[Kayley L]

I recently found out that my 2.5 y/o corgi who is extremely active (competes in disc, agility, dock) has slightly elevated kidney levels. She’s currently eating Fromm Beef Fritatta which is 30% protein. The vet has recommended to switch to a lower protein food, but since she’s so active i didn’t want to lower it too much.

She also has a poultry allergy and if possible I’d like to keep her grain free. We also live in Canada so keep in mind certain foods aren’t available here.

Any suggestions would be fantastic, and if anyone else has gone through something similar any in sight/advice would be wonderful!

Thanks in advance 🙂

[Susan]

Hi, I was just on another site & saw 10 best kibbles, one brand that came 4th was called ‘Go Natural’ Pet Curean made in Canada, antibiotic free, hormone free meat & cage free, they have 3 different kibbles, Go Premuim, Now fresh & Summit.. http://www.petcurean.com/

[theBCnut]

Dogs with kidney issues need to be on canned or raw food. Getting moisture into their diets is most important. The reason that vets always jump on the protein issue is that protein contains phosphorus and excess phosphorus can cause problems in advaned stages of kidney disease. You do not need to restrict protein in early stages, but the protein needs to be good quality and less processed, which kibble is not. I’ll see if I can get Shawna to come to the forum side and help you.

[Shawna]

Great advice BCnut!! 🙂

Hi Kayley L,

BCnut is absolutely correct. Kibble is the absolute WORST thing you can feed a dog with kidney disease. My dog was born with kidney disease, diagnosed at age one and will be eight years old next month. She has been on HIGH protein raw her whole life. Much higher than 30% even. Her raw diet (I rotate between proteins and brands) ranges from 45 to 54% on a dry matter basis.

The original research suggesting protein was problematic was actually done on rats not dogs or cats. Later research, done on dogs, has disproven the original research but for some reason vets cling to this original research. Nutritionist Mary Straus has some different sources discussing the protein myth on her page here http://www.dogaware.com/health/kidneyprotein.html

Phosphorus can be a probelm at any stage of the disease but it isn’t always a problem in the earlier stages. Audrey, in her eight years with kidney disease, has never been on a lower phosphorus diet. Mary lists generally accepted amounts of phosphorus in the diet for the different stages of the disease on this page. http://www.dogaware.com/health/kidneydiet.html#start

When digested, proteins break down into amino acids. The body uses those amino acids to make antioxidants (glutathione), enzymes, new cells etc. What the body doesn’t use ends up as blood urea nitrogen. How well the body uses the amino acids in any particular protein is called bioavailability. I noticed last night that Dr. Foster’s and Smith website has a good explanation of protein bioavailability. They write
“Can I tell which proteins are better than others?
Not all proteins are created equal, and some are better for pets than others. Every protein source contains different levels of amino acids and each protein is different in its ability to be broken down into amino acids. The ability of a protein to be used by the body and its amount of usable amino acids is termed biological value. Egg has the highest biological value and sets the standard by which other proteins are judged. Egg has a biological value of 100. Fish meal and milk are close behind with a value of 92. Beef is around 78 and soybean meal is 67. Meat and bone meal and wheat are around 50 and corn is 45. Things like hair and feathers would be very high in protein but would be down at the bottom of the list for biological value.” http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=459

Removing chemicals in the environment that have to be cleared through the kidneys can help too. These chemicals may not be harmful but as another thing for the kidneys to clear they still can be problematic. Anything that could be inhaled or get absorbed through the paw could be potential problems. Giving clean (filtered) water can be very important too.

Mary has some really good info on her site if you get a chance to read through it all. Nutritionist Lew Olson of b-naturals.com also has some data on her site (along with a couple recipes). Darwin’s has a high protein, lower phosphorus raw diet that was formulated by Dr. Barbara Royal DVM if interested in raw but not wanting to have to prepare it.

There’s so much more that you can do as well. Let us know if you are interested in the additional info.

Thanks BCnut! 🙂

• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Shawna.

[Kayley L]

Hi Guys!

Thank you so much for all the information! Turns out after a retest Sawyer’s kidney levels were NOT elevated.

But the vet did do a urine sample and found slight crystallization and a small amount of blood. He has put her on Clavamox for 10 days and then we will retest the urine in about two weeks. He recommend to increase her water intake (he suggested a fountain, which i purchased from work)

I guess just fingers crossed that the medication clears everything up and we’re not dealing with stones.

[theBCnut]

Good luck!! And make sure you give probiotics while you give the antibiotics and for about two weeks afterward.

[Kayley L]

Anything you can recommend from this selection?

http://www.renspets.com/dogs/health/supplements.html

• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Kayley L.

[Patty M]

So it turns out our 6 year old Malamute has elevated creatinine levels (from1.9 to 2.0 since May). They will recheck her but the did and her SDMA are elevated to 17 ug/dL. We switched her to Fromms less than a year ago and she had no problems at that time. Is it possible this is related to the food?

[Author]

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