hi at puppy classes last night we were advised to go to our vets and ask about lower protein food for our 4 month old staffy girl pup who is hyper when she greets some one and at the training . she is eating areden grange at the moment . breeder told us to feed her eukanuba

Four month old puppies are excitable and hyper - it's goes along with being a puppy.  Ignoring or distracting a puppy who is overly hyper is the best remedy - it depends on why the puppy is hyper (usually to get attention from people or other dogs, or simply overstimulated by new experiences.)

Personally, I would ignore your trainer and save money on a visit to the vet.  Continue to feed her a good quality puppy food.  Arden Grange is fine.  Burns is good.  James Wellbeloved is good.  I don't know what the protein percentage in Arden Grange is but I expect Burns would be a bit lower - as might James Wellbeloved.  If you want to feed a moist food (or mix it with dry) you can try Naturediet.  Web sites should give you the information if you decide to change foods.

If you acquired the puppy from a reputable breeder, I would also suggest you give them a call.   Some lines are more energetic than others!

Stacey

It appears to be the common held belief/received wisdom, often quoted by those who have no understanding about nutrition/behaviour let alone protein that a "lower protein" food may be better for dogs because "high protein" causes hyperactivity.

There are NO proven studies that support this "theory" which can isolate this from other factors.

The fact is that one of the reasons that so many foods have a higher protein content than others is because of their cereal content.  Cereal, apart from soya, is an incomplete protein, therefore the overall protein content will necessarily be higher in order to ensure that ALL the essential amino acids are present in the right quantities for health using their mix of cereal(s) and animal protein content.

Personally I would rather feed Arden Grange than Eukanuba however if you feel that your advice comes from an informed source and that they can tell you exactly why (other than the protein content) one is better than the other then you must of course make your decision accordingly.

As well as the issue of complete/incomplete protein one must also factor in how much is bio-available to the dog.

If I was concerned that my dog's behaviour was exacerbated by diet I would ensure that all colourings and flavourings including sugar were removed and I would also concentrate on removing maize/corn from the diet as it is tryptophan deficient and as this is a precursor to serotonin which is a natural "sedative" would not be my first choice for feeding dogs.

"hyper" is an often misused and overused term, rarely used correctly IMHO.

thanks for the advice aredn grange has 30% protein the same as eukanuba . she is very excitable at training . pulls on lead lunges wants to play fight etc its proberly her age . i emailed the breeder about a dry spot on her head he recommened us to return to eukanuba . however the pet shop said ared grange was just as good and english and cheaper than eukanuba. can different foods give them dry spots.?

Your spot could be the result of many things either in her food or her environment.

It is best not to guess but to consider what could be the cause and eliminate it rather than treating the symptom.