In Need of Low or Zero Protien Food

[Effy]

My little Effy is in the early stages of Kidney disease with the latest BUN of 107 (up 20 points in six months). She's 13 and 'm doing my best to make sure old age takes her before renal failure does.
I've found Honest Kitchen Preference and can order online but would prefer to find this or something equivalent in someplace like Petco or Petsmart.
Does anyone know of an equivalent?
What I have found so far is that the "pet marts" are required to carry foods with a certain amount of protein in them excluding the stuff like Hills KD which must be carried by a vet (and my Effy girl will not touch!!).
What we have been doing is buying the Chef Michaels dry and removing the soft meaty pieces (which she doesn't like anyway) and adding in our own fish or chicken. This little trick has been good at keeping the tremors, vomitting and the rst of the symptoms at bay.

Please advise folks...

[Britster]

I'm no expert and I don't know much about dogs with kidney problems, so take what I say with a grain of salt... but I don't think there's such a thing as a zero protein food? Then she would be eating essentially nothing, I'd guess.

Natural Balance offers a lot of low fat/low cal/low protein diets with limited ingredients. Worth looking into. I really like the company!

[Ellie May]

How about Royal Canin Renal LP?

The foods in stores will be at least 18% protein. Actual renal diets are a bit lower in protein. The Preference would have a very low protein % or none at all (there will be a little from grains and such). It isn't balanced for long-term feeding though.

If you want to homecook, it would be best to talk to a board certified veterinary nutritionist. Dr. Remillard out of Angell is or was doing a study on renal disease (I think relating to diet). She would be a good one to consult. The Royal Canin may work well though.

The soft pieces in kibble may be meat, but more likely they are just designed to look like it (done to make the food look more appealing to people so they want to give it to their animals...). It's probably a very similar make-up to what is in the rest of the food.

[Effy]

As I do more and more research I find that there is quite a bit (ingredients) in dog food. While protein is required for k9 muscle health, it produces the byproduct of phosphorous which is detrimental to the kidney function.
The Honest Kitchen brand is dehydrated and loaded with additional vitamins needed. Also, it is not free of the protein. When hydrated, it equates to 6%. The Ingredients are as listed: - Dehydrated Alfalfa, Sweet Potatoes, Cabbage, Celery, Apples, Spinach, Kelp, Coconut, Bananas, Zucchini, Honey, Rosemary, and Vitamins & Minerals: Vitamins and Minerals: Tri-calcium Phosphate, Choline Chloride, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Potassium Chloride, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate.
This seemed to be an all natural / well rounded diet suited for this condition.
I am in search of anyone who knows of a similar product...

[joann4515]

My girl wouldn't eat K/d either. I fed her Natural Balance canned and dry which you can get a Petco. Some of the canned food is 5 to 5 1/2% protein the dry small bites is about 20%. I also fed her Artemis Holistic small bite dry food and would alternate the 2 dry foods. There are no byproducts or junk fillers in either of these foods. In addition to the protein you have to be careful of phosphorus also as the kidney's can't clear that from the system very well. My girl lived for another 2 years after being diagnosed with CKF on these foods, they were a life saver for her. The most important thing is that your dog eats and eats foods with the lowest amount of protein and junk in it. Has your vet suggested Pepcid and Alternagel. The Pepcid is good for nausea&stomach acid and the alternagel is a phosphorus binder. Also are you doing SubQ fluids? Every dog is different and just thought I'd tell you what worked for mine dog. Hope this is helpful.

[Sammy Mommy]

I'm sorry you are going thru this with Effy. My Sammy has the same situation. He likes the k/d canned and dry food. My vet told me he can have quality protein, like chicken, but if I do give him a little (which I haven't yet) bit of chicken, then I have to give him 1 ML of Maalox which will act as a phosphorus binder so that the phosphorus will come out before the food goes thru the kidneys. (I hope that made sense). Good luck with your Effy!!

[jp4m2]

I'm so sorry your Effy has been diagnosed with this dreadful disease. It can be so confusing and overwhelming to decipher all the information concerning their treatment.

