Feeding High Protein Dog Food

While most people know that dogs need a good amount of protein in their diet and that it is essential to their health, the exact amount needed has often been debated. Some people believe that too much of it can be detrimental to a dog's health, while others believe that a high protein diet is exactly what a dog needs because this is the type or diet the dog would get if they were in the wild.

In order to answer the question once and for all, we need to understand exactly what the role of protein is in a dog's body.

First and most important, protein helps build a dog's body. The amino acids in protein serves as the building blocks for many structures in the body of a dog. In fact, half of a dog's dry body mass consists of protein. This is why puppies benefit from a high protein diet the most. They need the high amounts of protein to help their brain development, as well as to build and strengthen their muscles and skin.

Next, dogs need protein in order to help their body's perform certain tasks. For example, a race dog will need a lot of protein in order to help maintain good body weight and endurance. The high amounts of protein will also keep it warm. Likewise, a competition dog or dogs that are always physically active will also need protein in order to support muscle development. If a dog's body has internal tasks to perform, such as producing milk, then a high protein diet is also appropriate.

Given this information, it is safe to say that feeding your pet high quality protein (low quality will naturally lead to problems) is safe as long as they need the protein boost. Those who, based on experience, believe that a high protein diet can harm their pets may not have had pets that needed extra protein.

This is not to say that if your pet is active, they immediately need the extra protein, though. Dogs with diabetes or have problematic kidneys should be encouraged to exercise, but should not eat too much protein because it will strain the kidneys. Likewise, elderly dogs should also be encouraged to exercise, but being old, their stomach will have difficulty ingesting a high protein meal.

To conclude, at the end of the day, the amount of protein in a dog's diet will depend on the dog's activity level, age, health, physical condition, and breed. This protein should come from plant or meat sources. Also, a dog on a high protein diet will need more water because their body will need the extra water to help process the protein.