Homemade dog food recipes for senior dogs and those with medical issues aren’t as difficult to make as I thought they would be. If you use my tips it doesn’t even take that much time! Just a note – I am not a vet. This recipe was given to me by my vet to feed to my dog that has kidney failure. It is meant to be low protein. You should not feed this to your dog without talking to your vet first.
If you are following the Restless Chipotle Facebook page you already know that we had a serious issue with Cuddles, our pit bull (yes… Cuddles. If you have a pit you understand why that name, I’m sure). We aren’t sure how it happened but he got a bacterial infection and his kidneys began to shut down. He spent a week in doggie ICU — refusing to eat. When he got home he refused the special low-protein dog food and he just got thinner and thinner. It was time for some homemade dog food recipes!
I finally started making a dog food gruel that he would eat and he began to make a comeback. It was a long, hard road! When I took him in for his check up and talked to the vet she gave me a recipe that she approved of. You see, although we have always fed our dogs premium dog food (Taste of the Wild) the protein was way too high for Cuddles now. My vet explained that even our older dogs who were healthy should have less protein than before. She said dog food recipes for Cuddles had to be under 20 grams of protein but under 10 was better. This recipe has 6.9% protein and Cuddles loves it. In fact, our older dog does, too. He is playing and jumping around like a puppy. The other two (yes, we have four — 2 yorkies that moved in when my husband and I got married and my old dog which is a long haired chihuaha mix-up, and then Cuddles) like the food as well so I mix it in with their dog food.
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Cuddles is a rescue dog – both of my dogs are. We found him under our porch one day. When my son coaxed him out we saw that his chest and shoulders were basically shredded. He had been used as a bait dog — thrown in with pit bulls being trained to fight. I am horrified to say that there is a lot of that in my area. Anyway, my son had been wanting a pit bull and praying for one — who am I to argue with God?
We found him on a Saturday so of course there were no vets open. I wasn’t sure if he wasn’t going to need his leg amputated it was so bad. Shreds of flesh and muscle infested with maggots. I had my husband and son hold him so I could clean the wounds with cotton swabs and a copious amount of peroxide. I was nervous because here I was digging into this dog’s wounds and he was a big dog with big teeth — even if he was skinny.
That dog never even snapped at me. He looked it me with those big eyes and pushed at my hand with his nose. That was all. I cleaned those wounds a couple times a day all weekend long and then to my vet.They kept him overnight, put him out, scrubbed a couple of pounds of mud and dried blood off of him, then fixed him up.
When you make homemade dog food recipes for senior dogs, and those with kidney failure, it’s important to use the fattiest, cheapest ground beef you can find. You want more fat and less protein. I get a big chub pack and cook all of it up at once with the eggs that go in the recipe. Then I divide in in portions and freeze it. When I need another batch of food I thaw it and add the rest of the ingredients. So easy!
The recipe calls for boiled eggs but I add the to the nearly cooked ground beef and then cover the pan until everything is cooked and the yolks are cooked through. Then I chop them into the ground beef.
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It’s very important that you use a kitchen scale to make this and to serve it. It must be done by weight. It helps me to keep Restless Chipotle up and running – so thank you in advance. Anyway, this is similar to the kitchen scale I use and it works really well. Escali Glass Digital Kitchen Scale is thin and accurate plus easy to clean. Just remember to put your dogs bowl on the scale and zero the scale out before measuring in the food.
Measure everything very accurately and be sure not to make any substitutions or changes. The food should be refrigerated in an airtight container and eaten within three or four days. Also – get a good canine multivitamin like (another affiliate link) Pet MD Multivitamin plus Minerals. This is extremely important because your food will not be enriched like the commercial foods are.
- 1/4 pound ground beef (do not use lean)
- 2 cups cooked white rice (no salt)
- 1 hard cooked egg , peeled and chopped
- 3 slices white bread , crumbled
- 1 teaspoon calcium carbonate (blend a bottle of calcium carbonate in the blender until it's a powder then keep in a resealable plastic bag)
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Cook the beef until it is cooked through.
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Stir in the remaining ingredients and mix it well.
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Feed twice a day.
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Be sure to give your dog a vitamin supplement.
Body Weight Feed per day:
5 pounds feed 1/4 pound
10 pounds feed 1/2 pound
20 pounds feed 1 pound
40 pounds feed 1 1/2 pounds
60 pounds feed 2 pounds
80 pounds feed 2 1/2 pounds
100 pounds feed 3 pounds
My dog is having liver problems and or pancreatitis. Vet has her on meds but she needs very low protein foods, also no fat and no sodium. She is also not a big fan of rice. So far I’ve only been able to get her to eat boiled pasta flavored with no salt, no fat broth. I do put in a few very small pieces of chicken but I hand feed most of that to my other dog. The greasy beef wouldn’t work for her. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Hello and thank you for your recipe! My 16 yr. old doxie is having fluid therapy at this very moment for kidney failure. Besides not wanting to eat she is an extremely fussy eater which makes it more difficult. I know you said no substitutions but do you think it is possible to use chicken instead of beef?
Thanks a million!
chicken has more protein than fatty beef… so its not a good option…. but it is better than starvation.:) maybe half and half?
Thank you for the recipe! My lil guy is having liver issues. He’s a picky eater and I’ve been up in arms about him not wanting to eat. I think this will work!
Thank you for the recipe. I’m going through a similar drama with my dog at the moment. That’s an amazing story about cuddles. Recently I read a story about a dog who had been similarly abused (lots and lots of bite wounds) and the vet had treated his wounds with topically applied sugar! Here’s the link: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180328-how-sugar-could-help-heal-wounds
OMG! So many thanks for this site! My older dog [15-17] has been to the vet 3 days straight after refusing food & water into 4th day. Kidney tests show low kidney function of as yet undetermined origin. My vet gave similar diet without the meat. He suggested grits or even cheese (for fat content) grits as gruel first while stool is liquidy until near normal. Then thicken consistency. They will rerun tests on 5th day of diet. Hoping for full recovery. Again: Thanks so much for recipe!
