No Protein diet for ill dog?

I had a dog with congenital kidney disease. You don't mention blood testing - your dog must be regularly tested for BUN, Creatinine and one other (memory - I cannot remember).

Anyway, its more complicated than just food. If the BUN and Creatinine levels are extremely high, he is unable to filter toxins from his system.

To be specific on food: I will state I know of NO perons that would advocate a complete removal of protein - for dogs, or people. A dog must have protein - or it will die.

My own dog was fed high quality (raw hamburger) protein with rice or baked yams, and veggies (steamed). Its important that the dog get protein that his body requires the least amount of energy to digest.

I did that along with drainage therapy using homeopathic - this worked better than sub q infusions.

However the dog still died at 3 years. Its not a cure. If your dog is 10, than it sounds more of a geriatric problem.

Below is a link to a book that might help you. You have to buy the book to get all the info. He has special kidney diets in there.

http://books.google.ca/books?id=YSKQngJJBcMC&print...

Edit: I should add that for whatever reason, my dog wanted to eat all the meat and leave the rice or yams. (Ironic isnt it). Anyway, it was for that reason I chose raw hamburger, because I could mix it in with the rice in such a way he couldn't pick it out. I chose lean and didn't cook it.

One of the problems with special diets that you don't really learn until you have a sick dog is - the dog doesn't know whats good for him and I had a hard time finding foods that he would eat and that wouldn't make him sick.

Good luck

I feed raw, and I might cook for this dog if it was mine. The first thing I would do would be to get the numbers on his bloodwork and determine if the word "major" is warranted... if his numbers are just a little out of whack, what I would do is different from what I would do if his numbers are way out of whack. Sometimes, the vet is just pushing his crappy prescription food...

The Yahoo group is here: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/K9KIDNEYS/ . It is excellent.

If your dog is seriously ill, what you need to restrict is phosphorus. Phosphorus tends to be present along with protein, so it is not protein restriction that is important, but protein selection. Much of a normal raw diet would be off limits... bones, organs, most red meats are higher in phosphorus. I would be using some form of carbs, since it would be hard to provide enough calories otherwise if you were minimizing total phosphorus. The DogAware site that you have already been given a link to should have links to all sorts of sites with recipes, and I am sure the K9Kidney list also has this.

The prescription food that your vet wants you to buy is seriously NOT the best nutritional choice for your dog. It is made with bad and outdated science, and it is made with extremely poor quality ingredients. Not to mention, it is preserved with a preservative KNOWN to do kidney damage!

This is a great article about carnivores and protein in general. It dispels a lot of the myths that much of the veterinary community apparently still believes. I would print this whole thing and take it to the vet (he really needs to see it!)... probably, I would also fire the vet and find a better one... particularly if he really said NO protein. http://orijen.ca/orijen/ORIJEN_White_Paper.pdf

How old is the dog. Anyway, fwiw, I don`t agree with vet diets for kidney disease and would be putting the dog on raw diet because its as much about digestability of protein and not protein quantity. And rear leg weakness is often attributes to neurological problems or bone hip dysplasia. ************ Neurological problems can often be detected by doing the `paw` test. When the dog is standing on all fours - gently take one paw and turn it under so that the top of the dog`s paw is touching the floor. Then immediately release it. A dog with a normal reflex will automatically `bounce`back and the paw will return to a normal position. A dog with neurological problems will either be very slow or if the problem in the rear is really bad, the dog will be unable to move the paw at all. Its unfortunately not uncommon with a 12 year old dog - I`ve had a dog with renal disease and a dog with wobblers, and a dog with spine problems resulting in degeneration. Sometimes a lateral x-ray can divulge spine abnormalities such as bone spurs - if you have done that recently - then its only an MRI that could say for sure - and I do not think its worth it. Bottom line - I don`t see diet as a connecting factor in your dogs rear leg weakness but I also dont see the diet your vet prescribed as helpful. I DO agree with heart that vet kidney diets are the LAST thing I would give a dog and having owned a dog with congenital kidney disease - I have experience in this as well. Raw diets with NO CARBS are important for these dogs - in my case I used homeopathics to palliate. I treated my dog under my vets guidance and had him in monthly for blood analysis. He lived a much longer life because of the palliative treatment I gave him. Nothing short of kidney replacement can cure kidney disease in dogs - so its about quality of life. Good luck

Reduced protein diets DO help reduce the workload for kidneys, but recent recommendations on when to feed these diets has changed. They used to recommend these diets to any dog with reduced kidney function, now they are reserved for the later stages of renal disease. Since, I don't know how bad your dogs kidneys are I can't comment on whether or not he needs a special diet.

They also know now that it is not just the amount of protein in the diet that needs to be considered, but the quality of protein. It is not just an issue of proteins though: Potassium, phosphorus and sodium also need to be considered.

If you are interested in making your own diet, you might be able to reduce your monthly costs on food while still sticking to the dr.'s recommendations. I would suggest trying the website:

https://secure.balanceit.com/

It is a site designed to make up recipes that are specific to your pets needs.

Good luck!

Here ya go:

http://dogaware.com/health/kidneydiet.html

Don't just read the diet part, read the excellent articles and studies that are linked there. Protein reduction does NOT help kidney disease.

You need a vet who is more up to date nutritionally.

I believe Yahoo has a group for kidney dog owners. Join it for recipes, advice, and moral support.

Research raw diets for dogs. Many dogs on raw diets with kidney problems have gotten a lot better. http://healthydogforlife.com/ http://barfworld.com/

It's not so much the protein dogs have problems with. It's processed dog foods.-

If I was you, I would look into a raw diet. Google it and you can read the benefits and how to keep it in your budget.