Hannah Zulueta Phosphorus levels are generally lower in cooked meat, but it’s the reverse when it comes to the organs. Knowing these small details can help you as you prepare your dog’s kidney-friendly home-cooked or raw meals.
You do not want to feed a low-protein diet to dogs suffering from chronic kidney disease. In fact, you still want to focus on high-quality protein-dense meals for dogs in stages one to three. Dogs in stage four can lower their protein but not to the levels you see in kibble-formulated diets.
| Ingredient | P mg/100g |
| Beef tripe (raw) | 64 |
| Lamb, ground (cooked) | 122 |
| Chicken thigh (cooked) | 149 |
| Chicken breast (cooked) | 165 |
| Egg, chicken – (hardboiled) | 172 |
| Beef, chuck, pot roast, boneless trimmed off fat (cooked) | 174 |
| Beef, ground, 90% lean, 10% fat (raw) | 184 |
| Turkey leg, meat, and skin (cooked) | 199 |
| Bison, ground (cooked) | 205 |
| Veal, ground (cooked) | 217 |
| Egg, duck, (raw) | 220 |
| Turkey breast (cooked) | 253 |
| Turkey, ground, 93% lean, 7% fat (cooked) | 259 |
| Pork, ground, 96% lean, 4% fat (cooked) | 261 |
| Rabbit (raw) | 294 |
| Beef tripe (freeze-dried) | 358 |
| Egg, Yolk (raw) | 390 |
| Duck, 85% lean | 814 |
Phosphorus in Organ Muscle
Organ muscle meats are often confused with organs. Organ muscle meats are those cuts that include gizzards and hearts.
These cuts will provide a higher level of taurine and choline as well as vitamins and minerals.
Keep in mind that while these numbers below represent 100g, most dogs don’t need anywhere near that amount.
Typically organ muscle meats just needs to be between 5 to 20% (max) of the diet. Staying at 5% covers the nutritional needs for most meals and most dogs.
That said, feeding pork heart is a great cut of meat for dogs with low appetites. It has a high level of vitamin B, which can help jump-start the appetite.
Asian markets often carry gizzards and hearts fresh or in the frozen section.
If you do not want to feed it raw, you can dehydrate it (155 degrees sliced thin). Picky kidney dogs often will find delight in a “treat” and it may as well be a food that will help them.
Alternatively, you can simmer it in a little water. Try not to overcook it to retain the integrity and bioavailability of the food.
| Ingredient | P mg/100g |
| Chicken gizzard (raw) | 148 |
| Lamb heart (raw) | 152 |
| Duck gizzard (raw) | 155 |
| Duck heart (raw) | 189 |
| Turkey gizzard (raw) | 164 |
| Bison heart (raw) | 168 |
| Pork heart (raw) | 168 |
| Chicken heart (raw) | 176 |
| Pork heart (cooked) | 178 |
| Turkey heat (raw) | 183 |
| Turkey gizzard (cooked) | 187 |
| Chicken gizzard (cooked) | 189 |
| Chicken heart (cooked) | 199 |
| Beef heart (raw) | 212 |
| Beef heart, grass-fed (raw) | 217 |
| Lamb heart (cooked) | 254 |
| Beef heart (cooked) | 265 |
| Beef spleen (cooked) | 305 |
Phosphorus in Organs
Just like organ muscle meats, the phosphorus in raw organs is going to be less than when it is cooked.
A small amount goes a long way. For example, a 20lb dog only needs about 5g of raw beef liver each meal.
Red organs tend to have more iron and copper. Poultry organs often do not have enough copper.
For my own dogs, I don’t even bother with chicken liver and stick to beef, calf, or veal liver.
| Ingredient | P mg/100g |
| Pork liver (cooked) | 247 |
| Lamb Kidney (raw) | 246 |
| Beef Kidney (raw) | 257 |
| Duck liver (raw) | 269 |
| Turkey liver (raw) | 279 |
| Pork (raw) | 288 |
| Chicken liver (raw) | 310 |
| Turkey liver (cooked) | 312 |
| Beef kidney (cooked) | 338 |
| Lamb liver (raw) | 370 |
| Veal liver (raw) | 379 |
| Beef liver, (raw) | 387 |
| Beef liver, grass fed | 390 |
| Chicken liver (cooked) | 405 |
| Veal liver (cooked) | 160 |
| Beef liver (cooked) | 497 |
| Freeze Dried Beef Liver | 1202 |
Phosphorus in Seafood
I’ve listed oysters and shellfish below for informational purposes only.
I actually do not think that dogs need shellfish due to contamination risks. You can read about that HERE. With everything else you may be worried about with your kidney dog, why complicate things with shellfish.
| Ingredient | P mg/100g |
| Oyster (canned) | 151 |
| Oyster (raw) | 159 |
| Light tuna (canned) | 163 |
| Anchovy (raw) | 174 |
| Shrimp | 195 |
| Mussel, blue (raw) | 197 |
| Mackerel (raw) | 217 |
| Whitefish (raw) | 220 |
| Oyster (cooked) | 243 |
| Salmon, sockeye, (raw) | 266 |
| Mackerel (canned) | 301 |
| Salmon (cooked) | 310 |
| Clam (cooked) | 338 |
| Salmon (canned) | 347 |
| Sardines (canned) | 366 |
| Sardines (raw) | 575 |
Putting It All Together
Preparing your dog’s meals so that it is balanced is not as difficult as it may seem.
The components of a meal are quite simple and you can read about them HERE.
If anything, the hardest part is actually stimulating your dog’s appetite.
They are hungry, but they may be reluctant to eat.
That’s where the real work comes in but it can also be a lot of fun to find creative ways to get them to eat. I’ll create a series of articles to help you but in the meantime I wanted to share these lists now to equip you with the information you need as you feed your dog that has been diagnosed with CKD.
For those that need help, I’m available to help you formulate recipes. Visit my packages page to learn more.
I wish you and dogs good health.
Resources:
Small Animal Clinical Nutrition
Nutritional and laboratory parameters affect the survival of dogs with chronic kidney disease
Diet for Dogs with Kidney Disease
Chronic kidney disease in dogs and cats
Chronic Kidney Disease in Dogs & Cats
Nutritional Management of Renal Disease – What to Feed and When to Start
Treatment Guidelines for Chronic Kidney Disease in Dogs and Cats
Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in Dogs & Cats – Staging and Management Strategies
Author Biography
Hannah Zulueta obtained her Certificate in Canine Nutrition from CASI Institute. She is also studying to get her Doctorate in Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Herbalism from the esteemed Pacific College of Health and Medicine.
She resides in San Diego with her three dogs, Maggie, Orbit, and Mr. Higgins.
