My dog has kidney failure. Is her condition improving with diet?

It's common for kidney values to improve with aggressive treatment (such as hospitalization for IV fluids). Sometimes they don't improve even with treatment, which would be a bad sign, or sometimes they improve while hospitalized, but don't stay improved. So, I can't get much idea about her prognosis from what they've told you so far. If they are happy with her progress, they will likely discharge her after 1-3 days and then have you come back to have her kidney values checked after a week, which will give you much more information. It's possible they are being vague because they just don't know yet -- it's impossible to know how she'll do out of the hospital. I'd recommend asking them what the next steps are, when she can go home, what treatments she'll need at home, and what the follow up testing will look like. You can also directly ask about prognosis. Wishing you the best of luck

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Callie. I agree with her veterinarian that she should eat a well known prescription renal diet. I have never seen the brand you suggested reviewed in veterinary literature which makes me question its efficacy. Has Callie had her blood pressure measured? Dogs will frequently have elevated blood pressure in conjunction with kidney disease. If so, medication can be started to lower it. This can increase survival times. I will sometimes place a dog a fatty acid supplement to help with kidney disease. I would ask your veterinarian if Callie could benefit from one. I hope this information helps!

Poor girl. I would certainly consider at least getting her checked again and fluid therapy (IV or subcutaneously). If her values are not too bad, she may be able to be managed at home with subcutaneous fluids that you yourself give. That is if you are up to the task. Also I am not sure if she is on a prescription kidney diet. If not, then she needs to be transitioned right away. The vet can also prescribe some anti-nausea medication for her to help with her condition. And lastly, I would highly recommend a supplement called Azodyl, which is a natural way to help lower your pets kidney enzymes. Their toxic levels in the bloodstream are directly correlated with how sick your pet will feel, so focusing on lowering these values can improve your pets condition greatly. Here is a website link with more kidney therapy options --> https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952670 I hope that these additional treatment suggestions help Chloe stabilize and perhaps hold off the euthanasia talks for a while. Best of luck moving fowrard and take care. : )

Poor Zola. I am so very sorry she isnt doing well. Unfortunately I do feel that her non response to treatment is a negative prognostic indicator. As far as studies, for a young dog in renal failure, the outcome is not good unfortunately. But it depends on the cause. Did she get in to grapes? Antifreeze? Was she tested for Lepto? I would say to try another 24 to 48 hours and get more information about potential cause of the kidney failure

Part of this decision should be based upon how Squeakers is doing clinically and how bad or not bad his values are. In general, if kidney disease is caught early on, it responds very well to treatment. Most of the time, treatment is simply a diet change to a kidney friendly, prescription diet. Pet’s where the disease is more advanced, may need to take a pill to decrease protein loss through the kidneys and they may need subcutaneous fluids on a daily or weekly basis. For cats with more advanced disease, they may need hospitalization and IV fluids to see if they will recover. Again it all depends on the blood values and how the pet is doing clinically. Most cats with kidney disease, if caught in time, will live an average of 2 to 3 years of quality life after diagnosis. This is variable though. Some pets progress quickly and others live longer than 3 years. You don’t know until you try. I hope this helps to guide your decision making. You can also find a fair amount of information about kidney disease on this website. Use the search feature. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

I do not know much about Kidney Support Gold but what I typically use in my renal failure cases is the following: 1. Prescription renal support food such as Hills K/D 2. Azodyl capsules 3. Rehmannia 8 liquid supplement 4. Renal K+ if potassium is low 5. ACE inhibitor such as the Benazecare that you are giving 6. Standard Process Renal Support for dogs 7. Subcutaneous fluids several times per week to help with hydration 8. Hyperbaric chamber therapy My last case of renal failure (also had cancer) lived 20 months past the expected prognosis of 6 months. This dog also was undergoing chemotherapy but I do believe all of the above helped improve his prognosis significantly. I would discuss these options with your veterinarian as well. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

If she is eating and drinking and not vomiting then you can look into a special kidney diet to help them work. You can get a urine sample to see if there is any protein loss and get her blood pressure checked also as there are pills you can use to help control these factors if needed. You can talk to your vet about donfluids under the skin at home to help take some work off her kidneys The most important part is make sure she is drinking plenty of fluids and urinating. If she starts vomiting or stops urinating that is a sign her kidneys are getting worse.