diet for elderly dog with kidney disease

Question
QUESTION: I have a 14 year old Cocker Spaniel who is slowly going through kidney failure (over a year now).  She has had some recent setbacks where she has gone almost totally blind (she had about 80% vision up until now) and losing some of her sense of smell.  She has gradually lost weight and has lost about 4 lbs over the last 2 months.  She had stopped eating her Hills K/D canned food several months ago and we started feeding her regular food of chicken or hamburger with brown rice and either carrots or green beans and broth.  She loved it!  She's been on that for about 2 months but we recently stopped the veggies because of her super soft stool.  Once we cut out the veggies, her stool was back to normal immediately.  Then she stopped eating again and became very lethargic and wobbly on her feet.  The vet said try adding starches like pasta and potatoes to see if she'll eat that.  She did eat the hamburger and potatoes but then when we took her to the vet for a check up, he had put her on an anitbiotic-Baytril to help with another issue with some growth on her anus.  She stopped eating completely and has only eaten an order of small fries from Burger King in 3 days.  I've tried hamburger and pasta, brown rice, potatoes, her favorite-eggs, and she wouldn't touch any of it.  When I called the Vet again he said stop the medication.  By the way, she is also on Pepcid AC and has been for several months for her kidneys.  It's been 2 full days since we stopped the meds and this morning she ate a little of the canned K/D food.  My groomer tried feeding her baby food, chicken and gravy,  several hours later and said she ate it up.  I'm thinking maybe the pills are just now getting out of her system and maybe her appetite is returning.  I would like to know your advice on what to feed her IF she continues not to eat any of the other food I use to feed her.  Is it okay to feed her continually the baby food and is there a certain kind I should feed her or avoid?  Should I go back to the other food once she gets her appetite back?  Through all of this the Vet has been called several times and seen her and has advised us through the process.  We have been monitoring her kidney levels with a blood test every 6 weeks now. She is due to do it again next week.  My Vet is excellent but I'd love to hear what you have to say.

ANSWER: Baby food is perfectly acceptable, and is often used in these cases. I recommend stage 1-2 turkey and rice with some sweet potatoes mixed in.

If she still is having problems not wanting to eat normal food, try a little cottage cheese, plain yogurt, warmed broth, and the baby food mixed together. Sometimes when all they have to do is lap it up it helps a lot. Then you can gradually add a little ground hamburger and scrambled eggs into it, both very rich in protein. I would also mix in some pedialyte to make sure she is staying hydrated.

Stay away from the K/D food- she is actually doing you a huge favor by not eating it. Science diet is deadly dangerous. I wish it was banned from the market. You would do MUCH better cooking for her- at her age, you will get a lot more nutrients into her this way.

Good luck with her!



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Shawn,
Thank you for your advice and prompt response.  I'm curious as to why you said to stay away from the K/D food.  What should I know about it? I'll have you know that just yesterday, 3 days after stopping the Baytril, she finally got her appetite back and started eating!  She was like a new dog with her eyes wide open and clear and walking (blindly) around more and seemed to have more energy.  That medicine really threw her for a loop!  I really don't get it because she had taken Baytril before however he had us giving it to her twice a day (20 mg) so maybe it was just too much for her system.  I hesitate to start her back on the Pepcid too but the Vet wants her on it to control the acids in her stomach.  Anyway, I hate to tell you that I did feed her yesterday morning some of the K/D and also later in the day because that was all I had on hand (and before I read your response).  I had planned to try to get her back on that food since it was suppose to the best thing for her (kidney problems) and it would make it easier on me but now after hearing your response, I guess that's not the best solution.  So I'm curious to find out why it's so bad for her.  And they wonder why we are all so confused on what's best to feed our dogs!  I appreciate your reply.  Thanks!
Cindy

Answer
Cindy-

I am a big big anti-science diet person, and K/D has been known to cause more problems then fix, because it doesn't have enough nutrients for the dog to survive on, and eventually causes liver failure, and can actually make the kidney problems worse since more recent medical advancments have shown that while stripping a dog of protien initially helps inflamation of the kidneys, it can eventually do more damage then good and can lead to death. Modern research is suggesting higher protein foods now. Ths food also has several known carsonegetics in it. I know people who have used it successfully for a short time, then weaned the dog off of it, but if your  vet is suggesting she stay on it forever, please look into some of the research available (just google Science Diet K/D and once you get past all the sales stuff you will see tons of articles and posts about people complaining about it) and make your own informed decision. I can NOT tell you how much I hate Hills. They pass this off as a perscription quality food, and it is so very dangerous for a dog to be on this for more then a few days. In fact, heres my favorite review company's review on it:

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1071&cat


IMHO, you would be so much better cooking for her. Personally, I hate almost all processed foods since its full of grains, chemicals, preservatives and floor sweepings.... but thats another story :)

Baytril throws me for a loop too :) Its a rough drug on the stomach. I am glad to hear she is eating again! Good luck in your research!