High Protein/Low Protein HELP

Katniss said:
I just wanted to chime in on a personal note. I have Systemic Lupus (SLE) and among other health issues, my Kidneys are shot. Since finding out 2 years ago, I have spent the better part of that time making medicine (all aspects of it) and understanding it my passion. Personally, I can only have less than 10% - 15% protein a day. (Rules out Atkins for me, lol). However I have done so much extensive research on nutrition, and although there are distinct differences, animals and humans are not that different as far as their nutritional needs.

A diet of 25% - 35% protein (sometimes higher) is very healthy as a whole, IF the proteins are basically LEAN. Only if you are either prone to Kidney problems or develop and illness that affects the kidneys should you examine your protein intake a little more closely. I tend to believe that our happy, healthy furbabies can digest and process a diet of 30% protein (mostly lean) without any problems, and it is really one of the best things that we can do for them.

However, each dog is different, and like humans, not one diet fits everyone. I think that taking into consideration our animal’s medical history and current health, we as their parents, along with our Vets, can decide what the best diet for our dogs is. The bottom-line, I believe, is that there is no ONE perfect diet for Shelties, or Labs, or Beagles, or Llamas!! (You get my point) The diet needs to suit the animal (or human) needs. And, I think that most healthy, well, active and disease-free dogs will respond well to a diet that is in upwards of 25% Protein (Lean and Fatty).

Just my experience and 2 cents....
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Very well said thank you. Glad your doing well and prayers for future :smile2:health.:smile2:
 
king buddy said:
I would like to know more about ethoxyquin also as I feed the totw pacific stream .
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IT is a food preservative and a pesticide! It is commonly used as a preservative in pet foods to prevent the rancidification of fats. It supposedly raises liver enzymes in animals and people.
TOTW says it doesnt use ethoxyquin but it is not verified if the supplier of TOTW uses it or not!
 
Justicemom said:
Ethoxyquin is an artifical preservative that is add to to pet food diets to prevent the fats from become rancid and to extend the shelf life of foods. It can cause liver enzymes elevation and is a possible carcinagen(mostly kidney cancer).

It is allowed to be in pet foods in levels up to 150ppm. The FDA in the last 1990's asked that pet food companys lower the levels to 75ppm(levels of 0.5 to 5ppm are allow in human food). It was not mandatory be but around that time a lot of company started replacing it with tocopherol, a natural preservative and source of Vit E. The shelf life of these foods were not as long by they did a good job. The big companies who had a large production batches and warehouse food such as Science Diet, Euknuba, Pedigree Iams etc were slow to remove it and some still use it. If the compnay adds it it must be on the label.

Most nautral foods do not add ethoxyquin. But some fishing company indenpendent of the pet food company spray it on the fish to preserve it during long trips at sea. If the pet food company does not add they are not required to list it on the label. Overall, levels of ethoxyquin in those natual diets are very small, especially if it is not a fish based diet. The question is whether those small trace small will have any effect. Most likely not but you never know. A selling point of many organic or natural food companys is ethoxyquin free fish sources. If they have it they usually let you know.:smile2:
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LOL you beat me to it !:lol:
 
As a matter of interest, in the 'British Kennel Club Purebred Health Survey' Shelties do have a higher rate of kidney failure than other breeds (17% of UK Shelties die from kidney disease compared to 5% in other breeds).

Leaving aside the dynamics of the survey (small sample size, British shelties only, etc) it does indicate that Shelties could be more prone to kidney diseases. For this reason I prefer to give my shelties foods with protein levels around 20-25%. As they age I give them lower protein foods. This gives me the option of increasing their protein when their bodies will use it. So when competing, heavy training or long hikes they get extra meat or meaty bones.

The other risk of giving a dog lots of energy in the form of protein is they will need to burn it off. Like giving a little kid lots of sugar, unless you are willing to help them work it off, they may end up like little energiser bunnies!
 
Michelle,
Can you post that link here too? I've been reading and following the discussion and I'm interested.

Thanks!
 
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