Just How Much Protein Does A Puppy Require?

[wuyang 513]

Having a new puppy and posting a question about raw a few days ago got me thinking,,,,,I know it's each to their own with regards what you feed. Obviously I got varying answers regarding positive for just raw and some preferencing of separate mix rotating raw and a complete feed with around 30% protein because puppies need high protein to grow to their full potential and without incorporating the complete puppy feed they feel they might not be getting the full amount of protein they need to grow to their full potential

 

Well no surprises the pup prefers minced chicken,red meat, fish etc and is not too keen on complete now she has tasted the good stuff. So how much protein does a growing puppy need to grow healthy....would if she had just a raw diet be missing out on extra protein she would receive through incorporating a puppy a complete puppy food. How much protein would a wild pup receive just eating raw? Hope that makes sense.....

Edited September 6, 2013 by wuyang

[Gaz_1989 9,539]

It's not the protein she would be missing out on mate. It's the calcium, vitamins and minerals etc.

 

I'm in EXACTLY the same boat as you right now.

 

Pup wants tripe, mince, eggs, fish etc but won't eat her biscuits.

 

Soak the biscuits overnight in warm water. Mash into a paste with a fork. Now mix a small handful of the biscuit paste with equal part meat or tripe. Mix all together with fork.

 

Mine eats it all

[Sirius 1,391]

So you want a exact % for protein content for raw feeding? Chill, feed them a good selection of food stuff which it sounds like you are already doing a good pretty job of and relax and enjoy.

Edited September 6, 2013 by Sirius

[Big bald beautiful 1,231]

My pup was eating dry before I got her home, it was more difficult getting her eating meat.

She is on a small amount of dry 28% and mixed in mince, chicken and small amount of dry meat.

She is also on a small amount of cottage cheese.

First few days she spat the meat out and would only eat the dry

[skycat 6,174]

Don't believe what the manufacturers tell you, that puppies need 30% protein. It is all a sales pitch to get you to buy their food and feel guilty that you may be depriving your precious pup of something it needs. Nature has been supplying wild animals with all they need for millennia, and look how strong and big wolves can be: not a nugget of complete food in sight.

 

Yes, they need good quality protein, but it is just as important to balance the food: complete manufactured foods take all the guess work out of it, so they claim, but as long as you are feeding a varied diet, and have a working knowledge of what foodstuffs contain what nutrients, the pup will be fine.

 

Beef mince, tripe chunks, chicken carcases, lamb ribs, a LITTLE brown rice or brown bread, steamed or minced veggies are the basis of what I feed to adults and pups alike. Human babies grow pretty well on adult food mashed up, pups are the same. It's only in the last 50 years or so that there is special baby food made in pots to take the hard work out of making up a baby's meals. Ditto the dog food market.

 

By all means feed a complete puppy food if you want, but I guarantee that not only will it empty your pocket, but it won't make your pup grow any bigger or stronger than if you feed a good home made raw diet. I added the words 'home made' because, as someone once pointed out to me, a diet that contains bread or rice isn't exactly a raw diet. Fair point. A dog can survive fine without carbs providing it gets the right balance of protein, fat etc, but some 'filling' is good in terms of fibre and carbs. Minced veg can give this: cooked potatoes: don't feed spuds raw. The rest of the veg you can either steam or mince raw: celery, carrots, greens etc.

 

As a rough guide I feed about 70% raw meat and bone, the rest is made up of veggies and rice or bread, and very occasionally a handful of complete if I'm running short of something else. The meat content is divided into at least 60% red meat, the rest being tripe and bone: the digestible sort, not rock hard leg bones: examples are chicken wings, carcases, lamb ribs. These can be easily digested by dogs, even puppies, though of course until they have adult teeth they are best off being fed carcases and wings: domestic chickens are killed at around 8 weeks of age, so the bones are still soft.

[sandymere 8,263]

If you want the basic % this has the answers, would'nt rear a pup on 17% myself but does suggest they don't need as much as is sometimes suggested.

