Simon
Simon was our old man. He was extremely fearful, and due to some poor training and socialization (or rather lack of), he lashed out when he was afraid. Meaning he snapped. Or he just bit. We had inadvertently trained the growl out of him (a very bad thing. Please research clicker training if you have a fearful dog and APPRECIATE a growling dog) so his warning signs were subtle, at best.
He had become intolerant of handling by us as well-- primarily due to painful arthritis and neurological problems-- and he had some moments where we weren't sure he fully recognized us. The vet was fairly certain he had canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD), ie, doggie alzheimers.
I had read a study about "aggression" in dogs being related to high protein. The study dealt with the use of tryptophan, and studied the effects on dominance and territorial aggression. I knew that Simon's problems weren't really those things, but I thought it couldn't hurt.
One of Simon's symptoms from his neurological problems was also urinary incontinence. Grain-free foods had been touted to help, at least anecdotally.
So I put him on grain-free, low protein foods. We started with a formula from Pinnacle. We also went through a variety of the Natural Balance foods.
Several things happened.
Learning about dog behavior, canine communication, and becoming more hands-off with Simon took us much further in terms of his "aggression." Helping him feel safe in our home did much more than low protein ever would. His aggression was fear-based. Not "dominance." Not "territorial," though he had become a resource guarder (again, more than likely due to a history of having things unceremoniously taken away from him).
We noticed muscle-wasting from the low-protein. And several herbs for incontinence did more for that than grain-free had.
He also hated the food. Hated it.
I picked up a copy of Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health.
First and foremost, it is an invaluable resource for basic health and diet information for our pets. The recipes have been analyzed, so you can rest assured that your home-prepped food is supplying everything they need.
I started cooking some of the simpler recipes for Simon and mixing them with his kibble. The recipes here are much more grain-heavy than I was comfortable with (not for the incontinence, but simply because dogs don't need quite that much grain). So I leaned toward things like quinoa and whole grains like oats brown rice. We used turkey and ground beef and eggs; green beans, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes. And he got a spoon of canned pumpkin, because just like any other little old man, he needed his fiber to keep him regular. :)
As old as he was, and as green as I was at all of this, I was uncomfortable with raw. But he was immediately thrilled with his meals again. Happy to see his bowl, great appetite, and no more loss of muscle mass.
A note on protein:
This is my understanding; I will try to come back with some links to the research I did on this (again, why I should have been documenting all this from the start)...
A raw or cooked diet is very high moisture content-- I want to say 70% or more. Plus there's bone and there's fat. It's not a massively high protein diet, in terms of the base %.
However, when you get kibble, it does not tell you where that protein comes from, plant or animal; plant protein is certainly cheaper. It's also very low moisture. A higher percentage of protein that comes directly from an animal source with a higher moisture content is going to be more bioavailable to the dog. So even though it might seem like a lower-protein food %-wise, it might be higher than even a high protein kibble. It's not totally clear in most cases, given the information we have about the commercial kibble.
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