Another food question

[ejano]

In spite of my best efforts, the pups are eating Ladybug's food, Ladybug is eating the pups' food, and everyone is eating the cat's food! The cat is eating dog food and I expect at any minute for the cat to start barking and the dogs to start mewing. They already all catch mice!

 

Leaving the cat out of it for now, this morning I dumped three nearly empty dog food bags together and mixed them up....then I checked the protein labels:

 

Ladybug is eight years old so I bought her Hill's senior - 16% protein, which she doesn't like and eats the pups anyway.

 

The pups are transitioned to adult dog food, I bought the Diamond regular maintenance - 22% protein, about the same as Hills' puppy food. They dedicate themselves to snatching kibble out of Ladybug's dish if I forget to put it up.

 

Because the pups weren't wild about the Diamond regular, I decided to try a small bag of DIamond naturals because it seemed a better choice for the pups - protein 26% and a little higher in fat. WHen I started mixing it into their food, everyone went crazy and loved it! So, I'm going to transition completely to the Diamond naturals chicken and rice...

 

Question: Is 26% protein too much for an older dog if I transition them all to Diamond Naturals? Ladybug is eight but she's still pretty active, though I have noticed a slowdown recently and wonder if it was because of the much lower protein in the senior food. Maybe she knows better what she needs and that's why she was going for the pups food. At any rate, they're all eating a mix that should roughly average out to 21% protein every day for a week or so before I switch over entirely to the Diamond Naturals.

 

Suggestions regarding a Glucosamine Chondroitin supplement that doesn't cost the earth for Ladybug would be most welcome.

 

 

Liz