Id be careful of cheese because of the protein. Thanks for commenting!
In the servings, is it 2 1/2 pounds divided into two meals a day or 2 1/2 pounds twice a day?
It depends on the size of your dog. We feed twice a day.
Our vet gave us this recipe for our dog whose kidney levels are continuously decking after a bout with lime. This is the only recipe we have found that he will actually eat!
We feed our dog twice a day as well. He is about 40lbs so the recipes says 1 1/2 cups. Do we do 1 1/2 cups in the morning and another 1 1/2 cups in the evening? Or .3/4 cup in the morning and 3/4 cup in the evening? Thank you!
Try 3/4 and 3/4 and adjust as you need to, Holly
Is ground turkey or chicken better than beef?
The fat from the beef is needed – ground poultry is too lean.
Too lean, but beef is higher in protein…use chicken thighs WITH skin for fat
My vet gave me this recipe a couple of days ago. There were a few differences in that the recipe she gave me said the beef should be 80% lean, only use 1/2 of the boiled egg, 2 pieces of white bread and 1-1/3 cups of the white rice (instant). For the calcium carbonate I was told to use tums. The recipe also called for 1/2 tsp of vegetable oil and a “dash’ of iodized salt. This was the daily diet for a 40 lb dog – my dog is a bit bigger than that so the hope is he’ll more than just this during the day (I also have the prescription K/D for him as well). Thanks for posting the recipe and encouraging people to be sure this would be good for their pets!
I found this while looking for low protein treats. My dog has liver disease and I also recently started making her food. I use Balanceit.com to create recipes based on her illness, age and weight. They sell a supplement for the homemade food so your pet (dog or cat) gets all the nutrients they need.
DO you drain the hamburger fat?? then add the rest of the ingredence?
No leave the fat in.
I just checked with my vet about this recipe for my 15 year old dog ^ he OK’d it for him. So my question is about the calcium carbonate. The recipe calls for 1 tsp. But when I went to the store there were various kinds with different milligram levels. There is regular strength, ultra strength, 500 mgs, 1000 mgs, etc. What strength or milligram level should be in the 1 tsp.?
I can remember how it was done – check with your vet.
Hi. Thx for the recipie. Just bought an expensive bag of renal food. Was going to mix in your recipie to supplement and make it stretch… It`s confusing. He ate 1/2 cup of food per day (20 lb dog). A pound seems like alot. I’ll need to watch his weight, but i know he’ll like your recipie
Hi! My dog has kidney disease and is being super picky and I came across this recipe and wanted to give it a try. I have some calcium carbonate at home and 1/2 teaspoon is 600mg. Just curious if that is equivalent to your 1 teaspoon you are referring to in your recipe? TIA!
I believe so, yes. 🙂
Bread is not good for dogs . Rice shouldn’t be given long term either. Rice with chicken when there sick and they need a small amount of vegetables for digestion. I’d suggest research before changing any diet from a trust worthy source.
Again, as I mentioned in the post – This is a recipe from my vet for my dog. I posted it as information and I always suggest that you talk to your own vet before changing your dog’s diet. 🙂
Can you suggest an alternative to bread and rice as my dog is allergic to grains as well as having kidney disease
Rayne it would be best to discuss that with your vet. 🙂
My daughter works at my vets and she asked him on my behalf if this recipe would be appropriate for my senior/renal problemed dogs and he said it would be “Perfect”. Therefore we are in the kitchen cooking up batches of it..just hope they like it…
I’m confused, my vet said low fat and low protein for my dog with renal failure. Did your vet tell you otherwise?
Megan. this is the recipe I got from my vet for my dog. I always recommend checking with your vet before any dietary changes
My vet just recommended high fat, low protein (more carbs, less protein basically) for my senior chi who has been on an rx renal diet.
This recipe is from a copyrighted textbook titled: Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, appendix 3-1 written by Dr. Lon D Lewis in 1987. It is not nutritionally complete and balanced even with the suggested OTC canine vitamin mineral tab.
Canine Nutrition has evolved over the last 30 yrs, and this recipe containing 20% protein is higher than currently recommended for adult dogs with renal disease.
Please take great care when feeding your sick pet as much of the ‘free’ information on the web is worth exactly what you paid for it …. and possibly harmful.
Thank you. This was given to my by my vet 3 years ago so it is the best information I have. I also posted several times that one should ALWAYS check with one’s vet before trying any new feeding program.
If we could only have the ingredients listed on the very expensive vet precription diets us on low incomes could afford to care for our animals better. Rather than put your recipe down the vet above might suggest a better recipe perhaps?
I agree that the vet could have tried to be more helpful instead of just making critical comments. This is terribly confusing to the layperson, and diet can make a huge impact on our dogs’ health and longevity, especially when dealing with renal disease. It’s a shame that the animal has to suffer when we cannot afford to take them to the vet 5 or 10 times to work these dietary things out. Bad enough that the blood work to diagnose costs hundreds of dollars, and the medicine (calcitriol) is also fairly expensive. I’m disabled with multiple chronic health conditions and feel terrible that I can’t spend unlimited amounts of money on my dog.
This is the same exact recipe I was just given..The only difference is that mine said to add a complete vitamin supplement (I use pet tabs) to it daily. Plus, I add a Pet glucosamine tablet once a day as well. I just ground the supplements into a powder and add to each serving separately)
Thank you for the recipes! With all the recalls I would feel that the food I am feeding is safe!!
The belief that low protein diets for dogs with renal disease has changed to dogs with renal disease, and senior dogs actually need a high protein diet as their bodies no longer process protein as efficiently as needed.
Although, a dog in acute liver failure needs to have a high quality low protein diet as ammonium levels, from digesting protein, can elevate quickly. The compromised liver isn’t able to rid the body of high ammonium levels as needed.
I think it would better serve the public if the Vet criticising the diet would come up with an updated alternative then. Or maybe that would cut into profits gained from the sales of the very expensive KD food that I am currently buying. Wasn’t your profession all about the animals once upon a time Dr?
