Understanding the Importance of Protein in Dog Food

Protein is an important nutrient for many different kinds of animals. In animals which are classed as obligate carnivores, i.e. those that need meat to survive, protein is the leading nutrient and a source of quality proteins is important for a healthy and active life.

Dogs and cats are obviously domesticated animals and as such they have lost much of their hunting instinct. They obviously do demonstrate some hunting instinct, which varies depending on the breed; however most cats and dogs are inefficient hunters unlikely to land a kill.

With this in mind, dogs rely on their owners for a healthy source of protein. Obviously, this comes from pet food. Whilst all pet food contains protein, some better quality pet foods will have more protein from lower quality meat sources, where protein is obtained from things like connective tissues and other poor sources of meat.

Dogs of different ages may have varying requirements for protein. For example, a puppy will require more protein than an older dog, simply because it is developing at a much faster rate. Therefore, dog food that is formulated for infant dogs is likely to have proteins in higher concentrations than that formulated for older animals.

Despite the importance of protein, it is just one of several components that should formulate dog food; others include vitamins, minerals and water.