RE: Best Dog Food for my Hunting Dogs?
Hog, your methodology on protein is beans. The Guaranteed Analysis on the Information Panel of the dog food label lists the minimum levels of crude protein and fat and the maximum levels of fiber and water. "Crude" refers to the total protein content, not necessarily the amount of protein that is actually digestible. For instance eggs are 100% digestible, meats such as chicken, beef and lamb are about 78% digestible and wheat, wheat gluten and corn are only slightly more than 50% digestible. You have to know what makes up the protein and then protein is not as important as fat in high-activity dogs.
Skinny hunting dogs are more often the result of feeding a food too low in fat content, not protein. It is impossible to select a good dog food by simply looking at the protein level and dividing by the cost.