Hmmm... where to begin. Well my guy has quite the menu and it changes often depending on the leftovers we have that he may or may not get. Daily he has a combo of Eagle Pack holistic, the lamb kind. Raw nuggets by Primal Pet Foods, and cooked chix, flax oil, and supplements. he gets garlic a couple times a week as well. he is only 5mos and so far has enjoyed what he is getting and has healthy stools so I guess that is what works for us. not sure if I should rock the boat. on a different note. what are people's thoughts on what a good % of protein is for a adult Neo?
From what I have gathered, there is no "right" answer for protein amounts in adults. It does seem to be across the board that PUPPIES (up to 2 years) should get lower protein to slow their growth.
I'm not sure exactly where the line between low protein and not enough protein is though. . . "Mais tu ne dois pas l’oublier. Tu deviens responsable pour toujours de ce que tu as apprivoisé." - Le Petit Prince
Here is an article addressing puppies and protein. It references a study done with great danes and concluded that it is not about protein quantity, but instead about protein quality.
Puppies do definitely need protein! And as with any dog you need to feed the right protein...Muscle developement is essential for proper support, especially with the large breeds...and surprisingly the small breeds too. They burn off so much that they need a little more too.
I think we worry too much about trying to manipulate how the dogs grow...We really should be focusing on getting them proper nutrition, and letting nature take care of the rest.
[ Edited Wed May 21 2008, 11:36PM ] Kate and the zoo
Agreed Kate! I had given up telling people what Poe ate because I was tired of rationalizing the 42% protein by explaining that a good half of her diet comes from other source. . . As someone who's done extensive work/research/labs on animal nutrition I could give all sorts of "excuses" for why I went with high protein, but in the end her form will do most of the talking for me.
That said, she's now on a "low protein" kibble (20%) to test some theories about her UTI issues and I have to say, I think both she and I liked the high protein better. Her stools were firmer, she had more energy, more tone, and better skin. I'm now having to cook her eggs to go with the food (avadin, the protein in egg is the closest to "ideal" protein in terms of AA breakdown and digestibility found in nature BTW) -- cooking eggs twice a day is NOT my idea of fun so I think we'll be switching back soon.
What I meant by my above post was that the general consensus is to closely monitor young dogs, and not adults when it comes to proteins. I agree that a good portion of mass can be attributed to diet, but no dog will ever surpass it's genetic potential. I applaud the movement toward feeding dogs more consciously. I think it's great that so many people have stepped away from the supermarket spectrum of foods and are willing to pay the extra dollars and cents to give their dogs everything they deserve (and not just enough to get by)
Can that trend go too far? I think only when it comes to overdosing or overfeeding things like phosphorus, calcium, and the fat soluble vitamins. Omega-6's can be a problem too, but for the most part moving in the direction of holistic feeding does more good than harm. We should all be so lucky as to eat like our dogs! They get varied proteins, whole grains, the full spectrum of vitamins and minerals, and vegetation all without the harmful chemicals that plague our own food chain (BHT, that thing most would NEVER feed their dog is in virtually every processed food we eat) .
Cheers to doing better for our dogs than we do for ourselves! "Mais tu ne dois pas l’oublier. Tu deviens responsable pour toujours de ce que tu as apprivoisé." - Le Petit Prince
Jax and I do a combination of dog food. We have a 55 gallon trash can that we mix 50/50. Diamond Lamb and Rice and Blue Buffalo Wilderness Blend. We are doing to cut down more on the Lamb and Rice in a couple weeks. The dogs love the Wilderness Blend. They eat a little less of it and with 6 Neo's eating less is a good thing.
Cans All Dry Food Health Bars Organics A balanced approach to high-energy nutrition A highly digestible food formulated by animal nutritionists, BLUE Wilderness provides your dog with the optimal balance of protein, fats and healthy complex carbohydrates.
