Any advice on the best diet for a dog diagnosed with early signs of kidney disease?My 14 year old shih tzu, Doc, was recently diagnosed with kidney disease and my vet recommended switching his diet to Hills k/d. I am pretty strongly opposed to using Science Diet brand and so have been doing research on alternatives. Doc is currently on 'Orijen Senior' which is a 70% protein food. I know protocol is to immediately switch to a low protein food for renal failure but I have come across some information indicating recent studies show that a high protein diet could be ideal for even a dog with kidney disease as long as phosphorous levels are low. Any advice? First hand experience? Thanks.
Please do NOT try to sell me on Hills. It contains LOW quality ingredients and also contains ethoxyquin. Which is banned from human consumption because it is carcinogenic.
Posted by kevin
i dont know, sorry. i had a shelty that died of kidney failure when he was just 2 years old. that sucks. sorry to hear about it
Posted by 40something
Our lab had chronic kidney failure, and hills K/D kept him alive and healthy for years with no other problems. Your biggest problem is that your dog may not like it very much. Try blending it at first. It's also very expensive. It is not your average science diet food.
Posted by Jen J
Oh Gawd bless you for doing your research! Amen !
You are absolutely correct - this is not about lower protein, it's about higher quality protein. Phosphorus is going to be your limiting factor and you can even use a phosphate binder (eg: calcium such as Animal Essentials natural sea calcium) to further lower dietary calcium.
The food you choose is entirely up to you. Raw protein is actually the best for a KD dog but if that is not an option for you, for whatever reason, then I would suggest you look at something like Ziwi Peak (www.k9rawdiet.com). Using Ziwi Peak as your base food, you can then add in your supplements or even add in some home cooked meals for rotation and variety.
KD isn't a scary diagnosis anymore. It can be highly managed through diet and supplements.
Good luck!
Posted by Felisha K
I am sorry to hear that your shih tzu have kidney disease.
First, good thinking that Hills k/d is bad, I also think the ingredient in there are just full of junks.
It is safe to put your dog in high protein diet , however make sure your proteins are high quality, which produce less by-product when digesting. the nitrogen by-product from the low quality meat can overwork your dog's kidney.
Best is to feed raw food with meat you can find from regular grocery stores.
Also control mineral and phosphorus level. do not over supplement your dog ^^.
Source: http://www.geocities.com/rottndobie/wholedogjournal3.html
Ash is essentially what is left over if the food is burned in an incinerator. It is largely comprised of minerals, especially potassium and phosphorus, with smaller amounts of calcium, iron, magnesium, sodium and zinc. High ash levels indicate a high mineral content; high phosphorus levels are especially damaging to dogs with kidney desease (but will not harm the kidneys of a health dog)."
1. high quality protein diet (orijen)
2. possibly raw diet
3. low ash diet
4. low mineral diet (calcium and phosphorus)
Posted by Kate C *Attackofthebear*
Thank you for knowing about SD. It is a horrible food and one of the vets I go tries every time to sell us on the crap.
I agree with what jen said and would seek further nutritional information from a canine nutritionist if possible to learn about raw feeding. If you do not want to do homemade prey model raw, try a premade raw diet. I like the brand instinct premade raw and if I fed raw premade, would go with that.
I believe it is carbs you want to avoid as they feed the disease and protein you want to feed.
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