High protein diet and stiffness in young Cattle Dog

Question
Hi There.  I am an AHT and have been feeding my 1 year old Austrailian Cattle Dog a pre made raw diet.  I've tried to stick with bone in and when unable to feed raw have given her Orijen Puppy.  

She plays very hard, but seems to get very stiff in the evenings.  I have been careful with her development and limiting excessive excercise.  So this summer it is fetching ball, swimming for her ball and 1-2 hour multi dog walks.  Last year was play only with another pup.

Her weight is great.  Energy +++.

Prior to getting her radiographed I would like to know your opinion on high protein diets, raw or kibble formulated.  This is the first pup i've raised on raw and worry about long term effects if it is to high is protein.
Today i've switched to an all veggie raw, just to see if there is a marked difference in the evening with the same excercise regime.

Answer
Hi Maren,

First, a question for you: have you fed your girl like this since  early puppyhood? Can I ask which premix you're using? What do you mean by an "all veggie raw", you mean a grainfree version?

Puppies have very specific nutrient requirements and should not be homefed, unless by someone with  training in canine nutrition - or at least a lot of practical experience balancing diets for adult dogs.  I am not convinced these very high protein diets are optimal for all dogs, because I have seen problems with them - not always, but it does happen. In the home made diets I develop I use 2 - 3 times the recommended allowance of protein, but that still only comes out to about 30% of the diet on an ME (metabolizable energy) basis. One example of a possible problem is the fact that high protein usually equals high phosphorus, and that can be a problem in growth if it's not correctly balanced with calcium.

I'd need to know more about your pup's diet before I can comment,can you provide some more detail?

All the best, Catherine