My puppy was just diagnosed with kidney failure---HELP?

Question

The vet said he propaply had it before we got him he is 7 months old--he started throwing up really bad last night so I took him in. They did a blood test and from certain levels of chemicals in the blood they said his kidneys are bad and there is nothing they can do, He still has his appetite and is drinking lots of water--he is throwing up way less to day --he does have diahhrea(SP?)--and he has always peed a great deal (he is a big dog rot/lab)--he has been a bit lethargic the last couple of days.
I need to know if anyone has had this experience---I cannot do what the vet is asking without more knowledge and complete certainty---this is my baby.

Answer 1

I had a dog like that with kidney failure, just MAKE SURE you give him purified water only! No tap water what so ever. But i would check with another vet too cause ours gave us some medication for our dog called soloxine, but there really isnt anything they can do for kidney failure.... But i hope everything goes ok, i know how you feel, . Just make sure you give him purified water only , it really helps.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

This situation is truly sad and one could only hope that he will pull out of it, but when a trusted vet isn't optimistic, then that's not good. Depending on where you purchased him, like from a breeder, I would contact the breeder and tell him/her about your puppy. When you purchased your puppy, did you have your puppy checked out right away? How old was your puppy when you got him? Are there any other puppies in his same litter with the same problem? Did you have a health guarantee? The questions I am asking are important in whether the breeder might have known there was a problem or not before the sale. Don't get me wrong, the breeder may have no clue whatsoever. At any rate, the breeder should be informed. If you purchased him from a pet store, then you probably have no recourse. Best wishes for a recovery.

Answer 4

if you are unsure of things ask the vet to talk to you more or get a second opinion. But do something. Without knowing the specifics and how advanced this case is but in general animals with kidney disease can have some stuff done to make them feel better such as subcutaneous fluids or iv fluids.

PS-does the vet know why the kidney failure is occuring. usually doesn't happen in young animals unless brought on by and infection or toxin. (where i live, young dog with kidney failure would be tested for Lyme disease)

Answer 5

My sister has an older dog with kidney failure. She has been on a kidney diet for a year now and seems to be feeling good. Yours is just a pup so maybe the prognosis isn't the same, but it sure made a world of difference to my sisters.

Answer 6

I am sorry to hear about your puppy.

You may want to try contacting a local university veterinary training hospital, or a larger vets office for a second opinion. Usually the prescription diets for kidney troubles do help some, so if he is not already on it I would change him to it. I have seen a few dogs recover from kidney troubles and the fact that he is young helps. I hope that he will be okay.

Answer 7

I had a dog who was barely a year old when she went into kidney failure. I am sorry, there really isn't a lot that can be done. I was told that kidney failure is an extremely painful death, so I did what I thought was best and saved her from that type of pain.

Answer 8

Follow your gut, get a second opinion from another vet. It wouldn't hurt.

Something interesting I found out the other day, was that there are carcinigines in dog food that AAFCO approved, but the FDA refused to allow in food ment for human consumption. The more I've researched it the more and more pet deaths I've read about this. Many of the other products in dog food causes kidney failiure. Like some dog food have etholyne glycol in it, the same stuff in antifreze - which is lethal because it crystalizes and hardnes the kidneys making them incapable of funcitioning.

Check out these sites, and put your dog on a natural diet.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=menadione

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/jesse.htm

http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1

My parents have a shih tzu who was diagnosed with 75% kidney failure. He was 8 years old when they diagnosed him and tried to get my folks to euthanize him. My father did a ton of research and changed his diet (my dad cooks him all natural and organic diet of lamb, rice, berries, yougurt etc. - but there are other all natural healthy foods available look at the links above) All natural all orgainic. He's 14 years old, his kidneys are still at 75% kidney failure but the vets were shocked to see that his kidneys haven't contiued to fail past 75%, he's been living with it for 7 years. He is still going good, on an all natural/homecooked/organic diet, no medications (usually have irriversable side effects on the liver) of course his kidneys will not ever get better, but he's happy and other wise healthy and still eats, drinks, happy to greet everybody and plays comfortably. My parents are so grateful they didn't euthanize him.

