[Sue W]

I have 7 dogs, 4 are rescues – as of now I have 5 different foods that are being fed. My main concern is my Chico, he is 5 years old and has kidney disease – I knew this when I adopted him – problem is all my other dogs eat a high quality organic/non gmo diet and poor Chico is eating K/D from Hill’s. I am not knocking K/D – it just isn’t what I want in my dog’s body – BUT I cannot find a reliable online site that has ‘kidney disease’ recipes on it. Anyone know where one can go to get ‘kidney related’ dog food recipes? The sites are so confusing – if anyone knows of just 1 reliable site I’d be happy. Thank you and Chico thanks you.

[anonymous]

Prescription food is your best bet. http://skeptvet.com/Blog/2016/07/more-nonsense-from-holistic-vets-about-commercial-therapeutic-diets/
Work closely with your vet. Online stuff is not accurate. Listen to a vet that you trust and that has examined the dog and knows his history.

[haleycookie]

Hi check out this article from a couple years ago it’s got lots of useful info and experiences from other dog owners with kidney disease. /forums/topic/food-suggestion-for-dog-with-kidney-disease-and-allergies/

[Susan]

Hi Sue,
Vet diets were once made to eat until the dog/cat became better then the owner looked for alternitive diets to feed, then Hills & realised vets were telling pet owners to just kept feeding their pets the vet diets, when owners didn’t know what else to feed their pets, so around 2014 Hills re formulated a few of their vet diets so the dog could eat the vet diet for the rest of it’s life & brought out a few more dry vet formula’s & more canned stew formula’s that were more palatable for sick dogs with kidney, weight management, skin health & intestinal health problems, my boy loves the I/d Digestive Care Chicken & Vegetable stew, I get it for him as a treat even though he gets his red paws from the chicken..
When the internet came along having a sick pet become very confusing epecially when there’s some poster that are anti healthy not into holistic natural ways to feed sick pets, you don’t need scientific proof to see how healthy your dog has become after being feed a balanced healthy home made diets, changing a pets diet can make a real big difference follow “Rodney Habib” on his face Book page & see the difference with dogs that were dying from cancer & now are cancer free after eating the Ketopet diets, after feeding either raw or home cooked especially when they’re sick or even healthy pets, you can tell by their coats, skin, their behaviour they are more switch on & act like they want to live all of a sudden they feel better also how they are getting around when they feel so good….
Chico would know he’s not eating the same food as his brother & sisters are eating, he’d smell & know his food is different…. I always feel sorry for my boy he has to eat his dry kibble & my cat Indy gets nice raw meat for breakfast & dinner, freeze dried for lunch, she gets everything healthy & he doesn’t he gets his dry boring kibble… he has IBD

Start looking for a Vet Nutrionist in your area, here’s a link it’s called “Just Food For Dogs”
https://www.justfoodfordogs.com/vet-support-diets
they also make Custom diets for dogs with multiple health problems.. you can still feed 1 meal the k/d wet tin food & the other meals feedthe new cooked meal, thats what I did with my IBD boy he ate his vet diet for 2 of his meals & the other 2 meals were home cooked lean beef or lean pork rissoles balls with broccolli, egg, parsley, kale, then add sweet potato.

Are you on Face Book? join this group “K-9 Kitchen” it’s run by Monica Segal a nutritionist you can contact her & she’ll make Chico a recipe for kidney disease, she also post recipes on her page or send them in an email if you subscribe join hersite its all free, then once you have joined her K-9 Kitchen group, post a post asking for a recipe for Kidney Disease, either Monica or a poster will post 1 of her Kidney disease recipes…
Have you joined the “Canine Kidney Disease” groups on Face Book there’s a few…then post in the groups where a good vet nutritionist is in your area near you & start from there…
Chico is only 5yrs old, he’s way to young to be just eating the k/d food
Do you have a crock pot? I also would start making cooked meals for all your dogs & freeze small meals or 1 big meal you can divide for all of them, still feed their food they are eating at the moment for 1 of their meals & feed the cooked healthy meal for their other meals….especially if you have small dogs that might be predisposed to stones/crystal, pancreatitis etc, there’s also Dr Judy Morgan find her face book page & follow her & she answers all post, here’s her link below, she has a few recipes on You Tube very easy to make, she has around 8 dogs, a few of them are sick, look at her Homemade Pup Loaf video very easy to make & can fed your other dogs… http://www.drjudymorgan.com/category/videos/

