My personal belief is the higher the protein the better! However, this belief also has a couple conditions. The first being that your pup is not liver compromised. Obviously if he/she has high risk of liver shunt, high protein is not a good idea. Also, different protein levels work for different dogs. What one day may thrive on may be too rich for another. I think it's just a process of trial and error. As long as your pup is healthy and active, there is nothing wrong with high levels of protein!