There is a lot of misconceptions concerning protein and dogs. So let’s start with the basics and learn exactly what protein is and what foods contain the necessary proteins for a healthy dog's diet.
Proteins are made up of amino acids. Each amino acid is important because of the specific way it contributes toward healthy nutrition. The amino acids contribute to important and necessary chemical processes that keep dogs healthy. For instance, carnitine and taurine are necessary for heart health. L-glutamine helps repair and build muscles. Arginine helps keep blood vessels dilated and stimulates the immune system. Lysine helps with bone growth and absorption of calcium. Cysteine helps in skin tone and elasticity, and is required to manufacture taurine.
There are two types of amino acids: essential and non-essential. In order for essential amino acids to be available for dogs to assimilate and use, they must be present in the foods dogs consume. The non-essential amino acids can be supplied in the diet or the dog’s body can synthesize them. The essential and non-essential amino acids are listed below:
Essential Amino Acids
Arginine, Histidine, Isolueucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Tryptophan, Threonine, Valine and Taurine*
Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs, Revised: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals!
Lew Olson's newly revised book is filled with an abundance of new topics and information. Whether you are new to home feeding or a seasoned raw feeder, have a senior dog or a new puppy, a pregnant mom or a toy breed, this book presents all the information you need to make the best nutritional decisions for your dog.*Taurine has been considered a non essential amino acid in dogs, but recent studies have indicated that it may likely be conditionally essential.
Non-essential Amino Acids
Alanine, Asparagine, Aspartate, Carnitine, Cysteine, Glutamate, Glutamine, Glycine, Lycine, Hydroxlysine, Hydroxyproline, Proline, Serine and Tyrosine
With these in mind, understand that not all proteins are equal. While carbohydrates do contain and offer some protein value, they are missing the essential amino acid, taurine. Additionally, many plant sources lack lysine, arginine, methionine and tryptophan. While we as humans are omnivores, dogs are carnivores. They need all the amino acids offered by animal based sources, which include meat, organs, dairy and eggs. The amino acids from plant sources are incomplete for dogs, and unless the amino acids from animal based sources are present in the diet, serious nutritional deficiencies can occur. Plant sources include grains, fruit and vegetables. Additionally, cooking food at high temperatures (which is done during commercial dog food processing) also destroys some amino acids. When these amino acids are destroyed the dog's body craves them, which results in your dog requiring more protein to thrive and maintain good health.
Now that we know what proteins are and how much dogs need them for good health, let’s look at some 'mistaken' information on when to reduce proteins.
Senior Dogs
Dog owners are often advised to reduce protein for senior dogs. This is false information. Senior dogs (and humans) have a more difficult time digesting, metabolizing and storing proteins. For this reason, older dogs need not only more protein in their diet, but higher quality proteins. Higher quality proteins are easier to digest, and offer the amino acids needed for good skin, coat and organ health. Senior dogs often require more protein than adults. For more information and further reference, see:
https://k9nutritionwithlew.com/dogs-and-protein/ and
https://k9nutritionwithlew.com/senior-dogs-and-special-needs/
Liver Issues
Most liver problems do not require a reduction in protein. Amino acids are important in keeping the liver in good health and helping a compromised liver repair itself. If the dog has a shunt condition, certain proteins do need to be avoided and these would include red meats and organ meat. These contain higher amounts of ammonia which are to be avoided with shunt disorders. However, eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese and occasionally poultry can be used as protein sources for these dogs. For more information on diets and other considerations for liver conditions, please see:
https://k9nutritionwithlew.com/liver/
Kidney Problems
Oftentimes dog owners are told to reduce protein in the diet if kidney disease is suspected. They are often told reducing protein will prolong the health of the kidneys. But new studies have found this is not exactly true. It isn't reducing protein that helps, but rather reducing the phosphorus (a part of protein) levels that help. However, reducing phosphorus isn’t helpful until the renal values in the blood work show elevations in creatinine and BUN. A general rule of thumb is when the BUN values go over 80, and creatinine levels are over 2. Along with these two levels, indications of the kidneys inability to handle phosphorus also results in an elevation in the phosphorus level. At this time, reducing phosphorus will help with comfort as less phosphorus will be filtered through the kidneys. High phosphorus foods include bone, organ meat and egg yolks.