Thank you for sharing but one question….what kind of calcium carbonate should be used and where is it available? After looking online I found many choices but I’m just not sure which one is the correct and safe one to use with dogs.
I’d suggest checking with your vet to be sure what you’re getting is right for your dog.
I have a question about using the scale. You don’t mention in the recipe any weights. So how do you know how many grams of protein etc. are in the food when you only use imperial measures?
well since the portion sizes are based on weight I can’t figure the nutrition on my nutrition calculator – it would be different for every size dog. I got this recipe from my vet for my dog. You should ALWAYS check with your own vet before changing your dog’s diet.
Hi Thank you for this. I rescued a dog with renal failure and he is very thin. I am going to make up a batch of this tonight. Question though… The weight for the food to give the dog per day is that off one batch or is that the ground beef weight?
Thank you!
the weight of the food.
Great information! Is the recommended feed about (pounds per day) pounds of protein or the entire mixture? My Juno is 110 pounds, so 3 pounds of food each day total? Or 3 pounds of protein?
3 pounds of food – but I suggest you discuss this with your vet just to make sure.
Hi – is there an acceptable substitution for the bread in this recipe? My dog is allergic to wheat in addition to having kidney disease.
Janie – I don’t know. This is the recipe given to my by my vet so I’d hesitate to suggest changes.
What about phosphorous? Does this diet address this at all? I’m trying to figure out the best diet for my pup who was recently diagnosed with CRF and phosphorous is hard on kidneys. Any info is appreciated.
I’d suggest discussing this with your vet. 🙂 Just to be on the safe side.
Your recipe looks good, but in doing research and in discussions with my vet, Phosphorous should also e limited in dogs with kidney issues. I also include eggs in my homemade diet, but only the egg whites. The yolks are higher in phosphorous. Check vegetables or fruits you include as some are higher in phosphates. Anything on a label with “phos” ingredients should be limited. I search for lower protein treats with no artificial preservatives. Thank you for your recipe!
Thanks! This is the recipe my vet suggested in my situation. I always suggest discussing any diet changes with your vet. Thank you for the information!
You could try gluten free bread.
Me too! Have you found anything?
Dr. Harveys diet for dogs with renal problems uses other items in place of grain. Look it up on the web.
This recipe says “yields 1”.
…One what?
It’s a typo. There should not be any yield on it at all.
What a wonderful story about Cuddles. Bless you! One of my dear friends has a pit and he is the sweetest most lovable buddy.
Thank you for this recipe! Do you drain the fat off of the ground beef? I’m thinking no, but want to make sure.
Thank you. Sadly, Cuddles died last fall from complications. However, in June of this year two female pit bulls showed up at our house. One was so thin you could count her ribs and she’d lost her hair. Well, they are sweethearts and definitely love being part of our family now! We miss Cuddles but we love the ones God sent us to comfort us!
So sorry for your loss Thank you for sharing 5his recipe. My 15 year old yorkie poo has been diagnosed with kidney failur and she doesn’t like the prescription food
Cuddles was blessed to have found y’all as I know you feel that way about him. What a sweet story. I’m so sorry for your loss. I choose to believe that all of our furry friends that have gone before us will be there to greet us on that day when we cross over. “He knows the desires of our heart” (ps. 37:4).?
Have fun with your two new girls… God is good ❣️
All the time! Thank you so much!
I was also wondering about the fat being drained off. Does it stay or go?
Did you get an answer? Does the fat stay or go?
Keep all the fat.
What if my 6lb plus terrier mix with kidney disease wants more than 4 ounces of food a day?
I have one dog with kidney failure and one dog with liver failure. They are both elderly. Would this diet work for both of them, do you know? If not, do you know of a diet that would suffice for both? I’m finding lots of diets for kidney, but not really any for liver problems. Thank you.
You ‘ll need to discuss that with your vet. I have no idea. :/
Hi Mary I’m Lisa my boy also has liver disease did find out anything regarding a diet?
What does “awaiting moderation” mean? My comments from yesterday disappeared.
I have to approve comments before they show up. Your comments were here, they just hadn’t been approved yet. I take weekends off to spend time with my family. 🙂
Thank you. I saw that it was “per day” just now. He likes it so far.
I have a 6 lb dog with adv. kidney disease. Do I feed him 1/4 lb twice a day or feed the 1/4 lb in two 1/8 lb feedings?
You would feed him 1/4 pound per day in either one 1/4 pound or two 1/8 pound feedings.
My mastiff, Tootles (she was the runt of the litter..), just got diagnosed with a kidney and bladder infection. This is the best recipe I have found! Thank you for this (:
p.s. the link to the multivitamin leads me to a page that says the vitamin is no longer available. I just wanted to let you know!
Thank you!
TO DONNA…
SO SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT MOLLY
WE HAVE A 9YR OLD BEAGLE \JENNY’
SHE HAS JUST BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH STAGE 4 KIDNEY FAILURE OR DISEASE.
THE VET SOLD US CANNED DOG FOOD AT $50.00 (12CANS)
DRY FOOD 6 LBS FOR $37.50.
SUPPLEMENTS (TWO) FOR $80.00
WE ARE PENSIONERS AND WITH THE VET FEES IT CAME TO OVER
$300.00(CANADIAN)
WE WERE TOLD LOW PROTIEN LOW PHOSPHOROUS DIET IS ESSENTIAL FOR HER RECOVERY.
DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE RECIPES OTHER THAN THE GROUND BEEF
ONE??I LOVE TO COOK .ESPECIALLY FOR MY GIRLS.
ALSO WE HAVE ANOTHER LITLE BEAGLE HER SISTER ‘BRANDY’
CAN SHE ALSO EAT THE SAME DIET???(YOUR DIET)
WE LOVE OUR GIRLS.THEY ARE THE BEST MEDICINE.SO WE WILL DO WHAT WE CAN FOR THEM.
