Low Protein diet suggestions?

[Bonnie Barber]

Our 14 year old, 7 lb MaltiPoo had a 38 BUN reading on a blood draw. 31 is the high range. The vet wants her on a kidney diet. I told her I don't want to use Hills or Science Diet, and asked her what the main food element is that we want to consider. She said low protein. So, considering Lucy has been fed Primal Frozen Raw Beef for the past couple years, I would appreciate suggestions for low protein food products. The vet said Purina had one, but our conversation was interrupted as she was driving in poor reception zone. I'm not a fan of Purina either, but perhaps that is not a valid point of view. Anyway, suggestions for a dog low protein kidney diet?
Thanks for your suggestions,
Bonnie

[Kamela & Beckett]

Our senior mini Schnauzer has similar issues. We feed her Honest Kitchen with good results. Started with the healthy grain beef formula, but we're finding she can't tolerate the grains, so we're switching to the grain-free, limited ingredient beef. That's got the lowest percentage of protein of the chicken, turkey, etc formulas. Good luck!

[Bonnie Barber]

Dogfoodadvisor.com and Dr. Dobias both scoff at the idea that feeding a low protein diet to a dog with kidney issues is beneficial. They have arrived at this opinion through some research findings (dogfoodadvisor) and through observation and practice (Dobias). I tend to lean more toward their POV than from veterinary standard beliefs and practices, but then, I'm no expert and want to do what's best for our little Lucy. 

[Kamela & Beckett]

Our schnauzer is Lucy, too! Her vet tried to talk us into the Rx diets as well. I politely declined. The HK food we are feeding is 27% protein as fed. I don't think that's as low as the Rx diets, but it's a high quality, minimally processed source and what I am comfortable with. Our Lucy has kidney and liver issues and had her gallbladder removed last Dec. She is doing remarkably well for a senior with these issues. I think switching her from a kibble diet has contributed greatly to her improvement.

[Bonnie Barber]

Good to hear, Kamela, thank you! And best wishes to your Lucy girl.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Karen and Jackdoodle are not available for a few days.  When she gets back, she will have some suggestions for you. 

[Bonnie Barber]

Thanks you! I look forward to hearing from Karen.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You have gotten good advice here. My online time is limited right now, but your research that feeding a low protein diet to a dog with kidney issues is not beneficial is correct. What is beneficial is a diet with high quality protein (which you won't find in Purina) at a moderate level and a very high water content, which makes Honest kitchen a great option. In order to control the protein, you can use one of the bases mixes and just add your own poultry or meat, either cooked or raw, or you can just choose one of the formulas with a lower protein content. Hope this helps.

[Bonnie Barber]

Thanks, Karen. I hope all is well, with you.

[Bonnie Barber]

The rest of my reply got lost in cyberspace. I am wondering what is considered a lower protein content percentage? I can't figure it out with the Primal Frozen Raw Beef nuggets we've been using for the past two years. It appears that some Honest Kitchen offerings range from 22-25 percent protein. Kamala & Beckett are feeding a high quality HK product with 27 percent protein. What percentage protein is considered low? Thanks if anyone can answer this for me.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'd stay at or below 26%. 

[Kamela & Beckett]

Be sure to figure the as fed percentage. The stated percentage on a food can be misleading due to the amount of moisture. To figure as fed divide the % of protein stated on food by 100%- the % of moisture stated then multiply that to get the as fed percentage.

For example, the Verve Honest Kitchen is 22.5% percentage protein with 8.5% moisture, for an as fed percentage of 24.5% protein. (22.5%/100%-8.5% * 100)

[Kamela & Beckett]

Warning about the grain-free Honest Kitchen! As I said, we were transitioning from the healthy grains to the grain-free beef HK formula. Friday morning Lucy had her second meal of 100% grain-free food (had been mixing to transition slowly). After breakfast she wasn't acting right, I could tell something was wrong. She would stand in one spot, not moving, not sitting or laying down and was shaking, obviously in pain. If I tried to pick her up, she cried. I thought it was her back or maybe hips, based on the way she was standing and acting. Took her into vet as soon as they opened. They examined her and said not back or hips, something abdominal. Didn't seem like pancreatitis, guessed a stomach ache of some sort and sent us home with Cerenia and Tramadol (anti-nausea and pain meds). That did nothing, there was no change. Went back in afternoon for X-rays and blood work to find she was severely constipated. Her intestines were FULL of stool and she still had food in her stomach. This is after she'd had a bowel movement that morning when she got up. Sent us home with fiber capsules and a different anti-nausea (that stimulated the intestines). She was still miserable that night, it was around 10 when she was finally able to use the bathroom and then lie down. Needless to say, we are not feeding the grain-free food. I've returned it and we are back to the healthy grain formula. Grain free might be okay for some dogs, but ours obviously couldn't handle it. That was a hugely expensive and upsetting experience (in addition to several hundred dollars in vet bills, we paid for a hotel room we couldn't use as we were supposed to go out of town Friday morning.) On the plus side, her blood work looked great. Liver values even lower than they had been a few months ago (after literally being off the chart right before her gallbladder surgery in Dec.).