A Diet To Help A Dog's Kidneys

[Ruftybear]

Could someone please let me know if there is a diet I can give my dog to take pressure of the kidneys? What type of foods would you avoid, which ones to increase? There is so much info here so I just need a point in the right direction.

The reason I ask is because we lost our heart dog this week to renal failure (he was only 10 which is young for a small dog), and I have a dog who is around 2 years older than him and wonder if a change of diet would help to save her kidneys a little, now she is getting older. I would like to take some preventative steps and even though I have always had dogs, this is a new situation for me as I have never had a dog with kidney problems.

Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Edited September 5, 2008 by Ruftybear

[Cavandra]

Most commercial products are high in poor quality protein & full of grains A natural raw diet woudl be most beneficial.

Kidneys are damaged through environmental toxins, such as grain diets, preservatives, colourings, chemicals from flea/tick treatments, taking wormers/heartwormers & all other chemical drugs, and of course vaccines.

Things that cleanse the kidneys are parsley, dandelion root & milk thistle

[Ruftybear]

Thanks, I'll have a look into that.

I've never fed my dogs tinned food, and have always made them feeds with pasta, rice, vegetables and meat (red or chicken). I've used commercial dog biscuits and am looking at possibly shifting to Hills Science. I have never heard about raw diets for dogs though.

[spanky]

Hey, I'm going thru this at the moment as my boy has been diagnosed with chronic renal failure.

Most important thing is to drop the level of protein and phosphate... I think it's phosphate... and salt.

My first recommendation would be to get a blood test done and to check the dogs levels. If she is ok, than the change you make might be to move to a diet with no dry food.

There are heaps of threads on here about raw or barf diets if your looking for some info about the different diet options.

Also, my boy is now on vitamen a & e, b complex and a digestive enzyme plus a general herbal supplement (blank on what's in it). So, maybe contact a natropath vet for some further advice.

Oh if you want to stay on dry food, maybe look at switching to hills k/d or royal canine renal.

[Bully]

Could someone please let me know if there is a diet I can give my dog to take pressure of the kidneys? What type of foods would you avoid, which ones to increase? There is so much info here so I just need a point in the right direction.

The reason I ask is because we lost our heart dog this week to renal failure (he was only 10 which is young for a small dog), and I have a dog who is around 2 years older than him and wonder if a change of diet would help to save her kidneys a little, now she is getting older. I would like to take some preventative steps and even though I have always had dogs, this is a new situation for me as I have never had a dog with kidney problems.

Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Sorry to hear about your heart dog. Jessie, my previous Bull Terrier was diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy when she was 9.5 years. Her prognosis was "6 months, 12 if she's lucky". Jessie astounded her vets and made it to 3 years living every day to the fullest!

I always worried about kidney damage due to the diuretics that Jessie was taking. I did give her a potassium supplement as the diuretics can deplete that. Jessie had been on a BARF diet for most of her life, so that would have helped, plus I used a lot of vitamins and herbs to help her heart.

I used to do regular blood tests to check her kidney levels, potassium levels etc. I think that the vet called it a "Geriatric Profile". That would be a good idea to get done on a regular basis such as every six months.

Bull Terriers are prone to kidney disease and I asked Pele's breeder what tests need to be done. She said a urine sample was the best way to check kidneys. I will probably do that test yearly, even tho' she has now been spayed and I'm not breeding.

Have you seen this webpage Scrappy's Canine CRF (Chronic Renal Failure) and CHF (Congestive Heart Failure) Website

Hope that your other little girl is OK

[Ruftybear]

Thanks Bully and Sparky .. I appreciate the advice because I have never dealt with anything like this before. I will check the website you posted Bully ...

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I adopted an old dog from Sutherland Pound. SHe was in terrible condition and urgently needed dental work done. The pre op blood tests showed kidney probs. She went on Hills KD diet but my vet warned me she would only have a few months.

I took her to the ALl Natural Vet at Russell Lea in Sydney and they put her on CHinese Herbs. She became very healthy and lived a year before succumbing to kidney failure following a gastric virus.

It's not cheap but they do phone consultations (you can fax them your dog's results and they confer with your vet) and they mail out the herbs.

Since then, I've returned with other dogs and had various treatments. I couldn't recommend them highly enough for providing my dogs with a better quality of life and health support.