If you follow my blog at all, you'll recognize this face; my best girl and frequent model, Ginger. It's hard to believe, she'll be 14 years old in August (or at least that's when we'll celebrate her birthday, as a rescue, its anybody's best guess as to when her actual birthday is). She's still pretty spry, but her eyes are staring to cloud a bit and after being a blonde bombshell for all of her life, white fur has finally started to creep in around her face a few months ago. It was hard to notice at first because it was close to her natural blonde, but one day the light hit her just right and there was no denying it; my girl was turning gray.
Earlier this year she went to the vet for her annual well-woman exam and the blood panel indicated reduced kidney function. Not too bad, we caught it pretty early, but that meant she needed to go on a special diet right away, one that was low in protein. We've always fed our dogs a mixture of kibble and wet food and the even ratio of carbohydrates and protein has kept their weights very steady their entire lives, something our veterinarian always praises us for. We bought a mixed case of various flavors of prescription kidney food and a small bag of dry kibble.
Ginger, who never met a meal she didn't like and has been a chow hound for her entire life, turned her nose up at every flavor of the prescription canned food except beef stew. Luckily she liked the lamb kibble we bought and hasn't lost an appetite for it as of yet. We were experiencing first hand the problem that a lot of people have with pets with kidney disease; they loose weight because they don't like the special diet.
Even though she liked the beef stew, she no longer eats with the same gusto she once did. Apart from seeing your beloved pet in pain, I don't think there's anything more stressful than to see your dog not want to eat. Mornings especially can be tough to get her to eat her entire meal. We learned a few tricks to help make her meal more appealing; parmesan cheese is a favorite but ground up freeze dried bison beats that out. I run it through a food processor until it's powder so I only have to add a half teaspoon over the top of her food to add flavor with limited protein.
All was going well until supply chain issues meant that we could not beg, borrow or steal a can of beef stew kidney food in a 30-mile radius of Dallas. I spent an hour on the phone calling vet clinics and pet stores asking - everyone was out everywhere. So we did what anyone would do, we Googled "homemade dog food for dogs with kidney disease" and sure enough found a number of recipes.
Ginger Is A Pet Photographer's Dream Dog: Cute And Will Work For Food
Homemade Dog Food Is Easy To Make
I compared the recipes I found in my research and discovered there was one that multiple reputable sites had in common. We made a batch of it and Ginger scarfed it up. I sent it to our vet and asked for her thoughts, explaining the situation with the prescription food and she replied "looks good to me, let's see what the bloodwork says in a month".
Here's the recipe by Samantha Randall
This homemade dog food for renal disease is very simple to make. After you prepare all of the ingredients and allow them to cool, combine them in a large mixing bowl. That’s it – it’s really that simple.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Category: For Renal Disease
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Dog Food
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup boiled chicken (chopped)
- 1 hard boiled egg (mashed)
- 2 tbsp. plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup cooked brown rice
- 1/4 cup steamed carrots
- 1/4 cup steamed green beans
INSTRUCTIONS
After you have all the ingredients in front of you (boiled chicken and egg cooled), you need to combine them all in one bowl. Just be sure to chop the ingredients into pieces that are appropriately sized for your dog.
I recommend feeding about 1/2 cup of food for every 20-25 pounds of body weight. This is just a guideline. Some dogs, like working dogs and very active breeds, will need more calories than this. Lazier pets and senior dogs may not need as many.
It’s best to consult your veterinarian about the appropriate serving size for you dog. They will also help you evaluate this homemade dog food for renal disease to make sure it will meet your dog’s unique nutritional needs. If necessary, they will assist you in choosing the best supplements and/or multivitamins to add.
What Is Kidney / Renal Disease In Dogs?
I found a lot of useful information, explained in an easy-to-understand way, on the site TopDogTips.com. The kidneys help to filter out waste from the body by eliminating it as urine. They also assist in maintaining normal concentrations of salt and water in the body. Kidneys also help in controlling calcium metabolism and blood pressure, as well helping the body in sustaining phosphorous levels.
Some signs of kidney disease in your pet may include:
- increased water intake
- increased urine output
- decreased urine output
- secreting urine while sleeping
- blood in the urine
- decrease in appetite
- vomiting
- diarrhea
- unexplained weight loss
- hunched over posture
Dogs eat protein, unfortunately this isn't good for dogs with kidney disease. When a dog digests protein, there is nitrogen left behind, and kidneys filter out the nitrogen. This is why low protein food is best for dogs with renal disease.
It's important to say that you cannot treat your pet for kidney disease on your own with homemade or over-the-counter remedies. Your veterinarian knows best how to treat your pet's illness and will discuss treatment plans and diets with you, this homemade dog food can be one element of your pet's overall treatment plan.
I Love Her More Than Words Can Say
Ginger went to the vet just this week for a 3-month blood work checkup, so that would be the proof of whether or not our homemade dog food was working. She was eating fairly well, but still leaving a bit behind in her bowl a couple of days a week. I'm very happy to report that her levels (there are a lot of them, and I don't remember all the names, but suffice it to say that they were the important ones!) are back in the normal range. At the high end of normal, but normal - AND - she actually gained weight! From day to day we may need to adjust what we do to entice her to eat her food, but we're up for the challenge and determined to celebrate her 14th birthday in August!
