A month ago I switched Hootie and Hobbs to Orijen 6 Fresh Fish. I was really excited about it and the yorkies RAVED over it! Some of you might even remember my post about Hobbs stuffing himself so much that I was worried about him!!! Upon the switch I was prepared for them to drink more water due to their bodies adjusting to the higher protein but I was expecting the increased water consumption to subside once they got used to it. Well, a month later, they were STILL consuming TONS of water. They were waking me up in the middle of the night for water and potty breaks. I know that Orijen and other research claims that increased protein is not bad for the kidneys but I have a hard time believing this. Obviously my little babies' kidneys were having a hard time processing this increased protein hence the enormous water consumption. I hated seeing them need so much water and I absolutely hated waking up in the middle of the night with them for water and potty breaks. Just 2 days ago I switched them back to Natural Balance and almost immediately their water consumption is back to normal and they are sleeping through the night again.
Maybe the increased protein is good for performance dogs, but I find it completely unnecessary for my 3-lbs couch-potato yorkies. Sorry.
Also, the fact that there is absolutely NO research regarding the long-term effects of an increased-protein diet worries me..........And I'm not talking about raw (which is a diet totally different than what I'm talking about), I'm talking about COOKED increased-protein diets.