Dog food- 23% protein.. Good or bad?

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EquestrianFairy

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My dog is undergoing training with a behaviourist for his aggression.. She's asked me what % of protein is his food and it's states 23% protein.

Is this too high or too low?

Thanks
 
My animal nutrition lecturer recommends 60%+ protein for a good dog food so based on that I think 23% is too low :)

What brand to you feed?
 
We were asked the same thing by our behaviourist and i think it was better to be under 17%...i think... definitely under 20,the lower the better - we were told to pretty much cut it out apart from in fresh foods.
I think it may have made a bit of a difference...not much though, the leadership training we worked hard at was the main reason i'd say! :)
 
Jake10 said:
My animal nutrition lecturer recommends 60%+ protein for a good dog food so based on that I think 23% is too low....
Click to expand...

Really? :confused: Was that a typing error?

O_P, protein can be derived from a variety of different sources, and it depends upon how the dog utilises such feed intake, and upon the dog's natural energy levels.

Alec.
 
Bakers complete.

She will recommend me a feed I'm sure, I wonder what she will tell me to feed. Can a low protein make a difference to a dogs behaviour?
 
Never mind the protein, Bakers is like McDonalds for dogs. Get him off it and I am sure you will see a difference in many ways.
It's not your fault, millions have been sucked in by their clever advertising and prominent placement in stores.
It isn't the protein level that is important, it is the source of the protein that is important.
Dogs should get protein from meat and fish, not cereal based foods, in an ideal world.
 
EquestrianFairy said:
Bakers complete.

She will recommend me a feed I'm sure, I wonder what she will tell me to feed. Can a low protein make a difference to a dogs behaviour?
Click to expand...


My dog trainer is also a behaviourist and although she doesn't recommend a food as such, she gives direction on what to look for. She feeds raw but appreciates it isn't for everybody.
Bakers is her last choice of food though :eek:.
 
Oops! :-/
He's going to spend a few residential days with her and she said she will wean him onto a better food whilst he is there.. I can see her telling me it's some 12kg bag for £80 now. Yikes!
 
Alec Swan said:
Really? :confused: Was that a typing error?

O_P, protein can be derived from a variety of different sources, and it depends upon how the dog utilises such feed intake, and upon the dog's natural energy levels.

Alec.
Click to expand...

I'm not overly sure if it's a typo or not TBH the girl who teaches it is only about 1 year older than me and is training to be a lecturer. If it is wrong I may as well just fail that module now and get it out of the way :o.

Looking at my dogs food they only get 23% so who knows
 
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EquestrianFairy said:
Oops! :-/
He's going to spend a few residential days with her and she said she will wean him onto a better food whilst he is there.. I can see her telling me it's some 12kg bag for £80 now. Yikes!
Click to expand...
I'm sorry but this is ringing alarm bells.
I get dogs with problems in for kennelling but training needs the owner present.


Please get your dog off the junk food but do it at home so you can directly see the effects.
Skinners field & trial Duck & rice is a good food that actually costs less than Bakers.

We use Skinners for the rescue Bassets and it takes about 8 -10 days for the ADHD type symptoms to go away.
90% of our rescues in for behaviour problems come in with Bakers and 90% of these improve on a better diet.
 
Skinners is another that sounds like a small miracle. I will chat to her tomorrow and see what she recommends so I can start my other dog on it also.
 
Bakers is full of complete rubbish!! There was a post on here a while back where someone listed all the ingredients and the amount of artificial additives is appalling, mostly banned in most countries. I had a mad springer once as was told to reduce protein below 20% which helped.
 
I used duck for a while for my jrt, in fact went to Steven Havers classes for a while and had it from him, it's very good, but cost wise with two now, as well as freezer space I just can't do it, haven them on Skinners salmon & rice now, recommend both types of feed, the duck is definitely a happy medium if you don't want to do the full raw option!
 
It's absolutely normal and I can say it leading from my dog's health, I have chihuahua. First I fed her Acana that had like 27 or 29 % then we moved to Orijen which had whole 34 % and Orijen worked for my dog way better. This percentave is normal for dog but everything is individual so you better take some tests to check if your dog is fine with it. Good luck to you anyway!
 
kHave a look at the raw thread here. I use landywoods as my main bulk (chicken chunks which now will has gone I dont need, turkey necks, turkey wings and tripe chunks £35 for what was three dogs, I will spend the same this time as see how far it goes (I only have 2 now)

They have chicken carcasses (50p for 3kg)
I get pork and offal for free
And get cheap fish from supermarket. And then rabbit for free at all angles this time of year.

You will find it difficult to start with establishing sources and what you want to feed, how much to feed, extra freezer but it works out better over the month. TBH I could spend about £40 a month with landywoods and be covered for the month but i have free sources so I use them. There are a few more companies out there as well. But seriously there has been a lot of input on the sticky in here have a look.
 
Not read all the thread OP but our late GSD was dog aggressive and we were told that protein of 17% and under was suitable for her - any more and her behaviour seemed to become worse.
Obviously if you have an active working dog, you need high protein from a good source.
K x
 
missieh said:
Bakers is full of complete rubbish!! There was a post on here a while back where someone listed all the ingredients and the amount of artificial additives is appalling, mostly banned in most countries. I had a mad springer once as was told to reduce protein below 20% which helped.
Click to expand...

My thread?

60% protein? No way! Orijen is one of the highest protein foods at 40%. Did she mean meat content perhaps?
 
Funny how we are so concerned about our horses' protein intake but pay very little attention to dogs.

Let's compare it to horses: normal protein requirement is around 10%, around 12 - 14 % for hard work, eg 3 day eventers and 18 % for a lactating broodmare which is about the highest protein level any animal will ever require.
Why on earth do you think dogs need so much more???!
Trust me, they don't! Protein requirements are roughly the same for all mammals.

The reason dog food is so high in protein is that it is poor quality protein, ie not containing the better amino acids such as lysine and methionine. So they just add more to make it seem better.

Bear in mind also that commercial dog food was originally developed to use up all the rubbish meat that could not be sold for human consumption.

Nuff said, if you want a healthy, balanced diet, feed raw. :)
 
Dogs are carnivores/scavengers with a digestive system to cope with flesh & bone.
Horses are herbivores with a digestive tract suited to this.

Wet dog food is typically about 8 -10% protein. Dry food is about the same once rehydrated.

Not all dog foods use "poor quality protein" although admittedly some do. There is plenty of good quality protein on a carcase that I wouldn't find palatable - chicken backs & necks as an example and better for this to be made into dog food than thrown away. I have problems with the rearing of animals specifically to feed dogs.
 
I use Skinners field and Trial crunchy on my mega skinny BC and it keeps him at a reasonable weight, although I do have to feed more than for his weight. His coat shines, and he is full of energy.

Its the best food I have found for him.
 
Feeding raw ,as in raw chook carcases /tripe etc makes a vast difference to temperament,a real calmer. Boxes of very fresh carcases are 5.00 for 10 kilos,the ideal food for very little money.A 50lb dog maintenance is roughly one carcase per day,skinnies or "high burners" get two or three.
 
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