It is always hard to get dogs with kidney failure to eat regular and nutritional meals. This is even more difficult because owners need to carefully control the amounts of phosphorus, sodium, low-quality protein, and other elements normally found in standard dog food products. Manufactured renal dog foods are often unpalatable and many of our best friends simply refuse to go near them. Most will offer them a sniff, but that’s it. In these cases, the answer is to try home-cooked meals made up of nutritional and beneficial ingredients that won’t cause further kidney damage.
If you try this recipe, make the change from your dog’s regular food slowly and incrementally and after introducing both antacid and anti-nausea medication. It’s also worth mentioning that four or five small meals a day cause less stress on the kidneys than one or two larger meals. In all cases, please consult your Vet and ask about adding multivitamins or specific minerals to the diet (the type and nature of supplements will depend on current blood level results). It is also prudent to mention that both diet and chronic kidney failure go together with the changes that occur during a typical progression of the disease, so these recipes may need adapting for your own dog’s blood values.
A nutritional breakdown has been given for each recipe, but owners should refer to the amount of each meal being given and calculate a nutritional breakdown based on what is right for the size and breed of dog. Importantly, omit any adverse ingredients according to current blood level results. For example, if a dog has high potassium, potatoes are best replaced with something more appropriate containing less potassium.
These recipes are designed to act as a temporary plan while owners transition from standard dog foods to home cooking … and climb the learning curve of understanding diets for dogs with kidney disease.
Chicken with Egg
Ingredients:
Chicken leg meat (280g human grade), two free- range eggs, two medium-sized potatoes (400g), 1 tablespoon of chicken fat (juice from cooking the chicken), 1 tablespoon of chopped cooked cabbage, 2 teaspoons of pure 100% organic salmon oil.
Method:
Dry roast the chicken leg, ideally with the skin on. Keep the juice from cooking the chicken. Allow everything to cool, then cut the chicken meat into small pieces, being careful to remove all the bones. Peel and then boil the potatoes (potato skin has oxalates in it, which are harmful to the kidneys). Allow to cool and then cut into cubes. Don’t use green potatoes, as these also have a toxic compound called solanine. Allow to cool and then cut into cubes. Boil the cabbage and chop finely. Cabbage is useful, as it helps prevent stomach ulcers forming and is a beneficial fermentable fiber. Hard-boil the eggs, but only use one of the yolks (egg white has less phosphorus than the yolks), then chop and mix all the ingredients together. Drizzle the salmon oil over the top.
Finely crushed dried eggshells are a natural (calcium-based) phosphate binder and can often be used to good effect with kidney failure in dogs. However, always seek Veterinary approval before using eggshells in this way, because the health and safety of this technique depend on the level of calcium, phosphate, and potassium in recent blood results. One dried and finely crushed eggshell produces about a teaspoon of calcium carbonate and half a teaspoon is enough for a pound of food.
Independent researcher Dr. Doug Bibus (formerly of the University of Minnesota) completed a fatty acid study with dogs, and he recommends a ratio of between 2:1 and 4:1 omega-6 to omega-3. Most canine pet food products range in ratios of 5:1 to 10:1.
The cooked ingredients will last three days in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
Nutritional Data for the completed recipe:
Total Calories = 1175. Phosphorus 734mg; Potassium 2133mg; Sodium 384mg; Calcium 80mg; Iron 5.4mg; Omega-3 Fatty Acid 3821mg; Omega-6 Fatty Acid 8122mg; High Quality Protein 91.2g; Carbohydrates 82.8g; Magnesium 157mg; Saturated Fat 12.2g; Selenium 82.4mcg.
