Carbs

[persephone]

you said in another thread you were looking for raw dog treats - cut the tongue up with a veggie slicer and voila

and WASH the slicer before cooking the dinner vegies

[Guest Tess32]

Ok - so let's assume dogs are carnivores and should be fed on a meat based diet.

I have an older dog - over 10 - large breed. I fed a meat based diet and was told the protein levels were too high for a dog his age.

If I can't feed carbs and I can't feed protein am I expected to feed lard or is my dog expected to be a breatharian?

I still think a lot of the "lower the protein" argument comes from considering dry food. The proteins in dry food are not the same as the high quality animal proteins in a raw meal generally. Poor quality protein from the grains in dry food is more of a stress on a dog, and perhaps older dogs found this even harder and thus, problems occured.

I would rather feed less calories if a dog is getting older and less energetic, than just simply aim to lower protein.

Here is a link for you.

http://www.dogaware.com/seniordiets.html

[espinay2]

I still think a lot of the "lower the protein" argument comes from considering dry food. The proteins in dry food are not the same as the high quality animal proteins in a raw meal generally. Poor quality protein from the grains in dry food is more of a stress on a dog, and perhaps older dogs found this even harder and thus, problems occured.

I would rather feed less calories if a dog is getting older and less energetic, than just simply aim to lower protein.

Have to agree with Tess on this one. Most of the arguments regarding protein levels are in regard to the proteins in commercial foods which are in a form that is harder for a dog to metabolise (often the majority of them are often from grains and those from meat have been rendered and denatured so are very changed from the original raw product). I have a large breed and my old dogs get fed the same as the young ones with no issue. If the dog does have specifically diagnosed condition with their kidneys etc (often caused by years of commercial foods), it is possible to feed a modified diet specifically for this condition (for example see the articles in the newsletter directory at B-Naturals ) but a modified diet is not generally necessary just because a dog is old. Feeding a raw diet may also put less stress on the dog and reduce the chance of problems occurring.

[aranyoz]

These percentages were posted on a raw feeder list that I belong to. Taking into account the moisture content of raw meat. It would appear to that it is far less than most commerical dry dog foods. Not sure about the fat content because that would depend on the animal and how it was trimmed.

Beef : protein 16% Fat 28%

Pork: protein 11.9% Fat 45%

Rabbit :protein 20.8% Fat 10.2%

Chicken : protein 20% Fat 11%

Lamb : protein 15.7 % Fat 27.7%