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Diet for Canine Kidney Disease

"Diet for canine kidney disease plays an important role in the management of kidney failure. Most problems in the kidney's are influenced by dietary intake of calories, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, protein, or polyunsaturated fatty acids. While diet has a positive impact on chronic kidney disease (progresses over time), it it still unclear in sudden onset kidney disease (appears suddenly)"




Dietary intake affects the magnitude of the complications of renal disease and is course of action recommended more than any other. Options are usually individual to a particular dog since loss of appetite and weight are the two most common symptoms. An acceptable dietary change for your dog, might be refused by another.

There is much debate about the best diet for canine kidney disease. Some “experts” say you should feed a low protein diet, while other “experts” say a normal diet is acceptable or even desirable. It’s hard to know whom to believe. Both sets of experts have studies to back up their claims.

Whatever you decide to do, be sure to seek the advice of a veterinarian.

Diet for Dog with Acute Kidney Disease

If your dog has acute kidney disease, he’s not going to feel much like eating anyway. A low protein, low phosphorus diet will be easy on his kidneys, but if he doesn’t like the diet, if you can get him to eat his regular food, that will be better than nothing. He should recover soon and hopefully will have no lasting kidney damage.

Diet for Dog with Chronic Kidney Disease

There is evidience that by making a variety of changes to your dog's diet, you can help a dog with chronic kidney disease.

Low Phosphorous Diet: dogs with kidney disease should have low phosphorus diets. Dietary phosphate restriction, when combined with protein restriction, has been shown to slow progression of kidney disease and improve survival.

Protein Restriction: A low protein diet is supposed to decrease the work load on the kidneys because they have less protein waste to process. These diets derive more of their energy from fats and carbohydrates, which are supposed to be less taxing on the kidneys.

Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids: There is evidence that supplements with omega-6 polyunstaurated fatty acids and omega-3 PUFA may offer help for dogs with kidney disease. Safflower oil and corn oil are rich in omega-6 and omega-3 is available at most veterinary stores. According to research published by Dr. Scott A. Brown from the College of Veterinary medicine dietary supplementation with approximately 0.5-1.0 gm of omega-3 PUFA/100 kcal of diet or 0.5-1.0 ml of safflower oil (omega-6 source)/100 kcal of diet might provide a reasonable starting dose for commercially available preparations.

Calcitriol: Calcitriol is the hormone that helps your dog absorb calcium (calcium metabolism). Studies have shown that providing your dog with calcitriol supplements was effective in reducing renal failure, but did not appear to negatively influence appetite, activity, or quality of life.

Diet for Dog wtih Sudden Onset Kidney Disease

There is not a clear connection between dietary change and improvement in kidney disease for dogs where the symptoms of kidney disease appear suddenly, however this does not rule out the use of dietary therapy for your dog.

Diet for Canine Kidney Disease - Stones

If your dog has kidney or bladder stones, the answer is easy. The experts actually agree on this one. There are many types of kidney stones. Most common are struvite stones, which are made of magnesium ammonium phosphate. A special diet is very useful in treating these stones. The S/D diet produced by Hills can actually cause these stones to dissolve. It contains lower than normal amounts of protein, magnesium, and phosphorus. Less protein means less urea, and therefore less ammonium. Remember that struvite stones are made of magnesium ammonium phosphate. Lowering the amounts of these materials makes the formation of stones less likely. This diet also contains more salt than normal, which causes dogs to drink more water, which flushes out the bladder.

Sources - Diet for Canine Kidney Disease

www.petshealth.com

Treating Canine Kidney Disease: An Evidence-Based Approach
Polzin, D.

Chronic Kidney Disease and Uremia in Dogs, Cats, and Ferrets
Hines, Ron DVM

Diet and Renal Disease: Myths and Realities
Scott A. Brown, VMD, PhD, DACVIM (Internal Medicine)
College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia

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