Vegan Kidney Diet For Our Dog

Finding the Right Kidney Diet for Odin
Odin is one of our beloved rescue dogs, and like the rest of our dogs, he’s been on a plant-based diet for quite a while - six years at the time of writing this (seven years for our other dog). I’m not going to get into the debate about whether dogs can or should be vegan. The science has spoken clearly on this topic already, and we’ve seen firsthand how well dogs have done on plant-based diets.  For most of those years our dogs were eating V-Dog kibble as their primary food, with occasional meals of Natural Balance’s vegan canned food mixed in. 

We don’t know exactly how old Odin is (his full history is a mystery) but we do know he’s at least 10 years old. Earlier this year, we received news that changed everything: Odin was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, somewhere between Stage 2 and Stage 3, based on his bloodwork.  That marked the beginning of a whole new journey, filled with research, trial and error, and a lot hair-pulling.

When Odin was first diagnosed, our vet suggested we switch his diet. For dogs with chronic kidney disease, diet change is one of the most important, if not the only, ways to manage the condition long-term. There are medications that can help with secondary symptoms like high blood pressure, but when it comes to actually supporting kidney function, food is the main thing.  This isn't to say that his diet caused this, just that like with humans, there are certain diets that would be recommended for kidney disease that wouldn't be recommended for a human (or dog) who didn't have kidney disease.  

The issue was that every prescription kidney diet available on the market for dogs is made with meat and other animal products. I wasn’t too worried at first. I thought, this is a great opportunity to start making our dog food at home.  While there are great commercial vegan dog brands, we all know that fresh food is better than processed and it's something I had wanted to start doing for a while.  So,  I turned to the internet.

Hitting a Wall
What I quickly discovered was… there weren’t any actual recipes out there.

I found a lot of general information about feeding dogs a home cooked plant-based diet, and suggestions for kidney disease: low to moderate protein, use tofu, include rice or sweet potato, things like that. But no one was actually telling me how much of any of these things to feed in a meal. I had ingredients, I had vague guidelines but not a single, clear, professional-approved recipe I could actually follow.

I kept searching and eventually came across a book called The Plant-Powered Dog. I do recommend it - it has great information and gave me a much deeper understanding of canine kidney disease and how certain plant-based foods can help the kidneys. (And it has great tools for creating regular, plant-based recipes for healthy dogs).  But, I was still in the same spot: no complete, professional-backed recipe for a plant-based kidney diet. 

I then discovered that one of the authors of the book offered one-on-one coaching and could formulate individual diet plans for dogs! That felt like a glimmer of hope. The downside was, it wasn’t cheap - but I was ready to do whatever it took to get Odin the right food. So I went to sign up… and saw this dreaded message: not accepting new clients.

I scoured the internet again, hoping to find someone else offering similar services, but came up empty.
So, in the meantime, I made a temporary change to help Odin’s kidneys as best I could. I transitioned him to an entirely wet food diet, since wet food is much easier on the kidneys than kibble. We stuck with Natural Balance’s vegan canned food.

A Homemade Plan - With a Little Help
I wasn’t ready to give up. I kept checking in to see if the author was accepting new clients again, but still no. 
Next, I turned to ChatGPT.  I input all of Odin’s information, including his bloodwork results, and asked for help creating a plant-based kidney diet. We built a basic plan that followed the guidelines for kidney care: lower phosphorus, moderate clean protein, good hydration.  Because this would be Odin’s full and complete diet going forward, I wanted to make sure it was nutritionally balanced and safe. I asked ChatGPT to double-check the nutrient profile with this in mind (ALWAYS check ChatGPT!), and after a few tweaks, we ended up with a recipe.  

Still, I felt uneasy without having a professional to review it.  That’s when I discovered Dr. Arielle, a veterinarian in the UK who specializes in plant-based dog nutrition. She even runs a website that sells plant-based food - but unfortunately, those weren’t available in the U.S. Luckily, she also offered teleconsultations including for international clients, and her pricing was much more affordable than the first one! I signed up for a consultation with her right away.  

