[pekelover]

I am still on the search for a high quality food that my girls will eat. We have tried many and recently were given a sample of Wellness core and they liked it (did not like it the first go round though) Anyway, I was told that high protein is bad for small breed dogs? Is this true?

 

[ChaosIsAWeim]

How high of protein?

 

[Abbylynn]

I have been asking the same question. I was reading this the other day ...FWIW

http://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_dg_focusing_on_protein_in_the_diet#.T-tPovX0-8A

 

[pekelover]

This is the puppy formula off the website. There is also a small breed formula, but is says for adults. It only has 16 % protein.
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein Not less than 36%
Crude Fat Not less than 18%
Crude Fiber Not more than 5%
Moisture Not more than 10%
Calcium Not more than 1.50%
Phosphorus Not more than 1%
Vitamin E Not less than 400 IU/kg
Omega 6 Fatty Acids* Not less than 3.50%
Omega 3 Fatty Acids* Not less than 0.60%
Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)* Not less than 0.10%
Beta-Carotene* Not less than 5 mg/kg
Total Lactic Acid Microorganisms* Not less than 80,000,000 CFU/lb

 

[pekelover]

I have been asking the same question. I was reading this the other day ...FWIW

http://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_dg_focusing_on_protein_in_the_diet#.T-tPovX0-8A

Thanks! I am going to read this now

 

[melundie]

I spoke to my vet about this a while back and she pretty much said the "too much protein" argument is an old wives tale so long as your dog is getting high-quality protein from meat, fat, bones and organs rather than low-quality protein that's present in blood meal, meat by-products, corn, soy, corn gluten meal, etc. When they get high quality protein, dogs will just poop out any they don't need.

 

[kafkabeetle]

It's no worse for small dogs than large ones (this is true about pretty much all dog nutrition). As long as your dog drinks enough water and does not have any existing medical problems, IMO high protein is ideal. Definitely read that article, it's a good one.

 

[pekelover]

Thanks everyone They love water and we even do the stock from meat/bones and veggies as ice cubes and they love those too!! I just want to be sure I am not harming them with trying to feed the best quality food. Our vet recommends Science Diet, and we did not want to feed that because of all the fillers in it.

 

[Crantastic]

I did find that on Orijen (40% protein), Casper (18 lbs) did not drink enough water to be able to handle it well and got a UTI. I've moved him down to 32-33% protein and started mixing a little water into his kibble, and he's been totally fine for the past year. I would say that any active small dog who drinks enough water should be just fine on a higher-protein diet.