High-Quality ingredients for a high performance diet
Deboned chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal and fish meal supplies the protein your dog needs to support his active lifestyle. Sweet potatoes, oatmeal and potatoes provide healthy complex carbohydrates for lasting endurance. Blueberries, cranberries and carrots support antioxidant enrichment. A sensible alternative to raw diets Raw diets are less convenient to prepare than BLUE Wilderness. What’s more, with raw diets you typically need to provide additional supplements to ensure what your feeding your dog is nutritionally complete.
Our unique LifeSource Bits are formulated to do exactly what their name implies. Containing a precise blend of nutrients and antioxidants that are cold-formed to preserve their full potency, LifeSource Bits help strengthen your dog's immune system, offset the negative impact of environmental toxins and provide support for specific life stage requirements.
Crude Protein 42.0% min Crude Fat 16.0% min Crude Fiber 3.0% max Moisture 10.0% max Calcium 1.0% min Phosphorus 0.9% min L-Carnitine* 100 mg/kg min Omega 3 Fatty Acids* 0.25% min Omega 6 Fatty Acids* 3.50% min Beta-Carotene* 5.0 mg/kg min Glucosamine* 400 mg/kg max
*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.
I copied the above from Blue Buffalo's website. The food is a little on the pricey side but they do offer a free bag with every ten you purchase. We go through around 150lbs of dry food very 2 weeks and spend around $150 on just dry food. Our dogs also get 5-10 lbs of pasta a week and of course they get all left overs and meat trimimings. When we have it they get Venision. I do not feed raw and do slow cook food for them weekly to add a change.
I do give the dogs brewer's Yeast and Garlic occasionally. I usually start that in the summer to help with fleas.
We have tried feeding most of the brands on the market between the dogs we have had. We have learned that in most cases the dogs do better on the higher priced food with no corn.
I also love Eukanuba small breed puppy for my Boston Terriers. They do well on that. I used to mix that in with our Great Dane puppies diet during the first 8 weeks.
I know that many breeder to not agree with the high protein and high fat diet, but we have had luck with it.
Good info I have started to use the Diamond stuff with tripe Doc Allevamento Del Vincenzo Click me
FYI you diamond brand feeders, I dont know about where you live but diamond has went really high here, I think the maint formula is something like 28 bucks now, if you go to fred meyer ( only place to carry it here ) they have nutra nuggets which is diamond in different bag for way less, it is always 18.99 a bag, can save some pennies to put in the gas tanks and it is the same food
lol maybe we should go by what our dogs really seem to enjoy eating, dead critters ( if they are decomposed all the better cause then they can eat it and roll in it ) horse poop and grass 4 of mine have put them ownselves on this diet, dead rock chuck, horse pasture next door, plenty of greens....................so much for all the thought process I put into choosing their food and after the rock chuck I am not going to cook a single egg for them LMAO
My mom who is 66 and has always had a small herd of dogs at any given time, had a field day when she heard that, my mom who I have seen with my own eye's throw out a bucket of chicken bones from KFC, who buys her dog food at walmart and ihe chosen brand is any on sale, who to my knowledge only ever been to a vet if a dog needed shots, altered or pts at a ripe old age, this woman had the gall to tell me " leave them alone it wont hurt them " LMAO this woman has no idea of protien ratio's, could care less about fat content, no knowledge of cal to phos ratio's and she is giving me, a person who analyzes dog food sacks like nasa scientests read data sent back from deep space, advice
I was being funny but she did say that and thats how all of her dogs have lived, purebreeds and mutts, her care of them is so simple it is unreal yet she has no problems and the dogs live to old age I remember a great dane who was a permanant foster who was put down finally at 14, old age and nothing else. Maybe we are over thinking things, or maybe this is just how us dog owners are conditioned now days. Ask your parents or grand parents how they fed their dogs or just think back to when you were kids what did the family dog eat, pretty sure their diet included scavanged dead things,some sort of kitchen waste, horse poop if they got lucky and grass LOL
Kinda brings to mind when my father in law told me I was crazy for taking the dogs to the vet to be bred, if they cant do it natural guess they would go extinct have to pardon him he grew up in arkansas
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