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My 10 yo golden retriever recently diagnosed w/ kidney disease. She spits out the Hill's KD dry even when mixed w/ the canned, but will eat the canned by itself. Going to try her on the Royal Canin kidney dry food when it arrives at my vets. If she won't eat that is it ok to just give the canned? I tried EVERYTHING to entice her to eat the Hill's dry but she is too smart for me! I know i can give no salt veggies, but is a teaspoon of no salt chicken broth added to the dry too much protein? I'm sure it probably is, but I am at my wits end. She has alrady lost weight due to this dx & don't want her to lose anymore weight, but want to do the right healthy thing for her. HELP!!
In most cases of renal diesase, adding no salt chicken broth to a dry renal diet is not adding a significant amoutn of protein. To increase water consumption and to make a renal dry diet more palatable, you might consider adding a product called MilkOPET. This is a no lactose milk drink for dogs. If that does not work, please consider a consultation with us.

A client was in today and said they had been cooking for their dog for 6 months. It used to eat Iams and had grandmal seizures weekly (that was news to me since the dog has been coming in yearly for 6 years and I had no mention in the chart). They feed quinoa, broccoli, and chicken breast and the dog hasn't had a seizure since they switched. Can broccoli be used as a sole source of calcium in a canine diet?
No. A HMD diet can be formulated properly using those ingredients, but the diet as you described it (regardless of the amount fed) will have an inverse Ca:Phos ratio in addition to being calcium (and several other nutrient) deficient.

In many of the 'Top quality brand' cat foods contain liver as the second ingredient; however, liver is VERY high in vitamin A. Shouldn't liver fall further down the list of ingredients to limit risk of vitamin A overdose, or is the bioavailability of the vitamin A in liver fairly low?
If the food carries an AAFCO nutritionally complete and balanced claim, then the total Vit A inthe food will be under the AAFCO maximum recommendation which is about 100 x below that known to be toxic.

My 13.5 year old Swedish Vallhund was recently found to have very high triglycerides (the cause is still being investigated). 10 years ago she developed some type of inflammatory bowel disease (chronic diarrhea with blood, mucus and vomiting) which has been VERY successfully under control for 9.5 years with Hills Z/D Ultra Allergen Free Diet alone. Now that she has extremely high triglycerides, our vet thinks she should be on a low fat diet, which unfortunately Z/D Ultra is not. I'm very afraid that if we change her diet, her IBD symptoms will return. We've tried many diets before Z/D and all caused problems. I've not been able to find a hypoallergenic low fat diet. I don't know what to do!
Understandable .... but please consider these two points:
1) There are other hydrolyzed and novel protein diets we can investigate the level and type of fat in each for you.
2) I would have to see the lab data from a 12-18 hrs fast, to decide if the source of the TGs was diet or endogneous.

I have an 8-month old Yorkshire terrier who had been eating puppy Taste of the Wild. After being spayed and having 3 deciduous teeth removed she doesn't want anything to do with the kibble. Any suggestions for a good food for a yorkie? Should I make my own food? Sincerely
I think your local veterinarian would have suggestions for given that person can examine the dog.
Meanwhile, you may try feeding the dog a canned food.

I have 2 questions : 1. which wet food do you consider to be the best and most cost effective? 2. My 17 year old cat has been diagnosed with kidney failure. He is doing quite well - except for his anticipted and normal weight loss - and gets around just fine. He likes WHISKAS roasted chicken with meaty juices as his preferred diet. Do you have a better suggestion and any additional treatment suggestions? I have 7 other cats; so far all in good health what do you suggest that I feed them, as far as wet food ?
Thanks for your advice and recommendations
Probably the cheapest food that carries the "AAFCO complete and balanced using feeding trials" is the most cost effective. Price depends on where and how you buy it. The evidence is pretty strong, that the progression of the renal disease can be slowed if a low phosphorous diet is fed. No over the counter food qualifies as a low phos food. I think you should feed your older cat a feline renal diet.

I have several clients who are raising pups to be used in search and rescue. They, of course, want to feed the very best. Here is what the breeder of a shepard pup has advised:
1/2 c Taste of Wild Puppy Bison/Venison
11/2-2 oz. of raw meat(no specific type but can include tripe)
1/4 scoop of Nupro, a joint and immunity support
1 TBSP yogurt
Any comments or input appreciated as I believe they will be difficult to convince that raw in NOT necessarily good.
The diet as you have described is probably out of balance (mixing commercial food with significant amounts of single item foods) and with the added meat, probably has an inverse Ca:Phos ratio... fed raw or cooked.

My dog had Myasthenia Gravis and megaesophagus (resulting from the MG) for almost a year. She has been in remission now for over a year and is doing fabulously. As only a little toy poodle could possibly be. I started giving her organic yogurt with dog probiotics when she first became ill. The thickness of the yogurt was easier for her to swallow than plain water, so I used it to hydrate her while she convalesced. Please, can you tell me whether there are any reasons for which I would not wish to give my dog Organic plain yogurt (from cow's milk)? thank you.
There is very little lactose in yogurt, so if she tolerates, I do not see a reason why you could not continue feeding it.

My 3 yr old Old English Sheepdog lost weight after eating mushrooms in my yard. He has been treated and is recovering. He needs to put on about 10 lbs. I feed a homemade diet alternating chicken , buffalo meat, salmon ,turkey and eggs for proein sources. Then I include rice, spinach , broccoli, carrots, pumpkin, apples bananas, pineapple and dandelion. I also include coconut oil, borage oil, primrose oil and omega 3-6-9 oils. I also include supplements of biotin, B-complex, chlorophyll, cosequin for pets, colostrum, vitamin c,co-q10 , also I give goat milk,greek yogurt, L-glutamine powder and L-arginine powder . I am wondering how I can boost his caloric intake. He is a very busy boy and he is not yet neutered. Thank you.
It appears that the diet as you have described it is not complete or balanced. We are most willing to make appropriate nutritional recommendations or formulate a HM diet for your dog. You may begin the consultation process yourself online at any time.

You've stressed the importance of buying pet foods from large companies that have their own manufacturing plants. Last year there was a problem in the Diamond plant, and a lot of different brands manufactured in that facility were recalled. I've just read a web article that said in cases like this, all of the brands that are made in a particular facility are essentially the same, that only the packaging is different. Using the Diamond example -- every brand made in that plant contains ingredients that come from the exact same source, and are identical to the ingredients used in Diamond's own products. So any brand that was made there is essentially Diamond pet food with a different bag. Is that true?
It is called co-packing. Yes there are too few plants for as many dog foods sold. Since 2007, I have suggested using a company that has it's manufacturing plant. Most dog food products are not made in a plant owned by the company sells the food.