TKS…AL, SADIE,JENNYAND BRANDY
Always check with your vet before changing your dogs’ diets. Our vet encouraged us to allow all of our dogs to eat this food but it may be different for your dogs. This is the only recipe I have. 🙂
My dog max is in icu right now don’t know what to do vet said it could take up to a week they didn’t tell me what stage he’s in but when he was home I tried it an he ate the food hope I can continue to make it for him I just want to know what kind of odds they told you for cuddles I guess I am looking for someone to help ez my mind well I am waiting for my max to come home
I’m sorry, Sherry. I hope Max gets better soon.
Molly passed away this afternoon.
In her sleep in her bed. ❤️
I am so sorry, Donna… but what a blessing it was peaceful and at home. I’m thinking of you during this time. 🙁
Hey I’ve just found this upon searching for kidney diet for my nearly 16 year old staffy Molly.
Have made a batch. She wolfed it down last night. Do you give it to them straight from the fridge ?
Yes I do.
I am so grateful that you posted this recipe, thank you. We are looking after my Mum and Stepfathers dog, their baby. She has recently been diagnosed with kidney failure but I assured them that we could manage while they still had their holiday of a lifetime. So far 4 days of stress, she won’t eat the tin or pouch food recommended by the vet. I just made this and she scoffed it and is now happily snoring next to me. What a relief. Cheers Jody
Glad it worked for you!!
Yeah my Molly is the same. Love them.
Do you drain the grease off of the ground beef?
Nope.I just left it in there.
My 8 year old mini schaunzer has been diagnosed with stage 3 renal failure. My vet gave me about 8 recipes to try on him. Renal failure dry food. He doesn’t eat any of it. I saw your recipe, made it, offered it to my dog he refuses to eat it. He will eat any other scrapes or snacks. What can I try now.
Doris, I am not a vet so I can’t really help. I’d suggest talking to your vet or getting another vet’s opinion.
Hi Marye
It’s been two days and our dog is loving it. Many thanks for sharing your story and advice. Very much appreciated. All the best – Jason
I am so glad!
Hi Marye,
Your recipe for renal failure dogs is much appreciated … I have been a vet nurse for 28 years & have always been happy to acknowledge the commercial diets … once they appeared !!
I am a bit of a dinosaur as commercial prescription & science diets DID NOT EXIST back 1988 ish … instead we relied on people cooking stuff for various ailments.
Your diet really reflects what we dinosaurs were recommending way back then.
I now have a middle aged dog with renal failure … still looking for answers as to why …. I thank you for posting your diet … this rings a lot of bells from the old days … THANKS heaps. I will look around a bit more at other diets as well, & check in with my vets as well.
I’m financially strained … so need to resort to the kitchen 🙂
I also appreciate your efforts to steer away from being an expert on this & telling people they need to check in with their vets …. it’s too easy too become a sudden expert.
Thanks Carolyn. I can only share what my vet told me … and of course it could be different in other situations. I hope this helps!
So glad to find your recipe. My 16 yr old mini doxie has early renal disease and your recipe is similar to the one my vet recommended. He currently loves ground meat and have been using high fat as well. Will try your recipe as soon as he heals from his dental today. Thanks.
🙂 I hope he’s feels better!
Hi u said feed two times daily..so 20 pound feed 1 pound means 1 pound per day or 1 pound per meal ? Tq
1 pound per day
I tried this out for my 6 pound yorkie who was just diagnosed, but the rice was too sticky and making him choke. It seems like there is wayyy too much rice, and very little meat. Not sure if I made a mistake or if this is how it’s supposed to be? I tried adding a little broth but then he wanted nothing to do with it. Any advice?
The amount of meat to rice is correct – it has to be low protein and meat is protein. I got this recipe from my vet – as I am not a vet I really am not comfortable making any suggestions for changing the original recipe. Talk to your vet and see what he/she recommends.
I’very been using this diet for my 17yr old Jack Russell. My vet suggested adding water to make it more palatable. So I add a little warm water.
This recipe is taken from the Hill’s nutrition canine restricted protein diet. The original diet says to add a “balanced supplement which fulfills the canine MDR for all vitamins and trace minerals.” Any idea what a good vitamins is? Thanks!
Keren – I don’t know where my vet got it. As I said this is what was given to me by my vet. I did mention in the blog post that vitamins are needed. Did you not like the ones I recommended?
This diet is still too high in protein for serious kidney failure. I realize you stated moderate to severe but cooks/companions might need to have that stated again!
I can only say that this is what my vet suggested for Cuddles. I am not a vet, nor am I a dog specialist.
Sorry, I missed the part about the vitamin. Thanks!
🙂
I need a recipe for my dog that was just diagnosed with high liver enzymes
It must be low in protein AND fat
Talk to your vet and see what they recommend.
Our 10 yr old English Bull Terrier was recently put on Purina NF Canine Formula for early stage renal failure. She eats this just fine, but she has a lot of awful gas, her poops are very soft, stinky and yellow like the kibbles.
If I give her the home mixed diet that you have listed, how would you think her digestive system would react?
Before this recent change, her poops were normal brown, dog poops and we seldom noticed her farting.
I have NEVER bought white bread in my life. Maybe sourdough will have less garbage in it. I’d rather just put more rice in it!
I am not a vet so I don’t know about dogs’ digestive systems, sorry. White bread has very little protein, that’s why it works in this recipe. You don’t have to eat it just give it to the dog. 🙂
My dog was diagnosed with high liver enzymes about 6 years ago and this is the recipe I make for him. (He is 17 years old this year)
3 lbs of chicken breast boiled
18 cups of cooked brown rice
1 1/2 cups of steamed carrots
9 tbs of canola oil
9 tbs of wheat bran
I use my food processor and chop up the cooked chicken and carrots and add it to the cooked rice then add the oil and bran and mix it together. I then put 1 cup in plastic bags and freeze them. I feed my 12 lb jack russell 1/2 cup twice daily. I usually just add a bit of hot water and stir it up to warm it and make the rice a bit less sticky. I also give him 4 drops of milk thistle liquid (alcohol free) twice daily which is supposed to help healthy liver cells to regenerate. You can also give 200 mg of sam-E once daily to help protect the healthy liver cells that are present.