Fine-Tuning the Formula
Dr. Arielle was fantastic. She reviewed the ChatGPT-based recipe and confirmed that it was a really solid starting point. She did have a few key changes though. She emphasized the importance of maintaining a 2:1 ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids. Keeping that balance is key for dogs managing chronic kidney disease. Another important suggestion was about omega-3s: although flaxseed oil is often used in vegan diets as an omega-3 source, she explained that dogs don’t actually absorb it very efficiently. She recommended switching to a high-quality algae oil instead.

She didn’t have a specific brand she could point me to in the U.S., but I did some searching and found a product I really liked: MAV Nutrition's vegan algae oil soft gels. The downside I have to individually poke and squeeze each soft gel into Odin’s food every day. It's pretty frustrating, and I actually started doing it when I make his four day batches rather than each meal (at each meal is recommended rather than before refrigerating) after the time our rescued Starling swooped down and stole one of the shiny soft-gels and swallowed it.  Luckily he spit it back up while we were on our way to the emergency vet... but let's just say there are lots of competing factors happening during our animal care.  

To help ensure Odin’s overall nutrition needs are met, she also recommended adding the Vegedog supplement, which I had already seen mentioned in The Plant-Powered Dog book. It’s designed specifically to be added to homemade plant-based dog food recipes to make sure they’re getting all the essential vitamins and minerals, kind of like a multivitamin for humans.  Because of Odin's kidneys Dr. Arielle advised halving the standard dose of the supplement, since the full amount can be a bit high in phosphorus. So I took the dosage instructions from the bottle and simply cut it in half based on how much food I was preparing.

She was also pleased to see that calcium carbonate powder was included in the recipe - this is important for binding phosphorous, which is bad for kidneys in compromised dogs. 

Another thing Dr. Arielle really helped clarify was the misconception around protein in kidney diets. Many prescription diets are marketed as “low-protein,” but as she explained, it’s not about necessarily cutting protein, rather it’s about choosing clean, easily digestible protein sources. Tofu and other plant-based proteins fit perfectly into that category!

She also pointed out something that really stuck with me: the prescription diets for kidney disease are still made with the same animal by-products and rendered meat used in commercial dog foods. All the harmful substances and biological waste that put strain on kidneys in the first place are still in there. So despite being marketed for kidney support, those diets can actually make things harder on the kidneys in the long run.

Of course, I’m paraphrasing.... she explained it all with a lot more science behind it. But she was clear: a clean, home-cooked, plant-based diet is far better for a dog with kidney disease than switching to a processed, animal-based prescription food.  That was huge for me to hear, because one of the hardest parts of this journey was the fear that I might be forced to choose between Odin’s health and the lives of other sentient beings. The idea of buying food made from animals who were killed for profit and had just as much a right to live as my dog Odin, felt like an impossible ethical position.  But thankfully, vegan values actually lead me to the best solution for Odin's health!  

Later on, I did reach out to Dr. Arielle with a follow-up question, because of course things can’t ever be totally simple: it turns out that sweet potato, which is one of the most commonly recommended ingredients for kidney diets, is something Odin absolutely refuses to eat. Same with blueberries... just not happening. Thankfully, Dr. Arielle was really understanding and helped guide some ingredient swaps so we could keep his meals kidney-friendly and Odin-approved.

 …But Would He Eat It?
Armed with our new vet-approved recipe, my husband and I were feeling good. We imagined Odin and our other dog would be thrilled.  After all, this was real, home-cooked people food. They love people food, right?
Wrong. They completely hated it. "People food" normally has a lot of sodium in it - which is NOT good for a kidney diet, but sure makes the food tasty.  

We did learn one thing from that rejection: Odin really hates sweet potato (which, as I mentioned earlier, is one of the most commonly recommended ingredients for dogs with kidney disease). And for some reason, blueberries are also off the table for him. So those were the first things to go.