All Around The Circle
It's all about what we do for our dogs this week in the pet photographer's blog circle and first up is making collars for my dogs & yours, About A Dog Photography & Atomic Collars in central MN and then continue clicking on the link at the bottom of each page until you end up right back here and then you will have completed the circle.
Tracy Allard of Penny Whistle Photography is a Certified Professional Photographer with the organization Professional Photographers of America; a designation held by fewer than 2,000 photographers nationwide and a hallmark of consistency, technical skill, artistry and professionalism. Tracy's pet portraits have won local, state, national and international awards.
Penny Whistle specializes in both on-location and studio photography providing pet, equine, family, couples & engagement and high school senior portraits as well as corporate headshots and commercial photography services in her studio located in historic downtown Carrollton as well as on location in Coppell, Grapevine, Southlake, Flower Mound and surrounding communities in Dallas – Fort Worth, Texas.
14 Comments
Nov 13, 2024, 9:42:39 AM
Tracy Allard - Hi Jennifer, I personal suggestion would be to continue feeding your dog on the same schedule that you do today, but ultimately you should consult with your veterinarian on best practice. We feed our dogs twice a day, so we continued with that schedule. Typically the biggest struggle with renal disease is weight loss, so twice a day feedings might be helpful to get more food into your pup.
Nov 12, 2024, 10:26:45 PM
Jennifer - I’d like to try this recipe for my 16 year old chihuahua. She weighs 11 pounds and has decided that she doesn’t like the only canned food I can find for her. My question is do you feed your dog the 1/2 cup serving just once a day? I realize that I would just feed my Ginger just 1/4 cup...but once a day? Thank you.
Aug 1, 2024, 4:05:08 PM
Tracy Allard - The recipe does call for brown rice, but as we had white rice on hand, that's what we used. We're pan cooking ground chicken in the picture, it is fully cooked before we mix it with the rest of the food. We make small batches as we found that Ginger didn't like to eat even 3-4 day old food, and pan cooking is a bit easier than boiling. Over the past 2.5 years that we've been doing this (Ginger will turn 16 in August of 2024), we've made minor adjustments to the recipe to appeal to her changing tastes and that includes sometimes using turkey instead of chicken and exchanging for other vegetables. At the recommendation of our veterinarian, we now also add a multi-vitamin powered mix for overall health benefit.
Aug 1, 2024, 3:49:30 PM
Tracy Allard - Good luck, I hope it does!
Aug 1, 2024, 12:14:38 PM
Jae - I'm curious about the photos - the recipe calls for brown rice, boiled chicken and carrots and green beans - but the pictures show partially raw meat that I don't think is chicken, as well as white rice and carrots with peas. Am I missing something? LOL
Jun 24, 2024, 5:35:05 PM
Jennifer Cassell - My LaChon is 12 years old, she is declining in her health, I want to see if your recipe works
May 5, 2024, 12:14:49 PM
Tracy Allard - Aw thank you Leighann, I'm happy to report that 2 years after writing that post, Ginger is still going strong at 15 1/2 years old! She's maintained a consistent weight since her diagnosis. She can get picky about the bland food every now and then, so she keeps us on our toes to find low-protein ways to add some pizzazz to her meals so she'll eat. She's slowed down quite a bit, but is still our sweet old girl.
May 5, 2024, 12:01:58 PM
Tracy Allard - Hi Amanda,
I'm so sorry that I've not responded before now - blog post notifications sometimes get lost in the mix. I know it's been a month now, how is Charlie doing? Ginger is still going strong at 15.5 years old now but has recently started to get fairly picky about what she eats so we've been sprinkling freeze-dried raw chicken (it's like a powder so really gets in everywhere), that or Kraft parmesan cheese (the one with the green plastic lid). Between the two of those, we can usually get her to finish her meals and she's maintained a consistent weight. As far as making the recipe in bulk, we just multiply it to make enough for a week's worth and freeze half of it. She'll be more picky when it's not fresh, so we make about 2-3 lbs and freeze half, taking it out to thaw half way through the week.
May 3, 2024, 4:17:44 PM
Leighann Marsh - I am commenting not on the great food ideas for dogs but because of how much you love Ginger! This made my day! Dogs are amazing!
Mar 27, 2024, 11:17:47 AM
Amanda - My Charlie will be 14 this June which he is going down hill fast this last month.. Do you have a recipe that you do up for Ginger for the week? We have been doing half soft half hard but Charlie is leaving most in the bowl. Thank you. ❤️🐾
Apr 22, 2022, 7:25:06 AM
Linda Perdue - Wonderful! Thanks for sharing - no kidding on the supply chain on dog food because it's hitting me now too.....for now, mine will switch to different food since its not critical - but love the idea of how you approached this!
Apr 19, 2022, 7:56:01 AM
Cahlean - Huzzah! I'm glad you found a way to make a homemade recipe that Ginger enjoys and it helps her kidneys! Plus it looks pretty tasty for a person too! Long live Ginger!
Apr 17, 2022, 3:04:57 PM
Nicole - Wow, great news about Ginger's improved labs and thank you so much for sharing this information! Positive thoughts that she continues to improve on this diet.
Apr 15, 2022, 4:55:19 AM
Carol Mudra - Glad you found a tasty solution for your girl. And with a face like that, Ginger totally deserves it. Is it wrong that this recipe looks like something I'd eat?!