Dog food

Sharon mentioned she wants one brand of food to feed all her dogs. I assume the senior food isn't what she wants to feed her younger dogs.

I did a little reading on protein (you got me into it Sharon) and it appears most of the hype on high protein foods are myths. As long as that protein comes from a quality source, dogs, which are carnivores will handle it just fine. If your dog has a previous condition (say a kidney disorder for example) then that's a different story and a lower protein diet may be called for.

Acana is an all life stages food as well, fyi.

PS, Sharon, if you'd like me to put you in contact with that dog nutrionist, and you want to pick her brain a little, I'd be happy to.

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Originally Posted by last5oh_302

Sharon mentioned she wants one brand of food to feed all her dogs. I assume the senior food isn't what she wants to feed her younger dogs.

I did a little reading on protein (you got me into it Sharon) and it appears most of the hype on high protein foods are myths. As long as that protein comes from a quality source, dogs, which are carnivores will handle it just fine. If your dog has a previous condition (say a kidney disorder for example) then that's a different story and a lower protein diet may be called for.

Acana is an all life stages food as well, fyi.

PS, Sharon, if you'd like me to put you in contact with that dog nutrionist, and you want to pick her brain a little, I'd be happy to.

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You're very astute Rick. I should have been more clear - that little buggra terrier will get proper food for a 2 year old. :)

Done a lot or reading on protein and Senior dogs . It would appear as you said, that Senior dogs needs lots of protein for muscles strength too - no harm unless..............

"The very early research that pointed a finger at protein as being a cause of kidney failure in dogs wasn't even done on dogs! It was done on rats fed unnatural diets for a rodent -- diets high in protein. (Were we tinkering with Nature during these “tests”?) Rats have difficulty excreting excess protein in their diets because they are essentially plant eaters, not meat eaters.
Dogs are quite able to tolerate diets with protein levels higher than 30 percent on a dry weight basis. Dogs are meat eaters; that's how Nature made them! Rats are not. So some of the early research on rats was assumed to be true for dogs ... and the myth of "too much protein in a dog's diet causes kidney damage" was started. And just like any seemingly valid rumor or assertion, it derived a life of its own and is only recently being accepted as untrue." Dr Dunn

Going to switch to Acana Senior. 33/14

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Originally Posted by Sharon

Going to switch to Acana Senior. 33/14

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I was about to say that I don't believe Acana makes a senior food as their regionals are all life stages, but after looking it up I see they have a new line called Heritage and they offer a senior blend but it says that it's not available until next year.

I visited the store to day to check out prices and it was on the shelf.

$67.00 for 13 kg @ 33/14

Wonder what the reasoning is behind such high protein yet low fat content?

From what I read a Senior dog needs good protein to keep muscles strong, but not the fat as they are usually less active and will get fat if fat percent is high.

I would think older more sedentary dogs don't need as many calories that the fat provides?

Makes sense

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Originally Posted by Sharon

Where do you get that food? That's what I wanted to switch to , but here in London it is only sold from a rep's house. You have to make an appt. to get it.

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We (several trainers in my NAVHDA group) order a pallet directly from Loyall. Works out to $44/bag, I get about one month per bag so $22/dog/month for food.

I use Orijen