Restricting protein is not generally recommended for a kidney pup, the phosphorous content is more important to restrict. There really is no prepared pet food that will fit the requirement of a kidney dog except for the *prescription* brands. A lot of dogs won't eat these so most people will home cook. Also the quality of these foods is pretty terrible but they are low in phosphorous which is the goal your after. If you go with these foods you could add in some cooked egg whites to increase the quality.

I highly recommend reading from this link. It has a lot of useful info all in one place.....It talks about diet, phosphorous binders, supplements,tests and etc......

DogAware.com Health: Kidney Disease in Dogs


Another good article....

Kidney Diet | B-Naturals.Com Newsletter


These links are for Yahoo groups specifically for kidney dogs. You have to join these, but it's worth it. They're are members here to answer questions, offer support and guidance and to help guide you though this difficult time.....

K9KIDNEYS : for owners of dogs with Kidney Disease

K9KidneyDiet : K9KidneyDiet

I wish you and Effy all the best........

[Effy]

All: Please be aware that I am not restricting protein. I wish to add my own LEAN protein to an existing dog food that has the other ingredients needed. I'm looking for advise as to whether or not anyone knows of a brand that would have wholesome ingredients but allow me to add my own proteins like egg, fish or chicken.
Believe me when I say that I have done enough research on the disease that I could probably teach a class...One thing I do know is that there is no fix-all. Each case seems to require a different approach. What I have observed is that inserting my own protein with the other things needed takes ALL of her particular symptoms away.
The lowest "Crude Protein" rating I could find was 5.5%. I spoke with the folks at Petsmart and the dog food companies are required to carry a certain percentage to be carried in their stores (except the nasty KD).
So......let me know if anyone knows of a brand......
Thanx for all the kind words too by the way!!!

[Ellie May]

I hope somebody has a suggestion for you.

Honestly, I don't think there is any food at any pet store that would meet your needs. Maybe Dr. Harvey's mix? (but not recommending that and it's probably online only).

All foods at pet stores are AAFCO approved (or should be) for healthy dogs. So they can't go below 18% protein. Even the 5.5% is much higher because it hasn't yet been converted to a dry matter basis.

I really think homecooking could work for you because you are already doing part of it. Preference may have vitamins and minerals, but they still don't seem to give any guarantee that after adding protein, it meets AAFCO (which may be fine if you are trying to manage a disease, but balancing is still pretty important).

[LDMomma]

The Honest Kitchen preference is a base to which you add your own meat to. I order it online from Dog Supplies

They are in Fort Myers, FL so you should get it the day after you order (if you order in the morning), I always do. They have the best prices I can find for HK and if you google you can usually find a coupon for an additional 5-10% off.

[Effy]

Thanx again all!! I've been looking at the Honest Kitchen and it only hits 6% when rehydrated and served. Alot of good ingredients and vitamins to boot!!
I think Ill be giving it a try...she loves a warm meal anyway!! She'd even drink her water warm if I'd let her.

[kjc]

Maybe a vegetarian diet, as I've read they contain cleaner- burning proteins... don't know about the phos content... Nature's Recipe is one sold at Petsmart...

[Ellie May]

Hoping it works for your pup.

Just remember 6% as fed does not mean it's a 6% protein fod. ON a dry matter basis (which is the number of concern) it is an 11% protein food. This number will be much higher when you add meat or poultry. And there is really no easy way to measure the % protein after adding something like meat. A veterinary nutritionist could do that though.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

Hoping it works for your pup.

Just remember 6% as fed does not mean it's a 6% protein fod. ON a dry matter basis (which is the number of concern) it is an 11% protein food. This number will be much higher when you add meat or poultry. And there is really no easy way to measure the % protein after adding something like meat. A veterinary nutritionist could do that though.

Yep. Ellie May has done the dry matter conversion for you, so that's what she's explaining.

Has a vet or vet nutritionist recommended this extremely low protein %...? It's hard to imagine that level of protein supporting even a kidney issue dog. Please consult w/ an expert about this, bc an unbalanced/insufficient diet could be more dangerous to her health/longevity than her kidney issues.

[Sammy Mommy]

I think Purina makes a kidney diet called NF (not sure if that's the correct name). Maybe some of the pet stores carry it. I haven't used it myself. Good luck!!