My dog needs a low sodium diet. Which dog food has the lowest salt?

This is a great question, and thanks for taking such good care of Chloe! Salt is added to most dog food to improve the flavor, and it is not common to have variable amounts depending on the food. We do not recommend salt restricted foods unless a dog is already in Congestive Heart Failure, at the recommendation of your veterinarian. What is most important for Chloe is that you are feeding a high quality diet that helps her have a healthy coat and normal, formed feces. Hope this helps!

What a great question! The most recent research indicates that dogs with CHF that are doing well usually do not need a sodium restricted diet. The most important thing is to keep them eating well, and salt increases palatability of most foods. However, a pet that is decompensating may benefit from a sodium-restricted diet. The prescription diets for heart disease typically have around a 0.10% salt content by dry matter.

Many OTC wet dog foods can be high in salt content, which should be avoided in dogs with heart disease. If you would prefer that Champ be on a wet dog food, then you may want to discuss a prescription heart diet with your vet. If your vet does not have concerns about salt content at this stage of heart disease, then you can choose a diet based on your budget and dietary preferences for Champ. I feed my dogs Purina ProPlan because I like their quality of ingredients and the diet fits in my budget.

It is true that Hills makes a diet that is designed to support heart health. The diet is designed to be low sodium low protein low phosphorus and high in corn which contains several different vitamins and minerals that will support the health of your dog when they are in heart failure. That being said neither I nor any of the other doctors with which I work go around recommending this food to any of our cardiac patients. This is because there is no scientific evidence to support the efficacy of this product. That is not to say that it doesn't work as there are many different anecdotal reports that it has extended people's pets lives. In terms of the water you are giving your pet if you are concerned that there is a high level of sodium in the water I would recommend having it tested. You could also give bottled water if you are concerned. The mainstay treatment for cardiac failure in dogs are diuretics and blood pressure drugs. Depending on the cause of the congestive heart failure there's another drug called pimobendan that your veterinarian may also recommend. In some cases this has been proven to significantly extend quality and longevity of dog's lives.

Salt is absolutely necessary in dog food although too much salt isn't good either. the minimum is usually 0.3% sodium content but it is considered to be fine up to 0.5% (you can find this information on the label).

Great question! Most diets that are formulated for heart conditions are low in sodium, and thus prescription based. Lower sodium diets are not typically recommended for the "average" dog. Talk to your vet about the Science Diet H/D or Royal Canin Early Cardiac diets for Lulu.

A hydrolyzed therapeutic diet might be the best option for a dog with food allergies and potential heart disease. Hills makes a version called z/d, Royal Canin makes HP and Purina makes HA. Your vet would know more details however and might make a different recommendation based on Champ’s history so you should contact them before changing the diet.