Last Updated: 03/22/2023
Dogs with kidney disease often have low appetite. Because of the kidney’s inability to properly filter out toxins, it builds up in the body which often causes nausea and inappetence. I’ve heard that this often manifests in later stages of kidney disease, but in Arlo’s case, he had a very low appetite even though he was in stage 2. In fact, he had a pretty low appetite since the day we brought him home. At first I thought he was just a picky eater, (and maybe he is), but a big part of it due to his kidney disease.
Like other dog owners supporting dogs with kidney disease, I’ve tried many things to get Arlo to eat. It’s a daily struggle that continues. I was particularly concerned when Arlo was young as he was quite underweight. With puppies especially, we want to make sure they eat well to grow healthy (even if they do have kidney disease). To further complicate matters, many kidney-support diets that vets prescribe are not specifically for puppies (growth), they are for senior dogs. They are also not the most palatable. For this article, I’ll focus more on strategies and things I’ve tried to get Arlo to eat when he has a low appetite, instead of a discussion about kidney-support diets.
Feeding styles
- Free-feeding - As a 1st time dog owner, I initially tried following conventional feeding patterns and was trying to give Arlo 3 meals a day (with the long-term goal of dropping to 2 meals a day). This proved difficult as Arlo would skip meals, so I then resulted to free-feeding (providing food every 2 hours or so throughout the day to give him multiple opportunities to eat). This worked better, but we ultimately needed to rely on appetite-stimulant medication to help increase Arlo’s appetite, which also meant feeding him his daily food within a few hours of taking the medication.
- Hand-feeding - I’ll admit, I now hand-feed Arlo on a daily basis. Some would argue that it’s not great behavior for a dog, and it’s kind of messy touching raw food with my bare hands but I find hand-feeding helps and this was one easy battle I didn’t want to fight.
- Syringe-feeding - I’ve only tried this a little bit once, but I hear this is a last-resort step and am glad other options have worked well enough that I don’t need to try this again. You basically mix food with water and squirt into the dogs mouth using a syringe. Arlo hates it when we use a syringe to give him his appetite stimulant medication on a daily basis. I doubt he would enjoy syringe-feeding.
- Changing the temperature - If you’re giving raw food, try giving it at room temperature instead of cold, or heating it up slightly.
- Giving a variety of food options - Variety is key. I constantly try to rotate foods to keep Arlo interested. Sometimes I even offer a “buffet”. I find that Arlo tends to enjoy new foods, but only for about a week or so before turning up his nose.
Medications
- Entyce- This is a vet-prescribed appetite-stimulant medication that we now give on a daily basis. It’s a liquid medication. Arlo hates the medication, but it works. Since starting him on the medication, Arlo has gained quite a few pounds and is now close to a healthy/ideal weight. I was initially very hesitant to give this medication regularly and was trying to just give it on a “as-needed” basis a few times a week, as I didn’t want Arlo to be reliant on it. The research study for the efficacy of the medication was also only done based on 4-days not long-term. However, as time went by, we found that we were relying on this medication more and more, and it thankfully still works.
- Cerenia - This was a vet-prescribed anti-nausea medication that we tried for a few days, but it didn’t seem to have any effect. Other people find it helpful.
- Odansetron - This is another vet-prescribed anti-nausea medication that we started trying with Arlo in September. It doesn’t seem to improve his appetite, but Arlo does seem more energetic since starting this medication. After a month or so, we decided to stop the medication since it wasn’t helping his appetite.
- Mirtazapine - This is another appetite stimulant medication. It’s in pill form, which is easier for us to give than liquid-form medications. We tried it for a few days with Arlo but it didn’t seem to have any effect unfortunately.
Enticing with food
Ideally I would like to get Arlo to eat using food instead of medication. Here’s a list of things I’ve tried. Many of these items can separately be considered “treats”, and Arlo will generally (but not always) take some treats even if he has a low appetite. Many of these may not be considered “healthy” for a dog with kidney disease, but I believe it’s worth trying as most will generally agree that it is better for a dog to eat something than nothing.
- Adding Meal Mixers - This works sometimes. I’ve tried adding a variety of meal mixers (Stella & Chewy/ Primal Raw) onto his meals. He would often take a few more small bites or lick the meal mixers, but wouldn’t necessarily eat his meals.
- Cat treats - Arlo LOVES cat treats/food. I’m hesitant to give Arlo too much cat food, even though he likes them, because I’m worried that they’re not appropriate for dogs. I also worry that the more I give him, the less likely he’ll eat dog food. I’ve read that dogs generally do like cat food as it has a stronger smell and higher protein content which is appealing to dogs. I’ve tried mixing a few cat meal mixers into his meals, but it didn’t seem to entice him enough to finish his meal.
- Tripe - Many people have said tripe does wonders even for the pickiest eaters. It also has a low phosphorus content compared to other protein/animal organs, which is good for kidneys. It can be a little difficult finding tripe, though there are a few online stores that sell them frozen. There are also a few canned or air-dried tripe products that may be available at local pet stores or on Chewy/Amazon.
- Ziwi Peak has air-dried lamb green tripe. This is more of a treat rather than meal. Arlo tends to bury these instead of eat them.
- Tripett is a canned tripe product. I tried this with Arlo, but unfortunately he wasn’t a fan.
- Vital Essentials has a freeze-dried beef tripe. Arlo likes this as a treat.
- Ground Beef - This is another one that has worked for many others. Adding some plain ground beef to Arlo’s food works occasionally, but not all the time.
- Chicken Breast - Chicken breast is often considered a high-reward treat. Adding a small amount of plain chicken breast in Arlo’s food occasionally helps boost Arlo’s appetite, but not all the time.
- Baby food (Turkey, Chicken) - Many picky eaters will eat meat-flavored baby food. I actually mix and give powdered supplements in baby food for Arlo. I’ve occasionally had success getting Arlo to eat his meals by mixing in baby food.
- Eggs - Arlo likes eggs and I’ve heard others make “omelettes” to entice their dogs to eat. I’ve tried this but Arlo unfortunately didn’t eat when eggs were added to his food. Instead, I now just give him eggs separately once or twice a week as a treat.
- Cheese/Cream Cheese - Didn’t work for Arlo, but I’ve heard work for others.
- Butter - Arlo loves butter! I usually use butter to hide Arlo’s medicine and supplements, and he gobbles it up. It’s also a good way to help Arlo keep up his caloric intake. Unfortunately, when adding some butter to his food, it doesn’t quite get him excited enough to eat it. Maybe I need to add even more.
- Blueberries - Arlo also loves blueberries, but adding it to his food doesn’t do anything.
- Goat milk - Another one of Arlo’s favorites. It also has a lot of healthy benefits for dogs and is a good way to help dogs stay hydrated and add a little bit of calories. I usually give goat milk separate from his meals, but sometimes mixing into the meal helps him eat, other times it doesn’t.
- Broth - I’ve tried adding broth to Arlo’s food a few times, but it doesn’t help his appetite.
- Chicken Heart - Arlo loves freeze-dried chicken hearts and I often add a couple crushed up in his meal to try and entice him. Chicken hearts are considered a healthy treat for Arlo since it is high in taurine, which is helpful for his heart disease.
Overall, other than Entyce medication, I still haven’t found the fool-proof secrets to helping increase Arlo’s appetite. I’ll keep trying and add to the list.