 

 

Protein in the Nutrition of the Growing Dog1

C. F. Gessert2 and P. H. Phillips

Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin, Madison

The protein requirement for growth of young dogs was investigated by adding increments of casein to a basal diet which contained 10.6% of protein (N x 6.25), and was adequate in other nutrients. The other 4 diets contained 12.8, 15.0, 17.2 and 19.4% of crude protein respectively.

The basal diet sustained health and a retarded rate of growth in the young dogs. There was a correlation between the comparative gains in body weight and the comparative protein contents of the diets from 12.8 to 17.2% of protein, beyond which point there was no further increase in growth rate caused by additional protein. Since the diet containing 17.2% of protein was adequate for the growth of the pups, their requirements for the 10 essential amino acids apparently do not exceed the amounts that it contained.

The utilization of the basal diet was substantially improved by the addition of 2.5% of casein (2.2% "protein"), but more casein caused very little further improvement in this respect.

A 5 -month-old pup which had been very retarded in growth for 4 months by a protein deficiency was still able to grow at a normal rate when his dietary protein was raised to 17.2%.

[wuyang 513]

Thanks all....appreciated. I think your right, sit back relax and use a bit of common sense. It does seem to be a subject that can get over complicated.

[Gaz_1989 9,539]

Thanks all....appreciated. I think your right, sit back relax and use a bit of common sense. It does seem to be a subject that can get over complicated.

 

Ive taken it far too seriously before mate and it just becomes a headache. I used to weigh stuff, have a chart for what meat on what days and what carb source. It gets silly. Just feed the dog something decent and keep it varied.

 

My pup has just had tripe as its main food source for the last 3 days, but I arent concerned, she will probably get beef or chicken for the next 3. As said above im finding it easier to mash the biscuits into the meat than to get rice and veg in her, she just spits them out and eats the meat.

I am also giving her a drink of that LACTOL puppy milk every night before she goes to sleep. Not sure if its required or even does anything but it makes me feel better

[wuyang 513]

If you want the basic % this has the answers, would'nt rear a pup on 17% myself but does suggest they don't need as much as is sometimes suggested.Protein in the Nutrition of the Growing Dog1C. F. Gessert2 and P. H. PhillipsDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin, MadisonThe protein requirement for growth of young dogs was investigated by adding increments of casein to a basal diet which contained 10.6% of protein (N x 6.25), and was adequate in other nutrients. The other 4 diets contained 12.8, 15.0, 17.2 and 19.4% of crude protein respectively.The basal diet sustained health and a retarded rate of growth in the young dogs. There was a correlation between the comparative gains in body weight and the comparative protein contents of the diets from 12.8 to 17.2% of protein, beyond which point there was no further increase in growth rate caused by additional protein. Since the diet containing 17.2% of protein was adequate for the growth of the pups, their requirements for the 10 essential amino acids apparently do not exceed the amounts that it contained.The utilization of the basal diet was substantially improved by the addition of 2.5% of casein (2.2% "protein"), but more casein caused very little further improvement in this respect.A 5 -month-old pup which had been very retarded in growth for 4 months by a protein deficiency was still able to grow at a normal rate when his dietary protein was raised to 17.2%.

Cheers for that..very interesting.

[wuyang 513]

 

Thanks all....appreciated. I think your right, sit back relax and use a bit of common sense. It does seem to be a subject that can get over complicated.

 

Ive taken it far too seriously before mate and it just becomes a headache. I used to weigh stuff, have a chart for what meat on what days and what carb source. It gets silly. Just feed the dog something decent and keep it varied.

 

My pup has just had tripe as its main food source for the last 3 days, but I arent concerned, she will probably get beef or chicken for the next 3. As said above im finding it easier to mash the biscuits into the meat than to get rice and veg in her, she just spits them out and eats the meat.

