Would liver, either calf or chicken, be of any benefit as an alternative meat source?
We humans are truly indebted to you for your perseverance and dedication to enlighten us.
Thank you ~ Cheryl Clark
Hi Cheryl — It’s a fair question and I know it may seem counter intuitive, but no, liver/organ meats are about one of the worst things you could feed a dog with renal problems where you’re trying to control for phosphorus. They’re about the highest in that regard, so I absolutely do not recommend you use them as ingredients or substitutions. Take care and best of luck to you. ~ Dale
Hi Alice — you’ll have to research the comparative phosphorus levels of the turkey vs. gr. beef, but my advice to you is to be careful because when it comes to buying pre-ground poultry, you may not know what you’re getting exactly (what ratio of white vs. dark meat) … which is important because they have different phosphorus levels.
Dale, my 3 1/2 y/o labradoodle Oakley sustained kidney damage after contracting leptospirosis. He absolutely LOVES the “Ben” recipe and his renal function has actually improved since being on the diet! I would like to know how to incorporate kale into the recipe.
Thank you so much.
Hi Penny — Thank you for stopping by and your question re: Kale. It is a reasonable substitute for the green beans, but only as a periodic substitute, I’d recommend, or in rotation with other variations if you’re freezing different batches. The kale has many wonderful qualities to it and many important nutrients, but it is also deficient in potassium which can be important in some diets. Kale also isn’t without phosphorus, so using it is a tradeoff … valuable to a point, but, again, limited. When using, it’s recommend blanching it to leach out the phosphorus a bit and then finely chopping before introducing it into the food. Hope that helps.
There are a number of associated benefits. Some are discussed here at LiveStrong. Mostly it will help with the metabolism and digestion/absorption of nutrients in the food and improve energy and the challenge with kidney disease is that excess urination is flushing out certain nutrients more quickly, especially water soluble nutrients (like B vitamins). As such, this is a replacement for something the dog may be deficiency-prone on account of the disease. If you visit this recent post on DogAware.com, you’ll see similar information: “Vitamin B-complex — Most dogs can take a B-50 supplement. Vitamin B does not help the kidneys specifically, but it is a water soluble vitamin that is flushed from the body more quickly by dogs with kidney disease, due to their drinking and urinating more than normal.” I hope this helps.
Would liver, either calf or chicken, be of any benefit as an alternative meat source?
We humans are truly indebted to you for your perseverance and dedication to enlighten us.
Thank you ~ Cheryl Clark
Hi Cheryl — It’s a fair question and I know it may seem counter intuitive, but no, liver/organ meats are about one of the worst things you could feed a dog with renal problems where you’re trying to control for phosphorus. They’re about the highest in that regard, so I absolutely do not recommend you use them as ingredients or substitutions. Take care and best of luck to you. ~ Dale
What about 85/15 ground turkey?.instead of lean beef.
Hi Alice — you’ll have to research the comparative phosphorus levels of the turkey vs. gr. beef, but my advice to you is to be careful because when it comes to buying pre-ground poultry, you may not know what you’re getting exactly (what ratio of white vs. dark meat) … which is important because they have different phosphorus levels.
Dale, my 3 1/2 y/o labradoodle Oakley sustained kidney damage after contracting leptospirosis. He absolutely LOVES the “Ben” recipe and his renal function has actually improved since being on the diet! I would like to know how to incorporate kale into the recipe.
Thank you so much.
Hi Penny — Thank you for stopping by and your question re: Kale. It is a reasonable substitute for the green beans, but only as a periodic substitute, I’d recommend, or in rotation with other variations if you’re freezing different batches. The kale has many wonderful qualities to it and many important nutrients, but it is also deficient in potassium which can be important in some diets. Kale also isn’t without phosphorus, so using it is a tradeoff … valuable to a point, but, again, limited. When using, it’s recommend blanching it to leach out the phosphorus a bit and then finely chopping before introducing it into the food. Hope that helps.
Dale, what does the B 50 do for dogs in kidney failure?
There are a number of associated benefits. Some are discussed here at LiveStrong. Mostly it will help with the metabolism and digestion/absorption of nutrients in the food and improve energy and the challenge with kidney disease is that excess urination is flushing out certain nutrients more quickly, especially water soluble nutrients (like B vitamins). As such, this is a replacement for something the dog may be deficiency-prone on account of the disease. If you visit this recent post on DogAware.com, you’ll see similar information: “Vitamin B-complex — Most dogs can take a B-50 supplement. Vitamin B does not help the kidneys specifically, but it is a water soluble vitamin that is flushed from the body more quickly by dogs with kidney disease, due to their drinking and urinating more than normal.” I hope this helps.