Hi Shannon
!y fur baby has the same condition. The prescription food is not helping. I am going to try your recipe. Did your vet recommend any other supplements?
Going to try this recipe. My dog is not loving hills. Do u know the weight/food amount for larger dogs. She is 40 lbs
1 1/2 pounds per day. It’s in the notes at the bottom of the recipe.
Thanks for the recipe.. I found that using oatmeal in place of the white bread a better choice tho as white bread is an artificial food. My dog loves this food. Thanks again!
While it is true that white bread is an artificial food the goal is to keep your dog’s protein intake down as low as possible. Oatmeal has roughly double the amount of protein as the bread.Do check with your vet.
I just tried this for my 17 yr old doxie who was just diagnosed as early kidney disease. Very similar to the recipe my vet gave me. Was worried he wouldn’t eat it. Changed the protein to high fat pork, slow cooked in no salt beef broth with carrots and peas. Used bacon for some added flavor. Added the rice to a small amount of the protein mixture with lots of broth and he ate well including peas and carrots. He has been eating a lot of ground meat and refused it this morning so am trying a new protein.
I hope it works for you. 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing you story and heart about Cuddles. As you can see his memory is helping so many of us and our pups.
My 18 year old Cardi was just diagnosed and I found your recipe. Quick question, can you use instant rice? My friend gave me some when I was sick and I never used it. My gut is telling me no because it is so over processed but maybe that doesn’t make a difference. Your thoughts?
I think it would be ok since it’s mainly for bulk. 🙂
My friend was recently told by her vet not to use instant rice for dogs as the way it is processed makes it difficult tor them to digest. I had never heard this before, but thought I should mention it.
We have a 35 pound Jindo who recently has been diagnosed with early state kidney failure. We have tried KD and Royal Canin. She does not like them. We wanted to try a homemake recipe. Your recipe sounds like something she would definitely eat. How much per day should we feed her?
It’s according to body weight… 5 pounds feed ¼ pound
10 pounds feed ½ pound
20 pounds feed 1 pound
40 pounds feed 1½ pounds
60 pounds feed 2 pounds
80 pounds feed 2½ pounds
100 pounds feed 3 pounds
I have 3 Shih Tuz, 1 age of 12 and 2 age of 10. My 2 Shih tzu have been diagnosed with early state kidney failure. I had total of 5, all one family. I lost 2 because of kidney failure. It was difficult to see them go through it. I did everything but was not able to succeeded. I am in the same situation and I am devastated of losing my kids. I always cooked do food for my dogs and mix it with Diet Science food. My Vet recommended Hills kidney care prescription diet for dogs K/D. I used this food for my other dogs and they lost so much wight. It really did not help much. I would greatly appreciate it if you could tell me what food I can make at home and hope that it would help my dogs. The problem is I never cooked red meat, always cooked chicken Brest for them. Can I use Chicken rather then red meat for the HOMEMADE DOG FOOD RECIPES FOR SENIOR DOGS that you have mentioned? I want my babies to live a decent healthy life. I recently lost my husband and losing my dogs, well don’t know what will happen to me. Please help.
The father was Zeus, Mother is Hera, oldest daughter is BulBul (nightingale), first son is Bachai (my son), and youngest son was Chomonai (the little one). Thank you so very much.
This is the recipe that my vet gave me. I don’t have any others.
hi marye I have 13 year old jack russel , he has a been gnosed with tstical cancer ,h only came into my care after the owner no longer wanted him he has skin alleries , I wanto domy own home cooked recie for him can you help me wth whatI will require for this recipe plse , Iwathinking lean beef mince rice & vegies
This recipe should work just fine. I developed this recipe for Cuddles when he was having kidney failure. Good luck!
Thank you for this recipe…my little guy was just diagnosed stage 1 renal failure..not fond of science diet kidney care food…this sounds like a great food plan!
Thanks again..
Robin
🙂 I hope he does well!
I’m going thru this right now with my 14 year old shih poo…stage 1 renal failure just diagnosed…he doesn’t care for the science diet kidney care food..so I might go with this hamburger mixture…my poor boy…he is a happy fella..please keep me posted on your pup…blessings to you…
I am so sorry. I hope that he does well on this. 🙂
Hi Marye. I’m a little confused about the portion size. Is it per meal or per day? Pollyanna asked you the same question and you replied, “per day, I believe”? I don’t want to give my dog too much or too little. She loves the diet and eat well for the first time since coming home from the vet with canned low protein food. She just didn’t like the canned food but loves this diet. Thanks for your help.
1/4 a pound of food per 5 pounds of body weight per day. You can split it in half and feed twice a day or feed the whole batch once a day. Hope this helps
Yes I was thinking a lb at each feeding..so split up the lb twice a day??!!!
yes.
Hi. Is that 1/4 pound per day? Or per meal?
I see you’ve found the answer. 🙂
My vet gave me this recipe, and of course I’m doing my internet searching before I cook it up. There are great tips in this article like the kitchen scale and freezing the beef/egg! Thank you for sharing! My pit is 14 years old and is in early stages of kidney disease. He’s lost 6 lbs since he’s been on the KD diet because he doesn’t like the kibble very much so I talked to my vet about alternatives and this is what he suggested. I’m sorry to see Cuddles has passed on since you wrote this, he was very cute! Thank you for saving him!
🙂 We miss him so much! Good luck with your pit. 🙂
We have our 14 YO Terrier mix breedwith CRF on something very similar; Ground beef, boiled egged chopped up, white rice, and mixed veggies like carrtots, green beans, and peas which he eats up pretty well. We feed him this in the evening and he eats cheerios witrh milk in the morning. What additional supplements do we need for him? He will share a graham cracker with me sometimes. This diet has really helped him. He was first diagnosed in October 2015.
You should check with your vet. I know my vet said no milk as it is hard on the kidneys.
Thank you Marye! He’s already putting some weight back on with this new diet and he’s sleeping through the night too! He used to bark at me all night, I just blamed it on him being a crazy old man lol
That’s wonderful!
