actually high amounts of protien is fine as long as it's QUALITY protein. Orijen is a fantastic feed! but the blame is not on the protien level. when the protien is in kibble form, there is something called protien ash which is hard on the kidneys. a good way to combat this is to put water in tje kibble but that doesn't help the teeth at all. also if your dog is not burning all this protein there is no need to feed it. when its show season the dogs i work with are walking 7-10 miles every other day, running for 45 minutes or more, playing tug weightpulling to get in shape. even then when the dogs need protein many dont go higher than 30%. 42% is for those extremely high strung dogs who will burn it. a feed with quality protien lower than 30% would be a better choice IMO. also the protien can burn out a dogs kidneys of not used, but if the dog has problems with the feed fairly quickly after being switched it may be evident of a kidney problem that was there before hand. i've seen it numerous times. most young dogs can handle the protien w/o dasmage to the kidneys, but if a problem shows up its usually b/c the high amount made it evident. i would take the dog to the vet and have a blood panel done make sure everything is fine. otherwise i recomend a lower protein feed thast is still high quality. im sure your choice will be good, orijen is a top of the line feed, but there are others as well that maybe me more suitable for a small dog who doesn't burn all the protein. |