Low Protein Food?

[Sevastra]

Recently I had some contact with a trainer and he said possibly the food i am feeding my dog is too high in protein...I feed him Solid golds large breed wolf king...its 22 Percent protein


Any suggestions for food that is lower in protein, the reason he is on on that food is he literally couldn't eat anything else without getting diarrhea.

[Lucy Dog]

22% protein is pretty low to begin with. I'm pretty sure your trainer doesn't have a clue what they're talking about.

[jocoyn]

No way 22% is nowhere near to high. For a puppy I think 25% or so is pretty good but higher when they are grown. Is he having problem on THAT food?

[northgashepherds]

I'm not an expert on dog food, but I thought german shepherds need at least 30% of protein. But I may be wrong.

[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.

[Anubis_Star]

30%+ protein is pretty high in dog food standards. For a high drive, highly active dog, yes that would be fine and GREAT for building muscle and toning (Blue Buffalo Wilderness with 34% protein).

For the average dog, not super active, not super high energy, I would be afraid that you would easily have a very fat dog on 30%+ protein.

Blue Buffalo Wilderness Puppy food has 36% protein, and that thought just TERRIFIES me, lol.

[Galathiel]

My 13 year old senior (shih tzu) is on BB Wilderness Senior. Even the senior dog food still has 30 percent protein, but I watch him closely to make sure he stays in tip top shape. He does great on it and has lots of energy. I also give him a joint supplement daily, but that's it.

[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.

[JeanKBBMMMAAN]

Feeding Puppies

It's the calcium that is the concern in terms of increased growth.

However, some people feel that the high protein can result in things like downed pasterns/weak pasterns.

But 22% is actually pretty low.

[Anubis_Star]

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.

You're preaching to the choir - I call kibble in a bag, wouldn't feed dog food if you gave it to me. I'm just stating as far as kibble ratios/percentages go. And no, most protein sources in canine kibble is processed corn, NOT meat based protein