High protein dog diet

[Meicaalien]

I feed my active 2 year old 10 pound dog a mixture of adult orijen and primal rabbit formula, I do soak the orijen to insure he's getting enough water, along with a bowl of fresh water. I'm hearing a lot about kidney issues and wonder if my dog is at risk because of his high protein diet.

[Jerry_NJ]

Thanks for the definitions... one advantage of a small dog is food that cost more than what we ear ourselves can be affordable.  I pay about $4 a pound for the Hills Z/D and plan to visit a dog food expert who owns a pet store in my neighborhood to get suggestions on alternatives to Z/D.

There is a general near-consensus on avoiding grains in kibble foods, but when I say anything about that to our vet she looks at be like "what are you asking" Hills doesn't list any grains...well it doesn't claim there are none either.

Happy to read a general agreement, gives me confidence/reinforcement that I am on the right track albeit I am happy with 4 star dog foods.

[Meicaalien]

All his food is grain free, and I'm trying to have him on a diet that is limited ingredient and has no fillers or by product. I would love to make his meals on a daily basis, but I don't have the time or money.

Orijen is a high quality dog food out of canada that is 80% meat 20% veggies and minerals. and primal is a moist raw dog food that is out of California that is 85% meat and 15% veggies and minerals. Both are human grade foods that rate 5s on the "dog food advisor."

My dog does have a pork allergy, and I do have to be careful on what he eats.

[Jerry_NJ]

I don't even know what "orijen and primal rabbit formula" means and that's why I didn't respond sooner.

Indeed, not just protein, in fact some dogs have allergies to some proteins.  I have such a dog, a 20 pound Westie.  He is now on a Hill's Prescription Z/D to eliminate raw protein in his diet.  

Hill's including "Science Diet" and Purina in general don't fair well in evaluations done by the "dogfoodadvisor", and for that reason I avoid them and plan to move my dog off of the Hill's Z/D.

An economical canned and kibble with a high "dogfoodadvisor" evaluation is available as a Tractor Supply brand:  4Health.

You didn't say why you were focused on the diet you are now using, but when using Kibble I suggest "Grain Free" Kibble, not so important in canned as it usually contains much less, even no grains.  Corn and Wheat are often problem foods for dogs...and often used in Kibble to hold the pieces together.  

[shannon781]

Kidney failure due to a high protein diet occurs mostly in cats because they are carnivores and require such a high percentage of protein compared to dogs. I know everyone wants to go all natural and thinks "meat first" is the best, but I stick by companies such as hill's and purina that have spend millions of dollars and many years conducting diet trials to ensure the correct balance of the diet. You can find out what percentage of protein is in the food that you are feeding and ask your vet if it is adequate or too high. Dogs are omnivores and do not need primarily meat diets and these high protein diets. I don't know that numbers off the top of my head, but you can probably find it online somewhere.