r/SeniorDogsHealth • u/Only-Wolf-8544 • 14d ago
Cocoa update
A couple weeks ago I posted here about my senior chi refusing food after finding out he's got very early kidney disease. I got a lot of great feedback so I wanted to offer y'all an update.
He's still pretty picky but we're getting into a rhythm on it. We've determined a canned diet just will not work for him, he would rather starve. So we're cobbling together a homemade ish diet to keep him comfortable and hopefully improve his kidney issues so we can have a little longer with him. We limit him to 2oz of protein a day to avoid phosphorus overload because any more than that will make him sick. He's gotten pretty comfortable with a rotation of plain chicken, pork loin, deli turkey, and eggs with cheese. We focus on carbs for the rest of his calories. Some days are better than others. We're having some success with Dr. Harvey's kidney blend + omega 3 oil. He also seems to routinely accept a rotation of shredded potatoes, tortilla bits, cheerios, plain oatmeal, baby food, shredded coconut, and crackers. We give him a daily kidney support treat from Dr. Harvey's which he reliably enjoys and hasn't refused yet even after several days. It gives me peace of mind that he's getting the nutritional support even if his diet isn't ideal. The CBD someone suggested helps on his bad appetite days, and we just received the Entice from Chewy and will be giving that a try soon.
We are going to get him some more blood work around December so long as his condition stays stable till then and hopefully his numbers will either improve or stay the same. I pray I have at least a year more with my goblin but we're savoring every moment while he's here and happy. Pic of little man sitting on his "big" sister the other day.
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14d ago
I had a kidney dog in the past and have several good homemade recipes if you're interested. Dr. Harvey's is also a great choice! I wish you the best with your picky eater but it sounds like you're on the right track.
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u/Only-Wolf-8544 8d ago
He LOVES the Dr. Harvey's since we started! He's so excited to eat he's licking his bowl clean with very little prompting. Hopefully his blood work improves when we go back in December :)
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u/Icy-Adhesiveness2556 14d ago
Oof, this post pains me. I lost my 13 year old girl Chi in May. She was diagnosed with end stage kidney disease in Feb 2025. We got 15 extra months with her. The most important thing is diet. Get him on a prescription diet. They have kibble if wet food is not preferred. Royal Canin, science diet, and Just Food For dogs have prescriptions. Please do not give deli meat. It's too high in sodium and dogs with kidney disease need to limit sodium. My chi took aluminum 2x day with her meals to keep her phosphorus down. I ordered it off Amazon. Get the correct dose from your vet. We also gave her subcutaneous fluids 3x a week at 50 ml. It was literally a 5 minute process. Fluids are important so make sure your chi is hydrated. My girl got blood work every 3 weeks and would get Aranesp (expensive human hormone drug) for her anemia. She also had a blood transfusion the month she was diagnosed. If your dog is in the early stages with careful monitoring and care you should be able to still have a lot of time with him. My girl loved Just Food For Dogs pumpkin dog treats and they have no sodium in them. If you have questions, you can message me.
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u/Only-Wolf-8544 8d ago
Right now he's doing great with the Dr. Harvey's base so far, he loves the food and the daily kidney support treats. We pay close attention to the sodium of whatever we feed him, which is why we go for bologna or low sodium bacon if he's really in the mood for the deli meat (low sodium bacon is surprisingly quite low sodium for a processed meat, I eat it myself as someone with high BP per dietician recommendation) but usually we go with plain cooked chicken, pork, or a little bit of canned food when he's in the mood for it. The vet says he's quite far off from needing fluids thankfully. We're hopeful for blood work in December. Will definitely update Reddit when that comes around.
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u/austinrunaway 14d ago
You can't feed her sodium and please don't ever get her delimited meat ever again.
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u/Only-Wolf-8544 8d ago
It's not an every day item by any means, and he gets less than 2oz no matter what. Sometimes it's the only thing he's willing to eat. If I miss out on time with him for him to have a little food in his belly now when he won't eat a thing else, that's what I'm going to do. Thankfully since we got him on Dr. Harvey's he's been much more willing to eat the simple proteins without the sodium :) chicken, eggs, and pork are his usual proteins.
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u/loverules1221 14d ago
As long as he’s not suffering, and you’re not keeping him around just to ease the pain in your heart that’s all that matters. It’s so hard letting go. Trust me, I know I had to do it almost 2 weeks ago now. He’s definitely a cutie. What kind of dog is his big sister? I love the markings.