 

I am also giving her a drink of that LACTOL puppy milk every night before she goes to sleep. Not sure if its required or even does anything but it makes me feel better

.

 

Thanks your right it can become a headache, I'm sometimes terrible for over reading into things. When I look back to my first dog many years ago I just put his basic food down and that was that...he grew into a decent heathly dog. I definitely think I will be 75% raw from now on.

[dodger 2,765]

Don't believe what the manufacturers tell you, that puppies need 30% protein. It is all a sales pitch to get you to buy their food and feel guilty that you may be depriving your precious pup of something it needs. Nature has been supplying wild animals with all they need for millennia, and look how strong and big wolves can be: not a nugget of complete food in sight.

 

Yes, they need good quality protein, but it is just as important to balance the food: complete manufactured foods take all the guess work out of it, so they claim, but as long as you are feeding a varied diet, and have a working knowledge of what foodstuffs contain what nutrients, the pup will be fine.

 

Beef mince, tripe chunks, chicken carcases, lamb ribs, a LITTLE brown rice or brown bread, steamed or minced veggies are the basis of what I feed to adults and pups alike. Human babies grow pretty well on adult food mashed up, pups are the same. It's only in the last 50 years or so that there is special baby food made in pots to take the hard work out of making up a baby's meals. Ditto the dog food market.

 

By all means feed a complete puppy food if you want, but I guarantee that not only will it empty your pocket, but it won't make your pup grow any bigger or stronger than if you feed a good home made raw diet. I added the words 'home made' because, as someone once pointed out to me, a diet that contains bread or rice isn't exactly a raw diet. Fair point. A dog can survive fine without carbs providing it gets the right balance of protein, fat etc, but some 'filling' is good in terms of fibre and carbs. Minced veg can give this: cooked potatoes: don't feed spuds raw. The rest of the veg you can either steam or mince raw: celery, carrots, greens etc.

 

As a rough guide I feed about 70% raw meat and bone, the rest is made up of veggies and rice or bread, and very occasionally a handful of complete if I'm running short of something else. The meat content is divided into at least 60% red meat, the rest being tripe and bone: the digestible sort, not rock hard leg bones: examples are chicken wings, carcases, lamb ribs. These can be easily digested by dogs, even puppies, though of course until they have adult teeth they are best off being fed carcases and wings: domestic chickens are killed at around 8 weeks of age, so the bones are still soft.

I feed more or less the same as that but I add some liver or heart with it everyday, only a small piece mind, i know it's fine for the adult to have the offal everyday n hopefully the pup ok with it to, seems ok so far i just keep my eye on him, I also add keepers mix, agree with the others people myself included can think to much about it but I do enjoy givin em the best tucker I can get my hands on..

[sandymere 8,263]

 

A variety of fresh ingredients is always good and modern completes bring their own advantages. Dodger I'd forget the keepers mix as it pretty much just dried vegetable matter with little of benefit and if you feed some veg then these are a better method of supplying plenty of vitamins and minerals.

 

Then of course theres always SupraNutraC lol http://www.thehuntinglife.com/forums/topic/276504-sandymeres-wonder-supplement/

.

[riohog 5,751]

it makes me wonder how dogs have survived for thousands of years without commercial kibble , and supliments .. called progress I guess

[Sirius 1,391]

 

A variety of fresh ingredients is always good and modern completes bring their own advantages. Dodger I'd forget the keepers mix as it pretty much just dried vegetable matter with little of benefit and if you feed some veg then these are a better method of supplying plenty of vitamins and minerals.

 

Then of course theres always SupraNutraC lol http://www.thehuntinglife.com/forums/topic/276504-sandymeres-wonder-supplement/

.

 

*yawn*

Edited September 6, 2013 by Sirius

[Big bald beautiful 1,231]

just started my pup on this...http://www.csjk9.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=127&idcategory=0

 

Mixed with minced beef and chicken...

Could be too much but pups eating it and im sure will thrive on it ?