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.

 

 

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Solid Gold Holististique Blend (for Seniors)
Oatmeal | Cracked Pearled Barley | Millet | Ocean Fish Meal | Potatoes | Canola Oil | Tomato Pomace | Flaxseed | Natural Flavor | Salmon Oil (source of DHA) | Choline Chloride | Taurine | Dried Chicory Root | Amaranth | Parsley Flakes | Spearmint | Almond Oil | Sesame Oil | Yucca Schidigera Extract | Kelp | Thyme | Blueberries | Cranberries | Apples | Lentils | Quinoa | Vitamin E Supplement | Iron Proteinate | Zinc Proteinate | Copper Proteinate | Ferrous Sulfate | Zinc Sulfate | Copper Sulfate | Potassium Iodide | Thiamine Mononitrate | Manganese Proteinate | Manganous Oxide | Ascorbic Acid | Vitamin A Supplement | Biotin | Calcium Panthothenate | Manganese Sulfate | Sodium Selenite | Pyridoxine Hydrochloride | Vitamin B12 Supplement | Riboflavin | Vitamin D Supplement | Folic Acid

Crude Protein, Min 18%
Crude Fat, Min 6%*
Crude Fiber, Max 4%
Moisture, Max 10%
Calories per cup 337

* - There is no animal fat added to our foods; we use unsaturated vegetable, nut and seed oils for their medicinal qualities and the beneficial, essential fatty acids they contain. Animal fat is saturated fat and can contribute to blocked arteries, mal-absorption of nutrients in the intestines, cholesterol problems and reduced life expectancy. Dogs with pancreas, liver and kidney problems, have particular difficulties processing saturated, animal fats. They do very well with oils.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I now have the detailed nutrition from Solid Gold for the Holistique Blend. Notable nutrients for my analysis are the sodium (.13%) and phosphorous contents (.8%). At this point, I am comfortable with these levels and plan on keeping him on this since he doesn't like the Innova. May end up trying Wellness at some point, but he loves the small size of the Solid Gold formula.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The Solid Gold sounds like a winner to me! Hope Taquito does well on it!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Wellness Super 5 Senior Mix

Ingredients:
Deboned Chicken, Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Rye Flour, Chicken Meal, Ground Brown Rice, Tomato Pomace (source of lycopene), Rice Bran (from brown rice), Whitefish, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a natural source of vitamin E), Natural Chicken Flavor, Tomatoes (source of lycopene), Flaxseed, Ground Millet, Carrots, Apples, Spinach, Blueberries, Sweet Potatoes, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate (a chelated source of zinc), Iron Proteinate (a chelated source of iron), Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Proteinate (a chelated source of copper), Copper Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate (a chelated source of manganese), Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Choline Chloride, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Pyrodoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin K Supplement, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Glucosamine-HCl, Chondroitin Sulfate, Chicory Root Extract, Green Lipped Mussel, Sea Cucumber, Garlic, Taurine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Green Tea Extract, Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus.
Old Mother Hubbard uses ethoxyquin-free meat sources.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein: Not Less Than 18.0%
Crude Fat: Not Less Than 10.0%
Crude Fiber: Not More Than 5.0%
Moisture: Not More Than 11.0%
Vitamin E: Not Less Than 400 IU/kg
Omega 6 Fatty Acids*: Not Less Than 2.0%
Omega 3 Fatty Acids*: Not Less Than 0.4%
Glucosamine*: Not Less Than 800 mg/kg
Chondroitin Sulfate*: Not Less Than 700 mg/kg
Beta Carotene*: Not Less Than 5 mg/kg
Lycopene*: Not Less Than 0.25 mg/kg
Taurine*: Not Less Than 0.09%
*Not recognized as as essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

We also need to look at the sodium percentage, too, which is harder to find on-line. Standard premium foods have .4%. The Hill's k/d food is .23%, so it needs to be lower than that. Innova Senior formula is .11%. Canidae Platinum is .12%, and the protein is about 20%. Dog Food Analysis is still down, I'm going to look later.

[Carla, Lucca and Izzy]

Sorry about Taquito. What about cooking his food instead of using store bought. Then you have total control. Just a thought

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I have definitely thought about this. I think instead of making a drastic change (he is so sensitive) right now, a switch to a senior food could be a good idea. He will be tested again in late February when he gets his annual. If his levels come down and the vet feels good about them, I will continue on that path. If the food switch does not help, I am going to consider cooking his food. No matter what I think we will be testing him 2x per year. Good news is he is not at the point of failure, so whatever I can do to prevent his kidneys from working hard, will extend his life. I am already going to be adding carrots, cooked yams, bananas and eggs to his food. (not all at once!) These are all really good sources of potassium and "perfect" protein.
Thanks for your thoughts!

[Sharon, Boo & Cricket]

So sorry to hear about Taquito! There's a yahoo group I subscribe to that has lots of dogs with special diet needs. I've found it very informative:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Kitchen/

The group owner writes books about homecooking, but the list is open to all sorts of feeding types- kibble, raw, homecooked, etc. Hope that helps! :)

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Sounds like you are on the right path with adding real food gradually. I'd be surprised if you didn;t see an improvement or at least less damage from the disease with just that change. This is a great group to get the best info from tho.
I had questioned my vet in Florida, who is an otherwise Holistic Vet, why he carried Hills, and his reply was that dogs that have serious health issues like kidney, do very well on it. But, like you I was skeptical and would go with the vast knowledge on this site before trusting Hills with my dog.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I have been to dogfoodanalysis.com and so far, Wellness Senior has the best rating (4star). I still can't find the sodium level, but am working on it. Phosphorus level seems to be lower than most of the other brands too (.75%).

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Ally, I'm going to the pet supply store this afternoon. I'm going to try & remember to check the Wellness bag.

As far as the homecooking goes, in the case of a dog with kidney disease, it's going to have to be much more structured in terms of balancing nutrients than what we all normally do when we homecook. The minerals (potassium, sodium, magnesium- a biggie-! , calcium, phosphorus)...are all going to have to be in the correct ratios to each other, in addition to figuring out how to do the 4/1 carb- to- protein ratio by grams (weight), not by volume. So I think a commercial food may be better, at least to begin with, unless we can find a specific recipe.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I agree completely. I have found some kidney specific homecooking recipies online, but will reserve that for later on. I am also hopeful that finding a good senior dry food will be helpful. If you don't remember to check at the pet supply store tonight, I am planning to go to mine on Saturday. I am lucky to live by a bunch of great pet supply stores that have incredible food selections - fromm, orijen, wellness, innova, you name it!
Thanks Karen!!!!