Question regarding protein and calories

 I have no idea what her motive was, but her information was wrong.  Calories are calories.  When you have a greater percentage of protein, it's usually a more energy dense food than your average low percentage protein food, but that's mostly because the fat ratio is also correspondingly high.  Energy dense just means that pound for pound the food packs more calories.

Sometimes people make the mistake of buying a more energy dense food and feeding the same amount as the old food, or not reducing the food enough, in which case weight gain can occur.  It has nothign to do with the makeup of the food though. 

Weight gain in the absence of metabolic disorders is caused by putting too many calories in, and not putting enough out, just like with us. 

Another great post, Becca.

Something that you do reminds of what I have learned about feeding sled dogs. Actually, I think it's the whole approach to working dogs. Sled dogs, especially competition dogs, are closely monitored on their nutritional intake, usually by a vet. And you, too, monitor your dogs, adjusting the diet here and there, as needed.

With sled dogs, as heavy training and competition increases, so does the protein and fat percentage in the diet. Greater output, greater fuel needs. Plus mushers will also use baited water (dosed with supps, etc.) as Siberian Huskies, in particular, don't eat a lot of food at one time and have a specific metabolism that gets every erg of energy out of a small amount of food. So, it's a balance to have all the parts in there, per meal. And during the race, dogs are checked every so often on the long distance races like the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest but also between heats on the shorter trials. Those dogs are bred, professional athletes and get more attention than a human pro athlete.

To answer the OP's need, I would say it's okay to feed the 42 % but she will find it necessary to feed less to maintain the optimum intake for her dog based on activity or lifestage. In fact, I remember many a person here has stated through personal experience that feeding high protein food involves feeding less of it.

Documented studies have shown that a significant amount of protein in the diet does not adversely affect healthy dogs. A dog with failing kidneys would be another story. And there is no evidence to suggest that eating high protein foods will overwork or wear out the kidneys, though one should monitor the intake. Calories not consumed can be stored as fat and that is a survival mechanism against lean times. Wolves, in particular, find themselves constantly in feast or famine, with emphasis on the famine. So, they have stomachs that can hold up to 20 pounds of food because it may be a week or so before they have a successful hunt, again. Dogs, in their natural environment, which is with humans, on average, have greater access to food.

I would suggest that a person feeding high protein food (42 % is higher than some professional sled racing dog foods) could use it with maybe mashed sweet potatos. Or simply get the dog used to eating less.

Also, with some adult dogs, you can feed once a day, in which case, the 42 % will average out. But it won't necessarily lead the dog to getting fat.

And now that I think of it, all the people that feed their dogs raw, or meat based kibble averaging higher than 20 percent protein and 10 percent fat, have fit dogs. And I've seen a number of chubby dogs eating whatever one can buy at the chain grocery store.

I don't have any numbers on that, just an off-the-cuff observation.

 Ron, in working dogs the limits we face are those of physics, pure and simple.  Oh, no, another science lesson!  No, not really.  A dog's stomach is only so big - so it becomes a game of maximizing the energy that takes up that volume.  But, working dogs also have needs we need to balance as well.  There's a higher need for probiotic activity, so we up the ante with prebiotics (many formulas use the humble and much-maligned beet pulp).  That's just one example.

Protein as a main energy source is just fine as long as the dog is healthy, the diet is balanced, and plenty of water is offered at all times. I was just reading some old books where the dogs' meals were described regularly - usually milk or cheese, eggs, bread or porridge, bits of plate scraps, and butcher scraps.  It's pretty interesting that really, if you look at our favorite holistic foods, what are they?  I suspect these dogs were getting protein levels around 30%.

And I think some of the holistics with high protein could work well for working dogs. Consider that Momentum's top seller is 37/23 protein/fat. And that's a food formulated for a hard-working dog.

I am sure her motive was for me to buy any Blue Buffao bag of food since they didn't have the one I came in for.  I looked at her rather puzzled but didn't take it any further.   I appreciate you guys clearing that up....I began to doubt any knowledge I had regarding food nutrition.  Thanks

actually I think the lower protein formulas tend to promote weight gain in non-working dogs, assuming you adjust the amount fed by caloric density. In general the lower the protein the higher the carb content. Couch potato dogs need NO carbs, they just turn it into fat. A hard-working dog needs carbs to fuel the body. I suspect a working dog's ideal food is something like eaglepack power formula, with high levels of carbs (35 to 40% or so) and fat (20% or so) and only moderate protein (30% or so); while a couch potato or senior dog's ideal food is more akin to EVO reduced fat, with low carbs (9%), moderate fat, and decent protein levels. Most kibbles are not ideal for any dog, with their very high (more than 50%) carbohydrate and low protein levels. Note that a dehyrated raw diet is much higher in protein than any kibble on the market. I would not call a diet "high in protein" unless it was over 60% protein dry weight; anything with less than 26% protein dry weight is "Very low and I hope for your dog's health's sake you are supplementing with protein" diets.

I think you are right, MP.