[K C]

My 30 lb mixed breed dog, turning 14 next month, otherwise very healthy until her annual exam’s lab work led to a Dx w/kidney insufficiency (also called renal failure, kidney disease, renal insufficiency) and put on Hill’s Prescription Diet R/D. She was eating it mixed with a small amt of canned R/D because she didn’t seem to like the kibble by itself, but otherwise seemed to be doing okay. Until she wasn’t. She began to reject the dry kibble and eat only the wet food from it, licking it off the dry food, which she put on the floor outside her bowl. And then she stopped eating the canned food. And then the vomiting started. A trip to the vet and lab work showed she got pancreatitis from the high fat level in Rx kidney diet. The labs also showed her kidneys values, of course still showing kidney disease, had improved a little because of the diet, which was great news. She has lost weight because of the not eating much because of the pancreatitis.

She was sent home with fluids for us to inject under her skin and a medication to inject for nausea. She is currently only eating boiled chicken breast and rejecting rice, canned food, kibble, and egg whites, but she likes the Pill Pocket I put her Pepcid in. We were instructed to feed her a lowfat diet, whether it is a prescription diet (Hills or Royal Canin) or a mass market brand.

In preparation for when she is eating normally again, I have been researching the dog foods low in fat. The problem I am finding is that all of the low fat foods are high in protein. That means that in adjusting her diet to prevent a relapse of pancreatitis, as directed by her vet, I will be burdening her kidneys with higher protein, thereby assuring a faster decline. It is the worst catch-22 to be caught between two diseases like this!

Does anyone know of any dog food or diet or anything at all that would be a happy medium of low fat AND low protein, that I could present to my vet? And, be able to provide a dog all the nutrients it needs? I feel so helpless and I love my girl so much!

I thank you in advance for your help!

[Joyce B]

Try Canine Caviar Special Needs Dry.

[aimee]

Hi K.C.

Depending on the degree of the medical concerns you may need to home cook to manage both concerns. Any “over the counter” food will have a phos level higher then recommended for kidney insufficiency. Has your vet looked at the other companies kidney diets to see if they are appropriate? Hills G/D could be an option. It is geared for early kidney insufficiency but has a lower fat level than the K/D formula. (I’ assuming your dog was on K/D and not RD as R/D is a food with low fat high protein for weight loss.) Iams’ renal is higher protein than G/D but also lower fat. Good Luck

[Antonio A]

Hi Aimee
i have similar issue for my 9 years old JRT. she was rushed to the vet as she was feeling very ill, the pancreas levels were very high and the kidney levels too (CRE and BUM) first we started giving low fat diet and the pancreas seems to be ok now, but now the kidneys are not good, CRE level is 3.8 and BUM is 78. i have been Hills K/d and Hills K/d dry food mixed together for a week now and just also saw that this is high in fats that might damange the pancreas again!!
Please help in recommending best diet for the dog for both the kidneys and the pancreas and thank you very much

[aimee]

Hi Antonio,

I’m sorry that your dog isn’t well. If your dog needs both controlled protein and fat then a homemade diet from a veterinary nutritionist may be the best option.

Did your dog have an ultrasound to diagnose pancreatitis? The reason I ask is because decreased kidney function can make the pancrease tests increased in the blood due to the decreased filtration. In that case the dog doesn’t actually have pancreatitis. However, , if your dog was dehydrated the pancreas could have been inflamed secondary to dehydration and may be more fat tolerant then a dog sensitive to dietary fat.

Alternatively, if your dog had pancreatitis dehydration from that will increase the kidney values, but once rehydrated those should have come back down if kidneys were OK. Or your dog could have underlying kidney disease and then got pancreatitis .

It can be tough to get it all figured out as one influences the other. Have you discussed your concern regarding the fat content with your vet?? G/D, may be a compromise in managing the two situations. Your vet is the best to guide you .

[Antonio A]

Hi again, thanks lot for you kind answer. i truely think it all started with a high fat thing, the dog attacked unoticely a plate that had fats and the second day she felt so ill and i rushed her to the vet, but still, all other options you mentioned might still be the reason,
yes the vet content as per the vet should be minimized so we dont go back to pancreas issues, tomorrow she has ultrasound and i will redo the blood test and see where we are
for her diet, her vet is same as me trying to figure out what to feed so i almost gave up, i just fed her a spoon of renal Hills can and a spoon of can food that is low in fat and protein with 0.61 phosphorus, white rice and minced low fat beef with a sprinkle of Ipakitin and some shreds of chicken breast boiled just to pass today until i figure out what diet to stick to
i forgot to mention that she is very very active and very playfull and doesnt seem to be bothered, just that she lost a lot of weight and a bit dehydrated. will put her on IV fluids tomorrow to have her better hydrated, my only concern now is her diet!
we dont have Hills where i live i was buying online from here and there, i highly appreciate if you can share with me a recipe i can cook or prepare or anything i can do to manage her feeding, i will also share here her results tomorrow, i also saw that Royal Canine 8+ has low proteins and low fats but the protein is really very low (2.5-5.55%) that i think is too low!

