Raw Food Diet for Dogs with Kidney Problems: Is It Helpful?

As our canine companions undergo the natural aging process, we, the dog owners, become worried about unexpected health problems that can put our canine friends’ life in jeopardy. Since tracing visible and invisible health issue symptoms requires time and research, dog owners must be ready to discover these symptoms and provide a strong response against them. While dog owners could deem this work as burdensome, nevertheless, it is essential for your canine friend’s health and peace of mind.

Here at Volhard Dog Nutrition, our mission is to provide dog owners with all the information and tools necessary to ensure a healthy, peaceful life for their canine friends. With our superior, consistent fresh, natural diet using raw protein dogs can fight against diseases brought by age and enjoy every single day together with their owners.

Kidney Disease and Aging Dogs

Some of the most common health problems for aging dogs are related to their kidneys. In our current world, it is estimated that 1 in 10 dogs will suffer from one or several forms of kidney diseases over a lifetime, which is why we think dog owners must educate themselves on this subject.

The kidneys are your dog’s natural mechanism involved in purifying blood cells and flushing out toxins into the urine. Additionally, the kidneys play a significant role in regulating blood pressure, red blood cells, and the acid level in your dog’s body.

What Happens When Dog Kidneys Are Not Functioning Properly

Kidney diseases develop when damage occurs to the kidneys, resulting in their inability to filter blood correctly. As your kidneys’ ability to filter the blood decreases, your dog’s body accumulates these toxins, leading to more health problems, including kidney failure.

Unfortunately, unlike the liver, kidneys cannot rejuvenate, which means dog owners must discover any signs of developing kidney problems and take action before the condition could worsen.

What Are The Causes of Kidney Disease in Dogs?

Since it is a common problem for dogs to experience nowadays, chronic kidney disease can be caused by a myriad of both external (kidney trauma, stress) and internal factors (high blood pressure, genetic problems, infections). Apart from these factors, several diseases, such as cancer, can contribute to the development of kidney problems inside a dog’s body. The International Renal Interest Society (IRIS), a group of specialists who dedicate their time and resources toward a better understanding of kidney diseases in dogs, has put together a comprehensive list of factors for dog owners to observe.

Most of the factors which increase the chances of kidney disease are connected to the dog’s lifestyle. For example, air pollution and poor quality processed foods, although not on the spot, can become problematic for the dog’s health over time. Dog owners must understand that a happy dog, living in a low-stress environment full of fresh air, is a healthy dog.

Symptoms of Kidney Disease in Dogs to Look for

The earliest signs of kidney disease in dogs to look out for are related to the dog’s water intake and urinating. If you note some changes in your dog’s water intake and urine production, make sure that you take it to a veterinarian, who can ascertain whether a chronic kidney disease might be developing in your canine friend’s body. Dogs tend to be sensitive to changes to mild levels of toxins accumulating in their bodies, which is why we recommend that your canine companion see a veterinarian from the start.

There are several other symptoms which could point toward a developing chronic kidney disease:

• Dehydration
• Lethargy
• Vomiting
• Reduced appetite
• Urine leakage
• Weight loss

Raw Diet for Dogs with Kidney Disease

As a dog parent, your mission is not to improve your dog’s lifestyle when it is diagnosed with kidney disease, but to work on preventing it from ever developing inside your canine friend’s body. Here at Volhard Dog Nutrition, the core of our mission is coming up with a fresh, natural diet for your dog using raw protein, rich with all the nutrients essential for a long, peaceful life. Based on our mission, we’ve come up with a diet best suited to help treat and prevent kidney disease! Let’s discuss the main components of this diet.

When it comes to kidney disease, a hydrated, fresh Natural diet rich with high-quality raw protein is the most suitable answer. First of all, make sure that your dog’s nutrition plan includes proteins that can be easily absorbed and higher in fat, such as raw meats, or eggs, while staying away from protein sources, which your dog cannot digest at all, such as soy. Although soy has no nutritional value for your dog, most of the dog food manufacturers include soy into the dog food as an inexpensive way to replace high-quality protein.

First up is to eliminate anything that causes an immune reaction as the debris from these reactions to clog the kidney highways. This is the most overlooked step in dogs with kidney disease (after foul teeth).

We need to remove any of these from the dog's menu:

• Wheat gluten (dry foods, store-bought dog treats, bread, pasta, dental bone type gunk)
• Pet store treats including dental sticks, rawhide chews etc.
• Needless chemicals including chemical flea and worm treatments, kennel cough treatments, annual boosters for dogs already adequately vaccinated for viruses, etc.

Dogs with CKF (Chronic Kidney Failure) cannot conserve water by concentrating their urine, therefore, their water intake is critical to prevent dehydration. A diet with high moisture content like Volhard diets are necessary for hydration. The nutrient profiles of kidney-friendly dog foods are different from adult maintenance dog foods in other ways; in addition to phosphorus, protein, sodium, and Omega-3 fatty acids.

The Volhard AM/PM diet is a separation diet and is the easiest to digest and is low in phosphorus and sodium. The benefit of the AM/PM diet is that it is very kind to healing or sick dogs and the digestibility is very high. The AM/PM diet allows the dog's body to focus digestion on types of food separately allowing the body to produce the enzymes needed and breakdown the carbohydrates in the diet at a separate time from the protein. Protein is digested at a much slower rate and when fed together, the fruits and vegetables will “push” the protein through the GI tract much quicker than the nutrition can be absorbed. Feeding fruits and vegetables separately in the day allows them to have a chance to be well on their way out of the body before you introduce the protein for the day.

As you can imagine, nutrition plays an important role in managing CKD in dogs. There are four core goals for managing CKD in dogs:

• Control the clinical signs associated with accumulating waste products in the blood.
• Minimize problems with fluid and mineral balance.
• Sustain adequate nutrition.
• Modify/slow the progression of CKD.

Lastly, for a superior diet, dogs must be kept away from foods rich with phosphorus. Unfortunately, most of the processed foods found in pet stores have a high concentration of phosphorus, which is why a hydrated, fresh, Natural diet, low in phosphorus, is the ideal choice for your canine companion. Volhard has a kidney cleanse diet that you can use to create health in the kidneys. Want to try it? https://www.volharddognutrition.com/winter-diet/

For more advice on dog nutrition, health, and training, make sure to contact us and check out our blog!

Volhard Dog Nutrition and its expert canine nutrition coaches are now offering online consultations to help more dog parents discover why and how to feed their dogs the healthiest of foods!

Speaking to a Volhard canine nutrition coach will help you understand the inseparable relationship between healthy food, a healthy body, and a healthy mind.

If you want to contact one of our Volhard canine nutrition coaches, don't hesitate to access our consultation page!