Azodyl vs Yogurt as Probiotc

[DarbiesMom]

Hey Tony,

I'm debating whether to renew the Azodyl for Darbie. At a monthly supply ( $93.50 per month ) , I question it's effectiveness overall since her start date on April 17, 2014. You actually covered this on my IV RINGERS post, but I'm on the fence as I really don't have a defining baseline history for Darbie to prove otherwise...Her #'s continue to rise, but there has always been variables in her treatment plan the past 6 months to help me determine one way or the other.

Darbie loves the Stonyfield 100% plain whole milk yogurt. One website stated 1tsp per every 10 lb/weight of dog, 2x daily for canine health.  Would this seem sufficient/comparable to the daily supplement of Azodyl?

Thanks again for everything!

Fondly,
Lynne & Darbie

[tonyb286]

Great stuff. That does look a better option. I'm sure you know, but always stick to plain yoghurt as the flavoured varieties can have traces of seeds which are harmful (contain cyanide) - and double check there are no artificial sugars in the ingredients, such as sorbitol and xylitol, which are toxic to dogs.

You're doing a great job. Keep it up Lynne.

Tony x

[DarbiesMom]

Tony, I think I may have found a good alternative. Stonyfield has a plain yogurt for babies ( YoBaby ) which has lower values:

Serving Size 1 container (113g)
Servings per Container 1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories 80
Total Fat 4.5g
Trans Fat 0g
Sodium 60mg
Total Carbohydrate 6g
Dietary Fiber 0g
Sugars* 6g
Protein 4g
* Includes natural milk sugar

I hope it delivers on the probiotics factor. I will still be cautious and practice portion control.

Thanks again!
Lynne & Darbie

[DarbiesMom]

Thanks Tony -This is very helpful!

Yes, Darbie loves that yogurt! The sugar explains her wild bursts of energy! She actually gets 2 dollops ( maybe less than 1/4 c ) per meal. Although the container is based on 1c servings, I plan to cut back her portion based on the information you provided. I will research the net for a "lighter" option. Luckily, there has been no evidence of allergies or lactose intolerance.

I'm going to follow thru with the Azodyl for awhile. I hope to get a better picture as Darbie will be submitting blood work monthly. Amazon does have great deals on Azodyl, but most vets sign off any responsibility if something were to go wrong with the pet. So, the extra cost paid at the vet is basically "insurance" of quality control.

Tony, thanks again for your efforts!

Fondly,
Lynne & Darbie

[tonyb286]

Hi Lynne. That's a good question and, like many aspects of kidney failure, there is no straightforward answer to it. Azodyl has some interesting elements to it, but the evidence (as previously suggested) for any benefit tends to be anecdotal. I personally tend to think an appropriate probiotic plain yogurt is likely to provide the same benefits. One of the sites I was reading said this, which I think expands on what I tend to think about Azodyl versus natural yogurt:

"Azodyl is a proprietary probiotic product that claims to help break down the by-products of digestion that contribute to uremia (elevated creatinine and BUN). Note that uremia contributes to symptoms of kidney disease, but is not harmful to the kidneys themselves; elevated creatinine and BUN are the result of kidney disease, not the cause. The bacteria are called "Kibow probiotics," from Kibow Biotech in Pennsylvania, which sells the same product under its own brand name, and says it contains three strands of probiotics: streptococcus thermophilus (now called Enterococcus thermophilus), lactobacillus acidophilus, and bifidobacterium longum, plus psyllium (prebiotic, used to feed the probiotics). This company apparently patented the term "enteric dialysis" that is used to market Azodyl. Once again, you may be able to find these ingredients more cheaply in other probiotics products, such as Source Naturals Life Flora, Udo's Choice Advanced Adult's Probiotic (available thru Amazon), and Stonyfield Farm Yogurt. See this Consumer Lab report for other good probiotic brands. Also see PDRHealth for more general info on these and other probiotic strains.

This product must be shipped cold, which can add considerably to the shipping cost. Best prices I found were at VetDepot, PSC Pets (free shipping if order is over $50, can add extra cold protection for $5) and Amazon. Order multiple bottles to reduce the shipping cost per bottle.

The Vetoquinol web site shows two small, unpublished and undated studies, one on pigs and one on cats (the one on cats was uncontrolled, neither was double-blind), showing some benefit from the use of Azodyl. I know of no other information that would suggest this product is beneficial to dogs with kidney disease, though there would be no harm in using it and probiotics offer other benefits as well. The owner of ThrivingPets.com, who agrees that the claims for Azodyl are overblown, still says, "I don't think Azodyl is a bad product. I think it can help with inappetence issues and improve digestion and absorption of nutrients. I don't think it will improve BUN and Creatinine but it may make your pet eat better and feel better which may lead to a better quality of life and may extend the pet's life as well."

I was looking at the ingredients of Stonyfield's yogurt and find there is probably good reason why Darbie loves it ... firstly, it has 12g of sugar, which isn't particularly good (though most dogs have a sweet tooth). Of slightly more concern is the amount of sodium, a fairly massive 5%, which is probably mostly what we think of as salt. There's also almost one fifth of the entire volume in protein, but I can't assess whether this is high-quality protein or low-quality protein, so can't really say whether it's a good or bad thing for canine kidney disease.

There's a worrying amount of phosphorous - 25% per pot - which isn't a good thing and may contribute to further problems.

Another thing worth pointing out is that a lot of dogs are lactose intolerant, so the fact this is a full milk product (which is why it's advertised as rich and creamy and probably another reason why Darbie loves it) may contribute towards allergic reactions. Watch out for any signs of stomach stretching or lethargy after she has eaten some of the yogurt.

I would say this product is fine in very small quantities, but I would tend to look for a more suitable yogurt with all the right probiotics - but with less salt, sugar and phosphorous.

Hope this helps.

Tony x