Quote:
Originally Posted by pstinard  For what it's worth, dogs with an underlying liver or kidney problem could find their condition exacerbated by higher protein foods: The Dangers of High Protein Dog Foods | petMD
Each dog is different. It's difficult to generalize what is best for all dogs--whatever works best for your particular dog is what you should stick with, keeping in mind the health issues your dog has. |
Much of the information regarding high protein and dogs is because in the past protein was of a lower quality, for example, corn can be added to the food and the overall protein goes up, but it's not a high quality protein and lower quality is more difficult for the liver and kidneys to process.
"Protein is processed in the liver and any waste materials are filtered and excreted by the kidneys. High quality protein does not generate large amounts of waste that needs to be removed from the body, but poor quality protein which is difficult to digest does and thus puts stress on the kidneys. The liver needs water to process protein and as a medium to carry waste products to the kidneys, where they are filtered out and most of the water is reabsorbed. The less concentrated the waste products in this primary filtrate are, the easier it is for the kidneys to do their filtering work - that's why it is unhealthy to feed dry food only and so critical that dogs eating mostly or exclusively dry food and dogs with liver disease get lots of extra water."
The Dog Food Project - Is too much protein harmful?.
Of course, if your dog has liver and kidney problems, a special diet is in order, but a higher protein diet of high quality protein (not corn and beaks and hair) will not cause liver and kidney problems.