We tried dressing the food up with a homemade plant-based broth, but that didn’t help (though it may for your dog!). We also tried heating it up in the microwave, which seemed to help a little.  What did help was adding extra nutritional yeast on top, which gave it more flavor. We also ended up sprinkling in a few pieces of their regular vegan kibble just to get them interested. 

One of the symptoms of kidney disease is loss of appetite, so we weren’t sure if Odin just didn’t like the new food, or if he was just feeling meh about food in general.  We talked to our vet and got him a prescription liquid appetite stimulant, which seemed to help some. And, with our veterinarian's approval, we used the old “tough love” method - we waited him out and didn't offer him any other food even if he refused it.  

It took some patience (and I was not as good at implementing the wait it out method as my husband was, so we had setbacks - always be a united front!) but eventually Odin got on board.  He’s maintaining his weight now, and while I wouldn’t say it’s his favorite meal in the world, he’s eating what he needs. He tends to be pickier in the mornings and hungrier at night (go figure), but he’s doing really well.

Progress
Five months after Odin’s diagnosis, we rechecked his bloodwork, and it’s stable.  That might not sound dramatic, but for a progressive disease like kidney failure and at his stage, stable is a huge win. It means we’re doing something right. Between his food, hydration, and blood pressure medication, we’re keeping the disease from progressing faster than it has to, which is the goal.  

Odin still pees a lot (more than is normal) and sometimes has accidents, so we use doggy diapers indoors and make sure he has frequent potty breaks. But he’s still sleeping through the night, still playful, still happy, and still has all the spunk of a much younger dog. 

Why I Wanted To Share This
This journey was hard. Not just emotionally, but logistically. I spent hours searching for a kidney-safe vegan diet and kept coming up short. I hit roadblocks, ran into dead ends, and had to be persistent before finally getting professional help.  So we’re sharing our story in hopes that someone else out there, looking for answers for their own plant-based dog with kidney disease, can have it easier than we did!  Odin is living proof that it works.

The Recipe
Here's the thing you're actually here for!  The recipe.  This makes about 5-6 days worth of food for Odin, our 14lb dog.  If there is something that your dog likes more of, or doesn't like, you can add more of that or swap it out.  For example, you can use zucchini, bell peppers, yellow squash, butternut squash, pumpkin, or green beans instead of carrots.  Odin loves carrots so we add a lot in - we actually use a full can along with pumpkin since he hates sweet potato).  

Base Carbs (choose one):
2 cups cooked oats  – gentle on digestion, fiber-rich
OR
2 cups cooked white rice (low phosphorus, kidney-friendly, easy to digest)

Protein & Veggies:
1 package cup extra-firm tofu  – clean plant protein
1/2 can carrots, no salt added and well-rinsed (can do mashed carrots if preferred)
1/2 cup mashed sweet potato
(Optional substitution for sweet potato): Instead of  sweet potato, use one of these:
• 1 can 100% pumpkin
• 1 cup mashed butternut squash
• 1/2 cup mashed white rice (extra carb base)

Flavor & Nutrition Boosters:
3 tbsp nutritional yeast – B vitamins + savory flavor
2 tsp sunflower oil  – omega-6 source
10  MAV Nutrition vegan algae oil softgels  – provides DHA & EPA, 2:1 ratio omega 6:3 (Recommended to be given with each meal, rather than doing 1/2 a soft gel, you can rotate between 1 and 2)
2 tbsp unsalted almond butter (24 g) – richness + healthy fats
Optional:
1/2 tsp smoked paprika – enhances taste (dog-safe)
1 tsp dried oregano or parsley – flavor + digestive support

Minerals & Supplements:
1 tsp calcium carbonate (or eggshell powder) – phosphorus binder
Vegedog supplement – half the label dose for the number of days in your batch

Liquids (Optional)
Water or homemade veggie broth – to moisten and mix to desired texture
If you don't heat up the food in the microwave, you can add a little hot water on top before serving

Mix all of the ingredients together, mash them to the texture of your dog's preference - and voila!