A well-balanced diet is the ultimate key to the long and healthy lives of dogs. Healthy food for dogs must include nutrients like proteins, vitamins, carbs, and vital minerals that can richly contribute to building your pet’s immune power. Like human beings, even canines need nutritious food to live a healthy life. A balanced dog diet is the secret to proper growth and normal functioning of organs.
A poor diet can hamper their overall health, resulting in a shorter life span. To avoid this risk, their nutritional requirements have to be met, which means that you should procure pet food that can offer the best dog nutrition.
Diet for Dogs with Kidney Disease
If your pet dog has a condition called dysfunctional kidneys or a chronic case of kidney failure, the dog diet chart must focus on a renal diet. The vet may suggest that animal shelters or pet owners offer a typical kidney diet for such dogs. Problems may arise when you try to feed the affected dog as the illness can reduce their urge to eat, resulting in poor appetite. It can be a worrying time for owners or pet parents who want the best food guidance for their pets.
Best Food for Dogs With Kidney Issues
The kidneys are one of the most sensitive organs of dogs as they help filter toxins from their blood and regulate the potassium and sodium levels in the body. Kidneys also function to conserve water and generate urine to throw out fluid waste. When the kidneys malfunction, dogs can become very ill. If a dog in your animal shelter or home has been diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, it must be given a strict renal diet.
Renal diet food for dogs will include the following:
- Hydration – Dogs with poor kidney function have to be given food with high water content. Staying hydrated is essential for these dogs as their kidneys do not function well and cannot produce urine without having a lot of water and fluids.
- Low Protein Diet – Having protein-rich foods can generate a lot of waste matter that could be difficult for the damaged kidneys to process. Therefore, it is advisable to monitor protein intake to remove undue pressure on kidney functions.
- Low Phosphorus Food – Damaged kidneys cannot filter the phosphorus in the urine, so they tend to form a slow build-up of phosphorus in the body. Giving diet food for dogs with less phosphorus can help in the long run.
- Increase Omega 3 – The vital fatty acids present in fish oil can help reduce inflammation in animals and subsequently improve their kidney health. It is considered an excellent kidney food for dogs.
- Tasty Flavors – Dogs with kidney disorders may have a loss of appetite or they could be too ill to partake in food, in such cases, delicious fat enhancers such as chicken fat can be added to up the flavors.
- Low Sodium – When considering kidney food for dogs, salt can worsen kidney disease symptoms, so it is best to provide food that is low in salt.
Special Dog Food For Kidney Disorders
A sensible and vet-approved renal diet for dogs can be considered healthy food for dogs with kidney disease. It is best not to rely on cheap dry kibbles as dog food, which can be the worst choice you make for your dogs. Similarly, getting cheap branded dry food with too many preservatives, artificial flavors, and harmful fillers inside those foods can add undue pressure on the kidneys and offer little in the name of nourishment. It is essential to find a nutrition-filled food for their peculiar health condition.
BARF Diet V/S Simple Homemade Food
Pet parents and NGO workers often rely on a BARF diet, which stands for biologically appropriate raw food. It refers to a dog diet of bones, raw meat, offal veggies, and fruits, something a wild dog would have as food. Such a raw food diet for dogs is based on the principle that dogs like their ancestors can consume raw food that is natural in the wild.
Although such a BARF diet can be good for healthy dogs, it can be difficult to digest for those who have health disorders and have to follow special dietary needs. Preparing an elaborate renal diet can be a wondrous solution, but for those who are too busy to prepare such meals, it is better to balance the dietary requirements with a premium quality specialist dog food or make a simple palatable kidney-friendly meal.
Sticking to branded high-quality food or a simple homemade diet can be the best kidney food for dogs. It is most advisable to discuss your food options with a pet nutritionist and gain expert advice before planning a meal for dogs with kidney issues.
Specialist Premium Quality Dog Food
You may consider A-grade and vet-approved branded dog foods of premium quality prescribed by a health expert. Diet for dogs with kidney disease has to be produced specifically to support their overall health and also protect their kidneys from further damage. The diet should be delicious so that even those dogs who are off their food, cannot resist such a meal.
There are premium quality doctor-approved food brands available in the market that are most effective as dog foods, you can try those that mention special formulations to support a renal diet, which may contain peas, eggs, and salmon rather than fatty meats that are tougher to digest. Healthy food for dogs in branded renal food types may contain chicken fat for added taste and omega-3 acids to restore kidney health.
Starting your Dogs on a Kidney Diet
Several animal shelters have succeeded in switching over to a kidney diet for dogs with kidney issues. There could be initial trouble and the dog may not prefer to eat new food. In such cases, the veterinarian can suggest ways to make the food more appealing.
A food specialist or a vet could offer the following advice:
- Recommend a good food topper to make the meal more tasty and appealing. It is best to avoid foods that are high in salt or phosphorus.
- Giving prescription medications to curb symptoms like nausea, ulcers, loss of appetite, etc,
- Starting with a different kind of kidney diet that is more preferable than the previous ones.
- Approaching a veterinary nutrition specialist to get the best recipes for a special kidney or liver diet for dogs.
- Consider feeding tube options for dogs that are completely off the food.
Countless dogs in shelter homes suffer from kidney diseases and yet live healthy lives for a long time, especially the ones that are provided with the right kind of dog food nutrition. A recent study showed that canines on a good kidney diet lived for many more years than those dogs who ate regular dog food.
The kidney diet food for dogs must be typically renal, which means that a food chart that limits protein, sodium, and phosphorus to slow down the rampant kidney damage. These dogs can be fed with a proper renal diet so that they live relatively healthy lives in a stress-free manner even with chronic kidney symptoms.
For exhaustive information on health-specific diets for dogs, you can connect with a reputed NGO animal shelter, Earthlings Trust.
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