Suggestion Please, Good Foods For A Kidney Diet Dog

[Guest SupersMom]

Our boy went to the vet Friday to stitch up a gash he put into his leg and the doctor ran a bunch of tests and compared the results to tests she ran in February. A long story short, she said our boy is showing diminished kidney function and needs to go on a kidney diet. She gave us prescriptions for both lines they have there but told us to feel free to explore what else is out there and she would happily write a new prescription so we could get what he needs elsewhere.

 

We got a little bit of both brands for our boy to try, we figure he needs to like it, but there is so much out there, there might be something better.

 

We got some of the Royal Canin, and Hills KD, but lets face it, both are crazy expensive and we've got four pups to feed.

 

Is there a home cooked diet he can have, or something as good or better, but not $50 for a tiny little bag.

 

He and his siblings have been on the Kirkland's Nature Domain Turkey and Sweet Potato---the one thing all four dogs devour without complaint. All other dogs have normal health.

[MaryJane]

I can provide a recipe for a home-made kidney diet that one of mine has been on for 5+ years but, before going down that route .... do you have the results of the blood work and the urinalysis.

[Guest SupersMom]

I do not have the labs, it was stuff she was able to show in the computer, but it wasn't included in the gianourmous packet of papers we got when we took him home. She's pretty experienced with greyhounds, as we have something like a half dozen adoption groups in the area, and a track in the southern part of the county, that's why she didn't freak out in February at his first round of tests, it was comparing Fridays tests (blood and urine) to February's test that she determined he's got diminished function. We go back in 2 weeks to remove his stitches and I'll ask for the specific test results then.

[Batmom]

For moderate protein, we fed IAMS red bag (Lamb & Rice). I tried Innova Senior, which is lower protein and low phosphorus, but the dog seemed not to feel well while eating that food; YMMV. For a bit more restricted protein, I home cook.

[Guest WhiteWave]

My senior with heart/kidney issues is on Hill's Ideal Balance. It is low protein low/moderate fat. He seems to be doing really well so far, but has to go back for bloodwork to check kidney function since they had to increased his Lasix dosage. He is a very picky eater and he loves the food plus it never upset his stomach. Pricewise it seems to be running around $50 for the big bag I think is around 30lbs for the Adult Chicken and rice formula. They are offering a $12.99 mail in rebate on their website:http://www.hillspet.com/ideal-balance/ideal-balance-dog-food.html

 

Plus Petflow still has the small bag for $3.99 on their trial page: http://www.petflow.com/explorer/brand/trials Shipping is $5 if you spend under $50 though.

 

Tractor Supply, Petsmart, Petco, etc all sell it so should be easy to find.

[RedHead]

I've heard the K9 Kidney Diet Group on yahoo is very helpful. Not on it myself, but you might want to check and scan over some posts.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9KidneyDiet/

 

[Blaidd49]

The yahoo kidney group is terrific but you will need his blood test results

[cleptogrey]

i go to an old fashioned vet who doesn't like to spend your money. yeah, he's the last of a dying breed, he uses a lot of home remedies especially when it comes to food-.

when my scottie who had addison's disease showed signs that his kidneys were not functioning well(he produced distilled water, the gravity was really off) he went on boiled white rice- carbs and that's about it. i alternated w/ pasta when i went camping,it was easier. everyone looked at me as if i was crazy. well, most addisonians don't make it to 5(he was diagnosed at 2.5yrs of age)- he passed at 12.5 living on rice for who knows how long! also, my last saluki survived parvo- yep, same vet pulled him thru- he couldn't tolerate protein- he lived for 6 years on rice, grahm crackers, carrots and pepperidge farm lemon cookies(my favorite at the time). and those were the days pre-rice cooker (on my half). i have heard now that many dogs w/ kidney problems are being given proteins, but back then- it was low,low protien.

[MaryJane]

My Larry has had kidney issues with severe food allergies for years - he runs a higher creat with a low specific gravity. He can't have chicken or noodles because he will get liquid poo. If he gets too much protein, he will start drinking up a storm and peeing like crazy....

 

What he gets (my other greyhounds get the same but with more meat) is about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of hamburger or meat chunks at each meal, twice a day. For breakfast, about 1.5 cups of cooked oatmeal with grits and some almond milk. For dinner, he gets about 2.5 cups of white rice (not brown, too much protein) and about 1/2 cup of veggies. Supplements are very important AND ARE NOT OPTIONAL. He gets 1 multi-vitamin a day along with about 4 (500 mg) oyster shell calcium (NO Vitamin D added). He also gets 1 fish oil pill. Larry weighs a bit over 80 pounds but when he was younger he was closer to 90. He is now 11.5 years old. He also gets some treats during the day like toast and yogurt with applesauce.

 

It's important to identify what the issue is with the kidney so you can make sure to monitor that there is not too much protein in the diet. If protein is showing up in the urine, you can get the dipsticks yourself and start checking it weekly (on the first morning specimen) and use that to determine whether you need to increase or decrease the protein in the food. If the symptom is the specific gravity of the urine or the BUN/creat, then you'll need to have the vet do the tests.

 

I originally used Dr Remaillard who used to be at Angel Memorial Hospital in Boston to formulate the kidney diet. She also did a cancer and regular diet for one of my other dogs. She has her own site now and does consultations over the web.

 

link = http://www.petdiets.com/

[Burpdog]

Make sure your vet is familar with kidney values in greyhounds. It is common to have a slighter higher BUN and creatine and be normal. What numbers made your vet diagnose kidney disease?

[duncan41]

Could you call and ask that all the test results be emailed to you so you can post them here?

 

The best advice I ever received was from a Veterinarian/certified animal nutritionist who believed that a restricted protein kidney diet should not be started until there were 3 sets of blood tests and urinalysis run 30 days apart to confirm a diagnosis for which such a diet was appropriate. Because there can be multiple causes of "kidney disease" a low protein diet may not be the best choice.

 

Ooops! Edited to add: Forgot to add: check out dogaware.com . There is a wealth of information about all things related to kidney disease!

Edited May 24, 2013 by duncan41