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My dog has heart concerns. What's a safe sodium level in dog food?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cavalier King Charles Spaniel | Female | spayed | 4 years and 11 months old | 17 lbs

I was told by someone that I shouldn't feed a food with a dry matter basis sodium over 0.5% otherwise it is considered high sodium. Is this the case? The brand of food I'm feeding now has a particular flavor that is 1.21% sodium dry matter basis. The other flavors range from 0.39-0.69% dry matter basis. Are these levels ok? what IS considered an upper safe limit for sodium dry matter basis? A have a healthy cavalier but she is prone to heart disease. I just don't want to overdue the salt.

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Liz DeWandeler, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on June 10th, 2017

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!

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    Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on June 11th, 2017

    Hello there. You have a great question. When you say your dog is prone to heart disease I am assuming you are talking about the genetic problem with CKCS and progressive mitral valve disease. Restricting sodium in the diet of a Cavalier dog that is not currently in heart failure associated with mitral valve disease is not of any benefit. It will not prevent or slow down the progression of mitral valve disease. So, feeding a sodium restrictive diet now is not necessary. We do not worry about sodium content in "normal" dogs - the food you are currently feeding is fine as her body will eliminate any excess sodium with no issues. If she ever has any diagnosed heart conditions your vet will work with you on a special prescription diet or homemade diet that is lower in sodium (like Hill's h/d) that has a low sodium content (usually a max of 0.12%). I hope this answers your question. Best wishes. Dr. Amber

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    Answered By Jeffrey Milner

    Veterinarian

    Published on June 11th, 2017

    I did not answer your previous question, but I can tell you that it is very common for the sodium level to vary considerably between brands and protein types. In terms of sodium restriction, I would not even start thinking about this until you have verified that Chloe has a heart condition. I understand and appreciate that you are trying to be proactive, but limiting sodium in a dog that does not require it can actual cause more harm that good. Limiting sodium is not going to prevent Mitral valve disease from occurring anyway, so you don't need to be worry about this at this time. With Cavaliers, regardless of age, I always recommend that they have biyearly wellness exams rather than yearly just so they can have their hearts checked more frequently. I believe there was a study done not too long ago that indicated something like 97% of Cavaliers over the age of 7 had a heart murmur. Crazy! Anyway, I think it is great that you are thinking ahead and planning for the future. When and if the time comes, there are plenty of pre-made diets designed for patients in renal and heart failure that are very low sodium. These would be fine choices. Hope this helps!

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