question about protein in food

[gagesbarb]

JJ came to us with a "sensitive stomach," i.e. large, frequent, soft/pudding poops...after lots of experimenting with different proteins and rice that I made for him as well as some novel protein dog foods, probiotics, feeding him a reasonable amount (he weighed 79 lbs when we got him and now is a healthy 56 pounds,) and calm, predictable environment (as much as we can), we've concluded that he is not allergic to proteins, but does benefit from a limited ingredient dog food (Natural Balance) and being careful to not give him lots of different foods/treats at the same time...I give him 1/2 cup boiled chicken split between breakfast and dinner to up the protein for him...Gage weighs a healthy 40 pounds and used to eat Fromms, but in the last 6 months or so, it almost seems too rich for him since his poops also got very soft...He does well with Natural Balance also...
My question--how do I know how much chicken I should give them to make sure they have enough protein...I can tell that Gage does better (more energetic) if I give him a little Fromms (higher protein) with his Natural Balance, but I was thinking maybe I should just give him chicken? JJ seems to have good energy, thick fur, good weight...
and Gage also seems to be doing well, except for his chronic bronchitis which we will hopefully get more info about this week...

[smugg254]

Try using the dog food calculator, i use it all the time. just google Dog food calculator. Hope it helps.

[DeeDee]

You have two dogs, both Brittany's? That is nice - companionship is a great thing for our pooches! I saw your query on the protein. I looked up on Vetary and saw a guide on diet change. There is a section at the bottom where you can ask a vet (no charge) about any health, diet, procedure, etc. He can answer some questions for you! https://www.vetary.com/dog/condition/diet-change Enjoy your day!

[gagesbarb]

thanks so much for your help!! to both Smugg254 and DeeDee

[Barb Wright]

In a nutshell (health issues notwithstanding) a canine diet should consist of approximately 85% animal protein, 15% animal fat, 5% offal (organ meat) and vegetation. NO carbohydrates like corn, rice, grains, or potato. The meat sources should vary....chicken, beef, lamb, rabbit, duck, turkey, fish, game, etc. All the fat should come from just animal sources. Offal can only come from animal sources. The vegetation should be low carb varieties like sprouts, leafy and/or raw fermented veggies, but not very much and not necessarily every meal. In a normal canine world the vegetation would come from the stomach and intestines of herbivores (rabbits, squirrels, other small prey), and seasonally from grasses and fruits.

So, by feeding a commercial dry food you have a big gap in the amount of available protein in the food and the amount of protein that a dog could/should actually have. Again, health issues notwithstanding as there are some diseases that call for less protein. There is more bio-available nutrition in raw food than processed food, especially so since processed dog food (commercial kibble) is supplemented with mostly synthetic vitamin/mineral combinations to bring the food up to a minimum standard. That said, there are brands of dry dog food that do a remarkable job of providing a fairly good diet for dogs….those are the ones that have eliminated grains and most carbs, and offer a variety of meat sources. And you still have a big gap where you can add quality animal protein. I would say that you can add as much animal protein as you want, just deduct somewhat from the kibble so the meal is not too large. Or feed kibble one meal and just animal protein and fat for the second meal. There are many permutations that you can do to add some good quality protein to the diet.

BTW, dogs get their energy from animal fat, not from carbohydrates.

For a really excellent site offering a free education in feeding dogs go to https://b-naturals.com/index.php?main_p ... ewsletters and read her past articles and newsletters.

[gagesbarb]

thanks!