[aimee]

Hi Antonia,
Hopefully you have some more information to guide you.

I’m guessing the Royal Canin is canned diet which is why the protein looks so low.. To Copare diets you need to compare on a calorie basis… what percent of calories comes from protein… fat … etc.
Here is a tool to do that https://secure.balanceit.com/tools/_gaconverter/

Your vet may be able to create a recipe for you from the site Balanceit.com. It is run by a vet nutritionist and has appropriate supplements to balance the diet.

What food was your dog eating before she became ill? Know what she was on in the past can help you decide how to modify going forward.

[Susan L]

My 14 year old Norwich terrier was on Hills brain food bc I saw he was getting some cognitive issues. Then 5 months later he stopped eating, bloated and diagnosed first w cancer then hospitalized for pancreatitis and all blood and ultrasound tests showed this. Sadly his organs started to shut down and he developed vasculitis and SIRs. He had to put him down which shocked me and broke my heart to this day.

I wonder if the Hills diet was too high fat for him and I should have given him something else? My vet didn’t really say. I also gave him Dosequin advanced hip and joint and fish oil. Yes, he also had too many treats.

Thanks everyone!!

[Frenky C]

Can’t help you out on this one but hope your dog gets better soon! Cheers 🙂

[Linda M]

I know this post is quite old, but I wanted to respond in case others find it while looking for a food for a dog who has both kidney failure and pancreatitis. Our dog, who is now 14 years old, has had kidney failure for more than three years. He was doing well on Hills K/D plus daily subcutaneous fluids but then all of a sudden was on death’s door with pancreatitis. He got through that, but I was left searching for a low-fat diet that would not result in pancreatitis again. The vet was no help. Through Internet research, I found Dr. Harvey’s, which is a base product you mix with water and then add your own protein and oil (for fat). This has been absolutely wonderful, and my dog is pretty much back to where he was a few years ago. It has also dramatically improved his symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease. The customer service from the company is incredible–they happily email with you to discuss their program and encourage you to call them on the phone to discuss your dog’s particular needs. I hope this helps someone else out there!

[Celeste D]

Linda,

Thank you so much!1 my dog has renal,disease and just got,diagnosed with pancreatitis. She has no symptoms of pancreatitis , but had an ultrasound and pancreas looked inflamed. But she is eating fine, o vomiting, nothing. She is on a kidney specific diet with the hills,but her cardiologist said he things it is high is]n fat and we may need to Change it so that a bout of pancreatitis doesn’t ensue. What kind of protein and oil do you add to dr Harvey’s food ?

[Celeste D]

Any help will be greatly appreciated. I want to do anything I can to reduce the swelling of her pancreas so that she doesn’t have any bout of actual pancreatitis, whether it be scute or chronic. At the moment, she is a symptomatic . We only did sn ultrasound because her cardiologist was concerned that her spleen looked larger than normal . That turned out o be ok, but when doing the ultrasound, her pancreas looked somewhat inflamed.

[Linda M]

We use steamed chicken thighs and steamed lean ground beef. We also use a very small amount of the Dr Harvey’s oil. The people at Dr. Harvey’s are amazing and will talk to you on the phone about what protein sources are best for your dog. You can also reach out by email and they respond.

[aimee]

Hi Linda,

I took a look at Dr Harvey’s and I didn’t find any nutritional information. I found that concerning.

When using Dr Harvey’s Canine Health what is the composition of the final diet you are currently making in regards to grams protein /1000 kcals, the amino acid profile, grams fat/1000 kcals the omega 3 content and grams phosphorus/1000 kcals.

I’ve used balanceit with good success and appreciate all the detailed nutritional information given there, which is so important to have when feeding a dog with multiple medical conditions.

[Linda M]

I would call the company and discuss it with them. My 18-pound Lhasa also is getting about 4 ounces of protein daily, but I can’t answer your other questions. They will work with you to determine what is the correct mix for your dog.

[Nicole C]

I’m on several kidney disease dog groups on Facebook. So many people are using De Harvey’s dog food recipe. I just preferred it. All of their dogs blood labs are coming back amazing. They are also using Avodyl or Azovast and Pet Gold (think that’s the name), Nutrition Strength Iron Complex, and Trukitin. Hope this helps someone.

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