Hi I am not sure if anyone could offer any advise. I am asking for my sister who has a 3 year old Lab called Taffy.

2 Weeks ago he started to get really ill. Vet believes it was Leptospirosis even though he was vaccinated..
Taffy has been in the vets now for nearly 2 weeks as they were keeping an eye on him in the Vet hospital.
It has affected his kidneys and at one stage they thought he may have to be put to sleep. Luckily tho he seems to have got a lot better and came home yesterday..
The blood test's showed a huge improvement in his kidneys which is great. However the vet thinks there is permenent damage to the kidneys.

Obviously they say he needs to have a high quality prescription diet now. They sold her Hill's which i knew they would.
I said I would look into food for her.
Any suggestions on a dried food that will be good for him? Needs to be good quality due to his kidneys. She said she cannot afford to buy the Science plan all the time as cost a lot.
I am looking into maybe something like Arden Grange? Can anyone else reccomend anything. His tummy has been unsettled so something with good quality ingredients as possible the better.  That said Arden Grange is quite expensive and not sure how long a 15kg bag should last a Lab. She will buy the best she can afford but said the Hills cost loads at the vets.

Thanks for any help you can offer.

I don't know the best advice to give regarding diet BUT many of the larger dog food companies employ nutritionists so it's well worth calling them direct to discuss his needs.  I'd also get clarification from the vet about what must be avoided.  In this way she might be able to source some good alternatives.  Is RAW feeding a possibility, or not appropriate for kidney damage?

One of the best places to buy Hills is online and many companies will offer free postage if you buy two or more bags but it will pay to shop around.  Try VetUK to find a base price from which to work and remember to tell the vet to see if they are able to price match for her if she buys several bags a time.

Prescription diets arespecially designed for the 'problem' but yes the food is expensive.
I've had one of my dogs on a Royal Canine Vet prescription diet for the last two years.
I have bought from a number of different online places which work out considerably cheaper
than buying direct from the vet.

Hyperdrug have the Hills canine K/D 12kg bag for £48.99 and if you spend over £50 they give you free shipping
Petplanet have the same for £54.49 a bag or Save £3 if you buy to bags together (Hyperdrug still works out cheaper) and free delivery
VET UK is £49.42 for a 12kg bag and free delivery.
I'm sure there will be other companies out there.

Just have received my order of RC from Hyperdrug, excellent customer service and ordered on Friday morning and the food was here on Tuesday. If you ring through your order they can instantly tell you if it's in stock etc. I normally buy two bags at a time so I don't get caught out in the winter months etc. Plus they are a long standing pharmacy and you are dealing with a very reputable company.
Which isn't always apparent when looking on the internet.

Good luck in the quest.

Raw is inappropriate for kidney problems as it contains a high precentage of phosphorus which is what you don't need for kidney issues.  Look up the phosphorus content of dog foods and pick the lowest you can find, you do need a good quality food, so you may wish to consider adding things - breast of lamb or chicken legs (including the skin) - both cooked.  They are fatty meats, with a low phosphorus content.  Rice is also good and cottage cheese, boiled sweet potatoes (not baked).  You can also add calcium - pure not in tablet form as that contains vit D which you need to avoid.  Vit B, C and E are also useful as is whole fish oil.  Avoid fish liver oil.

You should feed the calcium (yums indigestion tablets or well ground egg shells are useful) with one feed and the additional vitamins with the other.  This is because calcium prevents the absorption of minerals and vitamins - you want it to soak up the phosphorus, but not to prevent the absorption of the vitamins you add.  Vit D stops the calcium absorbing minerals & vitamins, which is why they add it to calcium tablets, but this will defeat the object for a kidney failure dog.

I had a GSD with kidney failure after an infection and one of the vets we saw was amazed that she was still living over a year later - said on the prescription diet I could have expected a couple of months.  She was nearly 14 when I lost her.  As she had a rice allergy it was more difficult for me - but eventually found a good food, if a puppy food, which was low in phosphorus, but can't remember what it was now.  I added chicken or lamb or similar and she did very well on it.

Good luck with this.