High Protein Food Good?

[Ladymom]

Originally Posted by Maximo

Also noted above, the source of protein is important. Some protein sources are better than others.

You are absolutely right. High quality proteins from dairy and white fish are much easier on the liver and kidneys than animal proteins. Protein from red meat is especially hard on the liver. In breeds like Yorkies who are prone to liver disease it is best to limit the amount of beef, venison, etc.

Lady has liver disease from years of phenobarbital for seizures and all her protein in her homecooked recipe comes from fish, eggs and cottage cheese. I give her lowfat cheese cubes and yogurt for a snack.

This is a great article:

Liver | B-Naturals.Com Newsletter

[Sweet Apple]

Originally Posted by Lorraine

Having run into issues with other foods, I have been feeding DVP Natural Balance. I mix two or three of the kibbles together so they aren't getting just one. They get Reduced formula which is the dame as their Ultra but lower protein, small bite Ultra and Venison/sweet potato formulas. I also mix in either grated cheddar cheese, some days instead of cheese, cooked drained and washed with hot water, lean ground beef or some days a boiled white fish such as cod or sole, boiled white rice sometimes.
Start with one of the dry kibbles to make sure it will be ok and they are not sensitive to something in it. Then add one of the others. I like having them on a few different ones because dog food companies change their formulas too much and if they are just on one it can be a problem. This way they are not getting too much of anything that changes.
The DVP Duck and potato for example became a real problem as they had trouble getting duck so upped the potato content. It caused no end of trouble for many dogs, bloody diahrrea, vomiting. Too much potato can do that. Don't know what they were thinking doing that.

OMG'sh, I must be extremely blessed...Neither of my two yorkies, are, at all, hyper, nor have they ever had any vomiting, bloody diarreah, throwing up bile, and all those horrible things They have nice little firm stools, w/o much odor, fresh breath, no "body" odor, and have, seemingly, a very normal amount of energy, for play, and take time to have several naps throughout the day...They sleep well, at night, and, if there are no tropical systems, in the area, are pretty much house broken lol...They are not going to put their little bladders under stress, if we're having around the clock tropical rain So far, so good, for the little chorkie, and she's on raw too...I am going to take note of what LadyMom said about beef being harder on the liver...I think I'll rotate that and venison in a bit less than some of the others...good thread...

[Ohjiro]

Thank You all for the opinion, i think im gonna try a 33% protein to see if works good with her, if not i will change again to a lower one. and with time i might alternate a higher one with a lower protein food, but for now i think im gonna try a few foods and see wich ones are her favorites and check the effects too.

[my2boyz]

Originally Posted by Sweet Apple

OMG'sh, I must be extremely blessed...Neither of my two yorkies, are, at all, hyper, nor have they ever had any vomiting, bloody diarreah, throwing up bile, and all those horrible things They have nice little firm stools, w/o much odor, fresh breath, no "body" odor, and have, seemingly, a very normal amount of energy, for play, and take time to have several naps throughout the day...They sleep well, at night, and, if there are no tropical systems, in the area, are pretty much house broken lol...They are not going to put their little bladders under stress, if we're having around the clock tropical rain So far, so good, for the little chorkie, and she's on raw too...I am going to take note of what LadyMom said about beef being harder on the liver...I think I'll rotate that and venison in a bit less than some of the others...good thread...

Same here...my crew seems pretty normal...they play hard and never pass up the chance for a nap! My husband likes an afternoon nap and all he has to do is head for the bedroom and Moo & Maddie Jo get there before him...Peanut can't get on the bed so he naps on the couch with me

I feed Fromm's Surf & Turf...the protein comes from Salmon and Duck and the protein is 30%.

[Britster]

Originally Posted by Lorraine

Maximum protein I will consider is 24% mine are in the 22%-24% range and yes i do believe it is detremental to any dog unless it is a field/working/hunting dog during the time it is actively working. Once they are done their work which is seasonal, back to a lower protein diet.
I do believe, over time, a steady high protein diet will cause irreversible problems which I have seen too many times.
i also have seen for myself and believe a high protein diet will affect behaviour making them hyper or as a very old time breeder friend of mine coined the phrase, 'running on their toes' which describes it well.
That is just my opinion, you can decide as you wish for yourself.

Do you have any sources for your claims? As far as my knowledge goes, there are no professional studies that prove anything either which way.

The early research that convinced people of the myth of high protein damaging dog's liver was done on rats which are omnivores and their digestive system works entirely different than dogs which are carnivores. Rat's bodies are not designed to handle high protein the way dogs are. I am not aware of any research on dogs that points to high protein damaging dog's liver. I might be mistaken here, but in addition to using rodents, I believe the source of most of the protein was corn gluten, so it was pretty invalid regarding canines and high protein from meat on two fronts.

Also, hyperactivity is not linked to high protein. I think there was some people stating a high protein diet could cause an aggressive dog to be more aggressive, but again... not proven and not seen often. You may see an increased amount of energy when a dog is eating a high quality diet compared to Pedigree, but that's a GOOD thing. Just like when humans (if you want to compare humans to dogs) eat healthy and exercise, you have an increased amount of energy and you feel good, whereas you feel fat and lazy if you eat McDonalds every day.

High plant based protein is not good for any dog, healthy or not.

High animal based protein will have no detrimental effect on a dog's liver, healthy or not.

The better high protein foods derive most of their protein from animals.

I dogsit for many dogs, 90% of them are fed Science Diet. And they poop like CRAZY! These Boxers get NO treats, all they eat are their breakfast and dinner (SD weight management) and they poop insane amounts, even for a Boxer. This morning, for example, I let them out at 8am, they pooped a huge pile. About 60 seconds later, more runny mushy stuff comes out. About an hour later at 9am, they poop more huge piles. I let them out again at 4pm, both poop craploads again. I'm sure when I go back tonight, it will happen again. Every dog I've seen on SD poops insane amounts. Also, they have that nasty dog smell (that people typically says goes away when feeding raw or high protein diets), terrible teeth, they shed a ton (this CAN be reduced by a high quality diet), they've got stinky ears a lot of times, they've got those scab-looking things on their 'elbows', or bumps on their body (that the vet says is nothing). Btw, I'm talking about all large breeds here. But these are dogs that to a typical person would seem healthy and happy but I notice all of these little things, just because I'm a weirdo.

On the other side, I dogsit for a Rottweiler who has been fed Taste of the Wild since he was a pup. He is now 6 months old. His coat is sooo shiny. He has the shiniest and softest coat of a Rottie I've ever felt. Granted, I know some things have to do with genetics of course. You can feed your dog the best food ever, and still have crappy genetics, and it may be a crapshoot. But either way, I love what this diet has done for Jackson.

Another good link: Are high protein diets harmful to a dog's kidneys?

[Britster]

Btw, I'm also not totally against grains. I think alot won't hurt them and I feed a few treats (Zuke's, for example) that contain barley, etc. I just think most grains are non beneficial, but some won't hurt either of course.

[Sweet Apple]

Thanks for posting this link, Brit...I needed to see this info, because my kids would run away from home, if they didn't get their raw lol...

Are high protein diets harmful to a dog's kidneys?

[Ringo1]

I really think it's all about what is best for YOUR dog. Finding the right high quality food may take some trial and error. A lot of dogs will do well with a high protein food; some will not.

As someone earlier mentioned, yorkies are prone to liver issues and I have a 'liver challenged' pup. So we look for liver friendly proteins. Every dog will not have this issue.

The BEST food is one that works for your dog. You'll know when you find it.