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Renal Failure

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RAB

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
I got some bad news that my 5 yr old male shows signs of kidney failure from what i described to my vet this am. He was 105# in December and today is 80#, He has 2 sunken head spots, black stool and little to no appetite. (NOT GOOD) He will have the blood results tomorrow and know for sure. He even mentioned maybe 90 days. I need insight on making the best of a bad situation. I am shocked and torn up about this. What can i do??? What are my options???

Thanks,

John
 
#2 ·
I am sorry to hear this. If this is the end spoil him rotten. Spend all the time you can with him doing the things he loves. Let him go out on top.
 
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#3 ·
Sorry to hear about your dog.

What i have done in the past with this problem is. Feed the dog ground hamburger and rice mixed in with a low protein and low ash dog food. The lower the protein in the food the better and easier it is on the kidneys. Also crush up vitamin C 500 to 1000 mlg in there food. Along with Fish Oil tab and B complex, vitamins E 1000, Coenzyme Q 10 and A.

Pre cook food for the week. Some of the food you can make for him would be. Sweet potatoes and Cream, Some butter &Malto Meal? ( I think that's the spelling) you can get at WalMart, Rice, Ground Pork the fattier the better, Hamburger, And Dark meat chicken legs no skin. White meat is harder on them. Watch the water intake if he or she is in side.

Good luck.
 
#4 ·
My first dog had kidney problems for years (but was not in kidney failure). He was on a special can dog food sold by vets. I think it was K/D which probably stands for Kidney Diet. As he got older he had to go on heart medicine and that caused him to lose his appetite. Since he wouldn't eat the K/D any more the vet told us to feed him boiled chicken and rice, so I know that must be easy on the kidneys. Eventually, due to appetite loss from the heart medicine he would no longer eat the boiled chicken and rice. The vet said he had to eat so feed him whatever we had to to get him to eat. This led to him going into renal failure and we had to put him down. The vet said if we didn't he would be in tremendous pain and would die soon anyway. Renal failure is not a good way to go from what I've heard. Only you and your vet can tell when, but I suspect that you will have to end/prevent his suffering at some point. Feeding him whatever he wants to eat will speed his demise IMO. If you smell the breath of a dog in kidney failure you will never forget it. I understand that it smells that way because his kidneys are literally dying, so you are smelling dead/decaying tissue. I hope, somehow, some way that there is some other diagnosis for your dog - something that can be treated.
 
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#5 ·
You may have to give him fluids under the skin..... a few times per week. Just depends on how far you want to go.

I'm sorry to hear this...
 
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#6 ·
You may have some options with a dog so young. As Susan mentioned Hydrotherapy or flushing of the kidneys, is one of the first steps Read this article http://www.sniksnak.com/doghealth/kidney.html . I just lost one to Renal failure last year but she was 13.

john
 
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#8 ·
My first golden had total renal shutdown at 5 years of age(30 years ago). A hospital stay of 4 days? and a treatment to force the kidneys back to functioning properly didn't help. Total cost was around 1200 dollars and I lost the dog. I hope your situation is better than this.
 
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Discussion starter · #9 ·
I spoke with the bredder which is also a good friend of mine, and hasn't seen this issue before in the gene pool. For most of you that dont know his history, this guy and his other offspring are XL size. 90-110 on average. On the other hand he did eat good tonight. Thanks to all who have commented...
 
#11 ·
Sorry to hear your news. The wait for the results is excruciating, most of us have been there at one point. Plan for the worst, hope for the best!
 
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#13 ·
RAB My dog became very lethargic. He would walk a few steps and then lie down. This was during a regular walk on a leash outside the house. His eyes developed an odd look. The skin around his eyes developed an odd color. I think he also stopped eating. The real diagnosis came after the blood work. The substances that were found in the blood would not normally be there if the kidneys were functioning normally. The doctors on the case asked if it was possible that the dog had ingested antifreeze. It was possible because my girlfriend had been walking my dog and she was not aware of the danger of antifreeze. I do live in NYC and it was quite possible that this was the case. I had brought him to the Animal Medical Center in Manhattan as an emergency. He spent those days in the hospital catheterized and on IV. I would have done anything to save him but was told by the doctors that even if the treatment worked he would not be the same. He would need a special diet and constant monitoring. Treatment failed, I saw him suffer and I swore that I would never put another dog through this again. He was my first gundog.

I hope that this is not your case. The key phrase here is my dog had total renal failure. This is all to the best of my recollection. I may still have his records so I'll take a look and let you know if there is anything more.

Good luck.
 
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#16 ·
I'm sorry to read about your dog. Sounds like it is something that has been coming on ?? if he lost that much weight starting 6 months ago.

Sending best wishes your way.

Kris
 
Discussion starter · #19 ·
Thanks again to all for sheeding input on this issue.. Since the blood work got delayed, my wife has made an contact at LSU Vet School to get a second review once blood work results are in...... This is my first gundog BTW.
 
#20 ·
Sorry to hear about your dog. I had a dog that developed renal failure as a result of Lyme disease. It is a long road with many highs and lows. I wish you all the best. Low protein diet,(watch the phosphorus levels the lower the better) coQ10 helps, fish oil helps some, ther is a yahoo goup for canine renal failure. I can't find the link but if you search on yahoo uder the groups section you should find it using renal failure canine. There are some helpful people and info on there. I gave IV fluids subcutaneous. If you choose to go that road there is also links o the yahoo group to medical suppliers with pretty cheap supplies. When you get blood results the real important numbers are BUN (blood urea nitrogen) and Creatinine. Those will give you a good idea of where the dog is at. Hope this helps,and again good luck with your dog. Jim
 
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mhitesman
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