What's the right fluid amount for my 60lb dog with kidney disease?

Hello. With kidney disease, it is important to try to increase fluid intake. If he is not on a canned diet, I would try to transition him to one. Even better, would be a canned kidney diet such as Hill's k/d. Once he is eating the canned food, adding a little water will help, but you do not want to add so much water as to decrease the nutritional density of the food. Rather than broth, you can also try Pedialyte. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

225ml is not a problem. A daily maintenance fluid for a cat would be 60 ml/kg. Your kitty weighs 12 lbs, which is about 5.5kg. So her daily maintenance would be 330ml. She actually may feel very good now, which is why she is using her scratching post and obviously is not nauseous but hungry. The extra fluid is likely flushing out toxins. So, no , you do not have to worry. Since you are giving the fluids under the skin, she will only pull in what she needs over time. Good luck with your kitty!

I'm sorry to hear about your dogs diagnosis! Phosphorus is something we try to avoid with renal failure because the kidneys have lost the ability to excrete it properly. Because milk is high in phosphorus I would avoid giving it. A prescription renal diet like you are using is the best food to avoid giving too much phosphorus. If your dog's phosphorus levels are already high you can ask your veterinarian about giving medications like aluminum hydroxide. As far as additional things you can do at home for your dog, subcutaneous fluids may be worthwhile. Your veterinarian can teach you how to administer these fluids. Medications like Azodyl may also be helpful. As an integrative veterinarian I also manage my patients with kidney disease with acupuncture and herbal medicine. It may be worth looking into integrative veterinarians in your area. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and best wishes to you and your dog!

Yes, IV fluids is recommend in dogs that have kidney disease, especially if the BUN and creatinine are elevated. Other medications may be prescribed as well. Your vet will probably want to recheck bloodwork to see if the levels have improved after IV fluids.

Yep! That's a great idea as long as your dog doesn't get uncomfortable with the faster fluid rate. You can also raise the bag higher up (such as hanging from a coat hanger from a ceiling fan) to help speed up the process.

This isn't really something we monitor to be honest, so I don't have a good number for you. If he's not drinking much water or eating very wet food, he likely is getting slowly dehydrated if he's getting 200ml water subcutaneous and urinating that 200ml out, since he will lose water through his feces, breathing, skin, etc. I'd recommend letting his vet know what you're seeing, checking in on his kidney values, and consider increasing his fluid levels slightly. However, I wouldn't do this without guidance from his vet, because there are other issues he could have at the same time that would require taking a more moderated approach to the fluid amounts.

Hello. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Yes, this can be normal behavior. He probably already has a full bladder before you give the fluids and then when you add in the extra fluids he needs to urinat right away. I would not be worried about this at all. Hope this helps. Best wishes.