[Brewfilek]

i wanted to share with my friends on here the feedback i just recieved from Acana. I emailed them yesterday; i wanted to hear from them thier take on the protein amount in their kibble. My 1 year yorkie (11lbs) has been eating the singles line from time to time, and now my new pomeranian puppy is home 11.5 weeks old and i've been having a HECK of a time trying to keep them out of eachothers food.

(she was on royal canin mini - it has chicken which the yorkie is alergic to so now he is an itchy mess). my goal is to get them on the same food. she is a little tank that eats anything you put in front of her. anyway here is the email i recieved the next day:

Hi Sarah,

Thank you for contacting us with your questions.

There is a rumor that high protein diets cause kidney disease, this rumor is false. High protein pet foods are NOT harmful to a normal dogs kidneys. As a dogs body digests and metabolizes protein, nitrogen is released as a by-product. The excess nitrogen is excreted by the kidneys. A high protein diet produces more nitrogen by-products and the kidneys simply excrete the nitrogen in the urine. While you may think this would ‘overwork’ the kidneys and lead to possible kidney damage, this is not true. The kidney’s filtering capabilities are so great that even one kidney is sufficient to sustain a normal life. There are many pets and humans living perfectly healthy lives with just one kidney.

Unless your veterinarian has told you your pet has a kidney problem and that the problem is severe enough to adjust the protein intake, you can feed your pet a high protein diet without damaging or stressing your pet’s kidneys. Also you are not saving your pets kidney’s by feeding a low protein diet. The same applies to the health of the liver.

High protein diets such as ORIJEN are ideal for dogs and all ages and sizes. In fact, all published research we've managed to find shows that higher protein diets support the health of dogs of all sizes, we cannot find a single published study to the contrary! What most people don’t understand is the relationship between proteins and carbohydrates in dog food. Consider that as protein increases carbohydrate decreases, and the reverse is also true; as protein decreases, carbohydrate increases. In other words, higher protein diets have less carbohydrate – this is an important fact as it is carbohydrate, not protein that is the leading dietary cause of health problems (obesity, insulin resistance, type II diabetes). As carbohydrate is non essential and supplies only sugar, we call it an “empty calorie” (unlike fat and protein, which are essential for body functions). Protein is essential for the body and is also used by dogs as a source of energy. When present in excess, protein leaves the body through normal elimination functions and is not stored as fat like carbohydrate.

Most high protein diets also have excess calcium and phosphorus. These diets approach the upper AAFCO limit and are at 2.5% calcium and 1.8% phosphorus. ACANA and ORIJEN are formulated with low-ash ingredients and a very high inclusion of fresh meats, which moderates the calcium and phosphate levels.

I have attached an article on dietary protein that you may want to review.

Your young puppy can eat the same food as your Yorkie! Our ACANA diets are appropriate for all life stages, meaning they are formulated for any age and any sized dog, small or large. According to AAFCO regulations, there are only three different Life stages for dogs that may be formulated for.
a) All Life Stages (meets the requirements of b and c as well)
b) Adult Maintenance
c) Growth and Reproduction

When feeding an all life stages formula to a puppy we recommend the following guide to calculate feeding amounts: For puppies aged 1 ½ -3 months we times the regular adult amount by 2, for ages 3-6 months we feed 1 ½ times the adult amount, and ages 6-12 months we feed 1 ¼ times the adult amount.

I hope that you find this information useful in answering your question. Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or concerns.

Megan
Customer Care
Champion Petfoods LP

T 877-939-0006

11403 - 186 Street | Edmonton, AB, Canada | T5S 2W6
championpetfoods.com


she also sent me a PDF from a veterany medical volume that explains all of these findings even further (and more complicated )...i can't attach it in that format, but if anyone was interested in a copy i'd be happy to email it if you leave your address. anyway i hope this can help anyone else who has been wondering about all this like i have been...