Mayre, sorry to hear Cuddles has passed on, I know the loss remains in the heart for a long time. I have a question regarding the food recipe. Shouldn’t a fiber component be added? The recipe has none, unless you use brown rice. It seems this recipe would cause constipation.
I have a 14.5 yr old purebred male dachshund, Peanut, that I want to start making food for, since he just doesn’t like crunching dry food. I’m considering adding to you recipe some omega-3 fats (salmon oil) and antioxidants such as small amounts of spinach leaf, and fiber through frozen peas, carrots and cauliflower. These additions would result in a mix of 2 senior dog recipes, yours here and another I found online from a Veternarian, who uses ground turkey instead of beef. I was thinking of rotating the meat for variety, ground beef as suggested, and also chicken breast and salmon.
Your thoughts? Anyone want to chime in?
Thank you,
Christopher
My vet gave me this recipe and so it’s the one I use. 🙂 I’d talk to your vet if I was you to find out his/her suggestions.
We found out a month ago that our 9 year old chocolate lab is in kidney failure. He has been eating the kid canned food and I have been mixing the apakitin supplement and Pepcid into it twice a day. He did go to the pet hospital 2 weeks ago for IV fluids due to vomiting for 2 days but then he needed a blood transfusion because the fluids diluted his red blood count. He had his levels rechecked yesterday and his creatinine is 11 and BUN is 130. I am going to make this recipe tomorrow and am hoping it will make him feel better for a little while until it’s time for us to say goodbye.
I hope he likes it. 🙂
Does the egg have to be boiled or can we fry the egg and mix it in with the rice??
I think frying would be fine.
Can coconut oil be added?
Please check with your vet about that. I really don’t know. 🙂
So thankful to have found your recipe! I have 2 dogs – 1 lab, 1 golden who both have kidney failure and don’t like KD!! Tried mixing the dry kd with canned kd and a little unsalted beef broth – no thanks!! Just made this, mixed half their daily ration with 1/2 their kd, gobbled it up!!! Guess I am making dinner for the family and dinner for the dogs now!! Any ideas on how to big batch for the week?? And is ground pork ok to use with? We have grass fed beef and local farm raised pork in the freezer.
I used to use 5 pounds of beef and multiply everything accordingly. Then I’d package the beef/egg mixture in 1 pound bags and freeze it. When I needed food I’d make enough rice for the 1 pound bag (8 cups?) and add the bread for the 1 pound bag and keep it in the refrigerator. It will last a week just fine. I don’t know if this makes sense.
I know all these comments are from last year but my pom has stage 3 kidney diease and was looking for something for her to eat .she won’t eat can or dry kidney food . I have everything in my house except the calcium. can i make it without for her till I buy it ( snowed in right now ;(
Yes Diane, you can do that. Don’t let it go too long though.
Hi Diane,
I too have a 9 year old Pomeranian with only 25% Kidney function.
The vet gave him only a short live span after he was diagnosed.
It’s now 5 years last November.
I have some recipes you can try.
All have been researched for years by me.
I have to go now. Have appointment.
If you want some help just let me know.
I have a lot to tell you and if your not really interested I don’t want to go into all the detail.
Hope your sweet Pom is still with you.
I’m interested!
Just found out my 16 year old dog’s kidney numbers are through the roof..
Oh no! I am so sorry!
Hi E, my name is Debbie and I have a yorkie she is going to be 11 years old this March 25, 2016. I love her dearly and I am very interested in what you have to say, I want her ( Lacey ) to live as long as she can. She has been with my family since she was 3 months old . I am suppose to put her on a low Renil diet. She is a very picky eater, I need as much information you can give. Our hearts are breaking.
I am so sorry. I don’t know much as I am not a vet. This is a recipe that my vet gave me
I’m very interested in your recipes!. I had fed my dogs homemade food for years then got busy and switched to quality dry food. My 10 year old German Shepherd now has kidney issues. I appreciate any help you can give me.
Sherrie
Hi Sherrie, other than sharing this recipe given to my by my vet I can’t really help. I am not a vet. :/ It’s best to discuss your concerns with your vet.
Hi E. My lab was just diagnosed a few days ago. We’re having a hard time getting him to eat or drink anything. Could you send me a message with some tips? Thank you, haleykallinen@gmail.com.
Hi E
I have an eight yr old shih Tzu with liver issues . vet prescribed low protein diet. It does not seem to be helping much (prescription kibble). I would be so grateful if you could email recipes and any info. E-mail: gigiawalker@gmail
Thank you so much
Can you send me your recipes? I have a 15 year old yorkie and my vet is just pushing the canned food which he doesn’t like
Bonnie this is the only recipe I have. I’d suggest talking to your vet or another vet about more recipes. 🙂
Our Cody is a Chihuahua/Jack Russell mix and is a diabetic. We just found out his BUN and creatinine levels are high. He has had a rough time recently. His glucose levels were going from extremely high to bottoming out which caused a seizure. Turns out he had tumors in his spleen and liver. He had surgery to remove his spleen, but they couldn’t remove the one in the liver. We are thanking God that the one in the spleen was benign. After a 3 week vet stay he got to come home, but we have to go back 3 times a week for glucose, BUN and creatinine level checks. He is refusing to eat any of the kidney dog food our vet has tried. We have been feeding him bread and green beans. (The vet said he could have the bread and green beans but needed more) He also stated there was a homemade kidney diet online. I came across this recipe and do have a couple of questions. If we cook one pound of ground beef do we increase the ingredients by 4?
1 lb. ground beef
8 cups cooked rice
4 eggs
12 pieces of white bread
4 teaspoons of calcium carbonate (I ordered the powder online)
is this correct? If we cannot get him to eat to bring his levels down he will continue to have IV fluids every Monday and Friday. We don’t want him to suffer through it, but will do what we have to. Cody is losing weight and we are desperate for a food he will eat. We would also feed this to our 18 year old cocker spaniel, Jack. Thank you for posting your story and this recipe. We are hoping this will literally be a life saver!
