posted 01-31-2004 11:02 AM         

This paragraph is what caught my attention in reference to you.

"Ahhhhhh. . . I know what you're thinking! Too much protein! Kidney damage! Well, guess what? The very early research that pointed a finger at protein as being a cause of kidney failure in dogs wasn't even done on dogs! It was done on rats fed unnatural diets for a rodent... diets high in protein. (Were we tinkering with Nature during these “tests”?) Rats have difficulty excreting excess protein in their diets because they are essentially plant eaters, not meat eaters. Dogs are quite able to tolerate diets with protein levels higher than 30% on a dry weight basis. Dogs are meat eaters; that's how Nature made them! Rats are not. So some of the early research on rats was assumed to be true for dogs... and the myth of "too much protein in a dog's diet causes kidney damage" was started. And just like any seemingly valid rumor or assertion, it derived a life of its own and is only recently being accepted as untrue. Here is just one of many references that recently have appeared asserting the lack of data indicating that reducing the protein level in a food helps to protect the kidneys... Kirk's Veterinary Therapy XIII, Small Animal Practice, page 861, written by Finco, Brown, Barsanti and Bartges "...restriction of protein intake does not alter the development of renal lesions nor does it preserve renal function. Considering these (research) findings, the authors do not recommend reduction of dietary protein in dogs with renal disease or reduced renal function in order to achieve renoprotective effects." They do recommend, though, that once a Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) level reaches 75, which is very elevated, that some restriction of protein intake be considered for beneficial effects unrelated to kidney function dynamics. These authors point out that Phosphorus blood levels can play a major role in the health status of dogs with compromised kidney function."

I do know that feeding a dog a meat only diet is very dangerous and I know that a diet with no protein can be damaging as well, if I could just find HOW MUCH is a proper amount I would be in great shape! I thought this was something you should look into because I think on the other site I gave you ,it also stated that the phosphorus was more an issue than protein. One of my dogs gets kidney stones and was put on the SD prescritpion as well. I was originally told that he needed a diet low in protein, ash, phosphorus and magnesium and it had to have DL-Methionine in it. Well we tried that route and it didn't do any good. I am now feeding him a raw diet...yes it's meat based, with fruits veggies and all the other stuff he needs and he is doing much better. He does not have kidney disease...he just gets stones, so don't confuse him with the other dogs condition I am merely pointing out that I was also told low protein and I am simply wondering if perhaps the source of the protein has anything to do with the end result. It may pay to research the BARF feeders world and find people whose dogs also have kidney issues and see what their experience is, there are many people who feed a raw diet with no meat as well, as I said above, they are referred to as vegans.
Hope this is helping a little.