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As many of you know from my posts on Morning Coffee, Tessa is dealing with a bladder infection/kidney disease situation. She's doing good, is on antibiotics twice a day and estrogen twice a week. My vet is now talking about a diet routine for her. We haven
t discussed the nitty gritty of it yet, but probably will down the line like maybe next month.

I been doing some research on this subject and I see that there is controversary regarding a low vs regular protein diet for dogs with kidney disease, but seems to be an agreement that a straight dry food diet is not good. That's what my dogs are on at the moment.

Right now they are eating Natural Balance Alpha, with turkey, chickend and I forgot what else including garbanzo beans etc. The seem to really like it. But with the protien issue, I am wondering if I should make some changes again. Need to find a wet food to add to the dry. There are recipes out there for making your own homemade food, but with two mid sized dogs, that can get to be a bit much and not necessarily a good thing either. The need certain vitamins and minerals as well.

So am wondering if any of you with "fur kids" have had this problem in your dogs and how did you deal with it? Any advice would be helpful.

Sue, here is a discussion regarding the issue of low or high protein in regard to effect on dogs kidneys, the paragraph below is part of the discussion. Below that is a review from the Dog Food Advisor to what you are currently feeding. I think the Dog Food Advisor sit is very good. It list all the foods by their ratings and also from A-Z.
Hope this helps with your decision.
I also have a list in PDF form of the approved wet (canned) foods from the Whole Dog Journal but I can't copy the link so if you have a question about one and want to ask just let me know.
BJ


http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/best-dog- ... -dog-food/

Restrict Phosphorus… Not Protein


Animals with impaired kidney function are reported to do better by restricting phosphorus intake. However, limiting phosphorus on a preventive basis is not likely to delay the onset of kidney disease or benefit healthy older dogs.4

Drs. Foster and Smith conclude:5

“Unless your veterinarian has told you your pet has a kidney problem and it is severe enough to adjust the protein intake, you can feed your pet a high protein diet without worrying about ‘damaging’ or ‘stressing’ your pet’s kidneys.”
The only real justification for a restricted protein diet is very high urinary nitrogen (uremia) or elevated urinary protein (proteinuria).6"


http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food- ... alpha-dog/

As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 29% and a mean fat level of 13%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 50% for the overall product line