Yep! That’s right. 🙂 Please let me know how it goes.
Why the bread?
I think it’s for the bulk.
Read in a comment below that said its not reccommend that you use egg yolks. So is it ok to use 2 eggs instead of one but just the egg whites only? Throw away the egg yolk? Thank you in advance.
I would not throw away the egg yolk.
Egg yolk is high in phosphorus…for kidney failure, it should not be used….definitely want to discard the yolk
Denise – I am just posting the recipe my vet gave me. I always suggest people check with their vets before feeding their dogs this recipe.
Been feeding this receipt for a month now. Is it ok to use ground pork or ground turkey very once in a while instead of ground beef? Seems like my dog is getting tied of ground beef since he’s been eating the same thing for a month?
Beef is what was recommended to me. nothing low fat.
How many milligrams of Calcium do you use?
Jamie, I am unsure. I measure by the teaspoon.
Hi Marye, Thank you for the recipe. I have been looking for Calcium Carbonate and came across generic Calcium supplements. The #1 ingredient is calcium carbonate and they are 600 milligrams. But there were ALOT of choices when it came to the milligrams. Is it possible to check your bottle of calcium that you crush to see what you are using? Or if you found just plain powdered calcium carbonate, can you tell me where you found it? Thank you
I believe I used the 50?
Look up making egg shell calcium for dogs (the baked version not the one that uses lemon juice). I’ve made this using the shells from organic pastured eggs. I grind them up in the coffee bean grinder. I think there is a 2 month expiration. So, keep that in mind when choosing how much to make.
Thank you for this recipe! Unfortunately, I had to put my almost 16-year-old lab, Brandie, down last week. 🙁 I am so sad and heartbroken! She left behind her littermate, Allie, who I just found out has kidney disease. Knowing her symptoms were a lot like Brandie’s, I’m pretty sure Brandie probably had kidney disease as well, as they had both lost so much weight. Back in July when they had their senior panels done, nothing had shown up yet on the blood work, but the symptoms were all there. Had I been suggested this diet or a low protein back then by the vet, I certainly would have made it! But unfortunately, nothing was offered to me so I just attributed her weight loss to old age, so I was feeding them salmon, chicken, and brown rice to get them to eat, which they loved! I just started feeding this special diet to Allie on Friday and she loves it (she won’t eat the special canned K/D diet I bought from the vet)! But I am a little confused on the quantity. The vet said to feed her based on what she *should* weigh. She’s just 38 lbs and has lost 10 lbs since July, so I’m basing it on 48 lbs. So, would I feed her 1.75 lbs? And did I read it right that it is 2X per day, so she’s actually eating 3.5 lbs per day? Or do I split the 1.75 lbs up for 2 meals? Seems like a lot, and I don’t want to bloat her up. In just a few days, though, I can already tell she is gaining weight.
split it up – so half at each feeding. I am so sorry. We did lose cuddles this past fall, too. 🙁
I ordered some drops Kidney Support Gold @ petwellbeing.com that have good reviews (the only negative reviews are because the dog was too far gone). I’m hoping they will help my old dog along with a homemade diet.
Do you need the calcium carbonate if it is in the vitamin that you get them.
Yes it helps keep the levels good and low.
Show my vet this recipe the other day and he said there’s no need for bread just add a little extra rice. Your thoughts??
go with what your vet says
Can we used ground turkey as a substitution for ground beef? I know my dog will get tried of eating this everyday. Just want to rotate different protiens.
My vet suggests ground beef only… because they need the extra fat.
Can I add frozen carrots and peas?? Is other senior recipes with low protein? I know my dog will get tried of this.
yes you can. I am sure there are. I just don’t have any.
Question about the slice bread? Should I put the bread in a toast let first??
No. Leave it soft.
Homemade food is great for kidney dogs but you must keep the phosphorus values down. for example, a whole egg isn’t recommended. Buy egg whites. Learn about phosphorus levels and how to keep the values down. Learn how to read the BUN levels of your baby’s blood work.
Best to all. Bless you for taking care of your fur babies.
Absolutely right. The calcium helps keep the levels down.
The suggested serving portion of let’s say a 40 lbs dog is 1 1/2 lbs. Is that a day or per serving?
per day I believe.
I’m not a scientist and am confused how ground beef and hard boiled egg are a part of a low protien diet.
Now that I’ve began to look I’m amazed at the amount of protien in some of the treats I’ve fed my dogs.
Also some food items give a percentage while others list the amount of grams of protien. Is there a way to convert grams to %age?
It’s not that they are low protein in and of themselves but mixed with the other ingredients the entire serving is lower in protein than ALL dry food and pretty much all canned foods too. Dogs need some protein… even when their kidneys are bad.
My vet gave me the same recipe. Should I add parsley cucumber or celery ? for veggies? This may help in giving some more moisture too.
Parsley would probably be a great idea! Be sure to check with your vet.
Do you drain the fat off the meat??
Nope. I leave it all in there.
nice site. sad story that ended wonderfully. I love pits. but I have rat terrier & jackhuahua. never met a dog I didnt love!
im bookmarking your site. lots of great info and its got a good vibe goin. thanks again
ps hug cuddles for me and say hi from az from mimi milo and me ???
🙂 thank you. Sadly, that was written over a year ago and Cuddles succumbed to the kidney failure in September.
First of all you sound like an amazing mom for saving cuddles from what he had to go through. I have a 15 year old chihuahua and she is in the early stages of kidney failure. When I took her in for blood work in April a lot of her levels were high. The vet then put her on royal canin renal diet she soon stopped eating that so they switched her to hills k/d diet she ate that for a few days and stopped eating that as well. She went a day and a half without eating, So I took her in to see the vet because I was worried that something was wrong with her but I knew she was hungry. They ran blood test and all her levels were back to normal. The vet finally said to give her a homemade meal. Today is the first day I cooked this meal for my baby and she loved it, I pray to God she continues to eat this. I also pray that her levels stay normal with this homemade meal.
What brand of calcium do you use?
