[Stephanie W]

Looking for a highly digestive protein dry for Senior Westie with Renal disease.

[Anonymous]

Renal disease is serious, I would go by what your vet recommends. Ask the vet if you can add a spoonful of something tasty to the prescription food. Sorry, that’s all I’ve got.

PS: Another option would be to work with a nutritionist (recommended by the vet) to provide a homemade diet.

[Anonymous]

Have you looked at Wysong Rx Urinary™ (kidney, urinary health, and struvite)
(Replaces: Nephreon™, Uratrar™, and Struvatrol™)

Your vet would have to prescribe it.

[Shawna]

Stephanie W,

Digestibility of protein is important but bioavailability is even more important. The better the cells of the body use the amino acids in the digested protein, the less BUN is created from the protein. Raw and lightly cooked home prepared foods are going to have better bioavailability than canned and canned will be better than kibbled diets.

Most vets recommend “low” protein diets for dogs in any stage (and sometimes even before) of kidney disease. This is actually a myth and why most prescription foods are not really appropriate for the earlier stages of the disease. What may need to be controlled however is phosphorus so not all foods of good digestibility and bioavailability will be appropriate for all stages of chronic kidney disease. Here’s a VERY reliable source on the low protein myth.
“Mythology of Protein Restriction for Dogs with Reduced Renal Function
Kenneth C. Bovée, DVM, MMedSc, Department of Clinical Studies, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Results of the 10 experimental studies on dogs have failed to provide evidence of the benefit of reduced dietary protein to influence the course of renal failure.” http://www.dogaware.com/files/bovee.pdf

If you are willing to feed raw look at a prescription diet created by vet Dr. Barbara Royal sold by Darwins. Dr. Meg Smart has a homemade kidney diet on her blog. I also like the Wysong diet Red mentions. Just make sure the food you chose has the appropriate amount of phosphorus for the stage of disease your specific dog is in. Unlike protein, phosphorus CAN cause further damage to the kidneys.

Lots of prayers and good luck being sent your way!!!

[Shawna]

PS — dry food is the worst thing you can feed a dog with kidney disease — due to the dehydration it can cause as well as the lower bioavailability of the protein.

[C4D]

Shawna is absolutely correct! Dry food is the worst thing to feed a dog in renal failure! She’s had a good deal of experience in the subject.
You do need to work with your vet for lab tests & results. There are several websites and a FB page I found helpful when my dog was diagnosed CRF.

balanceit.com provides recipes and foods based on your dog’s condition.

dogaware.com has a wonderfully helpful kidney page: http://www.dogaware.com/health/kidneydiet.html

There’s a Facebook group that has a lot of information called CRF Dogs.

Good luck!

• This reply was modified 9 years, 8 months ago by C4D.

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