How much boiled chicken??
 

Bubbles started having kidney issues last weekend (thread here)...she came home yesterday with a bag full of meds to take and a few cans of Royal Canin Renal LP Food. All the while she was staying at the vet, they said they tried to get her to eat the canned food, but once they offered her chicken, that's all she wanted to eat! They told me to try to get her to eat either the Royal Canin, and NF Purina is also an option...BUT, I could give her boiled chicken if she won't eat the canned food. Well, she won't even LOOK at it.

I don't want to bother the vet on a Sunday over boiled chicken, so if anyone has any suggestions about HOW MUCH chicken I should give her (I'm feeding her twice a day) I would appreciate it. I don't want to overfeed her, but I want to make sure she's getting proper nutrition, especially during this time when she's trying to recover.

FYI, she weighs about 8 lbs.

Thanks!!

Did he suggest any other ingredients or just the chicken? I home cook for Rosie. She is about 5 1/2 lb and she gets 23 grams a day of Chicken, white meat, cooked, roasted. Which is about 3/4 wt-oz. She also gets rice and veggies added to hers.

can you add the chicken to her kibble as a "topper"? That way her meal will still be balanced.

Temporarily she is okay with an unbalanced diet but if you can incorporate the chicken into her RC food it might be better. You could even top her RC with homemade fat free salt free chicken broth to entice her to eat. Good luck!

You have to be careful with homecooking on your own. Each pup has different requirements and it is not just about size! Bubbles has medical issues that require a RX diet. You could try to top the food with chicken but my guess is she will just eat the chicken. If you cannot get her to eat the dog food, I suggest you do a consult with a board certified vet nutritionist for a home cooked diet. That way you know she is getting exactly what she needs. I had a pup in renal failure a few years ago and I home cooked for him...he loved it and he did very well on it.

You can find a vet nutritionist at: American College of Veterinary Nutrition

Or, you can consult with Dr. Remillard online/telephone: Welcome to Pet Diets Quite a few YTers use her. :)

Dr. Remillard is where I got Rosie's diet. I give them a :thumbup::thumbup:

The vet switched her to NF Purina today. She didn't eat it all, but at least she ate SOME of it.

My Rosie has IBS. She was on Science Diet I/D for a long time. Then I decided to home cook. She loves it! Have you considered home cooking?

Yes, definitely. I also picked up a recommended recipe from the vet yesterday so I will do that if I can't get her to eat anymore of the NF Purina.

The one thing I don't like about the recipe is that it suggests using Tums for a calcium supplement. I don't think she's going to like the taste of that mixed in with beef, eggs, rice and bread. :confused:

Some time ago I had a recipe for a pup that called for Tums...I found that he actually liked eating them as a treat! :) They were the fruit flavored ones. Crushed in the food, I don't think they really taste it.

Does this recipe have supplements?

I use the BalanceIt supplement in the recipe I have. It is made for home cooked pet meals.

It says I'm to "add a balanced supplement that fulfills canine MDR for all vitamins and trace minerals."

Other ingredients: browned ground beef, cooked white rice, hard-cooked egg, crumbled white bread...and 1 tsp Tums.

Can that supplement be purchased at Petco?

Honestly if I were you, I would do a consult with a vet nutrionist who will calculate exact amounts of each ingredient. They also give you the exact amount of supplements to us. The diet should be custom fit to your yorkie based upon her size and her diagnosis.

No...you buy it online.

The NF is good. If she stops eating it I'd do a nutrition consult. If this is not an option for you then your vet can go to the vet express section of the balanceit website and print you off a recipe for kidney problems. A vet license number is required to do this. Then you would just purchase the supplement. It is not as good as having a recipe formulated especially for your pup, but it is much better than just giving chicken.

That diet makes sense to me for a dog with renal issues, as the goal is to feed foods which are lower in phosphorus (per Lew Olson), e.g. white meat chicken is higher in phosphorus than dark meat.

