My grandmas 14 year old border collie has recently been diagnosed with kidney failure. It is in the early stages and an injection from the vet has improved her condition enormously (for the time being). However she must now eat a protein free diet and hates the food from the vets. Does anybody know of any protein free food/treats for dogs?

Hi pinkbrady,

my understanding of dietary management in renal disease (limited I have to say) is that while a low volume/% of protein is very important, what protein intake there is should be of high quality so TBH I am a little surprised that the diet recommended is entirely protein free   Poor dog :(

Anyway, HERE is a useful info site with several very good links from it which assist in dietary management and will hopefully provide details of the type of treats you're looking for or recipes on how to make some at home :)  Additionally it has a link to a support group which you (or your Gran if she has www access) may find beneficial at this time.

Very best wishes for this dear old girl - it must be very upsetting for your Gran.
HTH a little, Teri

I think your grandma must have misunderstood the vet: no animal can survive for long on a totally protein-free diet. The important thing to find out is what type of protein he is allowed. Hills k/d or u/d are usually the recommended low-protein diets, and come in wet or (in the case of u/d) dry varieties. Burns is also quite low-protein.

There are also many causes of kidney failure and if she knows the cause then google might well turn up pages of advice.

Dr Kronfeld reports that older dogs and dogs with compromised kidneys can easily process high quality proteins. He states that high quality proteins in percentages as high as 54% can actually kill bacteria in the kidneys and create an acidic condition that is healthier for these organs. This would be helpful for urinary tract infections and other bacteria in the dogs system. (2) Taken from B-Natural link.

If you look at the left hand side half way down the page there is some interesting infomation. Infact best to read the whole thing

http://www.b-naturals.com/Nov2005.php?PHPSESSID=a51e54c4e199d1338a14b86bd361ceca

I find it very odd a vet would recommend a protein free diet ever.

Its definitely a LOW PROTEIN diet that is needed, and not protein free. Any mammal would die without protein in the diet, but low protein is recommended for humans and animals with kidney failure. As far as I recall, Naturediet is fairly low in protein. If you look on the label of the food from the vets you will see what percentage of the food is protein. you can then read the food labels on other foods to compare.
I just checked the websites for hills prescription diets for kidney failure, and they are 4.4 % protein. Naturediet lite is 7%, and other naturediets are 10%.

just found this dog food too http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/canned_dog_food/reddy/61408

Naturediet is NOT low in protein. 

You need to convert the amount of protein listed in a moist food (which is apx. 75% water) to the equivalent in a dry food (which is in the range of 8-10% moisture).  If you search on this site what you will find a number of formulas for doing so.

Roughly, multiple the protein percentage in a moist food by 4 to get the equivalent of dry food.  So if Naturediet lite is 7% the equivalent in a dry food is 28% and for the varieties at 10% protein the equivalent is roughly 40% protein.   Check for the formula to get the exact amounts.

I assume Hills is the moist food and so it's equivalent in dry food is just under 17.6%.   

you will notice that i did not actually recommend it, merely compared it to the equivalent protein content of the hills equivalent WET food. (i.e. 4.4% versus 7%).  Whether or not this is appropriate to the poster depends on whether dry or wet food is given. When I had a dog with renal failure I was advised to change to wet food instead of dry.( And was indeed prescribed wet food) OF course it is not actually the percentage that is important ( although is a guide for comparison), but the total protein consumed per day in grammes. Maybe the vet could give a guide on how much this should be for the dog in question.

Got it, pinklilies, but you said that you recalled that "Naturediet is fairly low in protein" and that's not the case.  So your post read as if you were recommending Naturediet as a low protein food.

Remember that you cannot directly compare the protein levels in a Wet and dry food.  You need to reduce both to a dry matter basis to compare.  We foods usually have protein levels at 6 - 10% whereas dry commonly have 18 - 32%.  One food is 80% or more moisture, the others usually less than 10%.

exactly, that is why it is the total protein per day in grammes which is important, and not the percentage. I am sure the vet should be able to provide this information, as it will depend on the weight/build of the dog.

Naturediet works out at about 44% protein.

Using the correct formula to convert, removing the moisture etc etc.

It is not protein per se that is the issue for dogs with kidney issues

http://www.b-naturals.com/May2004.php

the above may help as will http://www.dogaware.com/kidney.html

I helped my (now gone) girl Elsa, who was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure with a home made diet. This was low protein/low phosphorous (no dog can live on a protein free diet even if you could create one).

I gained the most useful information to do this at:
http://www.dogaware.com/kidney.html

Hope this helps
Kat