jessies_mom
Posted : 3/19/2011 6:37:04 PM
Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry your dog has these health problems. As I'm sure you know, Cushing's can lead to kidney and heart disease, as well as liver disease and diabetes. Dogs with Cushing's are more likely to have calcium oxalate stone formation in their kidneys. They can also develop pancreatitis because of a change in the way their body metabolizes fats.
You can be proactive in preventing some of these problems by choosing the right diet. Feeding a diet with low oxalate foods and never supplementing the diet with vitamin C will help prevent calcium oxalate stones. A diet with high quality proteins will help the liver, but it's important not to feed excessive amounts of protein or phosphorus in order to protect the kidneys. Choosing a diet that's lower in fat can prevent pancreatitis.
I don't know of a kibble that meets all of these conditions, but you may be able to find one. You said home cooking is out. The information I gave you above is from a book called " Optimal Nutrition" and was written by Monica Segal; http://www.monicasegal.com/
She can formulate a diet for your dog that would meet all of the conditions above; she designed a diet for my dog when she was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis and my vet said the diet was excellent. It's not hard to work this into a busy lifestyle; you can cook the food once a week, every two weeks, whatever, divide it into daily amounts, and freeze it.
I hope my suggestions about diet are helpful. Good luck with your Pom; I hope you can keep this disease under control.(((hugs)))