Depends on the dog. My super-active agility dog would probably be just fine on 42% protein. Soda, who tends to get chunky, I keep around 20-22% and relatively low fat. In general, I look for foods under 26% for most of my dogs. Remember, lower protein usually coincides with lower fat content. You also have to consider the fiber content and the portion of the diet that is grain. Each dog is different and protein % alone is not an answer to the right food.
The other thing to consider is you feed much less of most high protein/fat diets than you do of lower protein. Soda gets just under 1/2 cup per day...cut it back further and he'd be starving. So a food that says he should only eat 1/4 cup per day is probably not going to satisfy him.
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