Sorry for the long post I hope I hear back from you soon!
Thanks Christina. I just use regular calcium from Walgreens. I am sorry to say that last week Cuddles went in to renal failure again and we couldn’t pull him out of it and had to put him down.
I am so so sorry to hear. Just know you gave him a better life, and he knows how much you and your family love him and cared for him.
How many mg of calcium did you buy 500mg or 600mg?
I just hope this recipe helps my baby girl because she can not stand the prescription food and I don’t blame her.
Thanks for replying
Hi again Marye, my dog has been on this diet since Monday but she is having diarrhea since then. Is this to be expected since there tummies aren’t used to it?
Christina – talk to your vet. I think that’s the safest thing to do.
Did you do the subq fluids for him, it’s vital in bringing down his values. They get very ill from it, though it is treatable. It looks as though they are going to die from it, but in reality it just upsets their tummies so badly it keeps them from wanting to eat along with vomiting. We had 2 dogs with this horrible disease, my husband administered the fluids himself and my 18 1/2 year old Chihuahuas values were off the charts. He went into a state of euphoria it was so bad. Well with continued fluids and kidney support vitamins his values went down to normal. He was amazing, he actually passed in 2012 on Xmas day in my arms and not from kidney failure. Thank you for the recipe, my 13 year old Chihuahua has just had her blood done and she’s in the beginning stages of kidney disease… 30% of the kidneys are affected. I’m grateful for catching this early on, only due to getting her blood work every six months to check her organs because they age much quicker and these diseases are not usually caught until their at 70%. So I find early detection is the way to go. Keeping this illness at bay as much as possible.
yes we tried everything. I miss him a lot. :/
Thank you so much for this recipe and so sorry to hear about cuddles. my dog maddy is a 8 year old lab with no medical isues period exept now weve discovered she has a kidneystone. We discovered it too late she was already in kidney failure and with speacial pills, speacial dog food, and a bill of over 600 bucks we went home with a happy little girl but then she got worse at almost a month after the vet appoinment and when the vet look at her test results she was still in kidney failure which was common with labs but not ones who were only 8. the vet said no matter what we could do there ould be only 6 months at the most of life. she wont eat her dog food and lost a lot of weight so shes been on a steady diet of pizza crust and marshmellows and anything else fatty with no protein.
im going to be making this more and maybe adding stuff too it that she loves.
whats so funny abput dogs they just know the perfect way and time too die , my grandmas dog koda who was the best dog ever got diegnosed with diabetes in 2012 and last month he got very sick and passed away so with a crushed grandmother and grandfather who arodor maddy and 2 days after koda died and me telling my retierd nurse of a grandmother about her symtoms we too her to the vet. after listening to the vet tell me about maddy i was heart broken. i could only imajine what you went through with cuddles.
God Bless You and Your Family!
Awww.. Grace I am sorry. It is a hard thing to go through.
Thank you for your story and for the recipe. I have 2 dogs and 1 of them has kidney issues and wears a diaper and has since he was 7 months old and he he just turned 9 yrs old thankfully! I take very good care of him but each day I find little things that seems to start to go south. My vet pays for his food since it was their mistake on why he is the way he is and he eat Science Diet K/D and has for all 8 yrs that he has been like this but I am seriously considering switching him to this diet since the K/D has 21 grams of protein in it. My other dog (both labs) has allergies, skin issues and anxiety and I now he wont eat his kibble for what ever reason so I have been making him brown rice, sweet potato, peas & either chicken or salmon for dinner and I have used ground beef but I always bought lean. I also cook him a fried egg in bacon grease because I felt like he was loosing so much weight and I thought the food I was feeding him didnt have enough fat in it for him. Plus I thought the fried egg would help his coat too. But after seeing your post I think I may switch him to this recipe but add in the veggies. i am going to make him some kale chips today because it is high in vit k and he had a bought of anemia in the past and vit k is good for that. Yes I know I have doggie issues but I wouldnt want them any other way. I love them with issues just as much as I would if they didnt have issues. Thank you so much for saving Cuddles and being such a great furbaby mom we need more moms like you and myself!! Thanks again for the recipe!
You’re welcome. I hope your dog is doing better.
You don’t use any vegetables?
The recipe my vet gave me does not call for vegetables. I have since begun adding a few peas or green beans chopped up.
I don’t understand. My dog is 60 pounds. Is this saying I need to give her 2 pounds of this food a day?
Yes.
thanks for the information. I am in a similar situation- as my Madeline somehow got a bacterial infection as well and is now kidney issues. I am going to discuss your recipe with my vet tomorrow, but I wanted to see how Cuddles is doing on the diet…
Thanks for being a great dog mom- we need more people like you in the world:)
Cuddles is doing great. He got sick in October and I started him on the homemade food when he came home from the vet (a week on IV meds) around the first of November. I took him back for a check up around the first of may and the vet was amazed at his bloodwork… she said he was as low as was possible with his issues! She was very happy.. and he is still doing well.
Hello, I just came across your Homemade Dog Food Recipe for Senior Dogs. I loved this article for many reasons. Your story about finding Cuddles under your porch and helping him to recover from his wounds is so heart warming! I completely understand why you named him Cuddles. I have 2 pitbulls of my own (both rescues) and they are the typical cuddle-bugs 🙂 I also now have a 3rd dog which I found on the streets in a very bad part of Los Angeles. I’ve named him Toby and he is some kind of American Bulldog mix. Toby is elderly and his blood work is not good. His kidneys are not good, he had a bladder infection, worms, he is also vision impaired, and of course he was completely emaciated when I found him. I have been doing my best to treat him with the limited funds that I have and I decided to feed him only homemade meals. So I have been doing my research and trying to find more recipes that will suit his needs. Your article was very helpful! I am considering to feed my other dogs homemade food as well and I’m trying to figure out the best recipes for them and the best way to store their food. I want to thank you for the recipe and also for having the heart to bring Cuddles into your home.
Thank you!
– Sidney
Thank you so much! Hope your Toby gets to feeling better!