[anonymous]

Kidney Failure Diet
Normal dog food can make a kidney-impaired dog even sicker. Your average food is packed with proteins, which break into amino acids, which is responsible for building and replacing tissue cells, and urea, a waste product. In healthy kidneys, urea is filtered out of the blood, but in damaged kidneys, urea builds up in the bloodstream, basically poisoning your pet.
In order to prevent the buildup of harmful products, find a kidney disease compliant dog food. Kidney disease compliant dog food focuses on replacing the nutrients your dog lacks as a result of damaged kidneys, with low percentages of protein, high bio-availability, increased calcium and vitamin D3, and lowered levels of phosphorus.

Above is an excerpt from https://www.vetinfo.com/kidney-failure-symptoms.html
Click on link for full article.

Many dogs with kidney disease remain on prescription food for the rest of their lives. Along with monitoring, medication, subq fluids (when needed) by a vet. This gives them the best chance.

[Sue W]

Hi Everyone and thank you so much for your help. I have 7 dogs (4 rescues) each need a different food – 1. Chico(Rescue) (kidney disease) 2.Riley(Rescue) (allergic to Rice, Oats, Yeast, Peas, Fish and all fish oils) 3 & 4 Moosha and Rumer (Prone to putting weight on and need low calorie but quality food) currently on Metabolic, ugh. 5. Murphy has a GI disorder can only high quality wet food – was on I/D but now on Natural Balance Chicken Formula. 6. Bugsy(Rescue) is a senior who after 1 dental and 10 teeth pulled will have another 18 pulled next month – so needless to say a soft diet is in order – he is currently eating Natural Balance Lamb Formula. 7. Little Bixbi (Rescue) newly adopted – this little dude is messed up – about 80% blind, has the ‘wobbles’ falls down a lot and has a few ruptured discs in his neck so he can’t move his head up and down – has(had) a UTI was on C/D. So there it is – I would LOVE to feed all my dogs 1 food – not sure raw is the way to go however I do like the ‘benefits’ of it and I do, when I have it, give them raw goats milk as well. I want to be able to feed my dogs a high quality organic non-gmo food – but with all the dogs having different needs I am spending – 100.00 a month on K/D roughly 33.70 for 12 cans 1 can daily. 44.00 a month on Chicken canned food and 40.00 a month on Lamb formula canned and of course 65.00 for a 17 1/2 pound bag for the 2 who need a low calorie food and 53.00 on Riley’s Nutro Essentials small Bites non gmo – has NO peas- most foods are being supplemented with peas/pea fiber Riley cant eat peas or the fish that’s also in almost all foods now and of course he can’t any brown rice, white rice oats or brewers yeast – thats basically everything good in dog foods, right? It’s a nightmare!!! All I want to do is feed my dogs an organic diet without spending more than I already am (or less would be ideal – with all the medical bills headed this way). The ‘just for dogs’ food is great – but a 72 oz bag is 33.00 and I would need at least 3 bags a month just for Chico. I am at a lost as to what is best for them( the priority of course) but what also doesn’t cost us 300.00 monthly just in dog food. I have found all the people ‘Susan’ suggested – Rodney and Dr. Judy, joined the canine kidney support group but couldn’t find the ‘K-9 Kitchen’ on facebook too many weird sites popped up and nobody named Monica. Thank you ALL for your help. And before the haters – start hating- I love my rescue dogs – and I am not crying about money and no I didn’t know how ill some of them were when I rescued/adopted them (except for Chico) so I am trying to help all them the healthiest way I can.

