Humm that is way to high protein. Most pet dogs need around 18%. its prob that high as its poor quality.
Please don't confuse dogs with wolves, they are a different species and have a VERY different digestive system and dietary needs. Wolves like cats are a true carnivore and dogs are an omnivore with a fairly large caecum for digesting plant starches. Dog get more energy from fat and protein than carbs/sugars.
a pet dog needs approx 16-20% fat and usually under 25% protein- depending on if its plant or animal and the quality/bioavailibility.
A quick word about protein vs meat content.
Orijen does not contain 80% protein. Nor does Acana contain 60% protein.
They contain 80% and 60% meat respectively.
Meat does not equate to protein levels.
Orijen in fact contains 38% crude protein.
Acana (Wild Prairie) contains 31% crude protein.
What is your source for your statement that most pet dogs need around 18% protein?
You are in part correct in your statement re dogs being able to digest cereals.
The digestive system of the domestic dog and it's wild cousins (wild canine species and wolves of course) are almost identical. A recent study found that both dogs and wolves have the genes (the amylase enzyme) that encode enzymes needed to break down starch. The difference is that the sample of domestic dogs in the study showed a huge range in the amount of these genes in any one dog, compared to the wolf sample.
"When we look at the wolf genome, we only see one copy of the gene [for the amylase enzyme] on each chromosome. When we look at the dog genome, we see a range from 2 to 15 copies..."
The large range amongst the domestic dog sample explains alot. I hypothesize that it suggests why many dogs do perfectly well on diets containing cereals and grains, whereas those with a relative lack of copies of this specific gene may struggle. This lack of copies of the amylase enzyme means that their body struggles to break down starch (thus grains).
Another point to consider is that even dogs with a reasonable number of copies of the gene, may still struggle on some commercial foods because the crops produced by early farmers (which these dogs adapted to be able to digest and survive on) would have been massively different to the same type of crops now produced in the world today. This is a result of international business, imports and exports, advances in farming technology (fertilizers, pesticides etc) and means that these crops (with the additives needed for their production and transportation/importation) may still pose problems for some dogs.
The problem with the study is that the sample size of dogs was considerably larger than that of the wolf sample. I also think that if they were able to study this on a large scale, they may get some more answers.
Speaking specifically about my breed, I was recently speaking to a breed expert who was saying that she feels that many working type border collies can tend to struggle on certain commercial diets because their ancestors would not have come across commercial diets, unlike other breeds/dogs of the same time living in an urban environment. She says that the country, above all places where sheep are farmed (when you can't do anything else with the land you bung sheep on it- they are hardy buggers ) were the last places for commercial diets to be introduced to, meaning that many lines of working sheepdogs were fed as had been for years on offcuts from the local butcher and human leftovers.
My family live in the Scottish Highlands and farmed sheep there and my grandmother was telling me about how her grandmother used to make the sheepdogs' food. A mixture of waste/offcuts from the butcher, left overs from their sunday dinner (and sometimes mixed in with some porridge oats and stock). Another thought is that specific breeds of dog are better able to digest specific crops/cereals from their region/country of origin. My hill dog can manage better with oats but really struggles to digest any other cereal types and can become quite unwell.
I personally feed my dogs on a raw diet because one of mine has chronic health issues and simply cannot digest grains properly. If he does get grains, his health problems flare up. My other dog, is a good example of a dog I hypothesize would have a reasonable number of copies of the amylase enzyme as she can digest grains and has no problems doing so. But, she is fed on raw because she likes it and I know she'd choose it over kibble any day! I've never seen a dog enjoy their food more in fact and she thrives on it.
It's not a one size fits all approach.
