Kidney Diet

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

This is not about my doodle, but I thought it would be a good place to start a discussion for this topic. I discovered yesterday (via vet confirmation) that my chihuahua Taquito has asymptomatic kidney disease. That means it is going to rear its ugly head in the future, but for now, he is healthy. This is all a result of kidney damage from treats that were on the terrible 2007 Recall list.
That being said, I need to change his diet to make food easier on his kidneys. Basically, kidneys can never repair themselves, but you can change diets to make them not work as hard to digest food.
I am starting this discussion because Karen and I are looking into some alternatives to the vet recommended Hills Kidney Prescription Diet food. Just not quite a fan and a little skeptical.
So, if any of you have had any issues with this before or can provide any insight, I would really appreciate it!
Foods should be lower in protein (my vet swears this has a correlation), lower salt and phosphrous. I am still doing research on everything.

 

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thanks for nothing, lol! I did look at the Wellness, but the sodium percentage is not listed; doesn't seem to be on most of them, but I did find the ones I mentioned above on-line. I'll keep checking.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I can't find it either, but I sent their customer service a message asking for the sodium content. The phosphorous is lower, I like the protein levels, etc... I think it could help his kidneys but will wait until I know for sure about the sodium. I will keep you posted! Thanks Karen as always :)
Whatever I choose, I am going to have all of the different percentages to show the vet when I go back in Feb. I really hope I can find an alternative to Hills and I want to a) prove it through his improved blood data and b) show the vet the nutrition facts on it.
I trust my vet on everything, except I am a little leary of the food. My mom and I think they are paid commissions off the prescription food. I think someone said that is true on here?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes...they do receive compensation for selling the food.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Today I brought home samples of both Innova Senior and Solid Gold Holistique. Taquito loves the Solid Gold and won't touch the Innova so far. The Solid Gold does not add any salt and specifically states their food helps support kidney function, so I may just go with this for now. I will keep you posted on how he does. I hope this doesn't apply to any other doodles on here, but I did think it was a good discussion to bring up, especially since many DK members have older dogs as well (even non - doodles) that may have a kidney issue. Will of course keep you posted!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's a very valuable discussion & will be a good reference, although I'm sorry that poor Taquito has the problem that prompted the discussion. I'm glad you found a food that he likes; I've been a Solid Gold fan for years. Hopefully, he will do well and not have any problems!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Update 3/2010: So far, so good with the change to Solid Gold Holistique brand. It is lower protein (which I know is debatable when it comes to kidneys), but not too, too low at 18%. Its sodium and phosphorous are in line with the Hills values and that is what the vet told me to look out for.

Taquito's vet appointment on 3/10 showed improvement with his creatinine levels, which the vet said is pretty much directly related to his food and ability of his kidneys to break the food down. She was very pleased with my food choice - let's hope this continues....

Moral of story: hope none of you ever experience this, but if your vet ever does detect kidney values being off during bloodwork, you may want to give this a try. I am not a vet (clearly) and would not say this would work for advanced problems, but it has definitely helped Taquito. Vet had told us if his values stayed the same that would be positive. The fact they are lower is even better.

Thanks to all for your help.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

That is truly fantastic news! You are certainly doing all the right things for Taquito.