It is not just about what foods, but how much of each and should be calculated based upon the weight of the dog. Too many people guess these things and often the pup gets more or less of something they need.

Agreed, though no details were mentioned.

One "batch" consists of:

1/4 lb. ground beef
1 hard-cooked egg, chopped
2 cups cooked white rice
3 slices white bread, crumbled
1t (5g) calcium carbonate (TUMS)

add a balanced supplement that fulfills canine MDR for all vitamins and trace minerals (until I can order something online, I purchased a Senior Dog Vitamin supplement called "Healthy Select" at Petco)

Brown ground beef in skillet, add remaining ingredients and mix well (a little water may be added to improve palatability). Yields 1 1/4 lbs. Keep unused portions covered in refrigerator.

The feeding guidelines indicate Bubbles should eat about 3 oz. twice a day based on her weight (8 lbs.)

I know this sounds expensive but it lasts a long time! https://secure.balanceit.com/marketplace2.1/index.php?

Thanks for the link! :)

Two good news updates:
:)

1. Yesterday I made a batch of the recipe the vet gave me for Bubbles. She ate about 1/2 of a serving last night and again this morning, and tonight she ate it ALL!! So happy she's eating again!!

2. We went for her follow up visit to the vet this afternoon, and her BUN went down to 58 from > 80. He really thinks Bubbles will make a full recovery.

Thanks to ALL for your prayers and support!!

Did you get this diet from a canine nutritionist? I'm a little confused as to why the white bread would be needed? Do you have any idea?

I have no idea.

The diet came from the vet's office...at the top of the page it says it's the receipe for the Hill's K/D prescription diet. It's a protein-restricted diet.

Okay thanks, I know that sometimes they use things like white rice because it's easier to digest than brown rice, and I was wondering if it was the same with white flour.

Cooked veggies-what kind are you talking about?
 

Some of you who do home cooking-what kind of veggies are you talking about? I'm topping my bagged food with canned white meat chicken-Sweet
Sue brand from Food World. They are 10 for $10.00. But what kind of veggies are you talking about?

Oatmeal
 

Can dogs have cooked oatmeal? Does anyone know?

Yes dogs can eat oats. I've had one be sensitive to it and land in the hospital on IV fluids thought so be careful and go slowly with whatever you do.

I've used that diet...it was an early diet given to me for my dog w/ liver problems. I think the white bread is to add calories and carbohydrates while being low residue. BTW, white rice is no easier to digest than brown rice, both are highly digestible sources of carbohydrates for dogs with little fiber.

I would consult with a vet nutritionist - a diplomate of the ACVN for your dog. I use Dr. Rebecca Remillard at the University of North Carolina School of Vet Med. Her consults are currently $50 and a diet formulation $100. She reviews your dog's case and consults with you and helps modulate the diet until your dog is on track.

By the way, any pet vitamin bought in a pet store is not a complete source of balancing for a dog with a home cooked diet. Those vitamins are meant for dogs on commercial diets, not for those on home cooked diets. It will not be sufficient to balance the meal. To be sure, don't take my word for it, do a consult and a professional veterinary nutritionist can tell you this information and whether these days there is a product that is suitable. To my knowledge, no over the counter product at the large box stores will do it. I have formulated my diets both with human supplements and with the BalanceIt product. None of the balance it diets for kidney disease can be purchased by you - you have to go through your vet. You can contact Balance It and ask Dr Delaney directly about it to be sure.

You also could contact Rayne Nutrition - tell your vet about it - they have a website as well - it's an industrial kitchen that makes up shelf stable or frozen foods for dogs w/ issues per vet recommendations. Two of my vets work with this company and really like it. Not sure on pricing, but they do have kidney diets.

Good luck.

I would check the sodium content in that canned chicken. It should not exceed 100mg per serving (4 ounces).

Here are the nutrition facts: Sweet Sue Chicken Nutrition Information | ShopWell