Making homemade food
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At age 13, I should think it was simply important that the doggie should eat something it enjoyed and could cope with rather than some special diet it either didn't like or which made it ill.
When one of mine was 14 and his kidneys started to pack up and he lost weight, the vet put him on a Hill's special diet - which he hated and refused to eat. So the very sensible, hands-on elderly vet told me, just feed him whatever he will eat, at his age. Make him happy.
So I put him back on the same diet as all the rest of the pack - he went back to eating, and even regained some of the lost weight before, in the end, events caught up with us and he was pts.
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@branch When a senior dog that I adopted was diagnosed with kidney disease one of the foods I tried was Dr. Harvey's. I sent the company an email with questions and Dr. Harvey (the person) telephoned me to talk. Had me send him the vet report to help determine the best diet for my girl. The food was excellent quality. Unfortunately this Basenji had eating issues. Both Dr. Harvey's and the Honest Kitchen food ended up all over the walls, floor, her, my other Basenji. It was an amazing mess so I had to stay with prescription kibble.
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@senjisilly said in Making homemade food:
Dr. Harvey (the person) telephoned me to talk
That speaks so highly for him!
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Back when I fed barf, it was easy. But with current research after research finding no real benefits, plus contamination risks with my liver, I was not sad to stop when Cara proved that she could not tolerate even a wing or well anything.
So I looked at actual nutritionists info on what and how to feed homemade. Once my head quit spinning and my eyes refocused, I paid hommage to those who can manage it and moved on. So I'm no help, but good luck.
For feeding amount, start with bowl down at most 15 minutes. If the pup gains right, you're set. If too fat or too thin, adjust the amount. While folks can give you estimates, their metabolism, activity level etc are not the same.
My adult 24 pound basenji loved food and would gain weight smelling it. My 23 pounder felt eating was a waste of time, but I could hand feed her double the amt her poor niece ate. So watch for a tuck from overhead and get periodic bloodwork to make sure no deficiencies..
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Hello,
I recommend reading:
Early Kidney Disease - Difficulty Getting Her to Eat
at https://basenjiforums.com/topic/15616/early-kidney-disease-difficulty-getting-her-to-eat/13
What may guide your path:
Kidney values relative to normal.
Is there proteinurea?
For homemade, read DogAware and accompanying websites.
Good luck!