Check out the links above, its shocking to see what brands of dog food actually piosioon our pets.

Answer 9

What is the vet asking you to do? When kidney's fail in animals, there is nothing they can do. There are not any transplants so to speak, and it would be impossible to put the dog on dialysis, and expensive. Your best bet is to spend as much time with your baby as you can, feed him the right food, see the vet for regular progress reports, and when the time comes, you will have to be strong and euthanize the animal humanely. When the time comes that the dog is not peeing as regular, or seems dehydrated, or seems to be in a lot of pain, you will have to put him down. There may be medications, but there is really nothing they can do. Kidney failure in animals is as hard for scientists to figure out as HIV is for humans.

Answer 10

We understand your desire to have the information before you make a "fatal" desicion for your baby. Here's some text book information on kidney failure:

Kidney failure has it origins in a wide variety of causes. For example, some animals are born with poorly constructed or functioning kidneys and never reach totally optimum health. Eventually, these individuals usually fall into kidney failure at an early age. Another type of kidney failure can occur after accidental ingestion of antifreeze that contains ethylene glycol. These situations cause sudden and often irreversible renal (kidney) failure. Quite commonly, kidney failure results from low grade, long term (chronic) inflammation of kidney tissues called chronic nephritis; the damage caused by this inflammation renders permanent damage to delicate renal tissues that are not able to repair themselves or heal as some other body tissues do. Eventually, not enough normal functioning tissue remains to support the body's need for metabolic regulation and waste elimination. The dog or cat becomes UREMIC, a condition where body waste material builds up in the blood. These toxins promote vomiting, poor appetite, depression, and eventually death. Bacterial invasion of the kidneys is a common cause of chronic nephritis and kidney failure.

One of the first signs an animal will show when beginning to be affected by kidney failure is an increased thirst. Polydipsia is the term used for this situation where the animal needs to consume greater amounts of water than normal. Increased toxins and other metabolic waste products triggers sensors in the brain that the blood is too concentrated and through a series of chemical reactions the animal may have a sense of dehydration... and drinks more water to alleviate this sensation. Compounding this sense of dehydration is actual water loss through the kidneys above normal amounts due to the kidneys being inefficient in retaining water within the body.

The increased thirst/water intake (polydipsia) causes an increased urine flow... and the animal urinates more frequently and produces higher volumes of urine. Called Polyuria, the increased urine output seems unintuitive if the animal is actually affected with kidney failure. Many pet owners have been baffled when the veterinarian mentions that the patient may have early kidney failure. They often respond "How can that be, its urinating a lot more than it usually does?" What really is happening is that much more urine is being produced and eliminated however the urine is becoming more and more dilute; the urine is not bringing along all those toxins and waste products for removal from the body. And certain substances that the kidneys are supposed to be conserving and keeping in the body such as glucose and protein are inappropriately being lost in the urine. Especially protein loss, called Proteinuria, contributes to the animal's weight loss, inability to perform normal metabolic chemical processes, tissue repair and energy metabolism.

Water soluble vitamins, such as the B-vitamins are washed out of the body with this polyuria and polydipsia and the animal suffers from hypovitaminosis.

In order to make a diagnosis of renal failure the veterinarian will need to check two avenues of data gathering... a urine sample and a blood sample. Checking one without the other may render a diagnosis less accurate.

In human medicine, dialysis and kidney transplantation are the main methods of dealing with advanced kidney failure. Expensive and time consuming, these methods are also employed in treating dogs and cats but impose heavy financial and time burdens on the pet owner and some stress on the patient who is already stressed by the disease. Unfortunately, once the diagnosis of kidney failure is made, most patients are so sick that response to treatment is unrewarding and slow. The pet's owner may need to consider euthanasia in order to prevent the long, slow, and agonizing death that comes from complete renal shutdown.

You have some difficult decisions ahead of you. Getting a second opinion in a case like this is always a wise thing to do if you can afford it. We wish you the best, and believe you will do what it is, in the long term, best for your beloved pet.