Question about protein in food

[_Chrissy_]

Why do all of (the ones I have seen) the grain free lower protein foods have more potatoes or peas? This makes the protein lower but increases carbs.
If it is a grain free food that does not use a lot of peas/potatoes it has a higher protein level (above 28%).

Which is worse... too many carbs or too high protein if feeding a grain free food?

[mimimomo]

Some of the protein can come from peas & other sources other than meat, so the actual amount of protein coming from the meat source is actually not that high. It's best to avoid foods that splits the non meat proteins, like: pea flour, pea starch, pea protein, etc. as it will up the percentage of protein w/out the abundance of protein from an actual meat source.
Grain free kibble needs some sort of binder, so they use potato, tapioca or legumes.

[_Chrissy_]

Oh... So they also get protein by using the peas and potatoes.

Like I was looking at the Blue Buffalo Freedom Small Breed: It has 3 kinds of "pea sources" and 3 "potato sources".
So this is not good?

Ingredients:

Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Peas, Pea Starch, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Pea Fiber, Turkey Meal, Tomato Pomace (source of Lycopene), Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Natural Chicken Flavor, Alfalfa Meal, Potato Starch, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Garlic, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Turmeric, Oil of Rosemary, Dried Chicory Root, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Niacin (Vitamin B3), d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Biotin (Vitamin B7), Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Choline Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Salt, Caramel, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Dried Yeast (source of Saccharomyces cerevisiae), Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, Dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation product, Dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product
Guaranteed Analysis:

Crude protein (min) 26.0%, crude fat (min) 15.0%, crude fiber (max) 7.0%, moisture (max) 10.0 %, calcium (min) 1.2%, phosphorus (min) 0.9%, omega 3 fatty acids (min) 0.25%, omega 6 fatty acids (min) 2.5%, l-carnitine (min) 100 mg/kg, glucosamine (min) 400 mg/kg, chondroitin sulfate (min) 300 mg/kg

[mimimomo]

Yup, they're splitting ingredients of the non meat protein items to push the meat items further up the ingredient list to make it look like there's significant amount of meaty proteins in there!
Ingredient Splitting -- The Pet Food Industry's Dirty Little Secret

Dogs have a slightly acidic urine (from eating meat proteins), eating foods like potatoes & peas (veggies & grains) causes high urine pH (alkaline).
Foods That Cause Struvite Crystals | eHow.com

[sganow]

If a food has lower protein levels, then it is generally going to have higher carb levels. I guess all you can do is find a food that works well for your dog. Some dogs don't do very well on a high protein diet, while others do great on higher protein. I personally like to feed my dogs foods with protein around 30-35% and fat around 14-16%.

[Marilize]

Not good. Dogs do best on animal based protein because their bodies are designed to digest it. They can't absorb as much protein from a plant source as they can from an animal source. I would look for a food that has more protein, or better yet, look into a more natural raw diet.