My dog has high BUN and creatinine. What kidney treatment is best?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Linda. I would stop feeding any treats and keep her strictly on the kidney diet. She should have her blood pressure checked and a urinalysis done to look for extra protein in the urine. Both are common with kidney disease. There are medications that she can take that will help both conditions if necessary. This will slow further progression of her disease. Depending on her results, I will add a potassium supplement (if her potassium is low) or a phosphate binder (if her phosphorus is high). These things will help her to feel good for as long as possible. Always ensure she drinks plenty of water. I hope this information helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! A phosphorus binder is used when the phosphorus is high not when just the creatinine is elevated. I would have your Vet get a urine sample and a blood pressure. This will help stage Ike's renal disease. Prescription renal diets are highly recommend to slow progression of disease. Blood pressure medications should be used if high. I wish you the best!

Creatinine and BUN are the two main kidney values measured with blood chemistry panels. Yes, it is very common to track changes in these values (as well as many others, including electrolytes) during IV fluid therapy, particularly if they were high to begin with. I hope that all goes well for Augie!

If her SDMA is normal and her creatinine is wnl then her kidneys are likely normal. BUN can be increased from dehydration, a stomach ulcer, a high protein diet or a very muscular physique. You would normally see vomiting or black stool if she had a bleeding ulcer so I doubt this is the cause of the high BUN. To ensure her kidneys are okay, I would talk to your vet about checking a urinalysis on her. Your vet will assess her protein levels and specific gravity to see how her kidneys are functioning. If the protein levels look high on the dipstick and there isn't an infection, I would talk to your vet about doing a urinary protein creatinine ratio. If it is elevated it could be challenging the kidneys and can cause future problems. There is a medicine to help called benazepril. You can also switch her to a prescription kidney diet just because they have a much lower protein content than the food over the counter. Some dogs just naturally have a higher BUN and as long as it isn't progressively getting worse, I would just continue to monitor it. I hope this helps!

There are many options, the one change which is proven to extend life expectancy and quality is to convert to a specialist kidney diet, preferably wet kidney food. These are enriched with antioxidants and b vitamins, contain highly digestible protein to reduce the amount of work the kidneys need to do and are high in antiinflammatory omega fatty acids. A kidney tonic such as pronefra can also help. Regular blood and urine testing to track progress is important as additional measures to treat high phosphorous, urine protein loss and high blood pressure may need to be added over time

Pets with renal disease need to eat a special dog food aimed at reducing the work load on the kidneys. Hill Science Diet and Royal Canin both make special formulas for this condition. Some of these pets need intravenous fluids for up to three days. Some of them need supportive care in the form of subcutaneous fluids, anti-acids and antivomiting medications. If she is leaking protein in her urine, she also needs a medication to stop this. Consulting with you local veterinarian will give you the best guidance as to what Soffiya needs based upon her physical exam and clinical signs. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Technically, we have to have a urine concentration to know for sure if the kidneys are affected. Those values (urea and creat) could have been caused by mild dehydration. If so, the kidneys are fine. If the urine is dilute and watery, then yes I am worried more about kidney damage. Talk to your vet about checking the concentration (USG) of the first urine of the morning. Best of luck to you and Max!