Hi sheila23,
I’m so sorry to learn about your dog. You are right to be very concerned about nutrition for Alvin. Since he is so young looking for any conditions that are treatable is also very important.
This site is technical but may be of help to you or your vet as you decide upon treatment. Foods that are intended for normal dogs will have phosphorus levels too high for a dog with kidney insufficiency.
http://iris-kidney.com/
Preference could be an option but I’ve found that The Honest Kitchen knows precious little about dog nutrition and personally I wouldn’t trust the company’s products in this situation. Grandma Lucy’s used to market their diet as a low phosphorus diet appropriate for kidney patients. I repeatedly asked them what the phosphorus level was in the food and they said they didn’t know. It was only after I reported them to the state feed control official that they tested the food and changed their labels. The diets are too high in phosphorus to be considered a low phosphorus diet for a kidney patient and contain garlic which is something I’d avoid in this situation.
A homemade diet may be the best option if you are not comfortable with any of the commercial diets designed for dogs with kidney compromise. Or a combination of homemade and commercial. Nutrition of a kidney patient is very important, so much so that this is a situation that I personally would consult a vet nutritionist. Or you may want to check out the “balance it” site as they have for kidney friendly homemade recipes balanced by a vet nutritionist.
Best of luck to you and Alvin