So before jumping the gun and reducing protein (necessary nutrients for good renal health), check the blood work to determine when you might start needing to reduce the level of *phosphorus*. For dogs being fed a raw diet, lowering phosphorous levels might mean removing bones and organ meat and adding carbohydrates for fiber (firm stools). For those feeding home cooked diets for your dog, it may mean removing organ meat and egg yolks and using low phosphorus carbohydrates. Don’t reduce the *quality of protein,* simply reduce the level of phosphorus.
Important Note on Kidney Disease and Diagnosis:'
Should your dog receive a kidney failure diagnosis, always run tests for problems that could cause ‘acute’ renal issues (treatable). Understand that ‘old age’ does not cause renal failure. Some tests to consider include: sterile urine culture for urinary tract infections, leptospirosis blood titer, blood work and ACTH stim test for Cushing’s and Addison’s Disease and a blood test for Tick Borne Diseases. All of these can cause elevations in BUN, creatinine, low specific gravity, and protein in the urine.
Heart Conditions
While I have rarely heard of any recommendations to reduce protein for dogs with heart problems, it is more important than ever to give good, high quality proteins for this problem. Taurine and carnitine are important for heart health, and these amino acids are found in meat. Remember, high heat can destroy these amino acids, so use raw or lightly cooked meat. And the best source for these two amino acids is heart itself such as pork, lamb, beef and chicken hearts. These are an excellent food source for dogs with heart problems. Remember, heart is a muscle meat, *not* an organ meat, so heart can be fed daily as a large part of the diet.
Allergies
Occasionally, someone mentions they want to use a vegetarian diet for their dog with allergies, as they were told allergies are caused by proteins. But what they aren't considering are these two important facts: carbohydrates contain proteins and dogs need animal based proteins. So, rather than give up animal based proteins, it is more beneficial to use an elimination diet to discover what foods the dog is allergic to. This simply means limiting the dog’s diet to one protein and one carbohydrate. In this manner, we can observe how the dog reacts to these foods. If the dog tolerates them after a few weeks, another protein is added. If the dog reacts, it is removed and another one is tried. For more complete information, here is a link to Christie Keith’s article on allergies:
http://www.caberfeidh.com/Allergies.htm
So, what is the answer to the question of when to reduce proteins? Practically never! On occasion, it may be necessary to reduce phosphorus in chronic renal failure, or change protein types in liver shunt issues and in food allergies. But lowering protein amounts in the dog’s diet removes much needed nutrients for organ health, skin and coat, immune system and the ability to thrive.
Easy Protein Dog Snacks and Training Treats
-Boil beef liver for ten minutes, and then bake in the oven at 250 degrees for 10 minutes on each side. Cool and cut in small cubes, and keep refrigerated.
-Hard boiled eggs make great treats. Serve whole to large dogs, or cut into smaller pieces for small to medium dogs.
-Cheese cubes are great for dog treats. You can use regular cheese or low fat or mozzarella for reduced calorie treats.
-Freeze plain yogurt in an ice cube tray, and pop out individual cubes as treats.
-Boil Turkey hearts for 15 minutes, and then bake in the oven at 250 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Keep refrigerated. Turkey hearts also make great receptacles for hiding pills!
-Slice chicken breasts in strips, boil lightly for a few minutes, and then bake in the oven at 250 degrees for 15 minutes. Keep refrigerated between uses.
Happy Mother's Day to all the Mom's and Mom's-to-Be!
SRR Blackwood Penny Lane-Winner – 4 month
– Winner Best Puppy Female at the ARC Sieger Show
