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Old March 15th, 2013, 01:29 PM
RDandSQ RDandSQ is offline
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Lowering Protein In Food

9 year old 75 pound dog's labwork showed dilute urine specific gravity (1.007) and slightly high creatinine (1.7 vs. range of 0.5 - 1.6 mg/dL). BUN mid range (21 mg/dL) and Phosphorus low-mid range (3.0 vs range of 2.5 - 6.0 mg/dL). The vet suggested going to a Senior Food to get a bit less protein. He was more concerned about the urine than the creatinine. But I worry about kidney issues.

My dog is on Ziwipeak dyhydrated raw food (it's not raw once dyhydrated) with "quality" protein and no grains etc. It's pretty much all meat. He get's 6 scoops per day, with fish oil and some other supplements (Missing Link and Sea Meal). I was focused on the percent protein (36%), but not on the total quantity.

Doing the math it seems he's been getting 122 gm protein per day for the last year or so. I now understand the guideline for older dogs is about 2 gms/ per kg (or about 1 gm/ pound), which is slightly more than for adult dogs. Based on this he should be getting about 75 gms/day.

I'm thinking rather than going to a commercial senior dog food with grains and other things, why not just give him less Ziwipeak and augment with vegetables? I was thinking of going down to 4 scoops (about 80 gm) per day, and giving him pumpkin, sweet potato, or cauliflower or a combination to make sure he gets the same amount of food he is used to.

Does that make sense?
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Old March 15th, 2013, 01:59 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RDandSQ View Post
9 year old 75 pound dog's labwork showed dilute urine specific gravity (1.007) and slightly high creatinine (1.7 vs. range of 0.5 - 1.6 mg/dL). BUN mid range (21 mg/dL) and Phosphorus low-mid range (3.0 vs range of 2.5 - 6.0 mg/dL). The vet suggested going to a Senior Food to get a bit less protein. He was more concerned about the urine than the creatinine. But I worry about kidney issues.

My dog is on Ziwipeak dyhydrated raw food (it's not raw once dyhydrated) with "quality" protein and no grains etc. It's pretty much all meat. He get's 6 scoops per day, with fish oil and some other supplements (Missing Link and Sea Meal). I was focused on the percent protein (36%), but not on the total quantity.

Doing the math it seems he's been getting 122 gm protein per day for the last year or so. I now understand the guideline for older dogs is about 2 gms/ per kg (or about 1 gm/ pound), which is slightly more than for adult dogs. Based on this he should be getting about 75 gms/day.

I'm thinking rather than going to a commercial senior dog food with grains and other things, why not just give him less Ziwipeak and augment with vegetables? I was thinking of going down to 4 scoops (about 80 gm) per day, and giving him pumpkin, sweet potato, or cauliflower or a combination to make sure he gets the same amount of food he is used to.

Does that make sense?
cauliflower is gassy so I would not feed your dog a lot at one time.
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Old March 15th, 2013, 05:24 PM
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pbpatti pbpatti is offline
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Take a look at N R G dogfood. It too is a dehydrated type of food and is made in Canada. The protein is lower then the Ziwipeak at: http://www.nrgpetproducts.com/maxim/ I have been feeding Sasha this and she is doing really good on it.
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Old March 16th, 2013, 05:22 PM
MaxaLisa MaxaLisa is offline
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Originally Posted by RDandSQ View Post
I'm thinking rather than going to a commercial senior dog food with grains and other things, why not just give him less Ziwipeak and augment with vegetables? I was thinking of going down to 4 scoops (about 80 gm) per day, and giving him pumpkin, sweet potato, or cauliflower or a combination to make sure he gets the same amount of food he is used to.

Does that make sense?
This might make sense, but would be following up with labwork to see if it's enough of a change. I bought a steamer to help with regular feeding of vegetables, and a digestive enzyme can also help.

Green Beans, squash, beets, etc......
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Old March 18th, 2013, 12:02 PM
RDandSQ RDandSQ is offline
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Thanks

Thanks for your inputs. The NGR looks good, thanks. I have been microwaving cauliflower (he has always liked it), carrots, and sweet potato, all of which he likes, and adding pumpkin. I put the vegetables in the microwave before our walk, and it is done by the time we're back. I cool it by adding water and use the lukewarm water in his food.

A local food specialist suggested this dehydrated vegetable mixture, but noted if I had the time to make fresh that is likely better.

http://www.drharveys.com/products/sh...wl-fine-ground

I have scheduled follow-up lab work.
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Old March 18th, 2013, 11:40 PM
MaxaLisa MaxaLisa is offline
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Some sensitive dogs may not tolerate Dr. Harveys so well. Definitely, fresh is the best
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