April 30, 2012
Posted in Pet Food, Pet Health

It can be overwhelming enough to figure out the best diet for a healthy dog, but when your dog has a health condition like kidney disease, it can be even harder. There are hundreds of types of dog food on the market right now. There are diets specifically for senior pets, puppies, pets with joint problems and more. Unfortunately, though, there are not pet foods for specific conditions, like kidney disease. However, there are certain types of pet food that are better than others for these types of dogs.

In the past, many veterinarians have recommended feeding pets with kidney disease prescription low-protein diets. Generally, it was believed that by reducing the amount of protein a dog's kidneys will have to process, thus slowing down the progression of the disease.

However, low-protein foods are often filled with other, inferior ingredients. Corn fillers, meat byproducts, artificial colors and preservatives are often added to these formulas to make up for the lack of real protein. But these types of ingredients may be even worse for your pooch's condition than a large amount of protein, anyway.

There has been research in recent years that questioned whether restricting protein too early in the diets of pets with kidney disease might actually worsen the kidneys' functioning and accelerate the progression of the disease.

It seems counterintuitive to the low-protein diet, but the best diet for dogs with kidney disease might in fact be a raw diet. Choosing raw pet food like Instinct Raw Frozen Diet Beef might be the best option. This type of food contains 95 percent meat, organ meat, and bones, and the remaining 5 percent is made up of fruit, vegetables and other whole foods that provide important nutrients to your pooch. This type of food is perfect for all life stages and breeds of dogs, and is particularly good for pets with food allergies. There are other types of raw pet food like Wysong Archetype Burgers Dog & Cat Food that many dogs like, too.

While diet is an important part of the lifestyle of a dog with kidney disease, pet drugs are also crucial to its overall wellbeing. Even some supplements like Epakitin Powder can help support kidney function. This particular nutritional supplement helps slow down the progression of chronic kidney disease, and requires a prescription from your veterinarian. 

Related posts:

1. Where have all the grains gone?
2. Decoding the pet nutrition myths
3. First weeks of kitten nutrition
4. Does potassium matter for your pooch?
5. How to feed an arthritic cat