. The average, mildly active dog, it is recommended they get around 18% protein. However, sport or working dogs, high drive dogs, etc... it is recommended anywhere from 25-35% protein.

Just like in human athletes, you want a high protein diet to promote bone growth. But in the average, lazy Joe, high protein usually leads to fat.

Of course, in the long run you are going to cause more harm than good with a diet LACKING in protein over a diet too HIGH in protein. So is 22% protein too high? No, technically your dog can easily handle it. Perhaps your dog is a little on the heavy side and your trainer was simply stating the "higher" protein content in your food could be a potential problem. Seeing as how the 22% is technically higher than the recommended 18% of the average adult dog diet, I wouldn't necessarily call the trainer an idiot.

If its the only food that works for your dog's GI tract, then stick to it.

Kaiser is at a good weight, a lot of muscle to him etc. The trainer was talking about his excess energy maybe to lessen that a little ( dealing with aggression). He does exercise, though i am going to attempt to put him on the treadmill as well....ANY advice on doing so, links to how to videos would be great if anyone knows of any. He is almost 15 months old now. I feed him 3 cups in the morning and 3 cups for dinner. I know some of the solid gold products are 28% i think the product i am using is the lowest protein. I have researched and talked to the company, and just about all of them are 22 and over.

[Wild Wolf]

Yeah.. your trainer is misinformed about nutrition.

[jocoyn]

From reading back, you certainly have plenty of other problems that I don't think you can pin on food else all the other dogs eating similar and more typically higher protein would be the same. I have seen GSDs with no issues eating anywhere between 21% and 40% protein on dry foods.

I definitely think the aggression issues are at a point where you need (and are getting) professional help.

[Sevastra]

Originally Posted by jocoyn

From reading back, you certainly have plenty of other problems that I don't think you can pin on food else all the other dogs eating similar and more typically higher protein would be the same. I have seen GSDs with no issues eating anywhere between 21% and 40% protein on dry foods.

I definitely think the aggression issues are at a point where you need (and are getting) professional help.

No, i completely agree I was just looking into it if it held any value at all, at this point every little bit helps.

[northgashepherds]

My dogs work a lot, so I try to keep their protein percentage higher (around 30%). If your dog is medium to low drive 20 to 25% of protein should be good.

[SS-GSD]

Originally Posted by volcano

what do dog food companies refer to as protein? is that meat, or the percentage of protein within the meat? Because my poor puppy is eating about 90 percent protein and 10 bone. I could add a bunch of rice and potato, to the point that meat is first in the ingredient list but the other 10 main ingredients make the meat weigh 30% but why would I do that??? That 30 percent ratio is a joke. I even have a supplement which is 1000 times better than all the added vitamins in any dog food ive seen. Theirs reads as the cheapest possible form of vitamins and my pupsup looks like something gnc would sell to humans flaxseed based and filled with good stuff like probiotics. And I disagree that a high protein diet is the cause of human health issues. Its the stupid food pyramid thats the problem- carbs make people fat.

Percentages and grams are NOT the same thing JFTR. Your dog may be eating 90% MEAT, but there is no way it's eating 90% PROTEIN. For example, 1lb of 80/20 boneless ground beef has 122 GRAMS of protein out of roughly 453.5 GRAMS of meat. Which means about 27% of the actual food you're feeding is protein, even though there is well over 100 grams of protein in it. You can double the amount to 2lb and it's still 27% protein. Triple it to 3lb, again, you're still feeding 27% protein based on it's weight. Other meat sources will follow a similar suite. You're probably feeding well over 90 GRAMS of protein to your dog each day, but there is no way you're feeding 90 percent protein even if all you fed was straight meat.

[Galathiel]

What makes people fat aren't carbs... it's people eating more calories than they expend. Period.

It also depends on the dog food as to where the protein is coming from. Your better dog foods are NOT getting most of their protein percentages from corn. They don't even contain it. It gets a little confusing when you talk about switching from puppy food to adult food because the puppy food can cause certain issues to arise. The puppy food I plan to feed (Innova LBP) is 24 percent (guaranteed) to 26.68 percent. The adult food I feed (senior food actually) is 30 percent .. so the puppy food is actually lower in protein. What adult foods are people switching to that are so low in protein?

[Anubis_Star]

Originally Posted by Galathiel

What makes people fat aren't carbs... it's people eating more calories than they expend. Period.

It also depends on the dog food as to where the protein is coming from. Your better dog foods are NOT getting most of their protein percentages from corn. They don't even contain it. It gets a little confusing when you talk about switching from puppy food to adult food because the puppy food can cause certain issues to arise. The puppy food I plan to feed (Innova LBP) is 24 percent (guaranteed) to 26.68 percent. The adult food I feed (senior food actually) is 30 percent .. so the puppy food is actually lower in protein. What adult foods are people switching to that are so low in protein?

Most people DON'T feed the better dog foods though. Most people feed Beneful, Iams, Purina, Science Diet, Royal Canin, etc... The most common source of protein in dog food is processed corn.

Science Diet Large Breed is 19% protein.
Iams Natural Adult Lamb is 22% protein.
Kibbles 'n Bits is 19% protein.
Beneful is one of the higher "common" dog foods I can find, at 25% protein.
Royal Canin's German Shepherd formula is 24% protein
Alpo is 20% protein

If everyone fed high quality dog foods, then maybe veterinarians would see half the problems they do

[3ToesTonyismydog]

I really get tired of reading about the issue of protein being to high. This is just OLD SCHOOL and comes from the fact that in the OLD days, the majority of protein came from plant, grain or vegetables. MEAT PROTEIN IS FANTASTIC FOR DOGS no matter how high. When you look at a dog food ingredient list and their is a lot of meat ingredients, then the protein most likely comes from meat and protein #'s well be high. It is impossible to have low protein #'s and a lot of meat and vise verse.

The Dog Food Project - Is too much protein harmful?

Dog Food Protein | Frequently Asked Questions

[Anubis_Star]

Originally Posted by 3ToesTonyismydog

I really get tired of reading about the issue of protein being to high. This is just OLD SCHOOL and comes from the fact that in the OLD days, the majority of protein came from plant, grain or vegetables. MEAT PROTEIN IS FANTASTIC FOR DOGS no matter how high. When you look at a dog food ingredient list and their is a lot of meat ingredients, then the protein most likely comes from meat and protein #'s well be high. It is impossible to have low protein #'s and a lot of meat and vise verse.

The Dog Food Project - Is too much protein harmful?

Dog Food Protein | Frequently Asked Questions

You're right - meat protein MUCH better. And much higher. I feed a raw meat diet, guess what protein would be in that?

Fact of the matter is, meat based protein sources are NOT the norm in dog food. Crappy dog foods are not "old" school, they are the most pushed dog foods out there! Vets HATE "grain free" diets, they feel they are BAD for dogs (We actually just had a meeting at my clinic with a science diet rep to teach us about a new low fat prescription diet - which turned into a 10 minute rant about "grain free" diets and all these "fad" diets that have no basis behind them and how corn is the BEST source of protein in dog foods and is not a filler).

*gag* - reminds me yet again why I don't listen to nutritional advice from veterinarians. It's what they are taught. When nutrition education is sponsored and provided by the leading dog food manufacturer, you're going to run into problems.

You can't use the minority as an example for a broad subject - because it just doesn't fit the majority, even though it should.