[anonymous]

All of your dogs have specific dietary needs due to their individual medical conditions. I think it would be irresponsible for anyone to tell you that one food will work for all dogs.

I now have only 2 dogs.
As it is I had to give up cable, shop at thrift stores and rarely eat out.
Each dog costs about $1000 a year for routine checkups, and care.
Food is a separate cost.
Unexpected illness, dental issues, etc. is another cost.

I’m not a hater, and I hope you find a way to care for them all, but I stand by my recommendation of prescription food, especially for the one with kidney disease.
Find a vet that understands your financial limitations and see what he recommends…

[anonymous]

PS: I just tried to add it up, I spend (ball park figure) about $500-$600 a year for dog food and toppers (meat, chicken from the reduced price section) eggs.
I buy the large bags of Zignature and use my freezer and fridg for storage.
This is for 2 small dogs that don’t have any specific dietary needs.

[haleycookie]

I don’t think you’ll find one kibble for all of them. However you could make an appointment to see a vet nutritionalist about maybe a homemade diet that’s proper and balanced for everyone. And just take a few hours a weekend and pre make everyone’s food for the week and freeze each serving. I think would be your best bet if you wanted to stop buying the loads of different foods you’re buying now.

[anonymous]

Regarding homemade diets http://skeptvet.com/Blog/?s=homemade+

Below is an excerpt copied from a response to a question/comment answered by skeptvet.
Regarding the topic of homemade diets and if you are adverse to the option of prescription food.

“Your best option is to have a veterinary nutritionist formulate a diet specifically for your pet. You can consult with the nutrition service at a veterinary college, if you are near one, or there are many who can consult with you online”.
petdiets.com
balanceit.com

[Sue W]

I went to petdiets and balanceit
petdiets.com wants 350.00 PER pet to formulate a diet seriously?
balanceit requires you fill out this long form for each pet and then wait until your vet gets back in contact with them – and of course my vet is on vacation this week. I surrender – I just want to feed my dog a healthy diet and all these sites want money to help. I give up – but thank you to everyone who tried to help.

[Susan]

Hi Sue,
gee your doing a really good job rescuing & helping all these sick dogs, I just have 1 sick boy & some days he does my head in when he has his pain & I can’t help him & relieve his IBD pain….
alot of people just dump their sick dying cats & dogs at pounds when they’re really sick & owner doesnt want to deal with it or owner doesn’t have the money, in Australia we have “Golden Oldies rescue”, go onto F/B & up top in the search bar put “Golden Oldies Animal Rescue” Gina saves all the old sick dogs in pounds all over Australia, they’re mainly small dogs, the pounds ring up Gina when a dog comes in, in very bad condition, she takes them out under duty of care post a post on her F/b page asking for urgent foster carer if the pound is on the other side of Australia & raises money to pay the vet bills or air flight she gets the dogs & cats better some just needed meds, or teeth removed, the real sick dogs go into palliative foster care & she makes sure their last days, weeks, months comfortable & shows them love they have never had & holds them when they need to be put to sleep she calls them all her heart beats..

While reading your post it reminded me of Dr Judy Morgan in one of her videos she’s making different meals, then she has all their bowls on the kitchen bench top & adds all their different supplements & their medications to all the meals, she has about 8-9 Cavaliar dogs a few are rescues cause when she’s making the Pup loaf she has her dog Miss Madison with her…Judy uses the “Honest Kitchen” base mix Preference when making Miss Madisons meals for a month…. here’s the Pup Loaf video & Miss Madison

Here’s Monica Segals F/B group K-9 Kitchen
https://www.facebook.com/groups/K9kitchen/

[pitlove]

Hi Sue-

No, of course these services are not free. You are getting something that someone who does not pay for these services does not have. An actually compete and balanced home cooked meal tailored to your dogs medical needs. It’s unreasonable to assume there would be no fee for that kind of service.

Almost every free home cooked recipe on the internet is nutrient deficient when evaluated. This can lead to more health conditions down the line.

[Author]

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