My puppy has kidney failure. How to keep him comfy & afford treatment?

This is a horrible situation for both you and Bucky to be in at the moment, and I'm very sorry!! I'm not sure what brought about his kidney failure or his other symptoms, so I can't say for certain that putting him to sleep is the best option. With treatment from the vet, there may be a possibility he could survive this kidney failure if it is acute, and I would discuss with your vet what they think his chances are for survival. The vet working with him will know best his current situation, and can give you advice for it. Given that he is so young, I would try to give him a chance to make it if possible, but I can also understand not wanting to see him in pain. It is a very hard situation to be in, and while I wish I could give you a definitive answer, I can't without seeing him in person. It would be best to talk this over with your vet before making a final decision. Again, I'm very sorry :-(

Poor baby. Kidney failure is usually pretty bad news in dogs. The usual treatment is hospitalization for IV fluids to lower kidney values (since high kidney values make animals feel crappy) and treatment for whatever associated complications an animal has (such as nausea or anemia). Early in the disease, food changes and at home fluids can help. You mentioned that Priscilla has already been hospitalized for two days, so I'm going to assume she has two days of aggressive fluids and her kidney values haven't gone down. If you don't believe in euthanasia than I'd say you need to find a veterinarian who practices hospice in your area. A Google search should turn up an opinion or two. In your own, there isn't much you can do. I will warn you that kidney disease often ends in euthanasia because at the end stages it causes severe nausea, vomiting, severe weight loss, ulcers in the mouth, severe dehydration (even though they are drinking a lot, it just goes right through them). So it's not a good way to go without really really aggressive support from a local hospice vet. I'm so sorry and you are Priscilla are going through this. You'll be in my thoughts.

I think the best prevention is routine monitoring of bloodwork and urine. Kidney values can be trended yearly. If they start to become abnormal, your vet can recommend diet change and supplementation as needed. If your dog is not sick, bloodwork may not be covered unless you have wellness coverage.

It doesn't look like Pitambar received a urinalysis. This test needs to be run to help stage the renal disease or if dehydration is present and causing the increase in the renal values. Talk with your veterinarian about having this test run asap: https://www.petcoach.co/article/urinalysis-testing-a-urine-sample/ There is another test called an SDMA which will help stage renal disease: https://www.idexx.com/en/veterinary/reference-laboratories/sdma/ Pitambar should also have a urine protein:creatine ratio run to check for protein loss and the need to medication to control that if it is present. This website discusses how renal disease is staged: https://www.idexx.com/en/veterinary/reference-laboratories/sdma/sdma-iris/ Kidney disease is serious and if caught early, many pets will respond to easy treatment and this will not only slow down disease process but will also increase the life expectancy. Often the first step is changing the diet to a prescription diet meant for pets who have kidney disease. These diets have lower protein, phosphorus and high amounts of omega 3 fatty acids, higher amounts of antioxidants and have a higher calorie amount. Supplementing with an additional omega 3 fatty acid can also help. Pitambar will need followup bloodwork and a urinalysis 4-6 weeks after starting treatment. As things progress, other treatments will be needed. https://www.petcoach.co/article/kidney-disease-causes-signs-diagnosis-and-treatment/ I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hello, and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear about Leo. The most important part of treatment when an animal has kidney failure is to give adequate fluids. It would be best to keep Leo at the vet to stay on IV fluids until his creatinine comes down - if the kidneys are not receiving adequate fluids, you are not likely to get him to improve. If you must have him home, then ask your vet if they would be comfortable teaching you how to give subcutaneous fluids at home (injecting an appropriate amount of saline under the skin) to help him stay hydrated and keep flushing his kidneys. If he is eating, then you can add extra water to his food to encourage more fluid intake. However, if he's not eating, he REALLY needs to continue getting fluids, either intravenously at the vet or subcutaneously at home. If neither of these is an option, and he's not eating, then unfortunately euthanasia should be considered. I hope this helps, and again I'm sorry Leo isn't doing well.

I don't really have any insight into his lab work without being able to see the results, but it sounds like you're not ready to consider euthanasia. You may want to ask your vet if there's anything else that can be done for Baxter - depending on the cause of the kidney failure he might benefit from more intensive 24 hour care at a specialty hospital. Since he is still eating and drinking you could also ask about hospice care - he may be comfortable for a little while longer with fluids at home. At some point it sounds like you will need to make a decision regarding euthanasia - these links might help: https://www.petcoach.co/article/the-decision-of-euthanizing-your-pet/ https://www.ahelpproject.org/ https://www.iaahpc.org/images/BarkArticleSpring2014Goldberg

I'm very sorry to hear about this situation. Sadly, even if Kody would tolerate fluid therapy at home, it would not reverse the renal failure. When we are giving subcutaneous fluids at home, we are trying to keep our pets comfortable and give them more time. In patients that do tolerate it well, it still only helps for a while. Making the decision to euthanize is never easy. What I never want to see is a patient that ends up resenting the care their family is trying to provide, and making their last days miserable for everyone involved. If you absolutely wanted to keep going and keep trying, you could hospitalize with IV fluids, or take him to the veterinarian for daily subcutaneous fluids, but if he hates the treatment, I'm not sure that is what most people would want their pet's last days to be like. I can only access how Kody is doing based on the information provided, but it sounds like you are at a point when it would not be wrong to consider euthanasia. Even knowing it is the right thing does not make it easy. I wish I had better answers for you.