Hi
I have a 7 month old male working-bred GSP, who has been on James Well Beloved up until just over a month ago.  He was looking fine, behaving well, and growing/putting on weight at, what my vet said was, an acceptable rate.

4-5 weeks ago I switched him over to Naturediet, based on the advice of a friend and what I had read here and on other websites.  I don't believe in chopping and changing diets, so the decision was not taken lightly.  However, I have since acquired the archetypal dog from hell!    :-)  Bless!  Not sure if this is diet related, the advent of the 'Kevins' or a result of my going on holiday for 2 weeks and leaving him at home with a friend from whom he took the 'piss' - or a combination of all three. 

He loves the Naturediet - more so than the JWB.  I feed less than the advocated amount and he looks superb on it.  He gets one packet a day split between 2 feeds plus a handful of homemade wholemeal biscuits.  (Wholemeal flour, oil and water.)  On top of that he gets raw bones, one egg per week, and the odd vegetables and pieces of fruit - apples, carrots, tomatoes, cooked potatoes and pasta.  (His main food is adjusted accordingly.)  However, he has become increasingly hyper. 

I live in the country and he has plenty of free running; he has two 'formal' obedience training sessions a week at a club plus numerous short sessions at home each day, including clicker training and games to occupy his mind.  I also try to make sure that he has at least one 'lead' walk a day as this is one of his weak points, which I need to reinforce and keep on top of.  I work from home, so he has company virtually 24x7;  having said that I make a point of leaving him on his own for at least 2 hours every day and he accepts this very well and I/the neighbours/the house/the garden have suffered no ill effects!

So....at last...the question is......what can I do to reduce the hyperactivity?  (Yes, I know they are a high energy breed, but he is currently WAY beyond other GSPs I have owned or known at this stage.)  I am thinking of changing him to Burns.....BUT....as I said before, I don't like chopping and changing diets all the time.  Secondly, I have been told that since the advent of dried dog food, the incidence of cancers has increased ten-fold.  Is this true?  So far, this information is purely anecdotal, although it is from a very experienced dog owner who's opinion I respect.  Does anyone else have any evidence to support? 

Can anyone confirm that the protein levels in Naturediet are actually c.40% rather than the 10% printed on the packets?  What do other pointer people feed their youngsters?

Any help appreciated!  Many thanks in anticipation!

Sorry i cant help with your baby except to say try a lower protein food.

I dont think it's a coincedence that the higher incidence of dogs dying from cancer is coenciding with the advent of commercial food,some people try and justify this link by saying dogs are living longer these days and have to die from something,but they dont HAVE to die from cancer,old age will suit me just fine! I would be seriously worried about my health if lived on packet food daily,it might not be so bad if i incorporated plenty of fresh meat and veg etc. the same goes for our dogs. There is no such thing as a complete and balanced food in a bag,no 1 food can provide everything a dog needs,but variety can.

christine

I'm afraid I don't agree with you Christine, I think it is entirely possible to have a complete and balanced food in a bag and most completes are just that.  The comparison with human foods just does not bear up, what you are talking about are convenience foods and are not marketed as complete food but as a convenience to form part of a varied diet any human living entirely on these foods certainly isn;t a heathly specimen and sadly there are a few about :).  Living to a longer age does expose us to more risk of developing cancer but if complete foods have contributed to my dogs living longer (as the mojority of dogs are now fed complete foods I think you have to accept that even if complete foods are not contributing to there longivity it certainly isn't preventing it) then I am perfectly happy with that. 

Well I have posted on here several times on how to calculate actual protein content of food v crude protein, first remove the moisture content then divide the protein level marked on the bag by the dry percentage and multiply by 100 to give you the actual percentage. 

IE Naturediet contains 75% water, if the variety is labelled 12% crude protein divide 12 by 25 (the dry matter) and multiply by 100 12/25 x 100 = 48% protein.

I know lots of Weimaraners who are fed Naturediet with no problems.

Rather than concentrating on the protein levels I would be looking at the amount of carbs you are feeding your dog.  Dogs have no nutritional need for carbohydrates; you are feeding naturediet which contains rice and then adding to it whole meal biscuits (why?) yet more carbs and pasta.  Carbohydrates break down in the body into simple sugars and so your dog is probably on a sugar high! Some dogs react quite strongly to carbohydrates;

Also remember that not all dogs are the same; they all have varying activity levels even in the same breed; yes he is at that age IMHO for an HPR and you have left him with someone else.  Try not to change too many variables at the same time.

Remove the extra carbs and see if that helps or, try him on a different diet that suits him.

Carbohydrates feed tumours and may trigger them, another reason why many of us choose to raw feed.  It is logical that animals fed a species inappropriate diet (like feeding cows dead sheep) will increase ill health.

Look here: http://www.bowchow.com/specific.html